Hi I’ve been doing 5 2 plus low carb on none fast day, been doing it for 3 weeks with disappointing results. I think I’m getting somewhere then the scales go down then up again. I do feel a lot better though & I feel that I’ve lost belt fat.The added problem I have is I no longer have a thyroid as it was very over active & stuck out (goiter). Does anyone have experiences of 5 2 without a thyroid it would be good to get some advice.

Fynness

You don’t need to go low carb as such. Just get your carbs from veggies and some fruit. Avoid sugar and ALL grain based foods. No rice, bread, pasta, cereals etc. Your glucose spikes will plummet and your insulin will plummet. 202 lbs down to 153 lbs, now in maintenance mode 6:1. No grains pass my lips.

Hi Coda,

I use a Freestyle Optium Neo (readily available on ebay or most diabetic stores) as it is one of the few meters that can measure blood glucose and ketone bodies (basically tells you when you have entered true fat burning mode). Toughen up princess. ha ha ha. Its really not that big a deal. You get an auto lancet with the meter to prick yourself with, its over so quickly its really not an issue.

Obviously if you are diabetic you really need to use it but anyone can use it to monitor their blood glucose condition. I initially used it to see my reaction to different foods. I would measure my BG before I ate something and then after eating that food I would measure every 30 minutes to see my response. Orange juice just spikes BG through the roof. Processed grains are also pretty bad.

You insert a different “stick” into the meter to measure ketones. They are a bit pricey but you can pick them up for about 60 cents per stick. I usually buy them off ebay when someone has them on special. I use this to monitor when I enter ketosis. When I first started doing 5:2 it would take me 48-60 hours to enter ketosis (fat burning). It now takes me 24 hours. Most people take ketosis as being when you get a reading of 0.5 mmol/L. Since Im only doing one fast day now Im usually between 0.5-1.2 mmol/L I used to get to about 2mmol/L when fasting for two consecutive days. You want to stay below 3mmol/L otherwise you start going too acidic. Important to drink lots and you find that you tend to go to the toilet more often when in ketosis. Its your bodies way of regulating the acidity. You burn fat all the time, its just that when you enter ketosis the vast majority of your energy is coming from fat burning with very little from glucose metabolism.

Im not really a low carb person, I just get most of my carbs from veggies. I only enter ketosis when I water fast. Im a scientist by occupation so I like to measure things.

@coda. Im the biggest wimp there is. My wife always looks after the kids when they cuts and need bandages etc. If I can use a lancet anyone can. really its not a big deal.

I think what you are referring to is ketoacidosis. Usually this is not a problem unless you are a diabetic, in VERY poor health, or have suffered some sort of illness that has compromised your liver/pancreas/kidney etc. You really want your ketones to be below 3 mmol/L and your body does a pretty good job in regulating this. The highest I ever got was about 2.4mmol/L and that is after 60 hours of water only fasting. You tend to urinate more often while in ketosis and this is the body’s mechanism in controlling the acidity. So make sure you drink lots. You also want to lower your blood glucose levels so that they are in the range 3.9-5.9 mmol/L. The lower the better. You are ALWAYS burning fat regardless of what you eat or your physical activity, but that percentage goes up and down. The closer you get your blood glucose down to 3.9 mmol/L the better off you are with respect to increasing the fat burning percentage. In all the time Ive been monitoring my BG (over a year now I have only ever dipped below 3.9 once and that was 3.8). Most of the time my BG in the morning after just waking up is in the low 4s. if I eat bread or some other processed carb the night before my BG will be low 5s. The lasting impact is that BIG.

Im not low carb as such, Im low processed grain carbs. carbs locked up in fibre are not a problem.

With regards to physical activity if you can get your heart rate up to about 60-65% then you burn the most amount of fat for that given activity. 60-60% is something like a slow jog or a fast walk. You should still be able to have a conversation, but only just. If you can talk with ease youre not pushing hard enough. If you cant talk then your pushing too hard.