6:1 diet and no sugar/gluten

alexzander219

Hello, hoping to get some answers today. I've heard a lot about dropping added sugar and gluten from my diet and it's working well so far. I'm down 1.5 lbs in 5 days and I feel better, so maybe gluten was part of my issue as I love pasta and bread. I'm wondering, is this a safe weight loss plan and if so can I combine it with the 6:1 diet? I've heard great things about the 5:2 diet that some celebrities do, but I'm not sure I can commit to that strict of a diet. My last question, are those diets safe? I don't want to gain weight if my body is fearing where the next meal is coming from. Thank you for any suggestions/tips.

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spzjlb

What?
Try: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1399829/step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal

yarwell

You haven't told us much, but overweight people do fine on 5:2 6:1 and even alternate day calorie restriction using 500-600 calories on the "fast" days.

Some may over-eat on their "normal" days but most don't and achieve a calorie deficit over the week using these methods. Have a look in the groups for other intermittent fasters and you'll get more support.

nvmomketo

If you think gluten is an issue for you then you should probably get tested for celiac disease before going any further. Accurate celiac testing requires that you are eating gluten (1-2slices of bread per day) in the two to three months prior to testing. If you test later you will need to make yourself sick enough for accurate testing for months. Not fun.

The tests are tissue transglutiminase IgA and IgG, deaminated gliadin peptides IgA and IgG, endomysial antibodies IgA, total serum IgA control test, and possibly te older and less reliable anti- gliadin antibodies IgA and IgG.

Eating gluten free is perfectly safe and preferable for many. Its only downside is the inconvenience of it. If you rely on fortified wheat products for your micronutrients, you may need to take some vitamins.

Many find reducing sugar improves their health and is a good way to cut calories, especially if that is where their excess calories come from. Those with insulin resistance, a very large minority of North America, may find their health most improved by that move, and may find they lose weight easier.

If you reduce sugars enough to get close to, or into, a low carb diet, you may find fasting is complimentary. Many low carbers, and those in a ketogenic diet, find fasting compliments their diet well because their body is more used to using fat for energy rather than glucose from carbs. There is a lesser likelihood of experiencing light headedness or fatigue that those with a carb heavy diet ay experience. I often eat a very low calorie diet (500kcal or so) a few times a month and notice no negative side effects from doing so.

Some feel sugar needs to be part of their diet, as you can see from previous comments. Only you can decide what is appropriate for you, because sugar is not a requirement of life or good health. You need to decide how much you want sugar in your diet.

Best wishes.

rachfking

It's not the lack of gluten that has made you lose weight, it's the lower carbs.

Sabine_Stroehm

Dropping gluten for weight loss? No. Did you mean carbs? Best of luck regardless.

alexzander219

Exactly, I need to drop the carb, since breads and pasta are carb heavy, I was thinking of avoiding them. I am restricting myself to under 1600 calories a day for weight loss. I currently weight 245 at 5'8", so I'm obese. I have essentially started Adkins, all added sugar is gone and I'm giving up all breads. I'm currently trying to eat plenty of greens and mix that with chicken, beef, and fish. I looking for a good jump start to get myself down to an ideal weight, hopefully then I can maintain through the skills I learned and then bulk up with muscle. Thoughts?

lynn_glenmont

alexzander219 wrote: »

Exactly, I need to drop the carb, since breads and pasta are carb heavy, I was thinking of avoiding them. I am restricting myself to under 1600 calories a day for weight loss. I currently weight 245 at 5'8", so I'm obese. I have essentially started Adkins, all added sugar is gone and I'm giving up all breads. I'm currently trying to eat plenty of greens and mix that with chicken, beef, and fish. I looking for a good jump start to get myself down to an ideal weight, hopefully then I can maintain through the skills I learned and then bulk up with muscle. Thoughts?

My thought is that at 245 pounds, you can eat bread and pasta and added sugar and anything else you want, and you will still lose weight if you limit yourself to 1600 calories a day. If it's easier for you to stick to 1600 calories a day if you don't eat bread, pasta, or added sugar, that's fine. But it's the overall calorie level that's doing it.

My other thought is that it's easier to retain muscle than it is to build new muscle, so you should take a muscle-sparing approach to weight loss: lift heavy, get plenty of protein, and don't lose weight too fast. There is a limit to how much energy your body can recover from your fat stores (about 30 calories per pound of fat per day), and if your deficit is too large, you'll unnecessarily force your body to plunder lean mass for energy (you'll never have pure fat loss, but there's no point in getting a larger amount of your stored energy from lean mass than is unavoidable). At 245 lbs, if you have 25% BF (you may have more, but I'm being conservative), you should be OK losing up to 3 or even 3 1/2 pounds a week for a while for purposes of muscle preservation, but that amount will drop steadily as you lose fat. If you find that you're losing faster than that, you should eat more.

kmash32

I am smaller than you and dropped like 3 pounds my first week. 1.5 pounds in 5 days is fairly normal for a guy, especially if you are watching your calories. It has nothing to do with the carbs. If you don't lose the weight in a way you can maintain your lose, you are just going to put it back on when you go back to eating his stuff. Are you prepared to give it up for the rest of your life? If not figure out how to do it without eliminating anything, but eating it in moderation. I know many the have done the Atkins type diet and just end up putting the weight back on.

RodaRose

You can do 6:1 with any food plan.
Here is a group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

WalkingAlong

alexzander219 wrote: »

Hello, hoping to get some answers today. I've heard a lot about dropping added sugar and gluten from my diet and it's working well so far. I'm down 1.5 lbs in 5 days and I feel better, so maybe gluten was part of my issue as I love pasta and bread. I'm wondering, is this a safe weight loss plan and if so can I combine it with the 6:1 diet? I've heard great things about the 5:2 diet that some celebrities do, but I'm not sure I can commit to that strict of a diet. My last question, are those diets safe? I don't want to gain weight if my body is fearing where the next meal is coming from. Thank you for any suggestions/tips.

Sounds reasonable. Baked goods are calorie dense and nutrient-poor. Avoiding them is not a bad diet idea, same with sugar.

You can combine whatever diet modes appeal to you. IF (5:2, 6:1, whatever) is not going to hurt you. Your body isn't going to go into fear mode. If we as a species couldn't thrive on a fairly broad range of foods and calorie levels, we wouldn't be here.

alexzander219

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

alexzander219 wrote: »

Exactly, I need to drop the carb, since breads and pasta are carb heavy, I was thinking of avoiding them. I am restricting myself to under 1600 calories a day for weight loss. I currently weight 245 at 5'8", so I'm obese. I have essentially started Adkins, all added sugar is gone and I'm giving up all breads. I'm currently trying to eat plenty of greens and mix that with chicken, beef, and fish. I looking for a good jump start to get myself down to an ideal weight, hopefully then I can maintain through the skills I learned and then bulk up with muscle. Thoughts?

My thought is that at 245 pounds, you can eat bread and pasta and added sugar and anything else you want, and you will still lose weight if you limit yourself to 1600 calories a day. If it's easier for you to stick to 1600 calories a day if you don't eat bread, pasta, or added sugar, that's fine. But it's the overall calorie level that's doing it.

My other thought is that it's easier to retain muscle than it is to build new muscle, so you should take a muscle-sparing approach to weight loss: lift heavy, get plenty of protein, and don't lose weight too fast. There is a limit to how much energy your body can recover from your fat stores (about 30 calories per pound of fat per day), and if your deficit is too large, you'll unnecessarily force your body to plunder lean mass for energy (you'll never have pure fat loss, but there's no point in getting a larger amount of your stored energy from lean mass than is unavoidable). At 245 lbs, if you have 25% BF (you may have more, but I'm being conservative), you should be OK losing up to 3 or even 3 1/2 pounds a week for a while for purposes of muscle preservation, but that amount will drop steadily as you lose fat. If you find that you're losing faster than that, you should eat more.

Sounds good. Thank you everyone for the advice and great tips. It'll help with my journey!