5:2 Fasting Diet

Miiimii

At the beginning I avoid working out at my fasting days, but with the time I got used to the lower calorie amout on my fasting days and feel energized enough to work out. So the question with the exercise calories came just up the last weeks since I started working out on my fasting days.

I don't know what the book says, because I don't have it. If anyone out there has more information aboute fasting days, exercises and exercises calories, please let me know.

Keiras_Mom

I don't eat back my exercise calories on fasting days. Yesterday, I consumed 450 calories, but I burned 408 calories (per HRM, at the gym), so my net calories were 42. Sometimes I have negative net calories. If you feel well, there's no need to eat more. JMO.

Beavergong

I m on 5:2 and I swim on fast days. I usually swim 60 laps but when I started 5:2 on cut that back to 40 on fast days but now I swim 60 again . The book The Fast Diet says don,t eat your exercise calories back on fast days sorry.

beattie1

I don't eat back my exercise calories on fasting days. Yesterday, I consumed 450 calories, but I burned 408 calories (per HRM, at the gym), so my net calories were 42. Sometimes I have negative net calories. If you feel well, there's no need to eat more. JMO.

I agree with this - you don't eat more if you exercise on a fast day. If it's just a one-off very busy day you can move the fast to another day. I had a spell of being very active when working on a project and stopped doing 5:2 for that time. If you get too weak and wobbly to continue if you have big burns on fast days you'll need to be sensible. You have choices - if you can't cope with fasting, cycling and working out on fast days you could -
1) cut fasts back to one a week (on a less busy day), or
2) eat enough that you can cycle and work, or
3)reduce the amount of exercise you do on fasting days.

JAT74

Why not do what I'm doing and work out your TDEE and then subtract what you need to eat every week in order to lose 1lb per week or whatever your looking to lose.

Then you just need to subtract 1000 calories for your 2 fast days from the total and divide the remainder up evenly for the other days.

That would mean that if the total you can eat all week after subtracting the weekly deficit is for example 10000 then after taking off 1000 cals for the 2 fast days you'd have 9000 for the other days which divided by 5 would be 1800 cals per day. Still emough to lise weight and you will feel satisfied with what you're eating on the other days.

aimesuk

Why not do what I'm doing and work out your TDEE and then subtract what you need to eat every week in order to lose 1lb per week or whatever your looking to lose.

Then you just need to subtract 1000 calories for your 2 fast days from the total and divide the remainder up evenly for the other days.

That would mean that if the total you can eat all week after subtracting the weekly deficit is for example 10000 then after taking off 1000 cals for the 2 fast days you'd have 9000 for the other days which divided by 5 would be 1800 cals per day. Still emough to lise weight and you will feel satisfied with what you're eating on the other days.

Because you are totally missing the point of 5:2 and just doing a low calorie diet? Lots of people find it easier to maintain a fast day twice a week than restrict all the time.

beattie1

Why not do what I'm doing and work out your TDEE and then subtract what you need to eat every week in order to lose 1lb per week or whatever your looking to lose.

Then you just need to subtract 1000 calories for your 2 fast days from the total and divide the remainder up evenly for the other days.

That would mean that if the total you can eat all week after subtracting the weekly deficit is for example 10000 then after taking off 1000 cals for the 2 fast days you'd have 9000 for the other days which divided by 5 would be 1800 cals per day. Still emough to lise weight and you will feel satisfied with what you're eating on the other days.

Because you are totally missing the point of 5:2 and just doing a low calorie diet? Lots of people find it easier to maintain a fast day twice a week than restrict all the time.

What JAT74 is suggesting is a 5:2 diet with 2 days at 500 calories each. She is showing how to calculate how much to eat on the non-fasting days to maintain a suitable deficit over the week. Makes perfect sense.... :flowerforyou:

Crochetluvr

I would like to know what is so important about "jumpstarting" weight loss. :ohwell:

mytabouly

Hi there! I have just started my first fast day on this "lifestyle change". A colleague of mine has been doing intermittent fasting for some time now and he looks fantastic. He just seems to be bursting with energy.

We're both programmers so we have very sedentary jobs. This program seems to fit very well with the nature of our work. Just as an aside, I also do strength and cardio training 3 times a week.

I have a bit of weight to lose (around 12ks) but i guess this really isn't about weight loss for me. I'm much more interested in the health benefits and energy levels.

I'll check back in a few days to let you know how it's going. I might make my food diary public so if you're interested in what I eat on the fast days, you can see it there.

Also, first post!

beattie1

I have never heard of this diet. I too am wondering what the benefit of "fasting" for two days is versus just eating 1,500 a day (for example). Isn't it about net calorie deficit at the end of the week, or what am I missing? That said, how do you eat 2,000 calories 5 days a week!! I've been on here for two months and had only one day even close to 2,000. I think I'd have to eat a pint of ice cream every day to get that high. Hmm, maybe not a bad plan...Plus 2,000 is well over my TDEE so that just seems counterproductive. Confused as to why or how this works. :S

The primary goal of doing the 5:2 diet is a healthier body, the weight loss is a side effect. Read this -
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/
A day or two of eating very low calorie puts your body into "repair mode" instead of "growth mode" and improves insulin sensitivity.

khrest

Its the only diet that ever worked for me and my wife.
I've lost 36lb in 4 months, she lost 25 in 3.5 months.
550 cals on two fast days each week and <1300 on the other 5. Total 7500-8000 cals per week.
It only works for me because if I eat >1400 cals in a day I gain weight steadily. This meant I lost 1-2lb on my two fast days and then didn't put them back on during the other 5.
I dont know how you can eat 2000+ per day, every day, I feel bloated if I get to 1800 on bad day.
Just proves we are all different.
Oh, and I feel healthier than I have for 25 years, my wife is the same.
The only negative I've seen is we need new wardrobes, but I can live with that if that's the worst of it!

JAT74

To the previous poster, are you exercising while eating that little? I burn off around 3000 calories per week through exercise but have so far found that by doing 5:2 or any other method that I'm not losing weight if I eat 9,500-11,000 calories across the week so next week I'm going to try and eat no more than 9200 in total including two fast days of 550 each and more on the other days.

It will be hard for me to eat so little with my current activity level so I don't know how you can eat 7500-8000 unless you and your wife don't exercise.

I have come to the conclusion after 4 months on MFP that lower calories is the only way for me to lose and 5:2 make this a lot more bearable as 2 days of vlc means 5 days of eating a more 'normal' amount of food.

alyssawyn

Hi, does anyone know if its ok to take appetite supressants on fast days??

Guitar1969

It's not the best diet out there is all I can say about it. It's really depriving yourself from what your body truly needs. You need carbs, although they can make you gain weight, you will still need them throughout the day.

I would still prefer Paleo over 5:2 diet any day of the week. A much better option.

I think what you mean to say is your body needs complex carbs as nobody needs simple carbs like table sugar , white bread etc. The 5:2 diet does not restrict carbs. I have been doing the 5:2 diet and it is by far the least restrictive diet out there for weight loss but again it all adds up to less calories consumed than burned.

I think the paleo diet is probably the most restrictive plan out there and is not long term sustainable. Do people understand that the average life expectancy of Paleo man was 25 years - why do people think that plan is good.

I think though from what I am reading is everybody is modifying the 5:2 with a calorie restricted diet on the other feed days as well which is not what they recommend at all. So you shouldn't be calling it 5:2. I think you are going to see stalls that way and it is unhealthy as it is going to catch up to you.

Guitar1969

Hi, does anyone know if its ok to take appetite supressants on fast days??

don't...

Absolutely not. After your first few fast days you will not feel as bad.

mytabouly

I'd say a definite no to appetite supressants. I did my first fast day and it really was not too bad. You just need to make sure you have water always handy. I found that gum helped when I started to feel a little too ravenous. Today I woke up feeling fab, none of the usual bloating etc.

So far so good....

melaniecheeks

Do you REALLY feel that an appetite suppressant will act that quickly? It's only for one day, you can eat tomorrow. Chew on a celery stick, drink some water, have a cup of bouillon, there's all sorts of ways to manage a hunger wave.

Fairlieboy

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Fasting and too low calories leads to binging! x

Here is the interesting scientific outcome from proper research in the USA. The obese patients had a much better compliance with this eating regime than other patients using other calorie restrictions.
In contrast, 60,000 people in over 30 scientific studies using a wide range of diet programs increased weight following 2 years after their diet. Diets are a sure fired way to increase weight. Who has not yoyoed!
Some of the other mfp people in the groups 5+2 or 5:2 say the value of the program is they don't binge. My wife has been on every diet known. This one is a doodle. It allows social eating without guilt. While we have only been doing it for 6 weeks I have lost weight & does not cramp our lifestyle.

alyssawyn

No I don't think I really need it, I haven't been struggling hunger much but I was just interested in finding out whether it would have any negative impact??

alyssawyn

*struggling with