Hi to all. First of all, well done to you managing to lose weight when coping with CFS/Thyroid problems as well. My husband has CFS and I have an underactive thyroid (controlled with tablets but still difficult to lose weight). Any suggestions regarding CFS/Thyroid problems would be welcome (especially any guys out there with CFS).
I would also welcome any comments from anyone who is vegetarian and doing this diet, what do you eat on fast days?
Thanks.
Marcob

I too have piled on the weight since getting ME 14y ago. Know it makes sense to try and loose it, and realise it will be a slow process as I cant do much more exercise than I already do, ie not a lot!.Hopefully I will be able to do more once/if Ive lost some weight.Reading about other`s experience is definately encouraging.

Seems the CFS and weight gain problem is sadly not that unusual. My weight gain is similar, 5-6 stone. I have successfully lost weight (lots of it) before, using a number of strategies. Didn’t really notice any difference in fatigue levels, but mode, self-esteem and arthritis improved. Did 4:3 fast earlier this year, felt pretty good apart from fatigue, but fell off the wagon and regained weight when unwell. Exercise is the real challenge – will be interested to hear from anyone who has been able to try HIT, at even the lowest level and didn’t get the usual side effects from exercise.

Good luck to all of you in the New Year 2014.

Hi fellow Chronic Fatiguester’s. I started the 5:2 diet last April and got good initial results with weight, energy and self esteem. Mostly I felt relief to find a way of stopping my weight increasing and hopefully sidestepping diabetes 2. (Over 50 and had gestational diabetes, so I’m a strong candidate for D2). But back to the fasting; I found the 5:2 a bit difficult to keep up and that at times it just felt too much for me. However I felt better for doing it on the whole. So I looked around and found another fast that I find easier called the 8 hour diet, where I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8. I’ve been do this most days since Nov and have no trouble keeping it up. So those who find the 5:2 difficult to do might want to look into other fasting regimes. Sorry for posting a ‘rival’ fasting diet on this forum. I have to say that the 5:2 and Michael’s program were the best things that I have found for my condition, it’s just that I needed to modify it. The principles of fasting are the same and I use the 5:2 book and forum a lot as a reference. So thanks Michael and Mimi and all those who share.

Hi guys,

The Fast diet is the best tool I have ever come across in my [personal] struggle with CFS/ME. Like @ellied and many of you, exercise has been a real struggle.

I started the 5:2 diet on 1st Jan this year after 17 years of struggling with CFS/ME; 13 of them undiagnosed and therefore causing my thyroid to give out after compensating for so long, and the last 4 being very strict with pacing and GET to increase my stamina to a point where I could function somewhere approaching ‘nearly’ normal (i.e. very low end of ‘normal’ activity but probably considered ‘highly functioning’ on a CFS/ME scale). However, it was an every day struggle to keep going.

I had heard about the 5:2 diet for a while before I was even in the right head-space to read about it, let alone try it. Some of the changes I have noticed since starting are listed below: –

Within a couple of weeks of starting, I suddenly just took myself to the pool up the road and started swimming agin, after years of the ever present thought “I really should go swimming as the pool is so close” lurking in the background;

I wake up refreshed (although sometimes physically tired from exercise, but not the mind and nerve crushing fatigue) at about 7.30am on average with relative ease, rather than dragging myself from slumber an hour or so later and feeling like an elephant had used me as a pillow;

I have managed to go for lunches and nights out with my friends in Bath (a 100-mile round trip) driving up and back in a day (getting ready, an hour’s driving, socialising for a few hours, another hour’s driving before bed), and often these have been for an evening when I have already ridden the horse for an hour or more in the morning. With no ill effects or even post-exertional malaise;

I’m now swimming 2-3 times a week, I got up to 24-26 lengths (not a large pool) before I got fed up of loosing count of my lengths and now I just try and swim continuously, with only brief rests to catch my breath or avoid crashing into people) for 25-30 minutes;

I continue to do my one class of Pilates a week (which was integral to improving my stamina with pacing and GET) and am just about to start a belly dancing class to gradually increase my cardio exercise (as I use swimming for more toning than cardio)

My thyroxine dose has been reduced from 150 to 125 micrograms and I will be having a blood test in a few weeks time to see whether that needs to be reduced further (possibly but I have a really understanding GP who wanted to reduce it gradually rather than shock my system).

I have lost 9lbs overall (not an awful lot for the 3-months but I taking into account the increased muscle mass gain from the extra exercise this is still fabulous) and I have lost 7 3/4 inches across my chest, waist & hips.

I FEEL so much better.

The only change in my life I have made this year is starting the 5:2 diet; I don’t eat especially healthily on non-fast days (fasts are often broken by a bacon & egg sandwich made with soft white bread) and in fact, as I’ve been doing more socialising, I’ve eaten out more often on non-fast days too.

This change has been extremely noticeable and many friends and family have commented on it. One of the greatest feelings has been re-claiming my pre-Glandular Fever (what kicked this whole sorry mess off in the first place in 1997) highly active persona; although I have had to remind myself for the last 4-years that I actually am an Active Person (thanks to 13-years of doctors assuming I was just lazy and want a magic wand to make me thin), I am now feeling better than I have since I was 17, riding for up to 4 hours a day, jive dancing between 4-12 hours a week and generally being a busy, active, lively, burn-the-candle-at-both-ends kind of girl.

I still have to watch myself and be wary of days when I have a lot going on and plan in rest days. I still have setbacks, but these days they are much less traumatic.

I would recommend trying this diet to anyone with CFS/ME.

Apologies if I’ve rambled but I’m rather excited at feeling like the cloud is finally lifting a little.

Thanks 😀

I have a wordpress blog (www.triciaruth.wordpress.com) where I discuss in more detail my journey with CFS/ME and, in particular, my successes with GET and pacing which helped me increase my sustainable exercise before the fast diet. It’s all about sustainability of the exercise levels so it might be of use.

Hi Peeps.
I’ve had CFS for 13 years and my wife for 23 and both are fighting the gradual increase in weight that seems to often occur. So I’m going to try the 5:2 diet to see what happens, I can only benefit from not carrying 2 stone of lard around!
I’ve said it now so there’s no going back, lol.

Hi MrC, welcome!! sorry you and your wife are dealing with this illness. the weight does seem to find us doesn’t it? my daughter, husband and I are dealing with M.E/ CFS. my husband hasn’t gained a lot, but my daughter and I struggle.

I can tell you that you will loose weight on this WOE. I have lost almost 25lbs, my daughter 14. she had to be patient because it was several months before the scales started going down more than a lb or two. up and down a lot, BUT the inches were going down. be sure to measure yourself. waist, neck, chest, arms, legs. it will help when the scales don’t budge.

we seem to be seeing an increase in energy. can’t promise it’s from the diet, but time will tell. we have been sick for 20 yrs, I expect it will take a while to reverse( if that is possible) anyway, as you said, less pounds to carry around can only help.

be sure and keep your water intake up, it helps. good luck and keep us posted on how you get on.

Hi franfit, 34lbs!!good for you!! glad you are able to do the walking. sometimes those other health challenges go with this darned disease. hope every thing is doing better.

good fast to you both, and all our M.E./CFS fast friends. Phyllis 🙂

Thanks guys and well done.
Our daughter also had CFS/ME for a couple of years from age 14 but it just sort of faded away. Maybe she had her age on her side but she’s very active and slim now at 19.

Phyllis, good to see you again, sorry to hear about your flare. Although I don’t think 5:2 has helped my M.E. specifically, losing weight has helped me have more energy. I can walk much faster than I could when I weighed 40 more pounds nine months ago, even my son commented on how much faster I’m walking. I no longer feel like I’m hauling my body around. Also it takes much less caffeine to cut through the brain fog enough in the morning in order to be able to drive safely (when I drive instead of walking, which I try not to now). I’m also averaging 10,000 steps a day on my pedometer now, which I could not have done eight months ago without setting off a relapse; I was averaging more like 4,000 steps/day then. I still have to take a nap after working a half-day at relatively easy work, though. It hasn’t been a miracle cure for me, but still very, very worth it. I hope your experience turns out to be at least as good as mine 🙂

annie annie, I agree, variations in fasting that promote continued practice are likely to be helpful. They may not have been tested, but they have also not been proven to be failures. It may be many years before all the questions and issues involved with fasting are answered with even moderate certainty. Life must go on.

Fasting blood chemistry improves with length of time of the fast up to a point. It improves the fastest during the first ten hours. Beyond 4 days may have little added benefit. One researcher said as a rule of thumb, fasting is considered to begin at ten hours. Other fasting plans are certainly possible and a few have been and are being studied.

A three day, four night fast is believed to drop cancer, diabetes, and heart disease risk to near zero after the first fast. Repeating every two months is believed to maintain the zero risk.

5:2 fasting may take months to achieve the near zero risk level. It is however believed to be easier to adhere to in the long term. I fasted 3 days and three nights before I fell off the wagon. I followed up with the 5:2 plan and have been successful. I often start snacking late on my one day fasts, but have still lost nearly 20 pounds and lowered my bad colesterol significantly in a year. I try different strategies to succed. Frequently telling myself I can eat anything I want tomorrow works best for me.

You only fail if you quit altogether.

Paul Bristol

Hi all. I have had CFS for 5 years and have gained 8kgs. Last week I tried day 1 of a planned 5:2, having lunch and an evening meal. However I only managed the 1 day as it took me 4 days to recover my energy levels from that 1 day!
I have been rereading the book and the posts here and think maybe I should try a 6:1 pattern to start and do it on a non work day as trying it on a work day was obviously not a good idea. If that goes ok I would increase to 5:2 in time.
Any thoughts?

Thanks for the info Annie. I was very glad to hear I was not the only one adversely effected by fasting! Yours sounds like a workable option though I think I would start with 3 days a week. How long have you been doing it and are you losing weight?

Annie, we could be twins! I’m a mid fifties Aussie, have IBS and am a hopeless dieter! Thanks for all the advice. I think I will give it a go.

Checking in. It’s the beginning of week 8, and I missed 2 fasts over Christmas. Ate treats, but moderately. In the 7 weeks on 5:2 I have lost 4.3 kgs (about 14lbs.). Aftter a quick start, I think my regular weight loss will be about 400g ms(about 1lb). I’m very happy with 5:2, and so no repercussions with my ME/CFS.

11am ish 1 boiled egg with salt
6.30 ish a meal, usually 125 gms of canned salmon and a large salad of diff lettuces, tiny tomatoes, cucumber, 2 tiny pickled beetroot, and atspn of loc cal dressing. After that a few strawberries, or rockmelon.

Through the day I find tiny amounts of something strong tasting helps,…1-3 pistachios, a strawberry, a sheet of nori dried seaweed sheet( wierd but works for me) and only 9 cals, a cup of hot bullion from stock powder. Also water, water, water, weak black tea or Earl Grey tea, or peppermint tea. Sometimes low cal lollies 9-15 cals. A mouthful of Low cal dry ginger ale also.

Again no repercussions at all health wise. I’m finding it relatively easy, and does not decrease my energy.

Hi, it’s my very first fast day today. I have been in a wheelchair for the past 12 months due to ME but have just ditched it with help of graded exercise, I am still incredibly limited but am optimistic for the future., I often say I have negative exercise due to the fact that in my previous life as a teacher (I lost my job due to ME) I rushed around 24-7, ran 5k three times a week and swam regularly. I have decided to do 4:3 due to me not burning anything extra after reading the book and browsing around here. I am 43 and would like to lose 42 lbs ideally. How wonderfull to have a site with so much support that is inclusive and free.

Hi Lulabell, welcome. Don’t know if we’re the only ones on this thread at the moment, but it’s been encouraging reading the previous posts. Check in when you’re able to. Here’s to a lighter future.
Merry

“I was just wondering what others do when they feel their fatigue hitting suddenly like I do when I walk a little past my limit?”

Hi Lizz….It was suggested to me to do less on my good days and a little more on my bad days.
It’s working quite well so far…recent info for me.

Hi LizzE,Lulabelle, MMatrika,
Good to know we’re not alone on here at the moment.
I’m midway through week 13 now, and doing 500 cals Monday and Thursday, and 1500 on The other 5 days. I have lots of food intolerance problems so after the 1st 6 weeks, I spent 6 weeks testing things out, and I’m finding I can only eat starches on special occasions e.g birthday cake. If I eat any sort of grain food, eg pasta , bread, biscuits, pastry etc, either normal or gluten free, I don’t lose weight or I only lose a tiny amount.

My total loss since I started is now 6.1 kgs( 13.4lbs)and I am very happy with the 5:2 way of eating. My resting heart rate has gone down, and my blood pressure has gone down. My balance has improved considerably and I’ve started moving into some clothes the next size down and giving away the biggest clothes I had. I am confident, now, that 5:2 is very compatible with my ME/CFS. My Dr is very happy with my progress and I would recommend it to anyone.

Lulabelle, many people with ME/CFS have been type A personalities and lived very full lives. How are you going? I’m confident now that 5:2 would help me get weight off steadily even if I was bedbound. It seems to reset something in the body. I’m pretty sedentary and function at 30 % on the CFS scale. I was 5% for the 1st 2 yrs, and am now nearly 17 yrs in. 5:2 has given me much hope that I can get my weight back to normal.

LizzE, if you’re fainting you’re doing too much. One of the best things to learn about managing your CFS is “pacing”, and learning to stop before you reach your limit. If you reach your limit you’ve done too much, and your body will need recovery time. That’s called “push crash”. Learn to pace your energy useage and learn how not to push crash. Look up the online courses which use the resource book “Managing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia” written by Bruce Campbell, PhD. You will learn how to manage your CFS symptoms and energy-envelope or energy bank account, and optimise your living ability. Push-crash keeps us very ill and stops recovery. Pacing allows us to always stay in our energy envelope, keeping some energy always in our energy bank account and helps us improve little bit at a time. This is not an illness you can fight by pushing yourself. Re weight, 2-3 ilbs is a very small amount and isn’t a problem long term. If you keep putting on weight, maybe try 1 day fast 6 days normal, with 500 cals on 1 day a week and a normal amount of food the other 6 days, before trying 5:2. If you find yourself caught out having overdone it, lie flat on your back, close your eyes, have a small amount of dark chocolate or drink chocolate milk, and don’t do any thing till you’ve recovered. There is something in the combination of chemicals in chocolate that helps us(proven by research, and it’s not the sugar.) I have swallowed my pride and lain down in cafes, libraries, art galleries, Other peopkes’s houses, the dentist waiting room etc, I carried dark chocolate with me the entire time I was learning to pace my energy.

Have to go, more later
Merry

M86, welcome,

My advice would be to do the 5:2 on it’s own, and keep to an 8 hr window on your fast days. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you eat just 1 meal on the fast days or in several, as long as you stay in the 8 hr window. I use 11 am to 7 pm, and frequently eat at 6 or 6.30pm on those days. On the 5 normal days I’m finding that keeping to that same 8 hr window helps, though I deviate a bit on special occasions e.g. Family birthday.

Since you are time poor, working the hrs you do, is it possible to get the food delivery only for the 5 days you’re on non- fast days i.e. The cals for your TDEE. There is somewhere on this site to work out your TDEE ( sorry can’t remember the words right now).

So in a nutshell, here’s my advice:
1. 2 days/ week e.g. Monday and Thursday, eat 500 cals (female), or 600cals( male).
2. Other days eatyour TDEE i.e. The amount of cals worked out for your height,weight, gender, and physical activity level.
3. Eat in an 8 hr window each day.
4. Drink lots of water, at leadt 2 litres
5. Eat fresh, less processed food.
6. Eat lean protein.
7. Have a meal b efore 7pm on fast days, as this helps you sleep.
8. Check their is some salt and magnesium in your diet ( specific to CFS sufferers to minimise cramping).
9. Keep records – weight, measurements, each week so you see your progress. When you weigh isn’t as important as weighing in at the same time each week. E.g. Monday morning on rising, or morning after 1 st fast day of week.
10. It doesn’t matter what foods you eat, but most people find low GI foods work best.
11. The first couple of weeks are the hardest while you’re working out what to eat, when, that works for you and your lifestyle.

Most people find the fast days much easier than they expected. You get used to it very quickly.

Long term, getting the weight off can only help your heart.

Good luck, check in and let us know how you’re going
Merry

Ummmm….. The ‘coke’ mentioned above refers to that famous Cola drink of course, and not the illicit sort. It would be the caffiene in it that would help, I think, but comes with a very huge amount of sugar we don’t need.

Yes I know chocolate has sugar, that’s why the dark choc works best. More effect with less sugar. Again, there is something in the combination of chemicals in chocolate that helps us in emergency situations. In early years once had a crash in a large supermarket. Member of staff asked, should she get an ambulance etc, I said no, please get me some chocolate. She came back with jellybabies because her daughter had medical condition, maybe hypos, that jellybabies fixed, but useless to me. By that time I didn’t have the energy to ask again or debate, and just gave her a family phone number to ring to get someone to help. Meanwhile I stayed where I was resting in the freezer area, thank goodness, because the cold helps me when I’m not very good.

Anyway, it’s Coke, not coke, that some people use in an emergency.

P.S. just on the issue of energy pickups, I carry a ziplock bag of mixed nuts (no allergy problems) and use them if my energy levels drop between meals or if I get sugar cravings, intermittently a problem for me. Seems to work well.

Hi everyone, I’ve had ME/CFS for 22 years and have piled on the pounds because exercise is so difficult. I have just completed my first 2 fast days and found it much easier than I thought it would be. Just wondering if anyone else out there is on LDN(Low Dose Naltrexone)for their ME – I’ve been taking it for just over a year and am finding it really helpful.