Anyone tried do the 5:2 along side my fitness pal,

nettenettenette
nettenettenette Posts: 7 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Just wondering if anyone has tried the 5:2 diet and had any success I'm doing it along side my fitness pal
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Replies

  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    no
  • Tastyduckbutter
    Tastyduckbutter Posts: 30 Member
    Yes. I found it difficult to maintain energy levels between fast days and normal days. Also, I found that MFP is better when used with a consistent diet with regular daily goals.
  • nettenettenette
    nettenettenette Posts: 7 Member
    I started Monday I have 2 days of fasting then 5 days of 1200 cals, I'm just curious to see what the results are. Plus I need some control over food otherwise I'm a massive over eater.
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    I started Monday I have 2 days of fasting then 5 days of 1200 cals, I'm just curious to see what the results are. Plus I need some control over food otherwise I'm a massive over eater.


    NO, NO, NO. This is a plan for starving yourself. Fasting methods can work but you are not supposed to be at bare minimum on the non-fasting days. Do not do this to yourself. You are setting yourself up for failure. You will be hungry….. a lot. This will lead to binging. This is not a method to help you get "control over food." Find a consistent way to eat so you are not hungry all the time.

    Losing fat and losing weight are not the same thing.
  • nettenettenette
    nettenettenette Posts: 7 Member
    It's not something I plan to stick to long term, just trying it this week to see what the results are. I'm a massive binger when it comes to food, so I'm just trying to break the cycle of constant eating.
  • kae_blah
    kae_blah Posts: 180 Member
    Yes - I put my goal to maintenance and activity levels to sedentary.

    I created a custom food item called "5:2 day adjustment" of my maintenance calories minus 500 and add this to my diary on fasting days.

    I recorded any exercise I did but only eat back exercise calories on non-fast days.

    This worked well for me.

    On Sundays I used the mobile app to record something like "Weekly under goal 3280 net calories = 804 + (2x 1238)" where 1238 was the fasting day adjustment amount.
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    It's not something I plan to stick to long term, just trying it this week to see what the results are. I'm a massive binger when it comes to food, so I'm just trying to break the cycle of constant eating.

    I get what your saying but you could really hurt your matabolism that way. You even state that binging is a concern of yours. Don't try methods that you are not planning on continuing long term. Just find a way that is more consistent and not so dramatic that you can't sustain your efforts. Weight loss is not about speed it is about consistency. If you want to lose fat instead of losing your muscle mass you need to eat and work out.

    If you really must try this 5:2 method then you should learn more about it first. You are supposed to balence your calories out still being sure that you eat enough. The way you described how you were going to do it is not the correct way to approuch a fasting method.
  • nettenettenette
    nettenettenette Posts: 7 Member
    Maybe I should change my setting to maintaining and fast 2 days, just really want to lose weight. Next week gonna try that. Not sure really how many calories I should be eating on none fast days which will still show results
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    Maybe I should change my setting to maintaining and fast 2 days, just really want to lose weight. Next week gonna try that. Not sure really how many calories I should be eating on none fast days which will still show results


    You are at a stage right now where you need to see results to avoid frustration. I get it. We have all been there. Just know that what you really want is to lose weight and keep it off. That means you have to find a way to make changes that you sustain forever. Real lifestyle changes. Good luck to you.
  • lynnerack
    lynnerack Posts: 158 Member
    Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Have lost 24lbs since March. Search for the 5:2 groups on here where you will get plenty of good advice from people who have lost and are losing weight on this brilliant way of eating!
    I started off logging every day and then hit a plateau about a month ago so stopped logging on my non-fast days and it worked. I eat pretty much anything I want to on my non-fast days - went away last weekend and had fish and chips and icecream and I've lost nearly 3 pounds this week alone!
  • HollieDollieeeex
    HollieDollieeeex Posts: 116 Member
    I started Monday I have 2 days of fasting then 5 days of 1200 cals, I'm just curious to see what the results are. Plus I need some control over food otherwise I'm a massive over eater.

    If you are a massive over eater I would just be careful that you're not restricting too much, 500cals twice a week and the other days 1200, i'd be a miserable girl, on my knees with weakness. If you restrict toooo much, you'll end up binging out and ruining the work you've done on those hardcore fasting days.

    I would just stick to MFP, it works and is so much less complex x
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    jdad1's right on many counts.

    With 5:2 you're supposed to eat 500kcals on fasting days (women) and "normal" on non-fasting days. Eating 1200kcals on non-fasting days is VLCD territory not "normal" (unless you're a pigeon :smile: ).

    I did 16/8 IFing last year and used MFP - so you can use MFP's diary system to log. Just set the daily intake to what is normal for you ie TDEE then on fast days, ignore the target values and stick to your 500 target.

    Interestingly, your 24 hour window doesn't have to start at midnight. This means that you can have a big-*kitten* breakfast and lunch on Monday, finish eating lunch at 1pm, have a 500kcal dinner at 8pm, wake up the next day, wait until 1pm then have a big-*kitten* lunch. From 1pm to 1pm you'll have eaten 500kcals. As long as your Tuesday 1pm to Wednesday 1pm is a normal calorie intake, you can then do Wednesday 1pm to Thursday 1pm as your next fast and still be ticking the 5:2 boxes.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    It's not something I plan to stick to long term, just trying it this week to see what the results are. I'm a massive binger when it comes to food, so I'm just trying to break the cycle of constant eating.

    I do 5:2 but would urge YOU not too.
    There are a few groups of people who shouldn't do 5:2 and those with an unhealthy relationship to food are one of them.

    You need to address your binging and I very much doubt a massive restriction is the way forward.

    Eating at 500 x 2 and then 5 x massive deficit is NOT the way the program works, that is just plain unhealthy and damaging.
    Please reconsider.
  • lynnerack
    lynnerack Posts: 158 Member
    Here's a link to one of the 5:2 groups

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/7953-5-2-fasting
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
    Interestingly, your 24 hour window doesn't have to start at midnight. This means that you can have a big-*kitten* breakfast and lunch on Monday, finish eating lunch at 1pm, have a 500kcal dinner at 8pm, wake up the next day, wait until 1pm then have a big-*kitten* lunch. From 1pm to 1pm you'll have eaten 500kcals. As long as your Tuesday 1pm to Wednesday 1pm is a normal calorie intake, you can then do Wednesday 1pm to Thursday 1pm as your next fast and still be ticking the 5:2 boxes.
    [/quote]


    OMG! I failed miserably at 5:2, mostly because I don't eat breakfast and don't have time for more than a quick bite for lunch so fasting for a whole day really meant going from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 3 with only about 1000 calories between. So I could have had an early dinner on day 1, 500 cal at the next lunch and then a late dinner? Rats!! :smile:
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    I do 5:2.

    I agree though that nobody who has pathological issues with food (anorexia, bulimia or overeating) should engage in any kind of fasting regime.

    The undereaters will start getting competetive in the wrong way ("how long can I eat nothing for" etc) and the overeaters will just collapse face-down in a bag of doughnuts cos it's ok they haven't eaten the day before...

    Intermittent fasting of various intervals and durations has been found to have various health benefits, but your head has to be in the right place for it.
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Interesting topic!!!
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Yep but I do 4:3 so I have a fasting day every 3rd day. I don't bother with the 500 cals because I want to really fast & enjoy the hunger. I dont eat anything on my fast days. I've just had my 10th fast day & already I'm 1.6kg off my final goal.

    It's not that hard, I don't binge at all & don't eat anything for over 36 hours in total.....mainly cause I'm just not that hungry, even after a full day of fasting.

    I sleep better, have way more energy (nothing like going for a 10km run at 6pm on a fasting day with noting in your stomach at all) and just feel better about food. I'm no longer obsessed with counting calories, love that I can eat what I like & still lose weight.... not just weight but fat & size.


    If you don't have an ED then go for it. Better than developing an ED from being obsessed with calories.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Interestingly, your 24 hour window doesn't have to start at midnight. This means that you can have a big-*kitten* breakfast and lunch on Monday, finish eating lunch at 1pm, have a 500kcal dinner at 8pm, wake up the next day, wait until 1pm then have a big-*kitten* lunch. From 1pm to 1pm you'll have eaten 500kcals. As long as your Tuesday 1pm to Wednesday 1pm is a normal calorie intake, you can then do Wednesday 1pm to Thursday 1pm as your next fast and still be ticking the 5:2 boxes.


    OMG! I failed miserably at 5:2, mostly because I don't eat breakfast and don't have time for more than a quick bite for lunch so fasting for a whole day really meant going from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 3 with only about 1000 calories between. So I could have had an early dinner on day 1, 500 cal at the next lunch and then a late dinner? Rats!! :smile:
    [/quote]


    Sleeping is usually not included in the 24 hours, so 1pm to 1pm is only going to be a short window. Usual is 36 hours to make it a full 24 hours of real fasting. No wonder you failed.
  • lesleyprevriley
    lesleyprevriley Posts: 1
    .
  • andiebaco
    andiebaco Posts: 211 Member
    I started Monday I have 2 days of fasting then 5 days of 1200 cals, I'm just curious to see what the results are. Plus I need some control over food otherwise I'm a massive over eater.


    You are going to get a lot of haters here... I suggest joining the 5:2 groups so you get support.

    Also, I'm sorry but you're doing it wrong... It's 2 days of fasting and 5 days at TDEE. So it'll average around 1200.. The way you're doing it, you are getting WAY lower calories than you should and that's wrong.

    My two cents...
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    OMG! I failed miserably at 5:2, mostly because I don't eat breakfast and don't have time for more than a quick bite for lunch so fasting for a whole day really meant going from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 3 with only about 1000 calories between. So I could have had an early dinner on day 1, 500 cal at the next lunch and then a late dinner? Rats!! :smile:

    You're not supposed to fast on consecutive days.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member

    Sleeping is usually not included in the 24 hours

    So what does breakfast mean?

    To add: I was doing 12/12 including sleep for 6-8 hours. IF worked for me even though I was eating TDEE during the 12 hour eating window.
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member

    Sleeping is usually not included in the 24 hours

    So what does breakfast mean?

    To add: I was doing 12/12 including sleep for 6-8 hours. IF worked for me even though I was eating TDEE during the 12 hour eating window.

    Yes, I can't see why sleeping would not be included and can find no reference to that. However, I did see mentioned, a 2pm to 2pm window as an example of the plan's flexibility (like your 1pm to 1pm).
  • andiebaco
    andiebaco Posts: 211 Member
    OMG! I failed miserably at 5:2, mostly because I don't eat breakfast and don't have time for more than a quick bite for lunch so fasting for a whole day really meant going from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 3 with only about 1000 calories between. So I could have had an early dinner on day 1, 500 cal at the next lunch and then a late dinner? Rats!! :smile:

    You're not supposed to fast on consecutive days.

    I sometimes do (ok.. two times out of four intents). It is hard. But since I have busy fridays and I just can't seem to be able to fast on weekends, I do what it works for me.. and that means that sometimes I fast back to back.

    But it is hard! And I don't recommend it if you're just starting.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    OMG! I failed miserably at 5:2, mostly because I don't eat breakfast and don't have time for more than a quick bite for lunch so fasting for a whole day really meant going from dinner on day 1 to dinner on day 3 with only about 1000 calories between. So I could have had an early dinner on day 1, 500 cal at the next lunch and then a late dinner? Rats!! :smile:

    You're not supposed to fast on consecutive days.

    I sometimes do (ok.. two times out of four intents). It is hard. But since I have busy fridays and I just can't seem to be able to fast on weekends, I do what it works for me.. and that means that sometimes I fast back to back.

    But it is hard! And I don't recommend it if you're just starting.

    I bet it is. I say "supposed", 5:2 is also called alternate day fasting is it not? TBH there are no hard and fast rules for IF in its many forms. I don't think enough research has been done to categorically state that 5:2 is the most effective way or 16/8 is the best intraday split. That's to say, 4:3 may work for someone but it may be suboptimal even if they find it works for them. "In spite of" vs "because of".
  • mrsmcf
    mrsmcf Posts: 41 Member
    That is WAY too few calories on non-fasting days. You will lose at first but eventually your body will think it's starving and save every little ounce of fat and you will STALL. I started with 5:2 and 1500 on non-fast days but have given up the fasting. A true 5:2 is fasting at 500 cals for two non consecutive days and eating at your TDEE the other five days. 1200 is WAY too low.
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
    For the 5:2 diet you are supposed to eat 500 calories on fast days (for women) and eat at your maintenance on the other five days. That is why they say "you're only dieting two days out of the week". In general i know a lot of women that simply eat 500 calories on fast days and 2000 calories on feast days. The average weight loss for this way seems to be 1lb a week. Although the first couple weeks you will probably lose more.
  • joannamthomas
    joannamthomas Posts: 1 Member
    yes, it's essential to track how many calories I've eaten.
  • stylistchicky
    stylistchicky Posts: 561 Member
    I want to loose as much weight and as fast as possible too, but it isnt healthy at all. If you follow your calories and exercise it is possible to loose weight in a healthy way so you don't put it back on. You really are setting yourself up for failure because, you will loose a few lbs and then when you stop your fasting and start eating again your weight loss will stop or really slow down. Consistency and being honest with yourself about what you are eating and weighing and measuring to ensure accuracy will give you steady weight loss. If you are keeping your journal and you stop loosing you can look back at the foods and make changes. Fad diets don't work in the long run. Slow and steady wins the race.

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