Alternate Day Fasting... Have you done it?
buglesalmoncatgirl
Posts: 43 Member
Hello.
Have you heard of this style of eating? The book I read a few years ago is called "The Every Other Day Diet" (Krista Varady). There are other publications out there that teach the same concept: eat about 500 calories a few days a week (every other day per the book I read, but there are some methods that require only 2 days of this) while eating somewhat freely the rest of the time.
I know, I know. This sounds unconventional. However, I have found a fair bit of people claiming it works well for them. It's said to be highly effective for weight loss as well as improving general health, and many find it more achievable than traditional daily dieting.
Have you tried it? Are you doing it now? What version (5:2, EOD, UDDD...) What challenges did you encounter along the way?
Just curious!
Have you heard of this style of eating? The book I read a few years ago is called "The Every Other Day Diet" (Krista Varady). There are other publications out there that teach the same concept: eat about 500 calories a few days a week (every other day per the book I read, but there are some methods that require only 2 days of this) while eating somewhat freely the rest of the time.
I know, I know. This sounds unconventional. However, I have found a fair bit of people claiming it works well for them. It's said to be highly effective for weight loss as well as improving general health, and many find it more achievable than traditional daily dieting.
Have you tried it? Are you doing it now? What version (5:2, EOD, UDDD...) What challenges did you encounter along the way?
Just curious!
1
Replies
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I'm looking for responses on this too.
I tried 5:2 for a while, but it was too hard. Now I am thinking of doing 6:1. For instance Sundays, when I am relatively passive to begin with. I think it's good to think of it as a cleanse-day altogether.
When I did some fasting I was surprised that I felt pretty ok the next day. I was expecting to be extremely hungry, but it seems your body adjusts.1 -
Yep, I did ADF. Back when I did the plan, it wasn't well known and was definitely on the 'fringe'. Dr. James Johnson came out with his book, The Alternate Day Diet, and there were a few of us following it on a another forum-pretty sure we were the only ones lol. That's where ADF got its nickname JUDDD, for Dr. Johnson's Up Day, Down Day diet
Then Dr. Mosley and Dr. Varady came along and took the whole thing to the main stream and made lots of money off of the concept. I know there's bad blood between Mosley and Varady, and I'm pretty sure Dr. Johsnon doesn't have warm, fuzzy feelings towards either of them lol.
Anywhoo-
On my 'down' days I ate between 300-500 calories, and then I alternated with 'up' days and ate around maintenance levels-usually 1,800-2,000 calories. It's super important to eat the higher calories on the 'up' days!
It worked well for me, and I lost the extra weight with no issues. Then, during the transition period between my weight loss phase and maintenance, I did 5:2IF and then after I fully went into maintenance I switched to 16:8IF. All said and done I've been doing IF in one form or another for around 5 years now and will most likely continue to do IF for the rest of my life.
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Yes, I do it every now and then. 5:2 is too hard for me but ADF is not. After the initial hard couple of weeks, you get into this established routine that starts to feel normal. I do 800 calories on low days and maintenance on high days for two reasons: if I don't do that I may end up undereating, and having 800 calories allows for 1 large meal or two smaller ones, so I can fit in any social outings or family meals even on fast days without problems.
ETA: the reason 5:2 feels hard for me is that it sort of feels random where you are eating multiple days in a row then BAM! time to drop the luxury and start fasting, which made me dread fast days. ADF establishes a stable order of days for me and fast days feel like part of the program, not something I dread after being "spoiled".1 -
I did 4:3 4 days 500 calories faster 8pm to 2pm 17 hours
Had 1500 calories on the other 3 days I lost 5lbs week 1 = mainly water week 2 was 3lbs then nothing for 6 weeks felt no better or healthier
I weighed measured everything and walked as exercise and did Zumba for cardio
Didn't work for me sadly0 -
I did 4:3 4 days 500 calories faster 8pm to 2pm 17 hours
Had 1500 calories on the other 3 days I lost 5lbs week 1 = mainly water week 2 was 3lbs then nothing for 6 weeks felt no better or healthier
I weighed measured everything and walked as exercise and did Zumba for cardio
Didn't work for me sadly
Of course you wouldn't feel healthy, 6500 calories a week is very low2 -
I've been doing 5:2 for a couple years. I'm a v.e.r.y slow loser (insulin resistance, type 2...) but I have lost almost 40 pounds. My husband started doing it with me a few months ago - he's lost over 20 pounds so far. Once you get in a routine, it's just like anything else "diet" related and it's not hard. We normally fast on Monday & Thursday but that's what is so great about 5:2 - the flexibility! If those days don't work because of other commitments during the week, we just choose another day I've tried 4:3 occasionally but it doesn't seem to make me lose any faster. I've also done my two days together (B2B-back to back) depending on what's going on, but those can be a little rough.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!3 -
I tried 5:2 but just couldn't do it. I was did 500 calories two days a week and near maintenance the other days. but on the fast days I had terrible sleep and it seemed to make my hot flashes at night really worse.
It works great for a lot of people, just didn't agree with me.1 -
I did 4:3 4 days 500 calories faster 8pm to 2pm 17 hours
Had 1500 calories on the other 3 days I lost 5lbs week 1 = mainly water week 2 was 3lbs then nothing for 6 weeks felt no better or healthier
I weighed measured everything and walked as exercise and did Zumba for cardio
Didn't work for me sadly
You butchered a healthy way of eating and made it very low calorie. Of course it didn't work if you were starving yourself of vital nutrition.6 -
Hi All,
I'm following Krista Vardy's ADF plan now. It works great for me. I have bad habits but I am able to behave myself every other day
. The reason I picked this approach was not only for the weight loss but also for the other health benefits of fasting, autophagy being one of the top reasons. By fasting, even just a short time, the body begins the process of "cleaning up" damaged cells and recycling their components. It really is an amazing process! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy 2 -
Hi All,
I'm following Krista Vardy's ADF plan now. It works great for me. I have bad habits but I am able to behave myself every other day . The reason I picked this approach was not only for the weight loss but also for the other health benefits of fasting, autophagy being one of the top reasons. By fasting, even just a short time, the body begins the process of "cleaning up" damaged cells and recycling their components. It really is an amazing process! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy
I have never heard of the 5:2.... where or how do you decide how many calories to eat?
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I googled. So 1667 is my maintenance calories. So 25% of that is 416.7 so should I eat that 2 days a week and eat maintenance the other 5? Or can I eat a little below maintenance maybe 1500/ day?0
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buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »Hello.
Have you heard of this style of eating? The book I read a few years ago is called "The Every Other Day Diet" (Krista Varady). There are other publications out there that teach the same concept: eat about 500 calories a few days a week (every other day per the book I read, but there are some methods that require only 2 days of this) while eating somewhat freely the rest of the time.
I know, I know. This sounds unconventional. However, I have found a fair bit of people claiming it works well for them. It's said to be highly effective for weight loss as well as improving general health, and many find it more achievable than traditional daily dieting.
Have you tried it? Are you doing it now? What version (5:2, EOD, UDDD...) What challenges did you encounter along the way?
Just curious!
I tried 5:2 - five days at maintenance & 2 days at 500. I wouldn't do every other day because that's just too aggressive at my current weight. Aggressive weight loss for one's current size makes it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass. Fasting every other day diet isn't a work around.
As far as "improving general health"......I've only seen anecdotal evidence (good for book sales I guess). But I wouldn't put much stock in that. Maybe some day they will do actual studies.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting
Maintenance calories are here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
Famof72015 wrote: »I googled. So 1667 is my maintenance calories. So 25% of that is 416.7 so should I eat that 2 days a week and eat maintenance the other 5? Or can I eat a little below maintenance maybe 1500/ day?
Pretty much. This should result in a loss of about 2/3 of a pound a week, which is reasonable for your current maintenance.2 -
As far as "improving general health," the science is mixed on that, especially when it comes to women's health, and especially when it comes to women who are not obese and have normal insulin response already. A lot of the "benefits" cited by experts (and especially online) are based on studies in men, and women respond differently to calorie restriction - especially hormonally.0
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This is great. I think I will try it. I'm going for the EOD version, but I will definitely track calories on both the diet day (500 cal) and the feast day (I'll cap that one at 2000 cal). Wish me luck!4
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As far as "improving general health," the science is mixed on that, especially when it comes to women's health, and especially when it comes to women who are not obese and have normal insulin response already. A lot of the "benefits" cited by experts (and especially online) are based on studies in men, and women respond differently to calorie restriction - especially hormonally.
Yep, while I'm a fan of IF I don't think it's really done anything magical for my health (at least that I can tell). It just works well with my schedule/eating style and then helps me with calorie adherence 2 -
buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »This is great. I think I will try it. I'm going for the EOD version, but I will definitely track calories on both the diet day (500 cal) and the feast day (I'll cap that one at 2000 cal). Wish me luck!
I like this idea, l guess trying it for a little while wouldnt hurt1 -
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buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »This is great. I think I will try it. I'm going for the EOD version, but I will definitely track calories on both the diet day (500 cal) and the feast day (I'll cap that one at 2000 cal). Wish me luck!
Good luck! Just don't be tempted to undereat on feast days, it could backfire both psychologically and physically.
Edit: Oops, wrong quote.2 -
Thanks! Yea I'll be sure I am getting some proper food on feast day, but I will not let feast day turn into crazy-go-nuts-eat-all-the-things day. Tracking calories should keep me in check. I like the notion that it will average out to a proper deficit. (500+2000)/2=1250 calories average.0
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Oh interesting side note! For people worried about lean muscle, please read this excerpt from The Every Other Day Diet by Dr. Krista Varady and Bill Gottlieb:
Dieters lost fat, not muscle. Our EOD dieters also lost most of their weight as fat—11.9 pounds, on average, meaning that they shed only a few ounces of muscle. Losing fat rather than muscle is crucial in successful weight loss, because muscle burns calories. A typical dieter on other plans sheds 75% of her weight as fat and 25% as muscle; the typical EOD dieter sheds nearly all of her weight as fat. That’s probably one reason why my subsequent studies have shown that EOD dieters, unlike most other dieters, don’t regain the weight they lose.
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buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »Oh interesting side note! For people worried about lean muscle, please read this excerpt from The Every Other Day Diet by Dr. Krista Varady and Bill Gottlieb:
Dieters lost fat, not muscle. Our EOD dieters also lost most of their weight as fat—11.9 pounds, on average, meaning that they shed only a few ounces of muscle. Losing fat rather than muscle is crucial in successful weight loss, because muscle burns calories. A typical dieter on other plans sheds 75% of her weight as fat and 25% as muscle; the typical EOD dieter sheds nearly all of her weight as fat. That’s probably one reason why my subsequent studies have shown that EOD dieters, unlike most other dieters, don’t regain the weight they lose.
Maybe........
How was this measured? How many people in this study? Did they have good genetics, or personal trainers (who knows). There are a number of factors for helping to keep more lean muscle mass: moderate deficit, adequate protein, and progressive strength training.0 -
Preceding that excerpt, she cites a 2009 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, if you'd like take a look. here is the link to that study: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/5/1138
The book is pretty fascinating. I will probably read it over again.
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I am kinda doing that "The Every Other Day Diet" but my diet days are grouped together, Monday to first half of Thursday and they happen to be noneventful time. I didn't start out like this but kept adjusting over months and now it becomes exactly 50/50 between fasting/eating light and eating freely as you put.
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How cool! If it works for you, then hey, power to ya! 0
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I don't follow a low day high day. However I do intermittent fasting about 3 times a week. Example: I ate last night by 6pm and then didn't eat breakfast until about 9:30am; fasting for about 15 hours. I broke through my plateau since starting this.2
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*follow up note*
Eating 500 calories is totally hard! I did not make it through the day. (Fail.)
That said, I still want to try... I will try the 5:2 diet. Seems like it's less challenging than the EOD.
I think there is an active group in the community that follows it and I could use the inspiration.1 -
What are you guys eating for the fasting days?
I will make Sunday my fast days, and figured I might make it into a complete 'cleanse' (no meat, alcohol, processed etc.).0 -
buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »*follow up note*
Eating 500 calories is totally hard! I did not make it through the day. (Fail.)
That said, I still want to try... I will try the 5:2 diet. Seems like it's less challenging than the EOD.
I think there is an active group in the community that follows it and I could use the inspiration.
Only the first couple of weeks are hard, as you fast more fast days become much easier.1 -
What are you guys eating for the fasting days?
I will make Sunday my fast days, and figured I might make it into a complete 'cleanse' (no meat, alcohol, processed etc.).
I eat basic meals that are low in fat (because fat is the worst thing for my personal hunger). My typical meal contains some kind of starch, some kind of lean protein and lots and lots of vegetables. Many days I have predominantly starchy meals like bean or lentil meals because starch is the most filling to me. Vegetables give the meal volume so that's a staple too. I use low calorie broth based soups (about 40-50 calories per cup) to bump the volume even more. My meals are typically 1 calorie per gram or under.
A meal may look like this:
This chicken for 200 calories: http://www.skinnytaste.com/chicken-with-roasted-tomato-and-red/
200 grams of broccoli with lemon juice and garlic for 70 calories
180 grams of roasted potatoes for 160 calories
That's a little under 1.5 pounds of food for 450 calories. This leaves me with 350 calories for a second meal (I do 800 calorie fast days).
My second meal may be this: http://food52.com/recipes/20441-aloo-gobi-a-dry-indian-curry-of-cauliflower-potato-peas
Has about 350 calories per pound of food.
ETA: I understand that most people don't do 800 calorie fast days so here are some other ideas with low approximate calories per gram to pair with your favorite dishes:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/mexican-cauliflower-rice/ - 0.35 calories per gram
http://thymeandtoast.com/eggplant-chickpea-tomato-casserole/ - 0.6 calories per gram
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a45366/buffalo-roasted-cauliflower-recipe/ - 0.4 calories per gram
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/lemony-lentil-soup-with-greens/ - 0.5 calories per gram
http://ahealthylifeforme.com/eggplant-meatballs-in-marinara/ - 0.3 calories per gram
http://precisionnutrition.com/encyclopedia/food/anchovies/ - 0.55 calories per gram if you reduce the oil
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