5:2 diet advice

raverhayley

Hi everyone

Im the first day into my 5:2 diet. Im overweight by over 3 stone.
My question is if i eat between 1400-1600 calories on my normal days and stick to 500calories on my fast days am i eating the right amounts to loose weight or should i be eating 1200cals on my normal 5 days?

Thanks

ericwhitt

What's your weight loss goal? I don't know too much about the 5:2 diet, but the general principle is instead of eating at a deficit every day, you eat at maintenance on your normal days and use the fast days to hit your weekly deficit. So if you are trying to lose one lb a week, you'd need to do the math to reach a 3500 deficit on your fast days+exercise calories.

TeaBea

1200 is MFP's lowest default minimum before exercise. It's definintely NOT Okay to use with 5:2. That's only a 1,000 calorie average for 7 days.

5:2 is designed for your "normal days" to be just that, normal. Google your maintenance, then look at maintenance for your future weight. Pick one of those values for your normal days.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

The idea for the 5:2 transition to maintaining your weight is drop one of the 500 calorie days & just use the second 500 calorie day as needed.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

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

23susu23

I've been doing 5:2 for just over a month. I've lost 8 lbs. I have MFP set to lose 1 pound a week which gives me 1500 calories a day. I eat only my 500 calories on Mondays and Thursdays and just stick to my 1500 on the other days. That has me at really just under 1200 per day on average. This is fine for me because I am not actively exercising (right now) and I'm 5'4" and 60 years old. I don't know that I will keep this up forever but it is working now. It is roughly giving me an extra 1/2 lb of loss per week on average. I want to lose at least 80 lbs so I'll be at this for a long time. If you are too hungry or don't want to lose as fast, you could eat at your maintenance on your non-fast days like ericwhitt said above. I'm thinking that I will just fast one day a week when I get to maintenance.

I personally find it pretty easy to fast two days a week. I was having digestive issues from being too full all the time before I started MFP this time, so I feel so much better doing it this way. I like not having to think too much about food on those fast days. My husband and adult son are fasting with me so it makes it easier to do. I don't know that I could do it if I had to cook food for someone else. On my fast days, I usually just get up and have a cup of coffee and eat about 200 calories for lunch, like a sandwich wrap (sandwich meat on a low carb tortilla with mustard and a pickle). For dinner something simple like a piece of fish and green veggies for about 200-250 calories and a snack after dinner to finish up my 500 calories. It is funny to me that when I wake up the next day, I'm not even hungry for breakfast.

raverhayley

Thanks for the advice everyone
Ive completed my first week now ive lost weight and im enjoying it tbh

STEVE2712

I can highly recommend the Blood Sugar Diet ( it has some great food recipes which have been well thought through) co-written with Dr Michael Mosley who explored and rejuvenated the 5:2 Diet because he had to lose weight for medical reasons. In fact I have found Michael Mosley so inspirational to my weight loss and understanding how our bodies function with food etc - there are some really good videos on YouTube, just type in Michael Mosley.
Good luck

TavistockToad

raverhayley wrote: »

Hi everyone

Im the first day into my 5:2 diet. Im overweight by over 3 stone.
My question is if i eat between 1400-1600 calories on my normal days and stick to 500calories on my fast days am i eating the right amounts to loose weight or should i be eating 1200cals on my normal 5 days?

Thanks

It's doubtful that 1400 -1600 cals is your maintenance.

RoxieDawn

raverhayley wrote: »

Hi everyone

Im the first day into my 5:2 diet. Im overweight by over 3 stone.
My question is if i eat between 1400-1600 calories on my normal days and stick to 500calories on my fast days am i eating the right amounts to loose weight or should i be eating 1200cals on my normal 5 days?

Thanks

OP I think you are confused by the instructions of this diet. method to reach your weekly calorie deficit.

The non fast days are supposed to be your maintenance, not your deficit calories and definitely not 1200 calories..

CooCooPuff

TeaBea wrote: »

The idea for the 5:2 transition to maintaining your weight is drop one of the 500 calorie days & just use the second 500 calorie day as needed.

Dropping a day would ideally reduce the rate if loss to half a pound a week, correct? I've been doing this for about a month and should be getting ready to do this by sometime soon.

Seriously OP, what's the fun of doing two very low calorie days if you're just going to continue eating lower calorie the other 5? I started 5:2 because I was sick of constant restricting.