Hey there!

I’ve recently come across 5:2 intermittent fasting and have now started thinking about beginning this new regimen. As a 17 year old girl, I’ve tried hard over the past year to shed off a few pounds but nothing has seemed to work for me… so I’ve decided to give this a try. Not only is it because I want to lose weight (132 to about 120 pounds), but also because I want to try to grow a better relationship with food. I feel as if I eat even though I’m not truly hungry. But I believe that if I put myself on a schedule that I can restrict myself to follow, I can learn the way my own body works and respond to its true hunger signals. I want to beat those cravings that I have all the time.

However, even though I’m saying all of this, it should also be known that I am a year-round competitive swimmer. I go to 2 hour practices in the afternoon Monday to Saturday and have morning practices Monday to Friday, sometimes in and out of the water. My plan is to fast on Sunday by eating only 500-600 calories at night, since that is the day I rest and let myself recuperate from the vigorous training over the entire week. But I’ve also heard how 6:1 doesn’t seem to work very well for most people. It’s better as a ‘maintenance’ fasting schedule, but that’s not exactly what I’m shooting for… at least not for right now. So if I were to have 2 days of fasting… which day should I do it on? And how? Will it affect my training? Will it contribute to muscle loss? Should I be doing 6:1 fasting after all? Is fasting in this situation a good idea whatsoever?

Thanks!