Trouble staying at or below 500 calories

meji7

I'm pretty new to the alternate day fasting diet (about 2 weeks in now). I'm having trouble keeping my total calories at or under 500. It seems like I'm always about 50-80 calories over. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you have any suggestions for overcoming it? Maybe that 50 calories doesn't make a big difference?

Please share tips or experiences that may be helpful. Thanks!

karen_fitzgibbon

I aim for 450 that way when I go 20 - 30 over I'm still technically within the 500. But i always tend to trick myself like that. The clock in my car is 5 minutes fast as well.
Don't beat yourself up over it.

flumi_f

meji7 wrote: »

Maybe that 50 calories doesn't make a big difference?

In my opinion ;-)

I usually land between 500-550, sometimes a bit higher, sometimes even 600-700. In the longterm scheme of things, I don't think, it's a big deal. I've been on 5:2 for 22 mth, lost 29kg and have maintained the last 9mth. I'm healther, lighter and fitter than I've ever been.

Make sure you eat enough on your non fast days. Especially if you are doing ADF, going over your maintainance cals a bit on those days is OK and may help you stay at 500 better on fast days. Also try to keep your protein up and grain carbs down on fast days. That will probably keep you fuller.

Foamroller

I think the numbers Mosley picked 500 women, 600 men, were a bit arbitrary. Just a compromise to not have to water fast, which was too strict and still give a deficit with caloric cycling. One of the points is to create a contrast, thereby forcing body to use stored fat.

Some kcal under or over doesn't impact much. As long as it doesn't merge into a vlcd.

Please read the announcement with info and watch the film, it's always best to make your own conclusions

Foxgym

Foamroller wrote: »

I think the numbers Mosley picked 500 women, 600 men, were a bit arbitrary. Just a compromise to not have to water fast,

Please read the announcement with info and watch the film, it's always best to make your own conclusions

Totally agree, I noted that on the 'whats the best diet for You' programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02ddsv0 a two day's consecutive 800 calorie form of IF was used. Also in 'Eat Fast and Live Longer' minimal eating had similar results to intermittent fasting. I would guess that Dr Mosley's protocol is a happy hybrid compromise evolution of Intermittent fasting and minimal eating

JAT74

Yes in the documentary he talked about the benefits of calorie restriction but that it wasn't the best approach for all of us. I'm not on my 2nd week of 5:2 and am aiming for 550 calories on my fast days as I exercise daily plus do a walk of 30-60 minutes so my active TDEE is currently 2000-2300. I also try and stick to 1550-1650 on feast days but that's because I'm conscious of the deficit I need to create to be able to lose weight and I'm not currently losing very quickly.

orlcam

Foxgym wrote: »

Foamroller wrote: »

I think the numbers Mosley picked 500 women, 600 men, were a bit arbitrary. Just a compromise to not have to water fast,

Please read the announcement with info and watch the film, it's always best to make your own conclusions

Totally agree, I noted that on the 'whats the best diet for You' programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02ddsv0 a two day's consecutive 800 calorie form of IF was used. Also in 'Eat Fast and Live Longer' minimal eating had similar results to intermittent fasting. I would guess that Dr Mosley's protocol is a happy hybrid compromise evolution of Intermittent fasting and minimal eating

Couple of things...the 500 (women) and 600 (other) cal goals are based on 25% of what is an estimated "normal" consumption of calories for us humans. With that in mind I don't see a problem going over if you have a high TDEE...I started with a TDEE close to 4k (whoah momma!) I do the 600 (or less) because I've found things I can do to make it through the 36+ hours. Namely flavorable hearty dishes that can yield up to 2 lbs of food at less than 600 calories...like chicken & mushroom curry (no rice), stir fries with no noodles/rice ( I'll julienne cabbage or use shirataki noodles), chili, gumbo, many soups...

If you watch the video you'll see it was a progression...he didn't believe the first few types of intermittent fasting were sustainable...for him. The 1st type, 4.5 days on 100 cal a day once every month, actually rattled him a bit (for those who watched...remember the beach contemplation scene?) He didn't disagree with any of them on a medical basis, they all had data to support their benefits. He just settled on what he felt he could live with.

To each his own...shape it as you see fit.