Hi Selkie and welcome to 5:2 and the 5:2 forum,

Be comforted that with 5:2 you do not have to change your food to suit anything. You will still use the foods you can eat now. There is absolutely no need to try to eat anything you you can’t eat. This is about sticking to under or no more than 500 cals on your 2 Fast Days(FD) and under your TDEE ( Total Daily Energy Expenditure). You can calculate that on this website.

An introduction : I am mid 60’s, female in Australia. I have ME/CFS of 18yrs, and a little fibromyalgia.l have had long standing multiple food allergies and intolerances, and have been fully tested and had gastric biopsy. I am intolerant to amines, some added chemicals in food, gluten and all grains except corn, all pre the very nasty, rarer virus that triggered my ME/CFS. I also have chemical intolerances, as well as bad/rare reactions to several medications.. II am mobile, but cannot exercise. Iknow where you’re coming from. You are not alone on here.

Peopke with ME/CFS and not mobile can do 5:2, as those with the food problems.

I have been on 5:2 for over 18months now. I lost 16kgs in 11 months. Then over a period of months of high and sometimes acute stress I maintained my weight fluctuating within a 2.5kg window. Now, I am have just begin losing again to get to my goal weight. I have a further 6kgs to lose. Previously to 5:2 I was able to lose 10kgs of my CFS weight over 6 yrs by being careful with my diet, but still eating normally. I was skeptical if 5:2 would work for me, so I read the 5:2 book and satisfied that the science is there and growing, to say that this is a healthy way to normalise weight. It is hard enough to cope with ME/CFS without having to cope with the weight gain it brings most people, and further health an mobility problems from the weight gain.

I wish you well Selkie, take your time getting to know 5:2 and how it works for you. I am not the only successful ME/CFS or Fibromyalgia 5:2 er. You can do this. Stay in touch and stay on the forum.

Soft hugs (( ))
Merry

Hi Selkie,

I also have various other food problems as part of my intolerances, painful bloating, and depression, mood swings, foggy brain, all tested and proven over -14 months of complete elination dieting years ago. The dietician said I was the only person they’d ever seen who reacted to rice. My intolerance threshold back then was very low so the smallest bit of something would cause a reaction, including and sulphites, nitrites I would fall asleep within an hour and be out for hours. Now I am not raising several hyper children and other life stresses my intolerance threshold is higher and I can tolerate a little of somethings. I can also eat the Konyaku/konjac/no cal noodles. I don’t have anaphylaxis, but have a friend with it. The food problems are multi-generational in my family, and we can trace it through 5 generations, though each person who has it has their own pattern of challenges, and not all the same.

As I said, you don’t have to change the range of foods you actually eat. Each person uses the foods according to their own needs and circumstances. It works with any type of variation in diet accross countries, cultures religious stipulations etc. I suggest you work out the calories in your food dishes and ingredients. It’s somewhat tedious but worth it as you go along.

2 non-consecutive days of under 500 cals. I wait till 6pm then eat all my calories in 1 meal.
5 other days stay uhder your TDEE e.g my TDEE is 1500 currently

I drink plenty of water, very weak Earl Grey tea (I’m sensitive to caffiene) and peppermint tea.

Just take 1 day at a time, keep records of your weight. If you fall of the horse just get started again the next day.

Bye for now,
Merry