500 cal one day, 1900 next, 500 next, 1900 next...

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st476
st476 Posts: 357 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone ever done something like this? It would be like..
Sunday: 500
Monday: 1900
Tuesday: 500
Wednesday: 1900
Thursday: 500
Friday: 1900/2600
Saturday: 1200/500
Or some variation of that. That would equal 8400 for 7 days, or 1200 a day. I've been doing 1200/day for the past 6 weeks so I'm just trying to experiment to see where I'm most comfortable. I've heard about 5:2, but this is obviously different because there's more "fast" days.
I have a couple questions..
Has anyone ever done something like this? Is it healthy/safe? Would I lose weight at the same rate as 1200/day? Would there be a big increase on the scale after the non-fast days (sort of like after a binge)?

Try to be gentle, I know some of you on here feel strongly about things lol. This is JUST an idea that I had after not being hungry yesterday and ending up with more calories to eat today. I'm just curious how it would work :)

Replies

  • scoii
    scoii Posts: 160 Member
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    I can't see it being too bad. Your body isn't being overly restricted as it's only ever a few hours to a decent meal.

    Hopefully someone can cite some studies.

    The things to keep an eye out for is strength loss which would point to muscle wastage and other physical changes (nails, hair, skin, periods).
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Never done it but it's called intermittent fasting and it is quite popular. The search feature will probably turn up hundreds of posts on it. If it works for you I don't see any issues with it. Basically you look at your weekly calories and as long as those average out you're good. Personally I'd probably be charged with some crimes on the 500 calorie days - but if you don't have an issue with it go for it!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Everybody has periods of fasting, and it's quite normal to eat more some days and less other days. Some people "skip breakfast". Calling it "intermittent fasting" is just a way of formalizing it. You are describing the "4:3" protocol (lots of buzzwords here, and I haven't even mentioned "feeding window" ;) ).

    You will lose weight at the same rate as by eating your allotted calories more evenly spread, if you can stick to it. Your weight will fluctuate with the amount of food, water and glycogen in your system.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Never done it but it's called intermittent fasting and it is quite popular. The search feature will probably turn up hundreds of posts on it. If it works for you I don't see any issues with it. Basically you look at your weekly calories and as long as those average out you're good. Personally I'd probably be charged with some crimes on the 500 calorie days - but if you don't have an issue with it go for it!
    Lol I don't know if I would be able to handle 500 a day either. I might try it out next week though because 1900 and 2600 calories a day seems awesome
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    From the calorie point of view the numbers work. The only question is can you consistently do the 500 calories one day that seems extremely extremely low. Remember this isn't a diet this is a lifestyle change it's something that you have to do on a consistent basis for the rest of your life. If you're comfortable doing it do it
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    There are some people who do 4:3 - in this case it would be about 1700 kcal/d Su/T/Th/Sa and 500kcal/d M/W/F.
  • WhileIStillCan
    WhileIStillCan Posts: 4 Member
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    According to some studies I've read, it not only helps you lose weight a little faster, but the low calorie days help with cell renewal and disease prevention. I'd recommend Michael Mosley's 1-hour documentary called "Eat, Fast, and Live Longer." If you go into Google and put in "vimeo michael mosley," the video link will come up for you.

    I'm thinking of trying it myself.
  • msalicia116
    msalicia116 Posts: 233 Member
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    Intermittent fasting, whichever form you choose (5/2, ADF or alternate day fasting, 16/8, etc) are incredibly beneficial for your health and so much easier than one would think. Honestly, losing weight is just the icing on the cake when it comes to fasting.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    This is an example of an alternative day fast. There are no real benefits to this but if you can stick to it, the go for it.
  • jtcedinburgh
    jtcedinburgh Posts: 117 Member
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    Having done 5:2 in the past, I thoroughly recommend it, although you need to be both organised and strict on your '2' days....
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited July 2016
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    This seems to work well for some people, my mother was trying it at one point (5:2 diet) and she quite liked it - she didn't find it that difficult to stick to very low intake some days and really enjoyed being able to eat a lot on others.

    I do a much less extreme version, where I stick to about 1200 calories for three or four days a week and go over the other days, aiming for a weekly average of 1500 (net). I don't have designated "low" or "high" days as regimented stuff doesn't work for me (rules are there to be broken!), but I do find it much more comfortable to be able to vary my intake from day to day, and I like the feeling that I always have calories "in hand" for unexpected treats.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I zig-zag my calories differently, I like keeping maintenance calories on the weekend. It helps me stay on track.

    The two 500 calorie days of 5:2 were too low for me. I settled on 800 as my lowest. I still average a decent amount of net calories for the week (although not as low as 1,200).

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet

    The proof for health benefits of 5:2 are largely anecdotal. My blood tests before were x,y & z...... my blood tests after were a,b & c kind of thing. The benefits could be attributed to a number of things.

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