INTERMITTENT FASTING
rjjarvis
Posts: 55
This topic is about Intermittent Fasting as made popular by Dr. Michael Mosely in a BBC program. He also wrote a book titled "The FastDiet". His approach was based on animal studies that showed fasting increased the health and longevity of rodents, and it picks up on studies in humans done by Krista Varady of the U of Illinois on alternate day fasting (ADF). Dr. Varady's medical journal article is available on Google.
Cutting to the chase, Mosely considers that ADF is too difficult (he used himself as a guinea pig) and so he proposes the "5:2" plan. This is very simple: Fast 2 non-consecutive days per week, eat whatever you want on the 5 non-fasting days. This protocol caused people not only to lose weight steadily but also their blood panels improved.
This sounds extremely difficult and daunting, and much harder than dieting. But in practice it is far easier than dieting, and I've been successfully applying it for nearly 2 months now. I've lost over 30 pounds, and it has been simple. The reason it works is that it is counter-intuitive. When Dr. Varady was studying ADF with her human study, she and others expected people to eat 175% of their normal intake on "feed" days to compensate for the previous days' fasting. But in practice, although they were not restricted at all, people didn't do this. They actually ate 100% to 110% of their normal intake on "feed" days. This results in a very large weekly calorie deficit, and this causes weight loss. In my case, the loss has varied between 2 and 5 pounds per week, even when eating like a swine on the "feed" days. Yes, I have cheated, and have stalled out once or twice. But I've always compensated and am on track anyway.
Here's the deal: people tell you not to fast, because they are afraid that your body metabolism will become aware of the fasting and switch you into "starvation mode" where your metabolism slows down to conserve body mass, making it impossible, or at least much harder, to lose weight. This is a real phenomenon, and explains why it takes so long to starve to death. But studies have found that this "starvation mode" is not like a light switch that suddenly switches on--it takes a little time. If you fast one day, and eat whatever you want the next, the body doesn't have time to switch into the calorie conservation mode, and you really do get the benefit of your fasting.
Also, "fasting" is not really eating nothing and drinking nothing, as an Islamic person would do during daylight hours of Ramadan. The fasting in this instance is "modified fasting," which allows you to eat a small number of calories on a "fast" day: 600 calories for men, 500 calories for women. In practice this works out to a decent breakfast, no lunch, and a small dinner. Mosely's book contains lots of examples of 600 and 500 calorie meal days, and recipes, but really you can just make up your own. For me a fast day is typically two poached eggs, a slice of non-buttered toast, a strip of bacon, coffee and skim milk for breakfast -- actually a pretty substantial breakfast that only really comes to 300 cals. Then no lunch. I'll typically work through lunch, or play ping pong, or drink iced tea, or all of the above. Really pretty easy to skip lunch when you are busy. Then dinner, to make it easy, is a can of tuna or salmon, or a tin of sardines. Of course, you could be more creative. I've also had a thin homemade lean hamburger on a bun, a small broiled salmon filet and a salad, or a tuna salad full of vegetables and some olive-oil mayonnaise. The possibilities are endless for a 300 cal dinner, but it is a small dinner by western standards.
This sounds hard, but it isn't. Here's the key, as Mosely points out. The beauty of the 5:2 plan is that, on fasting days, you know that YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT THE NEXT DAY. This is incredibly powerful. Unlike dieting, or atkins, or the normal protocols, where the Sword of Damocles is always hanging over your head (oh, I ate too much, oh, I shouldn't have eaten that, oh, i need to cut back, eat less carbs, no bread, etc etc), you only restrict yourself on day1 and on day2 you can eat anything. If you are longing for a bacon cheeseburger with fries, or pizza, you can ponder this craving on your fast day, and the next day you can have at it.
Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy the freedom of my non-fasting days, which form most of my week. And as for the fasting days, I don't dread them anymore (I did for the first 2 or 3). Now I actually look forward to them with happiness, and I am very pleased and self-righteous during those days. I also find that I am more mentally sharp, and better at sports and other activity. This is something that sounds counterintuitive, but as Mosely points out, during the fast days you are letting your body clean itself and repair damage. You have taken your foot off the accelerator and you are just coasting, you are not telling your cells to grow, grow, grow by continuing to fuel them all day every day. This has a salutary effect on your health, and there are many people worldwide who restrict calories dramatically every day only for the health effects. This sounds hard to me, and I won't be one of them.
If you, like me, are obese and hating life, and are a recidivist with every bleeding diet that you try, losing 40 pounds on Atkins then gaining it all back and more, try this protocol. It is much, much easier than dieting, and after 2 or 3 fast days you will find it is very simple and easy. I have another 60 pounds to lose. I've been following a 4:3 protocol, which is fasting 3 days per week (Mon/Thur/Sat). Of course the days are your choice so long as they are non-consecutive. The 5:2 plan recommended by Mosely is so easy for me that I pushed myself to add another fast day per week to speed the process and make it a little more challenging. Now I'm finding the 4:3 is really easy. It really does get much easier the more you do it for some reason. You don't get unduly tired or hungry. You just eat your little programmed 300 cal meals for breakfast and dinner, and stop. No fuss, no muss. Then you can eat like a swine if you want on the "feed" days. In practice I have had some reasonable "feed" days and some incredibly sinful "feed" days. It doesn't seem to make a large difference over time.
I also found that I have a slightly different relationship with food now. For the most part, I am seeing why I got to be so fat, and the quantities of food I used to gorge myself with seem impossibly large now. This is not something I realized would happen, but I'm happy it has. Now when I eat like a swine, I eat like a smaller swine.
This is making a huge difference in my life, pulling me back from the bring of many potential health problems, and giving me a sense of well being and control over this formerly disastrous part of my life. I recommend that any of you that need help google michael mosely and intermittent fasting, and read dr. varady's journal article on alternate day fasting. There is enough information on the Internet to give you all you need. Or you can buy Dr. Mosely's book for about 10 bucks on Amazon if you want. There are lots of variations on this fasting theme, and you can find something that works for you personally. But don't discount fasting. Nearly all cultures and religions have featured fasting throughout the ages, and now we are becoming aware that there is a strong scientific basis for it. Primitive man didn't scarf down 3 high calorie meals a day every day. He probably hunted and feasted hugely, and then went hungry for days when he couldn't find something to eat. In some ways, our success in making cheap food available to everyone with no effort is our downfall; it's possible that it contributes to a lot of our diseases.
OK, either you will try this or not. I gain nothing either way, I am not associated with anyone trying to make money on this. It's just that it works and is so easy, and it frees you from the incessant calorie or carb counting and fear. Have the guts to cut back tremendously just 2 days out of your week and watch what happens. If you are like me, you will find it very easy, and you will be incredibly pleased with the results.
Cutting to the chase, Mosely considers that ADF is too difficult (he used himself as a guinea pig) and so he proposes the "5:2" plan. This is very simple: Fast 2 non-consecutive days per week, eat whatever you want on the 5 non-fasting days. This protocol caused people not only to lose weight steadily but also their blood panels improved.
This sounds extremely difficult and daunting, and much harder than dieting. But in practice it is far easier than dieting, and I've been successfully applying it for nearly 2 months now. I've lost over 30 pounds, and it has been simple. The reason it works is that it is counter-intuitive. When Dr. Varady was studying ADF with her human study, she and others expected people to eat 175% of their normal intake on "feed" days to compensate for the previous days' fasting. But in practice, although they were not restricted at all, people didn't do this. They actually ate 100% to 110% of their normal intake on "feed" days. This results in a very large weekly calorie deficit, and this causes weight loss. In my case, the loss has varied between 2 and 5 pounds per week, even when eating like a swine on the "feed" days. Yes, I have cheated, and have stalled out once or twice. But I've always compensated and am on track anyway.
Here's the deal: people tell you not to fast, because they are afraid that your body metabolism will become aware of the fasting and switch you into "starvation mode" where your metabolism slows down to conserve body mass, making it impossible, or at least much harder, to lose weight. This is a real phenomenon, and explains why it takes so long to starve to death. But studies have found that this "starvation mode" is not like a light switch that suddenly switches on--it takes a little time. If you fast one day, and eat whatever you want the next, the body doesn't have time to switch into the calorie conservation mode, and you really do get the benefit of your fasting.
Also, "fasting" is not really eating nothing and drinking nothing, as an Islamic person would do during daylight hours of Ramadan. The fasting in this instance is "modified fasting," which allows you to eat a small number of calories on a "fast" day: 600 calories for men, 500 calories for women. In practice this works out to a decent breakfast, no lunch, and a small dinner. Mosely's book contains lots of examples of 600 and 500 calorie meal days, and recipes, but really you can just make up your own. For me a fast day is typically two poached eggs, a slice of non-buttered toast, a strip of bacon, coffee and skim milk for breakfast -- actually a pretty substantial breakfast that only really comes to 300 cals. Then no lunch. I'll typically work through lunch, or play ping pong, or drink iced tea, or all of the above. Really pretty easy to skip lunch when you are busy. Then dinner, to make it easy, is a can of tuna or salmon, or a tin of sardines. Of course, you could be more creative. I've also had a thin homemade lean hamburger on a bun, a small broiled salmon filet and a salad, or a tuna salad full of vegetables and some olive-oil mayonnaise. The possibilities are endless for a 300 cal dinner, but it is a small dinner by western standards.
This sounds hard, but it isn't. Here's the key, as Mosely points out. The beauty of the 5:2 plan is that, on fasting days, you know that YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING YOU WANT THE NEXT DAY. This is incredibly powerful. Unlike dieting, or atkins, or the normal protocols, where the Sword of Damocles is always hanging over your head (oh, I ate too much, oh, I shouldn't have eaten that, oh, i need to cut back, eat less carbs, no bread, etc etc), you only restrict yourself on day1 and on day2 you can eat anything. If you are longing for a bacon cheeseburger with fries, or pizza, you can ponder this craving on your fast day, and the next day you can have at it.
Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy the freedom of my non-fasting days, which form most of my week. And as for the fasting days, I don't dread them anymore (I did for the first 2 or 3). Now I actually look forward to them with happiness, and I am very pleased and self-righteous during those days. I also find that I am more mentally sharp, and better at sports and other activity. This is something that sounds counterintuitive, but as Mosely points out, during the fast days you are letting your body clean itself and repair damage. You have taken your foot off the accelerator and you are just coasting, you are not telling your cells to grow, grow, grow by continuing to fuel them all day every day. This has a salutary effect on your health, and there are many people worldwide who restrict calories dramatically every day only for the health effects. This sounds hard to me, and I won't be one of them.
If you, like me, are obese and hating life, and are a recidivist with every bleeding diet that you try, losing 40 pounds on Atkins then gaining it all back and more, try this protocol. It is much, much easier than dieting, and after 2 or 3 fast days you will find it is very simple and easy. I have another 60 pounds to lose. I've been following a 4:3 protocol, which is fasting 3 days per week (Mon/Thur/Sat). Of course the days are your choice so long as they are non-consecutive. The 5:2 plan recommended by Mosely is so easy for me that I pushed myself to add another fast day per week to speed the process and make it a little more challenging. Now I'm finding the 4:3 is really easy. It really does get much easier the more you do it for some reason. You don't get unduly tired or hungry. You just eat your little programmed 300 cal meals for breakfast and dinner, and stop. No fuss, no muss. Then you can eat like a swine if you want on the "feed" days. In practice I have had some reasonable "feed" days and some incredibly sinful "feed" days. It doesn't seem to make a large difference over time.
I also found that I have a slightly different relationship with food now. For the most part, I am seeing why I got to be so fat, and the quantities of food I used to gorge myself with seem impossibly large now. This is not something I realized would happen, but I'm happy it has. Now when I eat like a swine, I eat like a smaller swine.
This is making a huge difference in my life, pulling me back from the bring of many potential health problems, and giving me a sense of well being and control over this formerly disastrous part of my life. I recommend that any of you that need help google michael mosely and intermittent fasting, and read dr. varady's journal article on alternate day fasting. There is enough information on the Internet to give you all you need. Or you can buy Dr. Mosely's book for about 10 bucks on Amazon if you want. There are lots of variations on this fasting theme, and you can find something that works for you personally. But don't discount fasting. Nearly all cultures and religions have featured fasting throughout the ages, and now we are becoming aware that there is a strong scientific basis for it. Primitive man didn't scarf down 3 high calorie meals a day every day. He probably hunted and feasted hugely, and then went hungry for days when he couldn't find something to eat. In some ways, our success in making cheap food available to everyone with no effort is our downfall; it's possible that it contributes to a lot of our diseases.
OK, either you will try this or not. I gain nothing either way, I am not associated with anyone trying to make money on this. It's just that it works and is so easy, and it frees you from the incessant calorie or carb counting and fear. Have the guts to cut back tremendously just 2 days out of your week and watch what happens. If you are like me, you will find it very easy, and you will be incredibly pleased with the results.
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Replies
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18/6 daily is better.0
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what do you drink on these days? (might sound like a stupid question sorry)0
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what do you drink on these days? (might sound like a stupid question sorry)
water, tea and black coffee with artificial sweeteners, diet soda, anything with no calories.
some people still eat 500 calories on their fast days.0 -
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I have toyed with the idea of doing the 5:2 diet for a while now, but have always been unsure, i am not obese or overweight and my BMI fall into the normal (healthy) range, could i still do this diet do you think, or is it more suited to those looking to loose a larger amount of weight? i want to loose around 10-20lbs but at the same time build some muscle and tone up.0
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I've been doing this for a few weeks and it has helped me to get back on track after stalling out a bit. It's surprisingly quite easy to do. I generally choose to just not eat all day and use my 500 calories all for dinner. On work days, 500 calorie days are totally doable. On weekends, not so much. At least for me.0
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Well done for losing 30 pounds and taking control of your weight!! It's a fantastic achievement.
There are many people who will feel that this is not a long term fix and not a lifestyle change that can be maintained. This may or may not be true in your case but so far you are doing fab.
All I would say is take care with the amount of days that you are fasting, you still need to make sure you are getting enough nutrition, vitamins and all that good stuff across the course of a week and the last thing you want to do is to undo all your good work.
Also think about where you want to end up, are you going to do this always and, if not, what is your 'exit strategy' and by that I mean what are your eating plans when/if you stop the 5:2?
After all, whilst losing weight is a huge challenge it's keeping it off that's the real problem.0 -
You ask what I drink on the fasting days?
Water, iced tea with no sugar, black coffee, occasional Diet Coke (try to avoid these because they just aren't good for me, but I'm no zealot so I do drink them once in a while), San Pellegrino or Perrier with lime (these seem more filling than water). I drink a lot and it helps. Probably left to my own devices I am less hydrated than I should be, but drinking zero calorie liquids helps address the initial hunger. As I said nowadays, after maybe 15 fast days accomplished, I don't even force fluids. I just don't care anymore and don't need to fill the "lunch" space in my day with anything. At first I did, and I was very anxious. But that lasted only a couple of fast days. After that I knew what I was going to do, and I just did it without any fretting. That seems to be the rule from people I've talked to; it takes 2-3 fast days or sometimes one or two more, to get in the groove, and after that, it is simple.
As to the comment on 18:6, I say there is nothing set in concrete. There are lots of different fasting plans that work for people. I started with Mosely's 5:2 and found it so easy to do that I felt I could do more. So I started 4:3, which is nearly the same as ADF, a little less difficult. But now I feel I could do ADF with no problem, and I might do it. You just get stronger as you get further down the road, and you see great results, and you feel much better than you did, so you have this great feedback loop. But everyone is different. The only thing I can say is find the system that works for you. I'd start with Mosely's plan since it seems to work for a lot of people and it enables quick results. If it is too hard, cut back to a 6:1; if it is too easy, as I found you might want to try 4:3 also.
And if you cheat, no big deal. Just fast the next day and don't fret. It is the long run that matters. No matter how you slice it, you are taking a lot of calories out of the mix, and that will have results.
One thing that I find luxurious in this is that I have stopped Atkinizing. Now I can eat yogurt, and oatmeal, and bread if I want. On any day. I don't count carbs anymore, I don't have to push myself to ketosis and consume lots of meat if I don't want to. I just have to watch total calories on 3 of 7 days, but I can choose to eat any food I want, even on fasting days. I just have to restrict the calories on the fasting days.
Also, although I follow Mosely's protocol of small breakfast and small dinner, skipping lunch (giving you in effect 2 12 hour fasts in a 24 hour period, because sleeping counts as fasting), some people find they can't. They eat one 600 calorie meal at lunch, or dinner, and nothing for other meals. Or, they eat some carrots or something mid-day. Of course the latter deprives you of a fasting period between breakfast and dinner, so I wouldn't do that.
Mosely points out that there are even medical trials in progress attempting to study whether fasting can be valuable as a tool against cancer, or whether it helps people face chemotherapy with less awful side effects. The point of the fasting regimen was not to lose weight in the first instance--it was to determine whether it would help overall health and extend life. It does in smaller mammals, and the jury is out whether it does with humans, but there is some evidence that even if you are at your perfect weight, you would do well to fast occasionally.0 -
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Thank you and good points. I do try to take multivitamins and I am attempting to intake more healthy and less processed foods. I consider this a lifestyle change, and I intend to continue it for the rest of my life. However, as Dr. Mosely found, after a while, 5:2 becomes too much, you start becoming too gaunt (this is what I would term a "good" problem). His wife started bugging him that he looked too thin, so he cut back to 1 day per week, typically a day that he wouldn't be eating with his family anyway.
That's what I think the future holds for me. If I can lose the weight I need to lose and get down to fighting weight, which for me would probably be around 190 pounds, I would not do 4:3 or 5:2, but probably 6:1. Based on my experience, I believe I can continue this for the rest of my life.
I've already started, with my 30 pounds loss, to stop snoring at night. I was using a CPAP for sleep apnea, but it would appear my symptoms have started to resolve themselves. My blood pressure has gone down, my triglycerides are cut more than in half. My cholesterol is a little lower, but still marginally too high. I'm thinking I can ultimately address that, too. There are a lot of good side effects to being substantially thinner when you start out being really fat (I'm male, 6'2" and was up to 294 pounds at one point--my ideal weight is around 190 or perhaps a little less), and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So, no way I'm stopping this, but I will most certainly cut back when my goal is achieved, and I will fast then only for the good health effects, and not as a means of losing additional weight.0 -
You should read up about this online or get Mosely's book off Amazon. This entire fasting thing was not designed as a weight loss tool. It followed animal studies that were intended to increase longevity, and those animal studies resulted in some rodents doubling their life spans.
There are groups of people (I can't remember what they call themselves) who make it almost a religion to eat under 1000 calories every day of their lives, believing that severe calorie restriction will increase their lifespans and make them more healthy. Mosely compares himself to one of those guys in his book. He is a 54 year old doctor, and he chose a 54 year old male calorie restricter who had been following that lifestyle for about 20 years. They both did a battery of tests, blood panels, MRIs I think etc. The result was that although Dr. Mosely is quite a healthy and reasonably fit 54 year old, he looks like a 54 year old in his profiles. The 54 year old calorie restricter looked like he was in his 30s in the tests.
This of course is anecdotal. It's possible the other guy was just insanely healthy for other genetic or environmental reasons. However, it is intriguing, and people are studying the health effects of fasting but it takes longitudinal studies that are years long.
As I said in my other posts, I intend to keep fasting at some reduced level even when I reach my weight goal. In that case, the fasting would not be for the purpose of losing weight.0 -
Thank you for posting this - I've heard a bit about this and have been wanting more information. I will be checking out the sources you listed.
I am attracted to this because is sounds sustainable to me - I've recently rejoined here and often wondered about the sustainability of counting calories forever. I am a fairly "clean" eater (I know that term means different things to everyone) - probably 80/20, and I don't lose rapidly, which is okay. I am 5'2" with about 10 pounds to lose to put me at a "normal" BMI although I would like to lose about 20-25 pounds. I have fasted for religious purposes in the past (occasional day here and there) similarly to what you describe (about one meal, maybe another small one - probably no more than 500-600 calories) and it wasn't awful.
This sounds like something I could combine with intuitive eating, which I am also interested in. I just can't trust myself yet to lose on intuitive eating - maintain, yes, lose - not so much. (Too much of anything - even completely "clean" or healthy" - isn't good for losing:)0 -
Gianna44,
I started being interested in fasting because of Ramadan. My ping pong buddy Amine is from Morocco, and he is observant. During Ramadan you essentially eat and drink nothing at all after the sun rises, and then you can resume once the sun sets. It goes on for a few weeks. Amine normally loses about 13 pounds during Ramadan, although he doesn't need to lose any weight, and doesn't watch what he eats before and after sunrise. I keep telling Amine I will join him in observing Ramadan (although I am a non-Muslim) because it is just a good idea. During Ramadan it is my understanding that you are supposed to ponder your relationship with God and with your fellow man, and you are supposed to experience what it is like to be without food and water, a window on the world of the poor and disadvantaged. I haven't tried observing it yet, but I will at some point, maybe this year.
Then when the NPR program came on with Dr. Mosely, who is essentially a "television doctor" in the UK, making several BBC specials, it sounded like something I could do. The key thing for me was that the shackles are off, completely off, most of the time, and you are only restricted 2 days/week. So nothing hanging over your head.
It is easy for me now, after more than a month doing it. It feels good to go mostly without food during a day, and I find I am strangely energized mentally and physically when I am fasting. This is counterintuitive, yes, but try it and see. Probably the first 2 or 3 fasting days you will struggle, but after that it is just no big deal, and it becomes natural and even fun. I've got more pounds to lose than you: I figure another 60-80 pounds of loss would not be a bad idea. So I have several months to go. But I have no doubt that I will reach the goal. Every week I make progress.
Yesterday I chowed down big time with doughnuts, sandwiches, and deep dish pizza and a couple of glasses of wine for dinner. This is terrible eating, bad choices, too many calories, awful nutrition. But it didn't hurt my loss of weight, because today I had my 300 cal breakfast, and I will have my 300 cal dinner later, and no lunch. I spent my lunchtime playing ping pong furiously, and beat my opponent 7 games in a row--I was particularly quick and on target, probably more so than on a day when I am eating and feel heavy and slow.
So for me, this protocol allows me to eat like a swine most of the time and pay no attention, while cutting back dramatically for 2 or 3 days a week. That's a great trade from my point of view--and if I were actually to pay attention during the "feeding" days I could lose weight even quicker, say, by Atkinsizing or eating salads and vegetables. Sometimes I do eat carefully on my "feeding" days, but most of the time I pay no attention, and eat anything I want.
Do this in earnest, try it for a couple of weeks at least, don't cheat, be absolutely observant on the "fasting" days, and see how you feel. I was amazed. I hope others can benefit from this experience, because it really may be the answer to so many dilemmas. I have been dieting and cheating and gaining and losing since about 1994, and I'm much fatter than I used to be. I didn't find anything that worked, including prescription pharmaceuticals, Atkins (it worked for a while), vegetarianism (couldn't sustain it). I don't believe in invasive surgery when not absolutely necessary, so a lapband is completely out of the question.
But this works for me. I hope you and others try it and reach your goals. If something else works better for you, fine--but I've been around the block and this is it for me.0 -
hello, you are probably an ideal candidate for the 5:2, Dr Mosely started the diet as a means to improving hus health, weightloss was a happy side affect :-)I have toyed with the idea of doing the 5:2 diet for a while now, but have always been unsure, i am not obese or overweight and my BMI fall into the normal (healthy) range, could i still do this diet do you think, or is it more suited to those looking to loose a larger amount of weight? i want to loose around 10-20lbs but at the same time build some muscle and tone up.
I have been following the diet to a lesser or greater degree since the beginning of April, I have had 2 weeks off as we have had relatives over from abroad, been eating and drinking a fair amount but have managed to "maintain" pretty well. In answer to the person who thought it could not be a lifestyle change, I say "au contraire" I have a great belief that it will be VERY easy to sustain as a lifestyle change :-) Heck, it reminds me of how I used to eat as a slim teenager and into my twenties and thirties :-)
Thank you for posting opening poster :-)0 -
To rjjarvis--thanks for starting this discussion on one of the general groups.
To anyone considering this plan and wanting continued discussion and support, there is a 5:2 fast group on MFP and at least 2 on Facebook.0 -
bump to read later ...0
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Bump for later~0
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I did the 5:2 fasting after watching the BBC program with Michael Moseley and it worked for me! I ate 600 cals, in one meal, and drank only water on my fasting days. It gets easier the longer you do it. I lost 28lbs in 3 months doing it. I wish I'd done it years ago. Now that I've reached my goal weight, I've stopped the IF and just calorie count. I haven't cut any "bad" foods out, I just factor them into my counting. I aint giving up pizza or KFC for no-one!! LOL
8-)0 -
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Hi guys I know that this thread hasn't been active for a while but I have a question
Could you please advise when the best times to eat on a fasting day and why.
Some say its best to only have 1 meal in the middle of the day????
Some say 2 per day??
Some say whenever all day as long as its under your calorie intake???
I am looking to start 4:3 and will be starting with 1 meal as I am not too sure what else to do.
Any thoughts??
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Did anyone successfully lose weight doing this other than OP.?0
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Hi guys I know that this thread hasn't been active for a while but I have a question
Could you please advise when the best times to eat on a fasting day and why.
Some say its best to only have 1 meal in the middle of the day????
Some say 2 per day??
Some say whenever all day as long as its under your calorie intake???
I am looking to start 4:3 and will be starting with 1 meal as I am not too sure what else to do.
Any thoughts??
It depends on the person. You'll have to experiment to see what works for you. I like skipping breakfast & lunch, but in the beginning I needed a small lunch time snack because my body hadn't adjusted. Others snack all day, or have a couple small meals. Whatever will help you feel less hungry is all that matters. I really suggest trying 5:2 before 4:3 though. You may find it's all you need, or at least it'll help you adjust. 4:3 can be tough.
Fwiw I've done 5:2 for about 6 weeks and lost about 8lbs on it. I don't have much left to go though.0 -
I was going to attempt this, but on the first day I felt like I was going to pass out.0
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It's probably not my cup of tea, it is fairly easy to follow, fairly slow weight dropping, but this will make me lose muscle not fat...It's such a drastic drop in calories...hmm, or maybe I would have to try it for a week..0
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Dr. Krista Varady has a new book out that I just ordered. She is the person Dr. Mosley mentions in his 5:2 plan. Cannot wait for the book to arrive, "the every other day diet". I have been doing the 5:2 plan but recently switched over to ADF. I have lost my 25 pounds since the end of September 2013.0
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