How Does Fasting Work?

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Dazzlle22
Dazzlle22 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Let's say you exceed your calories by 900 cals one day, and the next day you fast really hard in order to cover them and still have "spare" calories to fill (about 500). If you overeat again the next day (by 200 cals over your calories limit) will you have to fast again or by burning off that much calories the previous day cover up the new extra calories?

Replies

  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
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    I personally do not think doing 24 hour fasts is a great way/plan on losing weight. Does not sound very healthy. You should be eating every day.

    Many people instead of looking at a day by day total. Instead look more at a weekly total. So if say your daily total is 1400 that would mean you get 9,800 calories per week. Before doing any exercise, which we know we get to eat some of those calories back.

    So maybe you could consider undereating a few days in a given week, so on certain days you would have more calories. I do this weekly so that on Sundays I will have an extra 375 calories. Under by 75 calories 5 days a week.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,986 Member
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    yes sounds like you would be better looking at weekly calories OP- you still see how many over or under you are per day, but aim to have the weekly total around the mark.

    Also don't do this by extreme measure like 24 hour fasting - is that what your post is suggesting, I'm not quite sure.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    I agree with the others. Don’t invite trouble. Set a sustainable calorie goal. Stick to it as close as possible.
    Don’t set yourself up to fail.
    If you were really hungry so you overate by 900 calories because you were tired of being hungry, you definitely need to re-assess your goals and calorie deficit.
    If it was Christmas or your birthday and there was cake and ice cream, just get right back to your goals and healthy way of eating. Forget it, it’s one day a year.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Punishing yourself for overeating by fasting the next day is probably the quickest possible way to kill a diet. Just get up the next day and eat a diet day's worth of calories and move on.

    Some people do weekly balancing, in which you aim to have the whole week add up to the right caloric total, instead of limiting calories on a daily basis. I'm not a fan of that, but others are. However, even people who are into that don't do hard-core fasts to make up for binging. More like moderate adjustments between the days of a week so they can have a treat meal or something, nothing that would leave them binging and then starving themselves. That does not work. For anyone.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,099 Member
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    Not that way. It may help you, as others said, to have a weekly calorie goal.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Very good responses above!!
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
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    MikePTY wrote: »
    That is a binge/restrict cycle and its an unhealthy eating pattern.

    It's calorie cycling and it's totally normal with weightlifters. You eat more on lifting days and less on resting days.
  • elfin168
    elfin168 Posts: 202 Member
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    if you overeat on one day start again afresh, also reconsider your deficit...is it too steep? if you are getting hungry and tired it is a recipe for failure
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    edited November 2019
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    MikePTY wrote: »
    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    That is a binge/restrict cycle and its an unhealthy eating pattern.
    Going heavily over your goal and then "fasting hard" the next day to make up for it is textbook binge/restrict, and it is not a healthy relationship with food.

    Eh, ok, sorry. I guess I didn't get what OP's point was.

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    MikePTY wrote: »
    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    That is a binge/restrict cycle and its an unhealthy eating pattern.

    It's calorie cycling and it's totally normal with weightlifters. You eat more on lifting days and less on resting days.

    What the OP is describing is not calorie cycling. The normal MFP pattern is to eat more calories on days your workout (that is why it gives you exercise calories). That's not this. Going heavily over your goal and then "fasting hard" the next day to make up for it is textbook binge/restrict, and it is not a healthy relationship with food.

    I calorie cycle and do a modified version of 5:2 (it's actually more like 2:3:2 with two days at surplus, three at maintenance and two at deficit). On my lowest days I also do cardio and sometimes upper body so I am burning way more calories than the lifting other days. So on my low days my net intake is fairly low (for me, under 1000 cals). Also sometimes I eat too much on the weekend and make up for it the next day by eating less or some extra cardio. Not as punishment but more balancing. I look at overall weekly calories not one day in isolation. I mean i would agree the way OP worded it, it does sound more like a guilt/punishment cycle and for many people I wouldn't recommend it especially if they are prone to binge/restrict. However this type of calorie cycling (whether planned or unplanned) works for me.

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