I’m a Type 2 diabetic and am trying to lose weight to reduce insulin resistance. I take metformin to reduce gluconeogenesis, however, even after fasting for 36 hours (2 sleeps and one working day) I still have blood sugar readings that indicate normal blood sugar range and that I’m not in any form of ketosis (I’m looking for evidence that I’m in dietry ketosis to know I’m burning fat).
I’ve now been doing 5:2 for 3 weeks and so far have not lost any weight and I’m beginning to wonder if my liver’s determination to keep pumping out sugar is inhibiting fat burning. I eat a low carb diet most of the time I’m not fasting (some days are very low). Am I at risk of gluconeogenesis taking place by burning muscle instead of fat, which could ultimately make resitance worse as I’ll lose metabolically active tissue. Any advice?

Jeanette CLegg – I’m not sure anyone could answer your question. A lot of the effects are only being studied on the general population just now, and even then the studies are fairly small scale. I haven’t found anything pertaining to MS. There is some thinking that in some cases MS is related to circulatory issues of the brain, so improvements to the vascular system may indeed help. However, I believe that the vascular link is not for all MS cases and is currently subject to ongoing research (search for CCSVI).
Whilst not always supportive on unproven approaches any changes to diet should be done in discussion with at least her GP so that some monitoring can be done on any effects. I’m not a medical doctor, but have a number of friends with MS. Sorry I can’t be more help, but I didn’t like the thought of your comment remaining unanswered when you are clearly desperate for alternative avenues.

Jeanette Clegg – see my comment at http://thefastdiet.co.uk/intermittent-fasting-and-exercise/#comment-116

Maybe try lunch and dinner, which gives you a longer gap without food? (from dinner the night before until lunch). Or if you can manage it, save all your cals for dinner. I changed to that after a couple of months and felt it gave me a boost. Plus I get to have a really good sized meal for 400-500 cals!

I started the Fast Diet yesterday and feel amazed that it was so easy. I don’t feel hungry today and still have plenty of energy. Because I have a couple of stone to lose before summer, I have decided to try eating mainly protein on non fast days. I have tried most diets in the last 40 years but am optomistic that this diet could be the answer to my prayers. It would be fantastic to finally stop the yo yo diet habit. At 65 I am keen to keep my weight under control. The added health benefits are reason enough to fast a couple of days a week, I feel excited to have found something that has the ability to slow the ageing process. I am cynical after years of falling off the wagon on yet another new diet! But am ready to give this my all.

Hi Jallen – do you have a lot of weight to lose or just a little? While many lose a relatively large amount of weight in the first 4-6 weeks, as with most diets a loss of around 1lb a week is seen as healthy and sustainable in the long term. If the weight is coming off, even slowly, surely this is something to be pleased about – afterall, what other diet lets you eat normally most of the time, but still lose weight?

As for suggestions, you may find it helps to increase the amount of time between feeds. For example, skip breakfast and save those cals for lunch, thereby giving you around 16 hours of fasting from dinner the previous night until your fasting lunch. Or possibly better yet, save all your cals for a dinner on your fast day (it’s not as hard as it sounds :)).

Also bear in mind that ‘fat free’ foods are a con and actually contribute a great deal to making us fatter. Check out ‘the men who made us fat’ documentaries, real eye openers!

One last point to consider is how many cals are you eating on your feed days? If you’re counting cals or restricting then you may need to increase your intake those days, as your body may be in starvation mode. Let us all know a bit more about your situation and perhaps we can help with more tips 🙂

Hi, I being doing the 2 day fasting since August after the program on BBC & I lost 1.1/2 stone but I prefer not to eat at all, because if I eat, I want to continuo eating & if I don’t eat & don’t feel hunger, but I drink a lots of water trough the day to keep my tommy thinking that is having something & to avoid head aches. The idea that I can eat normal the next day, take the stress of a diet away & I enjoy even more my food on the eating days. It is so easy for me no to eat that day, and that never happen before with any other diet. My bigger motivation is the health part & if I loose weight it is a bonus.

Hi, thank you for your comments.
I have about 1.5 stone to lose.
I will certainly try skipping the breakfast and just try lunch and dinner and see if that give me a boost.

Hi
This really interests me. I’m waiting for the book and I just have one question that I can’t find the answer to. Do I have to fast on the same two days every week or can I move them around as long as they are both in the same 7-day period.

Saw the program, bought the book starting tomorrow going to do Mondays and Thursdays. Don’t really need to loose much weight half a stone would be nice, I am 55 and have noticed it creeping on around my tummy. It is the other benefits i am after, the increased energy and clarity of mind especially. I will start with two days see how it goes. I want to get my husband to do it too, but he’s not too keen at the moment, so I will have to lead by example. Excited to see what happens

Hello, I have read the book from cover to cover and am on my first week of the Fast Diet. tuesday I stuck to the 500 calories but I became very shaky and felt quite sick….1) is this normal?
2) I would prefer to do the plan where you stop at 2pm and start eating again at 2pm the following day, which is mentioned in the book. However do I still consume 500 in calories between that time frame or nothing at all because its a shorter time period? I am usually a high protein diet person but have gone a bit crazy on the carbs on my non-fast days as a result of being able to eat what i like…i am concerned this may no lead too much weightloss!! All help and advice much appreciated!
Thanks,
Kat

Hi, I’m on week 3, day 5, and the scales haven’t moved?! My only weakness is cups of tea/ coffee with milk and one sugar – but I am counting these in my allowance and leaving as long as possible between meals/ drinks as recommended. Could these be responsible for my lack of weight loss? I’m managing to stick to my 500 cals and fasting from teatime to teatime, e.g. if we finish evening meal at six I count 500 cals from then to next eve at 6pm. Always manage first 12-14 hours without anything. Please help I’m on the verge of giving up!!

Hello ! I have just begun the fsat diet….can anyone answer my question? Must I consume the whole 500 calories or is this the uppermost limit?
I have found I can totally fast until dinner time, and then only have about 200 or 300 hundred calories.
Is it less beneficial to have less calories, or more so?
thanks in advance.

I usually eat late on normal days or have a snack before I sleep. This is normally as late as 10pm. Is it still okay to do this the night before fast days?

@liz – I was wondering the same thing. I can lose 1kg and then by Monday I have made up most of the amount. I assume I am just eating too much on the weekend. I fast monday and wednesday – I am trying to incorporate Friday but seem to fail.

Anyone else have this problem and/or solution?

Wish I had an answer for why some people lose weight swiftly and some at a more measured pace, while some (a minority) may not lose – at least in the short term. MM suggests checking what you are drinking on a fast day (keep it no calorie). Everyone’s metabolism is different, and while there is strong clinical evidence (and overwhelming anecdotal evidence) that the IF is a brilliant weight loss tool, it may be that one individual achieves very different results from the next.
I would say keep going, remembering the many health benefits of Intermittent Fasting rather than concentrating solely on weight loss. The science is still young, and human trials on all these unknowns should hopefully give us more evidence-based answers soon.

After trying many many diets over the years I came across your book a few weeks ago and decided to give IF a go. I hadn’t weighed myself for a few months (as I’ve not been ‘good’) and was pleasantly surprised when I weighed myself just before embarking on IF – I weighed half a stone lighter than was expecting which was a good kick start. This is now week 2 for me (I fast Mondays and Thursdays) and last week I had lost a lb.

The odd thing is I haven’t changed my eating habits on my non-fast days and although I’m only a lb lighter my tummy feels a lot flatter and not so bloated.

Although I cannot pretend that I love the fasting days I definitely do feel so much better by the following day – much more energetic. It’s a massive bonus that it fits around my family too.

Overall I have two and a half stones to lose. I hope to reach that by the end of the year.

I want IF to be a way of life for me now and hope that the years of trying to find the right diet for me have finally come to an end! Thank you!!

Hi All I have read the book and the science behind it all had me gripped. I have started it today but i have 2 questions
1. Been on a very tight budget for food anyway im i ok fasting for 2 consecutive days having only drinks?
2. I was always told that if you dont eat often or fast when you do eat your body stores it all as fat is this true? i know the book says different but cant get it out of my mind.
having read the book i question if my years of eating very irregularly and going good lengths of time without food have actually helped me maintain a good weight having stayed the same weight for 18 years.
its only now through age and lack of work and exercise i am noticing an increase in weight. I look forward to seeing if it works.

Hi, I also want to share a counter-view to those who are losing weight. I’ve been on 5:2 Fast (starting at 9pm night and first meal is a late lunch at 2pm the next day) for a month. I initially lost 2lbs but have since put it back on again so I’m back at my start weight. V demoralising:( However I have lost about an inch from my bust and half an inch from my waist so my other half says this counts more than weight loss. I’ve also at the same time started a new commute to work, biking 30 mins there and 30 mins back, so I’m hoping the lack of weight loss is muscle gain!! Definitely not drinking calories (having been a pass WeightWatcher, I know what it’s like be obsessive on calories). I’m hoping that the next month will see some weight loss though! I don’t overeat on Feast days but I don’t watch what I eat and the thought of going back to have to calorie count is what got me on this diet in the first place… Any advice?

I’m confused. On the front of the book it says “eat what you want most of the time”. Been reading the comments here and most people are “dieting”, sticking to low carbs and keeping their calories down on “feast” days.The last thing i want to do is another diet!!

Hi
I’ve just finished my first week having lost 6 lbs. I’ve tried the 2pm: 2pm fast which was hard but I stuck to it and then went to 12 hrs fast, having breakfast and lunch. Found that I had to drink lots and lots as I’m prone to constipation but otherwise feel fantastic. I am not overindulging on my non fast days but eating normally what I fancy, even a bit of chocolate and cake, stopping when I’m full. I totally love this diet as fit the first time in my life I feel that I can stick to something. I got 45 lbs to loose altogether and feel very positive. Thanks for the discovery !!

It’s entirely up to you whether you write this off as a fast day or not. If you can estimate how many cals was in your unplanned lunch you can probably still stay under your 500 cals with a small dinner. Seems a shame to write it off if you don’t have to, when you went so long without food!

The great thing with 5:2 is the flexibility though, so you have to do what feels right for you 🙂

Been on the diet for about 8 weeks, and lost about 8pounds, slow but sure. Going away for 8 weeks on Friday to visit family in Australia. Not sure it will be possible to keep the diet going, will I put the lost weight back on??

Hi, I’ve been following the 5:2 plan for just a few days (started on Monday) and have done 2 fast days. A sneaky peek at the scales this morning showed a loss of 2.6kgs! As this was following a fast day, I am not expecting it to be quite as much on Saturday when I usually weigh, but even so… I’m not finding it hard, and am feeling fantastic. This seems to be the way to go!

just to say give this a go for 30 days now, over 2 years ago lost over 75lbs and changed my life totally but over 2012 stated to creep on the weight again.
saw the article and thought this is worth a try.
the main reason my farther has dementia and diabetes and has been over weight for many years and i need not follow the same path.
in just over 5 weeks i have gone from 218lbs to 201lbs i do exercise frequently and whilst fasting and weight loss may be the easiest way to measure what affect this is having, but inside and in my head I feel great, training is good and sleep is good, you start to realise what you put in your mouth has such a big effect on your wellbeing.
I can’t say I have been good on non-diet days as I have wanted to see what I can eat and still loose or maintain the current weight loss (not saying I wish to keep it up) but after a weekend over indulgency fish and chips full Sunday roast puddings and a special fried rice and crispy beef I lost 3lbs
I did train hard and burnt over 900-1500 cals per session has anyone else seen the limits I mainly did this to see if holyday’s and family functions would have a dramatic effect on the eating plan or on me and my weight

ian