5:2 Fasting Diet

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  • khrest
    khrest Posts: 4
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    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.

    I don exercise beyond some power walking and a cricket match once a week; my job doesn't allow it and I simply cannot stick with (or afford) gyms.

    I'm now in maintenance and gradually trying to raise the calories slowly, aiming for 1400 per day with one fast day this week. I think I will keep the single fast day even in maintenance, having watched the documentary and seen the compelling health benefits from fasting.

    I need a bit of an overshoot on my target anyway as we have 5 days in New York at the end of the month and I'm planning to eat for England whilst out there; just love American BBQ and Seafood!
  • Beavergong
    Beavergong Posts: 178 Member
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    I do find I can exercise on fast days. I often don't swim as far and I make sure
    I have water with me. So I do try to keep up my routine.
  • mikeydj
    mikeydj Posts: 2
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    Hi, my name is mike Jenkins and I (and a lot of my friends) are in the Facebook 5:2 Intermittent fasting diet group. So far I have lost 28 lbs. I still have another 38 to go. Its working well for me :)

    I am not sure if you are in the group or not but there is a lot of friendly advice there. The link is below but you can obviously just use the search button on Facebook. I hope this may be of help to you.

    Mike


    https://www.facebook.com/groups/187492001383720/
  • SGSmallman
    SGSmallman Posts: 193 Member
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    The idea of 5:2 and 8:16 (Intermittent Fasting) and all others isn't a diet or weight loss plan, it's a intake plan on how you get your nutrition.

    I can't physically eat 6 meals a day i end up feeling crappy and under eating to hit my TDEE. But using Intermittent fasting following lean gains programme I eat my intake within an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours and this works for me because im at my desk for 8 hours a day and go to bed reasonably early and wake up at 5ish to go to the gym.

    I have seen a boost to my weight loss but its probably because im hitting the correct intake and have repaired the damage of under eating/ over eating basically yoyoing has done to my metabolism.

    Just remember there are no quick fixes what we are trying to do is build a sustainable lifestyle long after weight loss and into maintenance mode.

    Do what works for you not what someone else suggests or is the quickest way everyone reacts differently.
  • madamshome
    madamshome Posts: 5
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    Have been doing alternate day fast, (500-600 cals) for 2 weeks.

    Is there a way of adjusting the calorie target on FP for the low cal days?
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    No there isn't unfortunately. If you're doing alternate days of 500-600 how much do you eat on the other days. I eat 500-600 two days a week and on the other days up until now it's been 1500-1800 but this week I've lowered that to 1400-1600. Some people say that overall with these amounts on my fast days it's still too little across the week. I you're having 3-4 days of such low calories you'd have to eat a lot on the other days not to go too low (depending on your TDEE and goals) surely?
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    No there isn't unfortunately. If you're doing alternate days of 500-600 how much do you eat on the other days. I eat 500-600 two days a week and on the other days up until now it's been 1500-1800 but this week I've lowered that to 1400-1600. Some people say that overall with these amounts on my fast days it's still too little across the week. I you're having 3-4 days of such low calories you'd have to eat a lot on the other days not to go too low (depending on your TDEE and goals) surely?

    There's a calculator on Dr. Johnson's (author of the Alternate Day Diet) website which gives your UD (up day) calories, and your DD (down day) calories. I lost over 100 pounds with alternate day fasting and now maintain with 5:2.
  • mytabouly
    mytabouly Posts: 66 Member
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    WOW!!
  • kathymhardy
    kathymhardy Posts: 264 Member
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    Mokey, this is a weight loss option. It has been known to drop body fat and lower cholestoral and blood sugar in a short amount of time. I really don't understand why people can't understand that people need to try different options. Everyone's body is different and we react to food, diets, eating habits differently. That's why there are so many weight loss alternatives, because some things didn't work for everyone.

    I am committed to eating healthy and exercise, but at different times in my life, I need to try different things. Right now, I need to lose some weight. In a few months, I might need to maintain.

    I'm really getting a negative vibe from some of these replies. I'm only interested in people's results and experiences, not opinions about how horrible of a choice I'm making and what I want to try.

    On an additional note, I hate diets, I believe that the only way to stay healthy for me is to adopt healthy eating and exercise, but there are times when people need to lose weigt. Right now, this is my time.

    'Like' - good for you x
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I really don't get why anyone thinks this is a weight loss plan unless all you're doing is fooling yourself with your calorie intake. Why not just average out the calories and eat that every day? There's no weight loss advantage to starving one day and pigging out the next or just plain starving if you do VLC one day and LC the next. It's amazing the lengths people will go to in order to fool themselves about what is healthy.

    People find it easier to count and control calories just two days a week, and to eat normally (around TDEE) on the other five. So for them it's more sustainable, and clinical trials have shown this type of thing to be at least as effective as continous calorie reduction as you advocate above.

    So it is a way of achieving a calorie reduction by eating 5.5 days food in 7 days - a 21.5% reduction - rather than eating 21.5% less every day.
  • maartinn456
    maartinn456 Posts: 1
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    :smile: Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.Burning calories creates toxins (think of the exhaust coming out of your car), and water plays a vital role in flushing them out of your body.Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume; a reduction in blood volume causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles; and a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles can make you feel tired.Water helps maintain muscle tone by assisting muscles in their ability to contract, and it lubricates your joints. Proper hydration can help reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising.A healthy (weight loss) diet includes a good amount of fiber. But while fiber is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.Drinking water with a meal may make you feel full sooner and therefore satisfied eating less. Note, however, that drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry), our bodies need bulk, calories and nutrients.so please drink clean and filtered water and to know about water filtration click here - WATER FILTER REVIEWS AND INFORMATION
  • momzeeee
    momzeeee Posts: 475 Member
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    Thanks for your comment. I've done research on it and am aware of the results that are portrayed in the research and documentaries. I'm interested in those who have actually tried it and what their results were. I had WLS so my daily caloric intake is typically less that someone who hasn't had surgery. So starving, as you call it, is part of my results.

    In Dr. Mosley's book, The Fast Diet, he recommends around 2,000 calories for women on the normal calorie days. If you're doing 5:2, then you wouldn't follow a low calorie diet/mfp suggested calories too-it's two different plans.

    I did alternate day intermittent fasting for my weight loss, like Keiras_Mom above, so low calorie (under 500c) fasting days every other day. Then on my normal calorie days I was eating around 2,000 calories-sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. I lost around 40lbs doing this. When I started transitioning into maintenance in March I switched to the 5:2 plan. But, I kept losing weight on it so now I'm experimenting with the 8/16 IF window to see how that works with maintenance.
  • athandtia
    athandtia Posts: 28 Member
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    Oddly enough, you don't 'pig out' on the days you aren't fasting, in fact I seem to make better food choices. I find this way of eating sustainable though I know it doesn't work for everyone. Each to their own - good luck to you all fellow dieters, whatever choice you make! Hard to think about dieting at the moment in the UK with all this rotten weather around. Anyone else struggling? x

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