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5.2 diet. why is eating 750 calories and burning rest through exercise not the same as eating 500

Hannahjane123456
Hannahjane123456 Posts: 116 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
ive been researching questions on google about the 5.2 diet. ive read that u have to stick to the 500 calories on fast days, but i thought it was fine to eat around 750- 800 and exercise quite a bit in the day, which i was assuming it was the same. am i wrong?

Replies

  • ZijadaC
    ZijadaC Posts: 20 Member
    The 1,200 calorie minimum is there for a reason
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Because that program isn't worried about net calories and 750 calories isn't considered a fast on that program?
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    ZijadaC wrote: »
    The 1,200 calorie minimum is there for a reason
    500 one day and 1900 the next is an average of 1200, isn't it?

    Accepting the 1200 minimum for the moment, do you think it's OK to average 1200 per day for the week without eating 1200 each day?

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    ZijadaC wrote: »
    The 1,200 calorie minimum is there for a reason


    The OP is talking about IF, where you would have 2 'fast' days and eat at maintenance the rest of the week. It's just another way to create a deficit.
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    I have no experience of this, I would say you're probably fine to do it the way you want... the 5:2 diet works in the same way that MFP does, it limits your caloric intake for the week leaving you at a deficit - but instead of being spread over the week its consolidated....

    ...Except I do not know that I would be confident to e.g. go for a run on a fast day, I'd be concerned about it making me more hungry and therefore less likely to stick to my '2 day'. I suppose there are some potential health risks too (lightheadedness at the least?)
  • HollandOats
    HollandOats Posts: 202 Member
    The purpose of a fasting day isn't *just* to consume low calories, but also, in doing so, to give your body's functions less work for the day - so the digestive system gets a break with not having a lot of food come through, etc. Giving the body a break from the rigors and recovery involved with exercise is meant to be part of that too, so fast days should be 500 calories (600 for males) and just a whole lot of taking it easy.
  • Hannahjane123456
    Hannahjane123456 Posts: 116 Member
    ok also ive read that you can eat a quarter of your tdee, my tdee is 2400 so does that mean i can eat 600?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    If you're exercising and hungry, eat.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    hannahjanerhoden24 wrote: »
    ive been researching questions on google about the 5.2 diet. ive read that u have to stick to the 500 calories on fast days, but i thought it was fine to eat around 750- 800 and exercise quite a bit in the day, which i was assuming it was the same. am i wrong?

    500 and that's it - you can't eat back exercise calories on a fast day. I wouldn't use Google questions for correct answers! Better to go to the source http://thefastdiet.co.uk/
    Or join the 5:2 groups on here?

    As for the quarter of TDEE, yes that is where the 500 (women) and 600 (men) targets came from.

    Funny enough I found it really hard to stick to 600 and really easy to stick to 650. For me it wasn't worth making fast days harder for the sake of 50 calories.
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    Look at your daily calorie average over a week's time. Is that number enough for you to lose 1/2 to one pound per week? Are you losing 1/2 to one pound per week? If so, you're doing fine. No plan is one size fits all--tailor it to make it work for you. (As long as your average stays above the minimum.)
  • Hannahjane123456
    Hannahjane123456 Posts: 116 Member
    well ive been eating around 700-800 calories 3 days a week and eating about 1600 calories for the rest of the days, which so far ive lost 4 pounds and im nearly at the end of the third week and i havent lost any weight. so thats why i was thinking about going down to 500 but i dont think i can cope with so little calorie.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Four pounds in less than 3 weeks is great. You can keep doing what you're doing or eat less or eat more. There's no magical 5:2 calorie level. It's normal to go a week or so without a loss, especially after significant losses in prior weeks.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    The point of the 5:2 diet is that some people have trouble restricting their intake on a daily basis, so they focus on restricting it two days a week with more calories allowed on the other days. There is no reason why you couldn't exercise and eat more than the 500 calories, other than the fact that the whole plan is probably based on your average TDEE for a week, and may have already taken exercise into account. As long as you are at a calorie deficit for the week, you will lose weight.
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