im sure I’ve read on here about someone trying the Fasting Mimicking Diet (possibly 5:2 or 4:3 diet???). Well my OH happened upon an article in the Telegraph a couple of days ago-sorry don’t know how to do links-that it had been found to improve MS specifically (along with many other ailments). And although he doesn’t normally suggest these things, was quite taken by this and so should we (yes he was willing to join me) try this.
now then, I have never been a diet person and hate the idea of not having what i like (all things in moderation or general piggery only occasionally), and given that ms has taken away a lot of the joys of life, I am very reluctant to start fasting unnecessarily and obsessing about food. But if it will make a differenceq am willing to try. So has anybody out there tried this and seen any improvement?
lts a great eating plan the 5-2 diet. l have been doing it for over 6 months. Lost about a stone in the first 4 weeks. Now at a good weight for my height - but still continuing the 5-2 as l feel so much more energised on it.
l bought a couple of books - via amazon - on the 5-2 diet - explaining in easy language what to eat and when - by Katie Harrison- the Diet Book and the Diet Recipe book.
You will be amazed what lovely things you can eat for your 500 calories. Straightaway, you stomach will shrink - and you soon start feeling full on just a small amount of food.
l find it best not to eat carbs - especially anything with grain in it - Bread cakes biscuits cereals etc. On the 5 feast days - you can eat normally - but best not to drink alcohol - as they are hidden calories that soon mount up. But you do not find yourself bingeing on the feast days as the fasting days will re-train your appetite.
Just empty all cupboards and fridge freezers of the naughty stuff first! This way of eating will soon have you feeling brighter and lighter.
im not doing it to lose weight, although I could do with losing a few love handles, but this article does suggest it regenerates cells or something technical, and suggests 3 out of 7 days, which of course is unproven yet.
500? Crikey that’s scary, the article I read suggests reducing intake by about half…is that around 1000 calories? Am I doing it wrong? And of course I love bread etc xx
l find if l eat bread - it makes me hungrier for more - it is addictive. AND it completely drains my energy levels. l try not eat anything until mid afternoon - on the fast days - then l might have a scrambled egg with smoked salmon. l drink Redbush T - which is caffeine free. Evening meal l shall have stir fry veg - ginger/garlic/ lemongrass/ peppers/chilli/mushrooms/ courgettes sugar snap peas and mange-tout - spinach - so much variations - with chicken breast or salmon - and other fish and meat. Anything that l can cook in about 15mins.
There is a facebook group for 5-2 - by Katie Harrison.
And don’t forget - you do not have to fast on consecutive days.
Men can eat 600 cals. And look at the calories in some of the ‘ready meals’ - they can be very low. And such a help when you can’t make your mind up what to eat.
I take the ms related article with a pinch of salt. No real studies yet just mouse studies. As a weight loss plan 5-2 is brilliant. My husband bought a vegetarian 5-2 book and has now lost nearly 2.5 stone since Middle January. He finds it really easy and as long as you plan your day it is really surprising how much you can eat. He is never hungry on his fast days. Like a lot of things it is maybe something to keep an eye on regarding MS but nothing to note yet.
I’ve read the same thing. I think that yo should avoid anything that your body is intolerant to. I avoid gluten, milk and sugar.
Some people advocate the Paleolithic diet which excludes all processed foods. Makes sense to me. The more processed the less healthy something is going to be.
I’d be really interested to see how your diet goes and how it effects your MS. Good luck with it.
l have just bought a Nutri-bullet. Waited until they came down in price - Daughter in law uses one. To-day, l put spinach rom the garden - bits of carrot/celery/cucumber/peppers -which were left-over from ‘crudites’ l did for dip yesterday - and l also put orange apple and a few frozen blackcurrants. lt turned out a lovely shade of green!!! But the addition of fruit made all the difference. This is my fasting day - so l shall be sipping at this concoction until dinner tonight. Salmon- cajun spice with courgettes mangetout - Maybe a banana before bed
The Nutri-bullet is very different from a blender as it - in seconds pulverises even linseeds/nuts/ oats - going to try making pesto in it.
I did the 5:2 and my weight stabilised a bit but it took commitment from me and hubby and that was tough, he’s gone back to work now so tricky.
I read the 4:3 article and started this week! A huge part of the reason was watching a Michael Moseley programme about fasting. It’s been proven for a while that fasting does help your brain to develop new neuro pathways.
So I’m doing half calories Mon-Weds from next week. As 50% calories, it’s not quite as restrictive as 5:2 either. Miraculously, I even lost a couple of pounds this week too.
Way too early to say if it benefits but I’d recommend looking out fir the programme, it’s on the iplayer
I watched the Micheal Mosely programme too. I would love to do the 5:2 diet, especially if it has benefits for MS as well as cardio-vascular health. However, I am already right at the bottom of healthy weight. It doesn’t sound like you can eat like this without getting thinner. What do people think? I eat a lot every day at the moment - I can’t imagine eating more on my 5 (normal eating) days.
l lost 20lb - on the 5-2 diet. Weight l needed to lose- now 9st.7lb. And l would like to lose more - but l seem to have reached a plateau and stopped. But the benefits are not all about losing weight - and l do feel more energised on the fasting days- so much that l do not eat anything most days until the afternoon. So its like mini fasting days. lf l eat my evening meal at 8.30pm then not eat again until 2 or 3pm the next day. l try not to eat bread/grain - as l am better without. Try to use my calorie total in protein and veg/salad. l do drink milk - and eat greek yoghurt.
If you are already healthy weight (or thereabouts) - and it sounds as though you are - I would approach this one with caution. Most people doing 5:2 do seem to lose weight, which is brilliant if that’s what you want, but would not necessarily be helpful for a person with MS who needs to keep her strength up. And there’s no harm in keeping a few spare lbs in reserve against a rainy day (sudden illness, or whatever - heaven preserve us all from that, but stuff does happen) and a few extra pounds can make a person more resilient against such shocks.
Also, if you are lucky enough to be able to eat pretty much what you fancy and stay a reasonable weight, do you really want to start tinkering with that happy state of affairs? There is always a risk that your body starts responding to the new emergency conditions of intermittent fasting by upping its game - laying down fat reserves at every opportunity. You wouldn’t thank yourself if you morphed into one of those people who only had to look at a chocolate biscuit sideways to increase by a dress size.
For people who want to lose weight, it is a great regime and possible improvements in other health measures are certainly a nice bonus. So it’s a ‘win’ all round. But I do think thing are less clear-cut for a person of healthy weight with a chronic progressive neurological condition.
Writing this reminded me of a story told me years ago by a dear colleague who used to work for a farmers’ trade association or similar. She had struggled with her weight even then and had been complaining about this in the office one day, when one of her technical colleagues smilingly congratulated her on evidently being a ‘good converter’ - that most desirable of characteristics in beef and dairy cattle…
Of course, it is has been a desirable characteristic in humans too during the times of shortage that have marked most of our time on earth, but it is a mixed blessing in these fortunate days of plenty!
Morning. Yes I have thought about this also, and do worry about changing my body’s natural flow so to speak. I always try to maintain a healthy diet, but more out of lifestyle than need to diet as such. But have always been happy having an ice cream, sticky bun, glass of wine or chocolate if the mood takes me. Life is too short for diets. It’s just that little niggle at the back of my brain saying if the 4:3 diet does manage to turn the ms even a little, then I would be a fool not to try…
So. I fasted (well 1000 cals) yesterday, which was manageable, and I did actually feel quite energised and fine. Am trying again today, but I suspect I may eat more than needed. That’s one of my biggest problems with bloody ms, none of the experts can be definitive, and it’s always a game of what if? The problem is, my natural state is always to return to a little treat or such coz it makes me feel better and I think that’s better for you than deprivation and obsession about silly stuff like calories. And I do need food(and sugar) to give me the energy I need to just get through a day.
As the song says 'there are more questions than answers…
I try to have a healthy snack to hand when I go out - I’m the one eating boiled eggs on the tube!