Scattered Dieting

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I read somewhere that it helps you lose weight to do a strict diet a couple days a week, if you can't do it full time. For example, only eating 650 calories 2 days a week. Is this healthy? And/or helpful?

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  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I read somewhere that it helps you lose weight to do a strict diet a couple days a week, if you can't do it full time. For example, only eating 650 calories 2 days a week. Is this healthy? And/or helpful?

    I don't mean to dodge your question but I would first look into the bold part above. So far, I'm not grasping why anyone cannot adhere to their diet full time.

    Can you give some detail on that?
  • portalm
    portalm Posts: 201 Member
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    ^^What he said, Basically if you cannot sustain your diet over the course of say.... your life time, why are you on said diet?

    Just eat healthy and watch your macro and micro nutritants, you will lose weight steadily. Then when you get to where you want to be, switch to maintaining.
  • snowgrrl83
    snowgrrl83 Posts: 242 Member
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    I don't think it works because I can eat TRIPLE the amount of calories that I saved in a whole week in just ONE SITTING.
    Weight loss is a full time thing, imo. If you really can't do it, well, then I suppose any effort is better than packing on the pounds. Maybe you'll manage to maintain your weight rather than losing.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    you dont need strict diets, just a healthy lifestyle... they are sustainable for ever and ever...

    eat less, move more... crazy i know, but it works!!!!
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc

    You may find the information in this documentry interesting if you are looking at the health benefits of eating normally for several days then dropping to 600 or so calories for a day or two.
  • EmmaM2211
    EmmaM2211 Posts: 536 Member
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    This idea was in the Horizon programme in the UK last week (or whener it was shown) he ate 600cals 2 days a week then ate a balanced diet but not calorie counting the rest of the time and lost a considerable amount of weight (about 15 - 20lbs in 6 weeks I believe)

    The show was not about weight loss but about the positive health effects of ADF or the 5:2 diet he did. They're in the first stages of testing but it appears to reduce risk of heart disease, alzheimers, diabetes etc etc. No conclusive evidence yet though. xx
  • wizardoloz
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    You did hear it somewhere, and it has several benefits, weight loss being just a sideshow to the main events of brain sharpening, cancer and heart problem avoidance.

    Read more: BBC Two Programmes - Buzz about Horizon: 2012-2013: Eat, Fast ...



    www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc/buzz


    10+ items – Michael Mosley examines the science behind fasting, as he ...

    http://bradpilon.com

    The 5/2 diet Intermittent fasting
    http://www.rizdin.com

    Eat, Fast and Live Longer" - Michael Mosely BBC 2/ i player

    Seems interesting, so I'm just giving it a go, with my hubs.. see if we find it stickable, and to do what we can to keep away from heart and cancer problems. I don't feel like eating more having just finished the "fasting" bit. It is supposed to be 500 kCals for a woman, I just learned, for fasting days. Still, I fasted for 6 hours longer than I needed to, so never mind!

    enjoy reading up about it!
    Loz
  • thairrashid
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    What you are speaking about is bascially based on a BBC documentary about fasting where Michael Moseley went on a fast type weight loss and he was able to lose about 2 stones over a few months by just cutting his calorie intake to 600 calories for 2 days a week; and the rest of the days he would eat as normal.

    The main purpose was not to lose weight but to get his blood sugar his cholesterol, blood pressure etc all down and he did also lose weight as a result.
  • crazylovergrl
    crazylovergrl Posts: 97 Member
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    I find that calorie cycling helps me lose more. The phone app is really handy because you can look at weekly calorie goals rather than just daily. Not sure if this website has that capability... So yeah, if I eat half a pizza one day I will eat much less for a day or two. But, if I'm doing a lot of working out, having a low daily calorie count doesn't quite cut it so I forgive myself and move on with my daily goals. I def don't think it's bad or the wrong thing to do!
  • Arunakae
    Arunakae Posts: 83
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    Thank you all for your responses. To explain more about my dieting thing: I eat healthy all the time, by strict dieting I meant strict calories. I'm a vegetarian, I eat tons of fruits and veggies as well as making protein shakes and more. I exercise for at least an hour every morning and do scattered exercise throughout the day. I'm generally a very healthy person. The question is, is it healthy and/or helpful to do a strict calorie restriction down to 650 calories twice a week?