I have been doing the 5:2 diet for over 4 years. I started not because I needed to lose weight but because I liked the idea of boosting my immune system and lowering insulin resistance as well as the benefits claimed by fasting-induced autophagy. I am a 68 year old woman, BMI 19/20, no excess belly fat, physically active and a healthy eater. The last thing I expected was that a blood test done to check out occasional palpitations would present me with this. I only know the results of the test, done last week because I saw them in my record on the GP’s website, and will be going in to discuss them with her in a week’s time after a holiday. I’d now like to tackle the problem by trying the blood sugar diet but really don’t want to lose much weight. I’d be grateful for any views about whether this diet will help to push me back into the normal blood sugar range and, if so, how long I might expect it to take (is 8 weeks realistic?). I also feel I should monitor my blood sugar myself and would welcome suggestions about that. Thank you for reading.

I don’t know anything about the 5:2. Does it allow refined carbs? As far as food allowed goes how does it differ from the BSD.

Hi Cazcazt – I did look up the 5.2 diet on the BBC website and it said: “Eat what you want five days a week, eat next to nothing for two. The part-time diet that still allows you to eat chocolate cake yet lose weight has hit the headlines and taken off in a big way”. So it looks as though the 5.2 still allows sugary and starchy carbs which probably means that if you are pre-disposed to ending up with diabetes it wouldn’t be the ideal diet to follow. I must confess though that I really don’t know the 5.2 diet and there may be other versions that cut out the starchy carbs that would be better for you.

Did you cut out the starchy and sugary carbs on the 5.2 on the non-fasting days?

Hi cazcazt,
I don’t know anything about the 5:2 diet, having not gone there myself. – I am one of those people who needed to completely drop carbs from my life rather than only cut out calories a couple of days a week. – I know it sounds like its a hard choice to make food wise, but like many others on the forum, I have found that I have so much more energy and eat many fewer calories than I did when my diet was carb based.

Thanks for troubling to reply, KrysiaD. Yes, very little starch/sugar on fasting days in order to keep within 500cals. More protein and veg which is easy to do on just 2 days a week. And I don’t go mad on the other days either as I’m already a careful sugar/carbs eater anyway, probably eating a lot less than most people. This is what makes the test result so odd as I really don’t seem to fit the usual profile for prediabetes and, being a longstanding 5:2 participant, I felt somewhat invincible to it, obviously wrongly. However, I’ll see what the doc has to say. I’m on hol in Germany next week so will have to be even more sparing of the ice cream and cake/tea rooms!

Thanks, JGwen – does that mean you also have prediabetes or have you just decided to drop carbs? I actually feel pretty fit on the 5:2 and I don’t overeat on other days, keeping carbs on the low side, and choosing the healthy ones over the ones that are less so. My weight is not an issue nor is belly fat. It looks as if I’ll have to rethink it all though.

Cazcazt – would be really helpful if you could let us know exactly how many carbs you are usually eating on the non-fasting days.

Hi cazcazt, I wouldn’t worry about what you have seen on your records as there can be contributing factors. You sound very much like my husband in your approach to diet and health but excuse me if I am wrong but I will give you his example. Last year he had his annual check up which includes bloods of all types, i.e. white cells, sedimentation rates, clotting factors, lipids, sugars and so on, the whole deal. Everything was just great as he had been sort of cutting out carbs and eating what I have, something with a few chips or some pasta but very rarely. This year he had to same tests and he was called in for a chat as it looked like a pre-diabetes diagnosis. The doctor said his fasting sugars were a little high but this was combined with his cholesterol and triglyceride also being up (but not high). Turns out he had thought he could have a few more treats than he had been previously as everything was okay, slowly, slowly it became a bit more often. Anyway, back to cutting down carbs and sugars retested 3 months later and all his numbers are back in the normal range.

My advice to you would be to first, not worry until you know the full story and enjoy your time in Germany – just not too many of their fabulous cakes. In between your trip away, like now and when you get back, try to stick with a no starchy carbs routine, so no bread, rice, pasta, cereal (except occasions real oats) obviously no sugar, processed foods or cakes and pastries. When you get the full diagnosis you will know what you are dealing with. In the meantime, stick to the no carbs even on the 5:2 and stick with this forum for all the help and advice you need.

Unfortunately I don’t know in terms of grams as I have never counted them! I think in the scheme of things, it would not seem a large amount but I’ll cut out the majority until I know more about the diagnosis.

Hi, cazcazt! It’s possible that you may be a TOFI (thin outside, fat inside) like MMosley? If you’ve never counted carbs,
you might be very surprised by the many places they lurk. It was a revelation to me that an innocent apple contains
18, a banana 24, and an onion 11! All tropical fruits are off the charts. It may be worthwhile to measure them for 1
24 hr period to really establish a baseline. Let us know how you get on, and a warm welcome to the community!

Allie

Thank you to sunshine-girl and aliiecat for your helpful comments! I’ve seen online that someone of my weight and activity level who is prediabetic should be consuming no more than about 200g carb a day (perhaps that number is questionable?) My husband and I have just sat down and done a quick calculation for what I would have in a normal day and it looks as if I am generally very little higher than this because of the small quantities I eat. I’ll use the carb calculator on holiday and keep a check as I go. Re TOFI, I’d be really surprised if that was the case as I have a flat stomach, no flab, having exercised for years in ballet, sport and, more lately yoga and pilates + resistance work, rowing and cycling in the gym. I know this makes me sound really smug but it just makes it all the more surprising.

hi cazcazt, I know how you feel about your fitness levels. Before my diagnosis of full blown diabetes I was a slim 9 stone and I had a gym right by my work place and could be found there for an hour every day (I get obsessed). I am so glad you posted that you believe you should be eating 200 g of carbs a day and that you are eating a little over that. That gives us something to work on. You are using the old NHS calculations which this diet throws right out of the window. You should be eating around 50 to 60g per day and definitely no more than 100g. The diabetics (and pre) here and I am one, have been traditionally told that we have to keep out blood glucose up so we remain steady and dont have hypos (very low blood sugar). I think they really believe that so it is no criticism of them but it is so false. If someone has diabetes they already suffer from high blood glucose so why would you tell them to take in more glucose. I think the problem is that diabetes is associated with sugar and they seem to ignore the fact that when carbs like bread are eaten they turn to sugar (glucose) in the blood very quickly but then you get a very quick drop, causing cravings for more or hunger, so you eat more. It is like telling an alcoholic to get their blood alcohol down they should drink a bottle of vodka a day. Why would having more of what is harming you be good for you. Hope that is not too complicated.

Find a good carb calculator and log what you eat and also the calories. Although you are not overweight you might be carrying fat around your organs and going lower calorie can help shift this. As allie says, you will be surprised at where carbs lurk, so we are not a no carb diet, just low carb. Keep the questions coming, nothing is too much trouble and there is always someone lurking on the site.

Thanks for that – I can see I need to do more research but only got the test result on Wednesday! It makes sense for the number of carbs to be a lot less than 200 so will cut them down to as near zero as possible.

Just another note, cazcazt! This way of eating is considered low carb, moderate protein, high (healthy) fat, by definition.
The generally accepted definition of low carb is <50g. Some of us who haven proven to be insulin resistant have made
the decision to go down to keto diet levels of <20, but that’s an individual decision, and we arrive at it by trial and error.
We all need green vegetables, so 0 carbs isn’t realistic. Wishing you the best, and let us know how you get on! There
is always one of us out and about, so if you have any further questions, just ask! 🙂

Allie

P.S.: Not particularly smug, just a lack of understanding on the role that refined carbs/sugar play. Carbs drive insulin
which drives fat storage, and doesn’t have anything to do with your outward appearance. Like MMosley, you may
have visceral fat around your vital organs, in which case your liver/pancreas aren’t functioning properly. With
a pre-diabetes diagnosis, it might be possible that you are a TOFI. Then again, it may be an anomaly…. In any case,
the BSD 5:2 is still a low carb diet, and 200g per day isn’t. I hope this helps 🙂

cazcazt, it would be impossible to cut to zero as there are carbs in most foods from courgette, broccoli, apples, grapes, most plant based foods have carbs. Just cut out the white starchy and processed stuff. Good luck. And, I know its not easy but try to stop worrying, even if it is what you think there are easy solutions. Let us know when you have an appointment with the doctor.

Thanks for your replies. My mention of ‘zero’ was not intended to be taken literally! Just to refer to starchy carbs. And on the 5:2 non-fasting days, eating approx 200 g carbs did not seem particularly high for someone who doesn’t know they have a problem. Of course I didn’t eat them on fasting days. I think the BSD 5:2 will be differently defined from the regular 5:2 which basically says eat what you like on non-fasting days and cut down on high calorie foods like carbs on the fasting days, so I kept to approx 1600 cals on the non-fasting days, still eating lots of protein, veg and fruit but not a heavy dose of carbs. Anyway, I’ve started my regime – only 23g eaten so far today and can probably manage with only a few more (mainly from veg) for the rest of the day so I’ll see how it goes. I see the doctor a week on Monday.

Thank you cazcaz, for your reply. I had come to the same conclusion, that there were different versions of 5:2, and the
one that members of this community are familiar with is “BSD style”. It WILL be interesting to hear what your
Dr. has to say in 10 days. I hope everything goes well for you! Sunshine-girl is right, try not to worry.

Best,

Allie

Sorry for not replying to your question sooner, I have been making the most of the dry weather to get work done outside. – I haven’t had my blood sugar levels or insulin levels tested by my GP.
I broke my ankle badly a few years ago and had 6 months of not being allowed to put weight on it so that the bone fragments could knit together and I could avoid having plates added to rebuild joint. It left me in constant pain when walking or standing and I ended up putting on a lot of weight. – After the reason for the pain levels was sorted out, I set out to get rid of the weight. I started this WoE back in October 2017. I am down over 6 stone so far. I have passed my initial target for weight loss, but still have another dress size to go to get to my initial target of getting back to the size/weight I used to be.

Hi Cazcazt,
Good luck with your BSD, I hope you achieve better health following this life-changing way of eating.
Just be careful with your “lots of fruit” though; most fruits are best avoided, the exception being small amounts of berries. In my house we now eat a quarter of an apple or half a plum or pear, just a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds or a few small cubes of mango or melon (and just as part of a meal) – a whole fruit is just too hefty a chunk of our allowance!
xx
xx

Update, 9 months on, in case anyone is interested!
Well, I have adhered to a low carb diet all this time i.e. 30g or under. No white or refined carbs and the only fruit I have eaten all year is blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. I lost 10lb, taking me to a BMI of 18.5 within a couple of months. I really would not want to lose another pound in weight. I take plenty of exercise, cardio, weights and Pilates. I have had three HbA1c tests, the first one 43mmol/mol which set me on this track, another one 3 months later, also 43 and one in December, 44 so up slightly. I monitor my blood sugar levels several times a day and they are invariably in the mid to upper 5s or 6s, sometimes 7s so not ideal. I’ve had about four in the 4s but they were the exception.
After the last HbA1c, seeing that the regime was doing absolutely nothing for my BS levels, I decided to move onto a plant-based diet with minimal animal products (but not entirely vegan) with more beans, pulses and wholegrains, as recommended on various sites, but absolutely no refined carbs. The GP was nonplussed by the lack of improvement to date and requested advice from the local endocrinologist who asked for an GAD antibody test – negative. The next HbA1c is due in April and I am awaiting a further appointment with the GP to discuss the ramifications of a pancreas scan, subsequently offered by the endo.
It seems I am what is described as an atypical prediabetic so it’s still a question of watch this space. I’m not delighted to have been on this restrictive diet for so long with no indication of improvement to BS levels but at least it’s a healthy lifestyle and I am otherwise fit with plenty of energy.
My account might be of interest to others who have had a similar experience.

Hi Cazcart and thank you for the update.

Firstly, I couldnt be more impressed with your committment to your health and well-being and its a shame that the BSD was unable to help you get your BG’s down. I hope that there is nothing sinister behind the non-change and that you are in the nicest possible way, an anomoly.
I recently removed meat from my diet and it led to the mother of all carb binges for a few months ! I am glad you won’t be making that mistake.
If you are able to update, it would be great to understand whether a cause is identified in the future.

Good luck !

Thank you for your encouragement! I’ll certainly come back with further updates.