5:2 or 16:8 - which is best?!

I hear women have more success with 14:10 as opposed to the 16:8.

I really don't think it's going to make a difference either way. Just do what fits into your schedule. At the end of the week it all comes down to cals in vs cals out.

He's right

Just eat within your calorie budget. Calories in/calories out, your body doesn't give a crap when you feed it as long as you do. Why go around hungry all day when you're busy and need to be at your best? The benefits of fasting aren't meant to be weight loss, that comes from eating less, not less often.

I have also been trying to decide between the two. After a lot of thought I have decided to go with 14:10 as this is what I have read is recommended for women, I also get up really early in the mornings and if I socialise it's usually evening or weekends so I feel this would suit my lifestyle better as it won't interfere with the time. I will probably have my last meal at about 7.30pm which means I'll eat again at 9.30am which will also work well because I generally work out early in the mornings. Also if for any reason I eat later than 7.30pm when socialising I'll just count the 14 hours after I last ate to workout when my first meal of the next day will be.

Good luck with what you decide and I agree with others, it's what you are able to fit in with your life style.

so trying to live in 500 calories for 2 days isn't really do-able right now.

The 2 days do not have to be consecutive, and if fact it is recommended that you do not fast 2 days in a row. Pick 2 days a week to fast. You can chop and change the fasting days every week.

Please bear in mind that the negative results from IF was from testing done on rats. Rats do not know that they're being fasted temporarily. They just know that their food is missing and they are hungry, so their stress levels are bound to rise. Also, we're not rats, we're people.

I fast because I like how it makes me feel. I also like how it means that I can eat "normally" (e.g. maintenance level) 5 other days of the week. I am successfully losing weight again after a 6 month plateau. I don't care why, I just know that the other methods weren't working for me, and 5:2 fits into my life beautifully.

There is not enough evidence available to say definitively what will work for whom. I've seen many posts from fasters saying that they're losing NO weight, so it may not work for you at all. I don't know why. Personally, I think it's to do with how your body processes glycogens and whether you can get into ketosis or not, but I'm not a scientist, so that's probably complete cr@p.

Try it, that's the only way to be sure.

(p.s. I'm female. Neither the name nor the photo give that away LOL)

Hi all,

So I have a very busy social life at the weekends...we eat out or round friends/families houses a lot so I always end up not eating clean and being a fair bit higher on calories.

I gave 16:8 intermittent fasting a go a few weeks ago and did really like it but then got worried about it being bad for me - I read that it is bad for women to do it as it can mess up hormones and stuff?!

I was also worried about my metabolism slowing down...arhhh?!

I was going to give 5:2 a go but i am up at 5am every day and have a long day at work...followed by seeing my dad who is ill until about 9pm then home...so trying to live in 500 calories for 2 days isn't really do-able right now.

I'm not exercising at the moment either apart from walking for an hour a day.

Has anyone had any good experiences with 5:2 or 16:8? just think fasting may help me lose and still let me enjoy my weekends xxx

There two totally different things and hard to compare side by side. 5:2 is a calorie restricted plan, where 8:16IF is not, unless you're adding a calorie restricted aspect to it. I've done both, as well as alternate day IF (fasting days every other day), and all three work, for different things. If you're trying to lose weight then I'd try 5:2 and see how you like it-the low calorie/fasting days really aren't that hard after you do a few of them.

Since it looks like there is no good evidence that adopting an IF diet has any benefits, I'd say the "best" is neither. Personally, I feel like utter crap if I don't eat enough during the day. If I were fasting, it would have to be on a day that I don't work or really do anything physical. The lack of exercise will probably have a greater effect than IF.

So I have a very busy social life at the weekends...we eat out or round friends/families houses a lot so I always end up not eating clean and being a fair bit higher on calories.

I live on a ski resort/ mountain bike & golf resort, so this ^^ is my problem every day!

I have found that an 18/6 every day lifestyle works for me, in conjunction with watching calories (try to stick to 1200-1500/day, realistically hit 1500/day more often than not though!). I don't have 2 fast days of 500 cals because it just doesn't fit into my lifestyle. I also exercise 30 mins 5 - 6 x / week.

Changing my lifestyle to this is working for me simply due to the social aspect of my life up here.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do