The FastDay Forum

That is great news ! In the Horizon program there is mention of IGF-1 as a marker for cancer and diabetes risk. I'm guessing this is not a routine blood test and expensive. Might be a nice component of a NHS study on 5:2 dieters...

This is very encouraging! I too am hoping to improve my health (even more so than reduce my weight), but am hopeful that the two will go hand in hand. Can you give us a bit more info. on the types of food you ate since you started 5.2? Did you start to eat more a more healthy diet, change to low carb, increase vegetables, fruit, fish etc. or did you simply eat the same but less? Your results are great and I wish you every success in coming off your meds for your eye condition.

What great results, Alymoosh! Especially on the eye pressure.

I'm doing 5:2 for health reasons as well as for weight loss, but preventative rather than for anything specific. Reduction in Alzheimer's risk is a big one for me, but difficult to measure.

I sometimes suffer from back pain and I'm hoping that any weight loss will help reduce that. I guess I should track that to see if there is any improvement. I suspect though that I won't bother.

Alymoosh - I'm in it for more than weight loss, my hips have become arthritic and I am hoping that diet (fewer grains/carbs) and fasting will reduce inflammation and give me a bit longer as a runner/climber/cyclist. I do parkrun every Saturday and intended to use my times as evidence that 5:2 was working - so far this is a bit inconclusive as my best times this year were at the end of week 1 and, identically, last week (week 11), in between they have not been too bad but below average. I had a blood test in March which was good in most respects but a hurried BP check gave a frightening result - 150/85 - from my right arm. Another check tomorrow, hoping that was an anomaly - it has not been that bad since my 20's and becoming a veggie (I'm 62 now). Weight wise I am on maintenance, having overshot two targets, but still fasting 18 - 20 hours twice a week (with unrestricted meals but no snacking). I think the hips are better, certainly better than at Xmas when I was really overdoing the carbs...

WOW!!!
So many good results and health benefits, congratulations and thanks so much for sharing!!!

dhana - there has been a slight change in my eating habits and this seems to happen with lots of people on the 5:2. I always ate reasonably healthy food anyway but just a lot of it. I became more aware of need versus want and also, as on fast days you generally want to pack as much nutrition into your 500-600 cals, I've started eating more vegetables. Veggies have probably replaced some carbs and meat in my diet, so I now don't eat much red meat, have chicken or fish a couple of times a week and use stir fried veg or veg stews to bulk out food a bit more instead of rice or potatoes etc. This has been generally an unconscious transition though. A more conscious change recently has been to minimise sugar. Recognising that this is a completely empty calorie and the damage that it does has convinced me to only indulge when eating out or special occasions. I've also replaced fruit juice with vegetable juice. All of these changes generally came after my blood tests though. I may go back for more blood tests in august and see if there has been any further changes at 1 year.

CreakyPete - My doctor did check for inflammation markers as I have a family history of autoimmune disorders (including arthritis). Prior to starting 5:2 these were normal and after these were almost zero. I don't have much more info on this unfortunately but hopefully this will give me some protection for the future.

Hi, am only into my second week of the diet but so far there has been a definate improvement in my digestion, have been suffering from heartburn and reflux for years and I've not had to take anything for it since starting the diet although I suspect this is because I'm cutting down portion size and haven't had a glass of red wine since starting the diet. I also feel much more energised and the fasting days certainly don't slow me down.

I do need to loose weight but I'm also hoping for health benefits too, a reduction in my blood pressure and an improved immune system would be great. I was diagnosed with a rare form of low grade blood cancer 6 years ago and so far have not received treatment but am on watch and wait. This has impacted on my immune system and over the winter I suffered 5 nasty back to back colds spanning September through to March so any improvement would be great. If my cancer related proteins reduce then that will be fantastic however I think that's a big ask so really don't expect that to happen. I will be having my bloods taken for my haematology check up in August so I may have some improvement to report in August. My next Blood pressure checkup is due in September so will know then if there is any improvement.

Hi val248 - These are the exact kind of impacts that would be the most amazing if they are widespread. There's some evidence that intermittent fasting can help during treatment of some cancers and improve recovery. There's also the theory that as processing food uses up to 70% of your immune system, freeing it up a bit by fasting allows it to get on with other jobs in the body. I have wondered if this why I haven't even had a sniffle since last August. Good luck with the blood tests.

Hi Allymoosh,

I have always had low bp so I assume this has not changed. My total cholesterol was 7 some years ago but unless I ask my GP for a blood test, I shall never know if this has changed or not. Although I have achieved my target weight, I continue with my maintenance routine as I wish to reap as many benefits (if they exist and I hope they do) as I can. I have lost almost 8" off my waist and gone down two dress sizes since last year but I've never felt better, had more energy or eaten as healthily so this is definitely the way forward for me.

I am glad that not only are you buff but you are now easy on the eye !!!!

Ballerina x

I haven't had any blood tests etc yet to check for improvements but I have noticed that since mid February (I started this WOE mid January) I have hardly had any headaches (I suffered quite a lot with them before). I've also been told by my beauty therapist sister in law and a different friend that my skin is glowing.