Hi all! I started with 5 2 about 4 weeks ago. I combined it with a low carb approach on non fast days, and when I did my averages, turned out to be averaging 800 calories a day. Do you think this will have a similiar effect as doing the the straight 800 a day approach? So I do the 500 cal days, 3 times as week, and stay under 1200 on the other days, keeping carbs below 50 gms. These feels like feasting, after the fast days!
Although not pre diabetic, I have struggled massively with my weight over the years, despite eating whole foods etc. I started at 280 pounds, and I’ve already dropped 31 pounds. Reading other people’s posts makes me feel it might actually be possible to finally ‘reboot’ my system, lose the weight and take my health back into my own hands.
I just turned 50, and my motivation is high, as I am looking at brain surgery for Trigeminal Neuralgia. I want to see if eating this way, apart from getting me in better shape for a major operation, may actually help me find a way to possibly not need it.

This sounds quite similar to how I approached it, although my average was higher as I never got on with the 500 calories limit. I probably would be fine with it now, as I never get ravenous even on full fast days. I was doing 4:3 (three fast days at 800 calories, with the other days at 1600) which made it a bit slower, but then it was practically effortless when I moved to 2:5, just 1600 on weekends, and then the full 8 weeks at 800 calories. I like the intermittent fasting framework a lot, it seems to make so much sense when historically we would have been much more ‘feast and famine’ oriented. I dropped 115 pounds before I hit my target and have stayed slim for over a year now, so I am a real believer in this WOE.

To Seelie: welcome! As many of us have said before, this concept of intermittant fasting offers almost unlimited variations so that you can customize it for what works for you. I started out in 5:2 and had trouble on the 500 cal days and found I could not get to a place where I get get over the hunger “habit” if you will.

I think now that I have done BSD 800 for 4 weeks and a couple days of full fasts here and there, that 5:2 might work.

I really like the way you and Mixnmatch have customized your diets for what you needed, and found you could DO at that time. You both are making it work for you. And all of us know that if we get a bit out of control, we can cut back for a few days to catch back up and restart the engines. Allowing for a day or two of bigger eating days paired with some lower cal days gives you flexibility…esp with the holidays coming up. As long as we don’t forget to add in the lower cal days to balance it all out.

Having said that, I do think it is important to not start eating foods that we know are problematic. Having a bit more of BSD friendly foods on feast days is much different that diving into bad carbs.

Seelie, best of luck to you on continuing your journey. I am in about the same place so I will watch for your posts and enjoy your successes.

Ok, cooking ladies, I don’t think I’ve missed the new thread have I?

I have a whizzy new machine called a Thermomix which chops, stirs and cooks. I have just made my first custard using eggs, cream and sugar. I have had a spoonful, oh my god it’s delicious, but a little sweet. I think it’s about 9g carbs a serving. So, can I get some advice on whether I can make custard without sugar? And if not, how low can I go? This had 50g sugar per 400ml cream and 6 medium eggs. It did taste v sweet to my tastebuds, I think it’s the creamy texture I like.

Consoling self with second creamy coffee until I find out what you think. Also be interesting to see what scales say tomorrow, as we ate out for lunch an all vaguely on offer was homemade tomato soup. So I’ve definitely had more sugar than normal today.

Also made some awesome chia and Parmesan biscuits, with rosemary and lots of salt and pepper. First crunchy thing apart from veg for 4 months! The Thermomix blends it, then roll it out and put in oven.

Try and get some powdered glucose instead, I have read that some chefs use it to make desserts taste a little more complex and less sickly sweet, and of course the body is set up to use it directly rather than convert it in the liver as has to be done with fructose (and normal sugar is half fructose). I don’t make sweet desserts very often but have bought some to put in this year’s Christmas cake, which I will be making as body friendly as I can.

Cheers MnM, meant to post this on the maintainers thread – oops! Will investigate powdered glucose! Sorry for hijacking this thread x

JackieM, you can use almost any sugar substitute….each will tell you what the amount you need to use to be sugar “equivalent”. At present I am using Xyletol which has half the carbs of sugar but cooks like sugar 1 to 1 and browns like sugar BUT NOT IF YOU HAVE DOGS IN THE HOUSE. It is poisonous to dogs. There are a lot of alternatives that are combined with stevia, like monk fruit and stevia, and erythretol and stevia. All work but all should be used in moderation as some think they may negatively impact gut bacteria, but this is mostly a concern for those drinking excessive numbers of Diet Coke a day, etc….not the occassional lightly sweetened dessert. And most BSDs keep saying they find their “sweet point” has dropped considerably since on this diet. I am finding I am quite happy with half the sweetening called for in most recipes. If its not sweet enough you can always drizzle one of the sugar free syups or thinned sugar free jams over the top. That way you get the biggest bang for the least amount of sweetner because it is the first thing that hits your taste buds.

Hope this is of some help…and I agree with you. I LOVE baked or steamed custards. One of my absolute favorite desserts. I like it still warm just out of the oven. So satisfying and overall BSD friendly if you can find a sweetener you like.

I really don’t like artificial sweeteners, I tolerate stevia as it is natural and has very little aftertaste for me, but prefer to use just a little vanilla, honey, date nectar or glucose rather than the more artificial types. Since my tastes have changed so much the amounts I tend to use are pretty negligible anyway 😊 having said that I did spot xylitol for sale in my local supermarket the other day so may give it a try.

JackieM, I haven’t made proper custard without sugar before, but I have made it using Bird’s custard powder and substituting stevia for the sugar. It worked just fine. As Luvtcook says, I find I put less than what is meant to substitute for the amount of sugar as I don’t like things as sweet anymore.

Thanks for your replies, I was a little anxious I was somehow ‘doing it wrong’. The more I read, the more comfortable I feel about what I’m doing. It really is about finding some thing that is workable. I like having the weekend to be more flexible about where and what I eat. My tastes have changed, I don’t often want something that doesn’t really work for me anyway. Yay all of us, making healthful, empowered choices around food!!