Alternate Day Fasting... Have you done it?

Yep, I did ADF. Back when I did the plan, it wasn't well known and was definitely on the 'fringe'. Dr. James Johnson came out with his book, The Alternate Day Diet, and there were a few of us following it on a another forum-pretty sure we were the only ones lol. That's where ADF got its nickname JUDDD, for Dr. Johnson's Up Day, Down Day diet Then Dr. Mosley and Dr. Varady came along and took the whole thing to the main stream and made lots of money off of the concept. I know there's bad blood between Mosley and Varady, and I'm pretty sure Dr. Johsnon doesn't have warm, fuzzy feelings towards either of them lol.

Anywhoo-

On my 'down' days I ate between 300-500 calories, and then I alternated with 'up' days and ate around maintenance levels-usually 1,800-2,000 calories. It's super important to eat the higher calories on the 'up' days!

It worked well for me, and I lost the extra weight with no issues. Then, during the transition period between my weight loss phase and maintenance, I did 5:2IF and then after I fully went into maintenance I switched to 16:8IF. All said and done I've been doing IF in one form or another for around 5 years now and will most likely continue to do IF for the rest of my life.

I did 4:3 4 days 500 calories faster 8pm to 2pm 17 hours
Had 1500 calories on the other 3 days I lost 5lbs week 1 = mainly water week 2 was 3lbs then nothing for 6 weeks felt no better or healthier

I weighed measured everything and walked as exercise and did Zumba for cardio

Didn't work for me sadly

I've been doing 5:2 for a couple years. I'm a v.e.r.y slow loser (insulin resistance, type 2...) but I have lost almost 40 pounds. My husband started doing it with me a few months ago - he's lost over 20 pounds so far. Once you get in a routine, it's just like anything else "diet" related and it's not hard. We normally fast on Monday & Thursday but that's what is so great about 5:2 - the flexibility! If those days don't work because of other commitments during the week, we just choose another day I've tried 4:3 occasionally but it doesn't seem to make me lose any faster. I've also done my two days together (B2B-back to back) depending on what's going on, but those can be a little rough.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

tbolt76 wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm following Krista Vardy's ADF plan now. It works great for me. I have bad habits but I am able to behave myself every other day . The reason I picked this approach was not only for the weight loss but also for the other health benefits of fasting, autophagy being one of the top reasons. By fasting, even just a short time, the body begins the process of "cleaning up" damaged cells and recycling their components. It really is an amazing process! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy

I have never heard of the 5:2.... where or how do you decide how many calories to eat?

buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »

Hello.

Have you heard of this style of eating? The book I read a few years ago is called "The Every Other Day Diet" (Krista Varady). There are other publications out there that teach the same concept: eat about 500 calories a few days a week (every other day per the book I read, but there are some methods that require only 2 days of this) while eating somewhat freely the rest of the time.

I know, I know. This sounds unconventional. However, I have found a fair bit of people claiming it works well for them. It's said to be highly effective for weight loss as well as improving general health, and many find it more achievable than traditional daily dieting.

Have you tried it? Are you doing it now? What version (5:2, EOD, UDDD...) What challenges did you encounter along the way?

Just curious!

I tried 5:2 - five days at maintenance & 2 days at 500. I wouldn't do every other day because that's just too aggressive at my current weight. Aggressive weight loss for one's current size makes it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass. Fasting every other day diet isn't a work around.

As far as "improving general health"......I've only seen anecdotal evidence (good for book sales I guess). But I wouldn't put much stock in that. Maybe some day they will do actual studies.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

Maintenance calories are here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

As far as "improving general health," the science is mixed on that, especially when it comes to women's health, and especially when it comes to women who are not obese and have normal insulin response already. A lot of the "benefits" cited by experts (and especially online) are based on studies in men, and women respond differently to calorie restriction - especially hormonally.

savithny wrote: »

As far as "improving general health," the science is mixed on that, especially when it comes to women's health, and especially when it comes to women who are not obese and have normal insulin response already. A lot of the "benefits" cited by experts (and especially online) are based on studies in men, and women respond differently to calorie restriction - especially hormonally.

Yep, while I'm a fan of IF I don't think it's really done anything magical for my health (at least that I can tell). It just works well with my schedule/eating style and then helps me with calorie adherence

buglesalmoncatgirl wrote: »

Oh interesting side note! For people worried about lean muscle, please read this excerpt from The Every Other Day Diet by Dr. Krista Varady and Bill Gottlieb:

Dieters lost fat, not muscle. Our EOD dieters also lost most of their weight as fat—11.9 pounds, on average, meaning that they shed only a few ounces of muscle. Losing fat rather than muscle is crucial in successful weight loss, because muscle burns calories. A typical dieter on other plans sheds 75% of her weight as fat and 25% as muscle; the typical EOD dieter sheds nearly all of her weight as fat. That’s probably one reason why my subsequent studies have shown that EOD dieters, unlike most other dieters, don’t regain the weight they lose.

Maybe........

How was this measured? How many people in this study? Did they have good genetics, or personal trainers (who knows). There are a number of factors for helping to keep more lean muscle mass: moderate deficit, adequate protein, and progressive strength training.

I am kinda doing that "The Every Other Day Diet" but my diet days are grouped together, Monday to first half of Thursday and they happen to be noneventful time. I didn't start out like this but kept adjusting over months and now it becomes exactly 50/50 between fasting/eating light and eating freely as you put.

I don't follow a low day high day. However I do intermittent fasting about 3 times a week. Example: I ate last night by 6pm and then didn't eat breakfast until about 9:30am; fasting for about 15 hours. I broke through my plateau since starting this.

What are you guys eating for the fasting days?

I will make Sunday my fast days, and figured I might make it into a complete 'cleanse' (no meat, alcohol, processed etc.).

HM2206 wrote: »

What are you guys eating for the fasting days?

I will make Sunday my fast days, and figured I might make it into a complete 'cleanse' (no meat, alcohol, processed etc.).

I eat basic meals that are low in fat (because fat is the worst thing for my personal hunger). My typical meal contains some kind of starch, some kind of lean protein and lots and lots of vegetables. Many days I have predominantly starchy meals like bean or lentil meals because starch is the most filling to me. Vegetables give the meal volume so that's a staple too. I use low calorie broth based soups (about 40-50 calories per cup) to bump the volume even more. My meals are typically 1 calorie per gram or under.

A meal may look like this:
This chicken for 200 calories: http://www.skinnytaste.com/chicken-with-roasted-tomato-and-red/
200 grams of broccoli with lemon juice and garlic for 70 calories
180 grams of roasted potatoes for 160 calories

That's a little under 1.5 pounds of food for 450 calories. This leaves me with 350 calories for a second meal (I do 800 calorie fast days).

My second meal may be this: http://food52.com/recipes/20441-aloo-gobi-a-dry-indian-curry-of-cauliflower-potato-peas
Has about 350 calories per pound of food.

ETA: I understand that most people don't do 800 calorie fast days so here are some other ideas with low approximate calories per gram to pair with your favorite dishes:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/mexican-cauliflower-rice/ - 0.35 calories per gram

http://thymeandtoast.com/eggplant-chickpea-tomato-casserole/ - 0.6 calories per gram
http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a45366/buffalo-roasted-cauliflower-recipe/ - 0.4 calories per gram

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/lemony-lentil-soup-with-greens/ - 0.5 calories per gram

http://ahealthylifeforme.com/eggplant-meatballs-in-marinara/ - 0.3 calories per gram

http://precisionnutrition.com/encyclopedia/food/anchovies/ - 0.55 calories per gram if you reduce the oil