Is 5:2 good to do if you already eating low cal???
surfergal9988
Posts: 36 Member
So normally now i eat btw 1,100 to 1,300 cals- all healthy eating-homemade non processed food.( except the ocassional protein bar and premade chicken).
I did this diet at the beginning of Feb to lose Christmas gain- and lost 6 pounds- of course not sure if it was just water weight.
I also exercise ALOT- mostly at home between- blogilates/pilates/strength training(3 times a week usually 1 hour videos)/ and HIIT 2 times a week( 18 min videos).
Also, as i said before im skinny fat, so my main issue is toning up. So should i stay on this diet, or get off it since im already eating low cal.
I did this diet at the beginning of Feb to lose Christmas gain- and lost 6 pounds- of course not sure if it was just water weight.
I also exercise ALOT- mostly at home between- blogilates/pilates/strength training(3 times a week usually 1 hour videos)/ and HIIT 2 times a week( 18 min videos).
Also, as i said before im skinny fat, so my main issue is toning up. So should i stay on this diet, or get off it since im already eating low cal.
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One or the other. You'll burn out otherwise. You need to fuel yourself to exercise.
But if you're0 -
Check out the Mosely Documentary in the Announcement Section on the 5:2 group page. That will give you the background of 5:2 and how it works.
The short story is you will be doing all of your low calorie work in two days so if you eat low calorie the other five you will come up seriously short on calories.0 -
karen_fitzgibbon wrote: »One or the other. You'll burn out otherwise. You need to fuel yourself to exercise.
But if you're
^^this. Over restricting will lead to health issues you don't want to have. 2 fast days per week will give you a healthy deficit of 20-25% over 7 days,when eating approximately your tdee on 5 days.0 -
Thats very low, to me thats almost like a punishment...
remember 5:2 is not a diet, DIETS DO NOT WORK. 0 -
Very hard to know what to advise you when your profile is completely private and you don't give much info. But.....
Assuming you are still trying to lose weight:
If you are doing 5:2 then you shouldn't just choose the "2" part - set yourself to maintain on the "5" days.
If you are skinny fat as you say then a load of exercise with no fuel and little nutrition isn't going to help you at all - you will just end up a smaller and skinnier version of your current self.
Assuming when you say "main issue" is toning up:
Then are you seeking to maintain your weight? You will have to eat at a surplus on your 5 days to cancel out the two low days and maintain over the course of a week.
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Gotcha. We'll Im only 4'11( and usually btw105llbs to 110)and and not overweight at all, just not toned liked id like to be. Like i know spot toning is not possible, but i just want a toned lower body soo much. And, i work hard at it and eat healthy.But, i know unless i do heavy strength training program it might not be possible- and I dont have access to gym and i dont want to buy extra weights then i have.
Actually, me eating low cal isn't torture its just a habit, and I never feel hungry at all.
typical meals
Breakfast- Eggwhites or Eggs with fruits/GreekYogurtw/fruit
Lunch- Chicken or Salmon Salad/ or Veggie Made Soup with Protein
Dinner- Fish/Chicken/or lean Turkey with Veggies
Snack- KefirwithFrozenFruit Smootie/ or Veggies
- Also i love nuts- which i know is bad bc if you eat too much its calorie dense.
I make mostly all my food homemade and unprocessed so " LOW CAL"- isn't starving if you always feel full ya know.
Plus, i decided to add in Cheat Meal once a week- like last week i hadnt had anything "Bad" and really unprocessed in 3 weeks so i had a delicious donut and a slice of pizza for lunch( I walked around trying to resist all the yummy things at a place i was at , but i caved lol) .But, the rest of my meals are healthy that day.
I found in the past when i did it for a month in FEB that whenever I was busy its easy to skip breakfast and just have lunch and dinner at around 500cals.
Or, maybe if there is a week I know I will not have time to make homemade or know I'll eat out with friends a few times in a week I'll do 5:2
Another "Fast Diet" i looked into is the one where you fast for only 14HOURS and then you have 8HOURS to feed and there wasn't any calorie requirment.0 -
Also- when 5:2 came out I watched the show and read the book- i even put my parents on it lol. I know all about the diet. But, only thing i never read about or saw is when its bad to do if you eat low cal already, but not 500cs, but along 1,100 to 1300 cals
Also my body fat is 24.8% and my BMI is 20.7.0 -
When you are "fun-sized"
it does mean you don't have much wiggle room in your calorie allowance. Also means that when you have hit your macro and other nutrition goals for the day there isn't much space left for treats. Nuts are a great food - but very calorie dense.
Changing body composition is a slow job (unfortunately!). Worth checking out bodyweight exercises as a gym alternative - they can be very challenging (see profile picture!).
This is well worth a read regarding macros etc.
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1
Think the other intermittent fasting protocol you are referring to is Leangains I'm guessing? - leangains.com/
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Ehhh, I eat keto all the time, but not to lose weight, it's medical. Keto is what is and it really isn't a punishment sent from God.
Now, if you're doing it to lose weight and follow all the low-carb rules designed to get you to lose weight AND you 5:2, yeah, you'll burn out. Me? I just try to stay in ketosis.
But yes, you can do both at the same time.0 -
Thats very low, to me thats almost like a punishment... remember 5:2 is not a diet, DIETS DO NOT WORK.
So first off sorry if I came across a bit brusk!... I made a point of saying TO ME it seems low, I stuff down over 2000 cals so in that context OK lol
I can only add 'you have to do what works for you and that sometimes means experimenting' Perhaps a 6:1 IF would mean you could eat more to fuel the workouts needed to put on muscle, 16:8 everyday (eating all your 1200 cals in the 8 hr window) is a good protocol for gains I have read. As for workouts have a look at Tony Horton's P90 that has some good results and is full of great body weight and minimum kit weights workouts.
Good luck, You will find your balance
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Before I started 5:2 a couple of weeks ago I lost around 7lbs by eating an average of 1300-1400 calories per day and that's with exercising a lot 7 days a week and never eating back exercise calories.
Now I'm on 5:2, I generally stick to around 550 calories on fast days but my non-fast days have gone up to 1550-1650 on average which works out to 1300 calories on average per day.
It's still not very high and ok I'm 5'4" so a little taller than you but my point is that I've been making an effort to eat more on my non-fast days.0 -
Several things:
OP, you're a "shorty"
All calcs are estimates, most calcs are giving me too high tdee and I'm 5"24 (160 cm). So try creep down in 100 kcal increments?
At BF 24,7% and BMI 20,7, your margins for error are miniscule. It's hard to get right even for taller people.
Re nuts. Are you weighing those? 10 grams of almonds is a sadly small amount...
Maybe it could be useful to take a long look at your logging and tighten up? I'm not saying you're bad at tracking, I just know that even though I try my damndest to be precise, errors eventually do occur, conscious or not.
Re heavy lifting. I think you're right. If your current training protocols isn't giving you the goals you want....time to change things up a bit.
From my own experience, combining IF protocols and LCHF is a very good marriage and might even work synergistically. It does however complicate things, so research before you dive into it. It requires more discipline to do several diet strategies at once than just one. Sort of like your new hobby
Let your goals lead you to the method you wanna try. What are you willing to do in order to achieve it?0 -
Thanks for all your advice's.
No, i don't weigh my nuts- just in measuring cups. But, I plan on getting a food scale finally.
I found a really good strength vid thats 1hour long- that i plan on doing 3 times a week/ then 20min HIIT workouts 2 times a week/ mixed in with Pilates.
I think i may stick with IF and try LCHF( or do the beginning phase of atkins for 2 weeks) just to try it out. Then- incorporate carbs. oh sooo confusing..
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