Hello @delayedgratification. Yes, my sleep has been affected by 5:2, particularly when I started out, but its much better now.

You will find you get used to the feeling of hunger as you get to realise it goes away after a while and does not really bother you that much. Before 5:2 i rarely felt any hunger – a change was definately needed!

Sleep is such a personal thing. I find that some unprocessed carbs with the evening meal does help. So eg butternut or sweet potato or brown rice, etc. I understand this is tricky if you eat low carb but these are probably the best sort of carbs to eat if you are doing to have some. And something a little salty on fast days – eg marmite tea or similar. I eat salads and veges on fast days and get no salt at all if I don’t add any.

I guess you’ve tried all the normal things like eating light & early, restricting caffeine, having a routine, keeping your bedroom cool and making sure there is no light in your bedroom at all (light disrupts melatonin).

Some people try magnesium oil to help with sleep. If you are outside the european union you may be able to get melatonin over the counter and i think that helps some people – but I’m not a doctor so take proper advice!

Hi to all. Just finished my second week of 5:2.

Was inspired after watching the “Insight” program here in Australia, which recalled the doco Michael Mosley did when he experimented with fasting (couple of years ago). Have bought the revised edition of “The Fast Diet” to reinforce all the points and strategies.

I had just done Day 1 when I read an article in which Dr Mosley stated that one could in fact do 800 calories and achieve the same results. So, since 500 was really pushing it for me, I switched to the higher number and found it heaps more workable.

Since I am not overweight per se (47 kg approx, 162 cm), this is for me a maintenance plus discipline regime, used in tandem with low carb and regular exercise.

I find it hard to not eat something with my morning coffee: a piece of fruit, two hard boiled eggs, or linseed “porridge” (20 grams with boiling water poured over and a pinch of salt).

During the day. miso is a great go-to when hunger pangs strike and I snip up half a nori sheet to give it a boost.

This diet is a fantastic way to regulate intake and teach the body it’s fine not to be eating three meals a day. I do Tuesday and Friday, as Thursday is my wine evening and I’ll often eat more than usual at that time. Friday pulls the reins back in and it’s business as usual until the following Thursday.

So the summary is two days of low calories, five of normal low-carb/keto/Paleo – one of which allows alcohol. If your diet regimen is something you find easy to stick to, with lots of variety, plus the possibility to be flexible, chances are you can do 5:2 indefinitely.

So, all the best to those going down this track!