Newbie here
coconutbuNZ
Posts: 578 Member
Well I started 5:2 diet this week, Monday was my fast day and again tomorrow. Over the years I have tried every diet under the sun including the "sensible" eating plan of 1200 a day as recommended by MFP but I still ended up overeating and overweight. So this is my last resort and I hope it works. Judging on first day, my appetite seems to have lessened since I stopped my fast and I didnt pig out as much as I thought I would when I was allowed to start eating again. I'm guessing ladies can have 2000 cals on feast days but should we really take this down to 1200 for faster results? Also has anyone in here tried having absolutely nothing except for fluids on their fast days instead of the 500 or 600 cal allowance? and would this be more effective?
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It all comes down to will power...it's a finite resource and we wouldn't all be here (in the 5:2 group) if we were able to accomplish the every day grind of standard dieting...without coming up to breathe. If you have the drive then I say go for it, but I wouldn't eat under your TDEE on every non-fast day...not for any length of time. This will eventually stall your metabolism and your body will go into preservation mode, making it harder to burn fat. It's one of the reasons you see people on these starvation diets looking so gaunt as they near their goals...they've burned up a fair amount of the good stuff (muscle) with the bad. The whole idea is to simplify our routine and work hard for 2 days a week so we can enjoy the others. I find the best regimen (for me) is to fast (at ~600 cal) on Monday and Thursday (for ~40 hours each), then eat under my T-Dee on Tuesday and Wednesday. This allows me to blow it out on the weekends...I sometimes push my Thursday fast through Friday evening (46+ hours) so that I can really "feast" and enjoy all my favorite things (guilt free) on Saturday and Sunday.
I've gone ~48 hours on less than 50 cals (a pickle and fiber gummies), I've done ~60 hours on less than 900 cals, I've also done four 36 hour fasts in one week. It was mostly to see if I could and how my body would handle it. They are all doable, but for sustainability you have to find time to enjoy yourself. Would you rather not eat cake for a year, or be free to celebrate your life every week?
Make sure you hit the 5:2 website and read the "How It Works" page...also check out Dr. Moseley's documentary, there's a link in the announcements on this group's banner page.
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The key to 5:2 is that you can have pudding tomorrow! As orlcam says if we could manage on the daily grind of 1200 we wouldn't be here and learning to eat at tdee is an important part of the 5:2 wol, yes it does feel like alot but its what we will be eating at maintenance so its good practice. I sometimes have 1500-1800 on food days but being able to have more helps stop ott binging. It helps to track on food days cos I still need to learn what is normal eating after 20 years of binge/dieting. You have found a wonderful knowledgeable supporting group. Good luck and happy fasting.0
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I lost without tracking initially, but hit a plateau for a year. Since starting tracking I am losing again. I set MFP for maintenance on sedentary and eat back half exercise, and that keeps me losing about .5kg per week on 5:2. You may need to adjust how much exercise you eat back. But ultimately it's about settling into a rhythm, then adjusting to get the results you want. Generally slow loss is better.0
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1200 a day is too low in addition to fasting for anyone unless you are under 5 ft, at a normal weight and very sedentary. Overrestriction is not your friend. It is what often leads to failure and binging.
Stick to two fast around 500 (if you prefer 0 cal fasts, go for it). Eat normally (around your tdee) on non fast days. Give it a few weeks and then analyze your results, change something if necessary.
Your tdee depends on age, sex, activity level , height and weight. Again if your tdee is alot lower than 2000, I would recommend sticking to tdee. If I eat 2000/500, I tend to maintain, because my tdee before exercise is only 1600-1700, but I'm short and in my normal weight range.
5:2 isn't quick , but sustainable and healthy for most people.0 -
hi miss coconut and welcome aboard.5:2 is not a relentless grind as it's broken up by days where we eat the things we love. So give it your best shot for at least a month. I did the fluid thing you mention for the first couple of fasts and then realized that it was a bit silly, and stuck to <500 on fds and <1500 on normal days ( I'm tall but sedentary. You'd have to look a long time to see me move.) Lots of people have different suggestions and interpretations of 5:2 which work for them, so there is no 'rule book' that you have to follow. glorious.0
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Thank you so much all for your feedback and advice which I greatly appreciate.
My 1st fast day went well I didnt drop dead from starvation lol and the intention was for fluid only but then I got really hungry to the point of having a big fat sandwich which wasnt 500cals but still filled me up until fast ended. I'm just basically doing what I think my body is telling me to do.
I've heard so many different stories where for some people the weight just drops off, especially the men, but for others it hasn't so then I heard about IF where you have 8 hour window to eat with 16 hours of fasting. I'm gonna try that too. Has anyone tried this as well?0 -
You can combine 16:8 with 5:2. There are two main types of intermittent fasting.
1) you have an alotted time window in which you eat your cals (example 16:8)
2) you have days with a high deficit (examples 5:2 / 4:3 / ADF)
I do 16:8 on my two fast days, because I skip breakfast. On my 5 non fast days, I enjoy my breakfast too much. I tried 16:8 for a while on my normal days and missed my breakfast, so I decided, it's not for me on a daily basis.
If you do 16:8 on non fast days, you should still eat around your maintainance cals, so your meals would be larger. Otherwise you would be over restricting.0 -
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