I am type-2 diabetic, and am starting a 5+2 BSD diet. My issue is that I travel a lot for work, 1 to 2 weeks each month. While not traveling, I assume all will be ok. While travelling I don’t know what I should do. I don’t see an easy way to follow a 600 calories diet as I am eating dinner at restaurants. However, it is not only how to obtain low calorie food. When away I go for dinner with colleagues. This has not only the purpose of eating, but is important networking. I am a researcher in academia and we always talk about work.

Question: how effective will 5+2 be, if I only do it when eating at home, on average 2.5 weeks each month?
Can I scale, i.e. will it take 60% longer until I reach my goals? Or will it be worse?
Any tips how to do a 5+2 diet while travelling would be appreciated.

Hi Lupf, I will answer this more fully but I just popped in to turn off the computer and saw your post. First of all, the up to date version of the 5:2 allows 800 calories rather than 600 which Dr Mosley believed to be too low. Starting on that basis and possibly breathing a sigh of relief, you will get lots of help and hints here. Secondly, but not such good news, you say you are T2 and should be trying to combat that quite seriously and possibly doing the BDS 800 cal 8 week diet. I will check out your profile, but for now, goodnight. Just so you know there is someone here.

Can you give more info i.e. how long diagnosed, last HbA1c results, any medication, life style etc. This will help us help you and give you more accurate information. Then we can also address the travel / food issue.

I was diagnosed 4 years ago.
Medication: on metformin 2x1g twice a day.
HbA1c is stable, between 62 and 65, since adjusting medication.
Doctor now asked me to take more med (Gliclazide) or lose weight and exercise.
Lifestyle is (too) sedentary, I walk to and from work (20 min each way). I like to hike, occasionally bike and ski.
I eat healthily, lots of veg and fruit and fish, we cook fresh meals at home, no ready meals, no fizzy drinks, but love pasta and potatoes, so about 10 kg overweight, which I would like to get rid of.
After reading both “8 week blood sugar diet” and “the fast diet” by Michael Moseley, I decided to do the 5+2 diet. Michael Moseley did this himself. A reason for this decision is that it helps to have a partner (my wife) who is also dieting and I am confident that I can do this when eating at home.
I also started exercising again, trying to figure out what works best. The high intensity training looks tempting, maybe I should invest in a treadmill.

Hi there, thank you for the information. First of all your doctor said take meds or lose weight. Answer, lose weight. We believe that meds lead to more meds and more complications. If your wife is dieting why do you want to do the 5:2 which is minimal dieting (ie healthy eating) 5 days of the week and then doing the 800 cals. You can both do the BSD just by cutting out carbs which, by the way, is the first step to improving your BG numbers. Eat everything you do now but without the rice, pasta, potatoes – also no breakfast cereals (they are total sugar and salt) or processed foods. You sound as though you are nearly there so there is just one more step, stop the carbs. If you dont feel you can do that, is the 5:2 so you can eat carbs and then have 2 days without? Complicated isn’t it. Make it simple.

Your main question was about what to eat while travelling for work. Cant help much as I am retired but my daughter is on the Fast800 and is currently at a conference in Turkey – will have to see how she gets on. But, many people on this plan have strategies depending on whether it is the travelling bit, the hotel meals or socialising while networking. Type Travelling For Work into the Search Engine at the top right of the page and read through the many posts, then come back with any queries. You will also find answers about the 5:2 – yes it will take longer and not be so effective, my view is it is for dieters, not for diabetics, but it is a start. There are lots of people on here who have been there, done that and got the t-shirt, so dont worry about having to cope on your own. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I have found some information on the search engine, but nothing really unexpected.
I’ve had one week of 5+2 diet , then I was four days away last week and now I am on 5+2 again this week.
I have also started exercise, at least 1 hour per week.

Learning by doing while traveling – During the conference, I ate less than usual on monday, but not really dieting, and this was offset by a drinks reception. Conferences are difficult for dieting. I then decided to try travel day (thursday) as a fast day. This more or less worked! For breakfast, I asked the B&B to have only an egg (and a slice of toast) for breakfast. She gave me two eggs!. Skipping lunch was okay. What I found out that also works: you can get a meal, e.g. salad with chicken or shrimps from places like M&S or Waitrose, with less 400 calories. This and a bottle of water for dinner worked well during a four hour train journey. And I got lots of work done.

As expected I was losing weight during fast week and I hope I will lose some more this week. I am also doing a fasting blood sugar test once a week in the morning (before fasting day), but with only two data points, it is too early to say anything, as the variation could just be a blib. I will be away for two-and-half weeks starting friday. Easter with family, then another conference followed by a week of holiday, so I am wondering how this will work. My plan is to continue 5+2 for three months then have another HbA1c test.

So far so good, I’ve lost approx 5kg since my last visit to the doctor in February. Amazingly, I’ve managed to keep my weight while away over Easter with family, then a week of conference followed by a week of holiday with no fast days. I guess it helps being active, with biking and hiking and having the holiday home on a hill above town. And I will only have short trips this month, so I plan to lose more weight with fast days.

My next question is about blood sugar level tests, I am doing them in the morning before eating. When converting the results from mmol/litre into HbA1c units (mml/mol) – see https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html –
the results look (too) good. I suspect that at least part of this is due to the fact that HbA1c averages (integrates) over all periods including food intake, whereas in the morning I essentially check my body engine running idle. In my view however, testing at random time doesn’t make sense. Should I keep doing what I am and find out at the next HbA1c test what the difference is? Or is there a way of doing blood sugar level tests after eating systematically? Any advice would be appreciated.

Lupf you are right about your morning tests showing you running idle. I test in the morning and run at around 4.0 4.5. When I have my 3 monthly Hb1C I am usually around 6.0 which is where it has averaged out, not only over the 3 months but over the day too. So if I tested at 2 hour post lunch I would be around 7.5 and that is what you have to consider. Keep testing at a regular time as it is a good indication of where you are. Also, some blood monitors are not 100% accurate and should allow a 10% tolerance.

Hi Lupf, well done on your weight loss so far. I just saw this thread and wanted to give you my perspective. I am not Type 2 diabetic, but I do have a severe allergy to soy. I have to be really careful eating out as it seems to be in so many things these days. I also travel for work and am at conferences a fair bit. I used to just do my best with what was on offer on the menu. Then I happened to go out for lunch one day with a friend who is coeliac, and boy was that eye opening. She was not afraid to ask about substitutions and when she was done ordering she said, ‘oh, and can you tell the cook to give the pan an extra wipe prior to cooking?’. I realized that I needed to be much more assertive in restaurants. After all, my allergy can kill me. I would look at Type 2 diabetes in much the same way. It is almost like an allergy to carbs. It may not kill people as quickly as anaphylaxis, but it still kills people. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need!

I am getting better at fasting while away from home for business. In particular on days where you are traveling. I never liked food in airports or train stations anyway – overpriced triangular sandwiches, crisps, … – now I just ignore it and drink only water. I’ve started carrying a water bottle. If I can’t fully diet on fast days I still restrict calories. Breakfast is easy as I am in control, and often it is possible to skip lunch. A normal dinner is then allowed when it involves networking and/or I am invited. I’d to hear from others how they cope while away from home? And thanks to arctic fox for the comments. I agree that it is important to ask for what we want or need.

Also thanks to sunshine girl for confirming my understanding of the blood sugar tests. I will keep doing these about once a week in the morning. The results still fluctuate but there seems to be a downward trend with the last couple at 6.5 or lower. I’ve decided not to worry about what this means for my Hb1Ac, but wait until my next blood test in July to see how much the HB1Ac will have improved.

By now I have been weighing myself once a week in the morning for over two months and logging the results in a spreadsheet. Plotting the data shows that I am losing almost a pound per week. Then something happened what probably every scientist, and possibly others, can relate to. If you do an experiment and measurements you want to optimise the results. Or in plain language, when you do something you want to win. So I suspect I am subconsciously eating less on non-fasting days. This is similar to people writing all expenses down, they’ll end up spending less money. You can also play with the numbers. I can tell you that if my weight loss continues in a linear way, I will have zero weight in about four years. This is of course silly, unless you are a scientist like me who can use this information to calculate my weight. More seriously I am wondering when the curve will turn over, i.e. when the weight loss will reduce or go to zero. I have lost about 7 kg, and would like to shed another 3 kg, but I am wondering how do I realise when I should stop losing weight. Will my body tell me and how? I’d be interested to know from others who lost weight. Did you simply stop?

Finally, the weight loss starts to show, mainly around my waist, and I will need to buy new trousers.

Hi Lupf,
I can completely understand your interest in logging and working out statistics. – It was something I did including constantly running calculations converting from lbs, stones, kg – Looking at different targets.
I started on this journey back in October 2017. – I have met my initial weight targets, however, that target was to get back to my traditional body shape from being very obese. I still have a spare tyre, and one of my ambitions is to get to a point where I like my body shape more.
I was drawn to this the BSD because of the adverts about the option of rapid weight loss, and I was focused on the scales at the start. I have been fortunate in having a lot of weight to loose so I have had the time to realise this is about Way of Life, not the reading on the bathroom scale.

Now I realise that weight is not a good measurement tool. – On a simple level the mirror and tape measure is a better way of monitoring progress. – Body composition is much more important. Increases in bone density and muscle gains all increase the reading on your scales.

The most important target for me is being fit and healthy enough to do what I want to do. I am vain enough that what I want to do includes having a body I would be happy to show off on sunny days. Part of me would like to have that sandy beach, palm tree, wearing bikini experience. (Most of me realises that I would very quickly get bored with a sitting around on a beach holiday.)

Also success for me is about a healthy relationship with food. Eating when I am physically hungry, not emotionally hungry.

I find more and more that I don’t like how I feel after eating a carb high meal. – Last Wednesday I was at a training day with a sandwich lunch provided. – I knew it was at a venue with no catering facilities, and it was an important networking opportunity, so I decided to step off the waggon for the meal. – It took me 2 days to return to feeling as good as I do on a low carb eating program. When I get to the shape I want to be then I plan to stay low carb and just eat increase the amount of fat in my diet to stay there. Butter melted over veg, more cream in coffee.

A couple comments on JGwen’s post. I realise that in a way I am doing something I’ve always advised against. There is no point obsessing about weight. This is why most diets fail. if you feel constantly hungry – be it physically or emotionally – you will give up at some point. If you dread to stand on the bathroom scale, then something is not right. For example it doesn’t make sense in weighing yourself daily and getting upset that a night out shows on the scale. These fluctuations are meaningless. I am weighing myself only once a week and when possible on the same day of the week. I do it systematically in the morning – after a visit to loo – with no clothes – and repeating it to check that I get the same result. Weighing daily would add statistical fluctuations to the data which are not required and can make you fret about 1kg up and down depending on what you ate, drank and did over the last 24 hours. What counts is what happens over a longer period of time. When trying to lose weight you need at least several weeks to see a trend of how it is working.

Bodies are also very different, muscles and bone density have a large impact on weight. Martial arts athletes, e.g. in judo and wrestling (the sport, not WWE) mostly have a BMI over 25. So don’t compare your weight to others or worse models, who are starving themselves. That said I also agree that mirrors and tape measures don’t lie. If your clothes don’t fit anymore than the change is real.

5+2 works for me and many others. While I can’t prove it, I have a suspicion that this is linked to our evolutionary past. Humans always had periods where they did not get enough calories, e.g. in winter and so they had to fast involuntarily. And after they killed a mammoth they gorged themselves before the meat went off. Any scientists out there who can comment or point me to studies in this area?

And finally, well done on you shedding all these pounds.

Ok, I went to the see the nurse today for a Hb1Ac test. Need to wait for the results. The last few blood sugar tests were at 6 mmol/l and the average over the last 3 months is below 7 so I am being hopeful. I continue to lose weight and have now lost 8 kg. The rate of loss was less last month due to grueling travel schedule and probably also due to already having shed the spare tyre around my belly.

Let us know what your results are. Good luck.

Good news: Hb1Ac is 52 mmol/mol, down from 65 mmol/mol last time. The Hb1Ac result converts to 8.5 mmol/l. Over the last three months the average of my blood sugar tests in the morning before food was 7 mmol/l which is lower. This is understood as Hb1Ac takes into account food. The difference of 1.5 is similar to what sunshine-girl reported (6 vs 4 to 4.5 mmol/l). I hope that it will go down further. My last blood sugar tests were around 6 mmol/l and I plan to lose more weight. As a side effect, cholesterol is also down, so I am almost looking forward to see the GP which, due to holidays, will only be in a month.

Well done, onward and upward – or should that be downward. Anyway you know what I mean.

Thanks a lot. Next week, I’ll go away on a conference, followed by a holiday. Will be interesting to find out if I can keep the weight down.

Before the holiday, I remeasured my waist, which now has shrunk by 10%. The I had an intensive time in Switzerland, but the holiday was great, with a fantastic hike along the Aletsch glacier (biggest glacier in the Alps). We did not fast during this time, so I was quite pleased that weight stayed within 0.5kg. After the holiday I saw the doctor who was also pleased to see the reduction in the Hb1Ac.
He said simply to continue and to test again in 3 months.

My new goal is to get the Hb1Ac below 48 mmol/mol. Regarding weight loss, I’ve had a couple readings with 10kg weight loss, but I want to make this a permanent feature, so I need lose a few more pounds. However I weigh now the same as when I was 19, so not sure if I can go much further. My fasting blood sugar measurement averages below 6.5 mmol/ l, let’ see if I can reach 6 mmol./l.

I seem to be reaching a limit at 10 kg, so only have lost another couple of pounds over the last two months. My blood sugar averages now 6.2 mmol/l. Thus I plan to have another Hb1Ac test soon.

What does actually happen when you lose weight? Of course you burn calories when exercising, but this is not where the weight goes, despite 60% of doctors and health professionals getting this wrong as well and claiming the weight is converted into energy and heat. I found an article which explains this, see https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7257.

Let me try to explain this in lay terms. Fat is stored as something called “triglyceride” in your fatty parts. When you breath your lungs convert oxygen from the air and trygliceride into carbon dioxide and water and it is through this process that you burn calories.
This is written as a chemical process, but you can ignore this: (C55 H104 O6) + 78 O2→55 CO2 + 52 H2O + energy.
However the correct proportions of trygliceride (C55 H104 O6), oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) are relevant.
The results are the following: For my loss of 10 kg of fat, I had to breath in 29 kg of oxygen or about 140 kg of air, which corresponds 220’000 normal breaths of 0.5 litres. 84% of this oxygen and 8.4k kg of my body fat was converted in my lungs into 28 kg of carbon dioxide which I breathed out. The remaining 16% of oxygen and 1.6 kg of fat was converted into 11 kg of water which I excreted as urine, … Such a 10kg weight loss is illustrated in Figure 2 at the back of the paper. The paper also shows how each day you convert about 200 g of carbon into carbon dioxide which in steady state you replace by eating 2000 calories. Have a look and ask me if you have questions.

Summary: during weight loss most of the fat is converted by breathing into carbon dioxide.

My blood test came back.
My Hb1Ac is at 42! Wow. This is better than I hoped for
What’s next for me? Can I get off Metformin now?
I will see the doctor in two weeks, but would like to know your opinion.

Hi Lupf
What a great result on your Hba1c – you must be delighted. Congratulations. 42 is right on that borderline between pre-diabetes and normal so it’s a fantastic result. Keep going and I bet you’ll be back into the normal range at your next hba1c test.
I was never on Metformin so I’ll let others give their views on the best way of coming off them, whether it’s now or next time, or 1 now 1 next time etc, but I definitely think you will be able to come off them at some point fairly soon.

Jennie xx
Edited: Just a thought – if you have a good GP it always pays to have a good relationship with him/her so if they did suggest waiting a few more months before you come off them, then even if you didn’t completely agree I’d go with that. Do let us know how it goes.

I would say as it is only 2 weeks to your doctors appointment wait until then and discuss it with him. He might be cautious and suggest you stay on then a bit longer to see if it is consistent or he might just want to reduce them. Personally, I tell my doctor what I am going to do and he just shakes his head and tells me to get on with it but we have a good relationship and work things out together.

ok, as of today, I am not on Metformin (or any other medication) anymore. This has been an fantastic journey. I am really thrilled. Let’s see if I can keep the weight and blood sugar level down. If all goes well I only need to check again in 6 months.

As a summary, I lost 10 kg with 5+2 diet (with 600 calories on fast days), most of it in the first 4 months. I now weigh 80 kg. My waist reduced from 105 to 90cm. My Hb1Ac dropped from 65 to 42 mmol/mol and my blood sugar measurements (in the morning before eating) now average just below 6 mmol/litre. I also noticed that my resting pulse also decreased from 68 to 58 per minute.

Thanks to all for your help and have a nice festive sason.

Hi Lupf
I’ve been computer-less for most of the last week so have just read this. That’s great news about the medication; I’m really happy for you. xx Some great results on pulse rate, weight, and waist size, too (definitely jealous of that last one!).
Have a great Christmas, you deserve it.

Jennie xx
n.b. My blood sugar levels have been back in the normal range for over 3 years and I was reading on another website a few weeks ago and some people were still ‘in remission’ after 5 or 6 years using a dietary approach – so completely doable.

Also, as well as MM’s books, my tip would be to read The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung – if you haven’t already (or you can find him on you tube). His schtick is fasting but he’s also really good on the underlying causes of Type II diabetes, the role of insulin etc. Although, maybe this could be left for after Christmas, eh.

Hi Jenny,
Thanks a lot for the reference to Jason Fung. I’ve read his book within a day of it arriving. I also watched a few of his youtube lectures. And it makes sense now. It’s all based on science.
– Calories are not all equal. Our metabolism is driven by hormones which regulate hunger and base metabolic rate (BMR). Eating less of the same does not work. it lowers your BMR and leaves you hungry. This is why most diets fail.
– Sugar/carbs is converted into fat in your liver. If you eat too much of it, this makes you fat and causes diabetes.
– Eating too much sugar/carbs leads to too much insulin in your body (Hyperinsulinemia) and insulin resistance which causes diabetes.
– Fat is actually good for you. All studies trying to prove link between butter and cardiovascular disease failed.
– Guidelines to eat low-fat led to sugar being added (for flavour) to almost every food (even bacon). This is likely a main cause of the huge increase in obesity and diabetes.
– Medication lowering your blood sugar levels do exactly that – they lower your blood sugar, but your diabetes gets worse.
– Diabetes is a dietary disease, so needs to (can) be overcome by changing diet. Sugar/carbs must be reduced or temporarily removed.
– Intermittent fasting works! Evolution has taught our bodies to burn fat when we don’t eat. You and I are prime examples, too.
In one sentence: It’s the sugar stupid.

Hi Lupf
I’m so glad you found Jason Fung’s stuff helpful and that’s a great summary!
After reading Michael Mosley’s 5:2 book (when I suspected I was Type II) Jason Fung was the next person I found. I watched his videos on youtube. It was just after my Type II diagnosis was confirmed in 2016 – and he spoke so clearly and strongly about it being a reversible condition – it really gave me a boost, and, like you, I liked the science behind the condition and the evidence-base.

I recently re-watched a video on the Take A Look at This thread by Benjamin Bikman that you might also like. The video is of an interview he does on the BioHackers Lab and focuses on the role of insulin, insulin resistance and how to keep your insulin levels low through diet. If you haven’t watched it already you might enjoy it.

You can find the thread using the search box. It was posted by JGwen and it’s around the middle of page 10.
Again, big congratulations on your Hba1c results.
Jennie xx

n.b. Generally, if anyone hasn’t come across it the Take a Look at This Thread has a lot of recommendations/links to resources so it’s worth scrolling through – also great to post anything you come across which you think is worth sharing.

I think the 5+2 system can work for any person with diabetes who often has to travel on business trips or just likes to travel abroad.