500 Calorie "Diet"

LandyBreigh

Good morning!

I recently read an article from the magazine Prevention online about the 500 calorie 'diet.' Instead of restricting food intake daily, it is only every other day. Today is day 1 for me. My intake will be 500. Tomorrow will be a normal day to eat what I would normally eat, then the following day is back to 500.

Has anyone had success using this method? If so, any pointers, menu ideas, etc.

Thank you!
B

cmriverside

That sounds...difficult. Why not just eat with a reasonable calorie-deficit every day? That 500 every other day thing would just make me over eat on the regular days, and it wipes out the whole deficit on the 500 days. Sounds awful.

dragon_girl26

That sounds a lot like the alternate day fasting diet plan. I don't personally follow that, but a lot of people on MFP do with great success. If you do a search for Intermittent fasting, or fasting groups, there are a few good ones on here that can help get you started. Good luck!
ETA: Someone on here..I think it was @Christine_72..recommended a book to another poster askng a similar question awhile back called The Alternate Day Diet by James B. Johnson, that explains this better. I have it in my reading stack right now, just because I wanted to learn more about it. Maybe give that one a shot.

40andFindingFitness

cmriverside wrote: »

That sounds...difficult. Why not just eat with a reasonable calorie-deficit every day? That 500 every other day thing would just make me over eat on the regular days, and it wipes out the whole deficit on the 500 days. Sounds awful.

This ^

minniestar55

cmriverside wrote: »

That sounds...difficult. Why not just eat with a reasonable calorie-deficit every day? That 500 every other day thing would just make me over eat on the regular days, and it wipes out the whole deficit on the 500 days. Sounds awful.

Ditto. Why over-complicate your life?

LandyBreigh

Thank you!

queenofpuppies

Do you know how many calories is 'normal' for you? If you are going to do this I would come up with a solid number and still count on those days, but I personally would not be able to do 500 calories. I do 1200 during the week and 1800 on weekends.

enterdanger

If I only ate 500 calories in a day, I'd have no friends because I'd be a raging beezatch. I had 386 for breakfast and I'm already feeling hungry enough to cuss out my boss at work.

Xo_healthylc

That's called intermediate fasting. A lot of people on here follow it.

frankiesgirlie

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

That sounds a lot like the alternate day fasting diet plan. I don't personally follow that, but a lot of people on MFP do with great success. If you do a search for Intermittent fasting, or fasting groups, there are a few good ones on here that can help get you started. Good luck!
ETA: Someone on here..I think it was @Christine_72..recommended a book to another poster askng a similar question awhile back called The Alternate Day Diet by James B. Johnson, that explains this better. I have it in my reading stack right now, just because I wanted to learn more about it. Maybe give that one a shot.

This definitely ^^^
I've been an intermittent faster for about 40 years but this method is too tough for me. Some people do well with it though.
I follow the 16:8 or 14:10 IF, and while I don't find it to be a magic bullet for weight loss, at least not for me, it does give me super energy and the shorter window for eating makes it easier to adhere to a deficit.

kommodevaran

If you have trouble restricing food intake, I don't think restricting it further is a recipe for success. If you can do it, it will work. It all depends on what you are comfortable with.

st476

I'm doing the same thing! I do 600 though, I just had my first 600 calorie day yesterday. It was pretty hard but not impossible, I had sugar free jello, a big salad with grilled chicken, an apple and two bananas. You could split it up like I did or just eat one big meal. I would suggest not eating early in the morning because at least for me that makes it easier to not be hungry. Diet soda, tea, coffee and water help. I'm not hungrier than usual today

TeaBea

LandyBreigh wrote: »

Good morning!

I recently read an article from the magazine Prevention online about the 500 calorie 'diet.' Instead of restricting food intake daily, it is only every other day. Today is day 1 for me. My intake will be 500. Tomorrow will be a normal day to eat what I would normally eat, then the following day is back to 500.

Has anyone had success using this method? If so, any pointers, menu ideas, etc.

Thank you!
B

A more aggressive form of 5:2 intermittent fasting. With 5:2 you only have two 500 calorie days. Be aware that larger deficits (ie: aggressive diets) should be left to those with lots of weight to lose. Large deficits (closer to goal) make it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass.

Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range (1,000 calorie deficit daily....or 7,000 a week)
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range (500 calorie deficit daily......or 3,500 a week)
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range


http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet

I tried 5:2, the 500 calorie days were too difficult. Now I zig-zag my calories differently, allowing myself to eat maintenance on the weekends. Google your TDEE to figure out your maintenance calories. I log these days also. Maintenance is something I have yet to master.

DancingMoosie

My husband did it for a little while. I would pack his little portions for him the day before. I tried to keep it to foods he liked that would still provide good nutrition. It was usually a hard boiled egg, cheese stick, broccoli, strawberries, and some lunch meat. Then, I would make a dinner with something like chicken and veggies. He also got some lite lemonade packets that you add to water. Too bad he's not a fan of salad, that would be easier to fill up on. He said when he got too hungry during the day, he'd suck on a peanut, lol!

amusedmonkey

Yeah, I do it every now and then. It works wonderfully for me. The 500 calorie days are only hard in the beginning but then get exceedingly easier for me to where I don't feel hungry at all, and you would expect to overeat the next day but I just don't. It's kind of weird. On the 500 calorie day I keep planning to eat this and that and whatnot next day but when next day comes I find no desire to overeat at all and all the high calorie things I "planned" to eat just don't feel like an attractive option anymore. It's like magic for my appetite. I tend to fall back to it whenever I start having an uncontrollable appetite and a desire to overeat.

What's weird is that if I break the day on/day off pattern (like if I decide to have only 2 fast days a week) it doesn't work as well. I'm somehow hungrier on fast days and more likely to overeat on feast days. I try to keep the pattern going whenever I decide to do it.

The reason I don't do this consistently is because I like to vary approaches and get bored with one approach. I have several that work for me so I switch them around depending on what I feel like doing and my circumstances. It does work like a charm for some people.

TavistockToad

Xo_healthylc wrote: »

That's called intermediate fasting. A lot of people on here follow it.

Or intermittent

Xo_healthylc

TavistockToad wrote: »

Xo_healthylc wrote: »

That's called intermediate fasting. A lot of people on here follow it.

Or intermittent

Thanks my spell check hates me! ❤️

kelleymarie1993

I've been alternate day fasting for a few months. I haven't found a large community base specified for ADMF but I just started blogging about how it's going for me. I've lost 10 pounds so far and I'd be happy to help in any way I can.

http://everyotherdayfasting.tumblr.com/

lauraesh0384

I know a lot of people find success with this particular method, but that would be pure torture for me. If I only ate 500 calories in a day I would not be a very pleasant person My breakfast alone is around 500 calories.

ElJefeChief

I sort of take the idea that if you're not eating in a way you'd be happy eating for the rest of your life, it's probably not a good way to be eating now.

cerise_noir

kommodevaran wrote: »

If you have trouble restricing food intake, I don't think restricting it further is a recipe for success. If you can do it, it will work. It all depends on what you are comfortable with.

This.