Fasting Diets (thoughts?)

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  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    Dr__Girlfriend wrote: »
    Let's just start with the fact that it "recommends" 500 calories for everyone - regardless of age, height, activity, weight, medical concerns, etc... Such extreme restriction is simply unnecessary. For most people, fad diets will get cause them to lose lots of water weight, and encourage disordered eating.

    There is nothing horribly restrictive about this. 500 calories one or two days a week while eating normally otherwise is a perfectly reasonable way to establish a calorie deficit. I personally prefer the approach of a true 24 hour fast one or two non-consecutive days each week, and eating normally, that is, at maintenance, the other days.
  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    jennifer907 wrote: »
    I think the idea that a 3000 cal deficit is extreme is because usually when people talk about calorie deficits, they mean per day.

    Totally curious guys, if you eat 1600 a day using IF, or 1600 a day not on an IF schedule, would there be any difference in weight-loss? I understand what IF is, but I'm not sure if would make much of a difference.

    Yes, you'd have a larger deficit because you're eating 1100 fewer calories twice a week. The idea is that you only eat lower on two days a week and that's where your weekly deficit comes from, the other days are maintenance.

    Yes. Just to clarify, because I think some might be assuming IF means the eating window form of fasting and not understanding that 5:2 is a different method of IF:

    5:2 is a kind of IF where you eat at maintenance (or whatever you want without tracking, if that works for you -- this is what my friend does when at maintenance) for 5 days per week, and then around 25% of maintenance calories (500 as an easy close-enough goal for many women) on 2 days. That means you get to eat 2000 on 5 days per week, even when dieting, have a 1500 cal deficit on 2 days, and -- in this hypothetical -- a weekly deficit of about 3000 calories (less than a lb a week, so not extreme). Some find it easier to just eat very light on two days and have much more flexibility on 5.

    The eating window IF means you eat for a specific number of hours per day (18:6 is a common one), but within the window would eat your planned calories -- here let's say you aim for 1 lb/week loss so eat about 1500. You have the same deficit with or without IF, it's just a matter of when you eat the calories.

    The people saying it's extreme are referring to the low days in a 5:2 plan, but over the course of the week it really is not at all. My only issue with 5:2 is that some do it incorrectly and eat, say, 1200 on the 5 days and 500 on the 2, and of course that's a terrible idea. OP doesn't seem to be doing that, and for some it's an easier way to lose and the low days aren't that much of a hardship.

    Sorry to everyone who knows all this -- I could be wrong, but there seemed to be some confusion upthread.

    Thanks for the explanation!
  • lizhitsthegym
    lizhitsthegym Posts: 7 Member
    Wow this really took off!

    A big thank you to everyone who took the time to give me advice and info! I really am a dieting rube so I'm glad there's a community to steer me clear of mistakes. I just got home from a cardio sesh and realized it put me at a calorie deficit today too (one of my non fast days) and thanks to y'all I know I need to heat up some chicken and bump up that cal intake!

    You all are stars ✨ For those also on the 5:2 please feel free to friend me! I'd love to have some app friends who are on the same diet track :)
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