Confused about calories - Please help?!

gettingto65

Hi
Back story: So my goal is to lose around 25-30kg, I am 5'7, 23 and 99.8kg right now. I have a desk job 8-5 and go to the gym x3 a week. I am also doing the 5:2 diet, I am interested in the health benefits as well as diabetes runs in the family so I will be sticking to 5:2 unless it really doesn't work for me.So two days a week I'll eat between 0-500 calories.

Okay. So! I am confused about calories for my non fast days.

I understand the TDEE/BMR (2200/1800ish) etc and have a basic knowledge of it all but I don't how how to apply it for me. I do not want to eat too few calories but I also don't want to be consuming more than I need.

My initial goal was 1600 x5 a week and it still is but I am struggling to eat this much and have it all be healthy. I just don't feel it's necessary like I'm not hungry enough.

Example of a day
300 cals - oats and raspberries
100 cals - almonds
300 cals - brown rice and veges
200 cals - quest bar
400 cals - chicken and veges

So that's about 1300 calories give or take. And I have been perfectly content on that the past two or so weeks. But when I hit a plateau later on that gives no room for deducting and it is also almost 1000 calories lower than TDEE and much lower than BMR. And I don't want to eat too few like I said especially when I am also doing a fast twice a week.

A part of me wants to up it to 1600/1700 to start with but the other part thinks why increase when I'm not hungry.

Also despite me having a fairly large amount to lose, i don't lose it very quickly. I think it's partly due to my office job. When I worked retail the weight dropped off despite not eating great. But there's nothing much I can do about that so I don't want too many calories.

Okay I think I've rambled enough... Any help is massively appreciated. Thank you!

yarwell

5:2 means 500 cals a day for 2 days and maintenance for 5 so even 1600 is a bit modest for the 5 days.

Your diary is closed but it looks a bit light on protein, especially at breakfast. It is also quite low fat. To get more calories in you could choose something fattier than chicken or put some mayo on the veg or yoghurt / cream with the breakfast.

Yi5hedr3

Too many carbs, and short on protein and healthy fats. Lose the oats and rice, add some coconut oil and whey isolate. Fasting twice a week is great!

Yi5hedr3

Hmmmmm....

RoxieDawn

5:2 being used for weight loss does not mean 0 calories on fast days, its means 500 net calories on fast days. It is required to eat the 500 calories in order to keep fueled enough during these low days and ensure to make the deficit at the end of the week while eating at maintenance the other 5 days.

The plateau while eating on 5:2? To me the math is simple in this scenario, you are eating more maintenance calories than you think on non fast days. Are you sure that you are/will be eating at maintenance by logging and weighing all you food and not excluding things like food prepared or cooked in Olive, coconut oil (for example), condiments like honey mustard, ketchup and mayo, creamer, extra sugar,

IF you only plan to eat for example 1300 on non fast days and keep up with the 2 fast days at 500 your weight loss will potentially be too aggressive. If you eat 0 calories on non fast days as stated above and 1300 calories on the days you say you are not "hungry" this could be a recipe for aggressive weight loss potentially dangerous as VLCD.

You should be eating at your maintenance and it does look to be around 2181. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/)

Have you considered this might not be a good idea in your case?