How much can I lose?

This topic contains 13 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by quasiliberi 10 years, 10 months ago.

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

JAT

12:27 pm
2 Jan 14
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I am starting the Fast Diet today and my mum has been doing it for a few months with good results (weight loss of around 1 stone). I tried it last year but my other half wasn’t keen so only managed about 2 months on it before I went back to calorie counting. I didn’t lose more than 2 lbs in that time though, not sure why.

I am now heavier than I was this time last year and I had a lot to lose then so now I need to lose around 32 lbs in total ideally to get to my ‘ideal’ weight although technically some would say I would be at a good weight for my height with only 14-21 lbs loss. I’m 5 foot 4 and currently weight 149lbs so hoping to get to 117lbs.

I have an initial checkpoint of 6 weeks time where I want to have lost a considerable amount of weight (as much as I can) and am planning on having the 2 fast days which I am hoping will be easy after a couple of weeks plus on the other days I’ll have a normal breakfast, a large lunch and snack/very small dinner so my calories on the other days probably won’t be more than 1200 maximum.

Any feedback from those with similar stats following the diet would be much appreciated. How much do you think I’ll be able to lose per week for example and how much did you eat on the non-fast days? What about exercise etc.

annette52

1:47 pm
2 Jan 14
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Hello and welcome.
Check out the FAQ’s on this page.
Many of us have found that 1 lb a week is average weight loss, but it is also important not to put all of your focus on the scales, but also to be aware that your body will shrink and change over the weeks.I would urge you to measure bust,waist, hips, thighs and upper arms once a week, weigh yourself once a week and try on clothes too, then.The best measure of goal weight is thought to be a waist measurement less than half your height. I have lost 5 inches off mine, just 3 more to go.

Check out what you should be consuming on the non fast days by looking for your TDEE at your current weight.If you are consuming a lot less then you will find that it is hard to lose weight, as your body will be clinging onto calories.

Exercise will both help your muscles use more calories even at rest and will also tone and trim your figure. Walking is a great waist-whittler.

I miss breakfast on a fast day, eat a light lunch at work and then eat the remaining calories in the evening.Any help?

anssies

2:17 pm
2 Jan 14
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Hi JAT, I think you’ll put your body into starvationmode, when you eat so little all the time. If you are already used to eat so little, your body may be already in starvationmode. So you have to find out for yourself if this is the problem of not losing weight.
I began to do this in september and did it as the book says, on my fast day I eat 500 calories en on the non fast days I try to eat the 2000 calories. Because I eat to little before this, it took 2 weeks before I started to loose weight, now I lose about a kilo per week sometime 2. I’m not saying your doing something wrong, because I don’t know you, but maybe this is a help. Try to read the book, if you didn’t already, its very usefull when you want to start this. I hope you’ll lose a lot of weight this year!!

JAT

4:00 pm
2 Jan 14
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Thanks, I’m not new to dieting and exercise (unfortunately) as I’ve struggled with my weight for the last 20 years. In the past I’ve got down to my goal weight but found it very hard to keep it off. At the time I did so simply by introducing exercise and healthy eating into my life but over the years I’ve yo-yo ed as I’ve had periods where I’ve been very good and strict with myself and kept my weight low, other periods where I’ve over exercised and stimulated my appetite which has made me put on weight or simply let it all go out the window so that I’ve put on weight and hardly exercised and for one reason or another that’s where I am now.

I have probably been eating 1500-2000 calories most days over the past 4 months and I’ve put on a stone in that period which is terrible I know.

For me personally I know that I can only keep my weight down if I stick to 1000-1200 calories per day maximum and I think last time I tried the fast diet I was already eating around 1200 anyway so by reducing my calories down to 500 on fast days maybe my body was going into starvation mode.

I know that my TDEE at the moment is around 1400-1500 anyway so to lose weight I’d need to eat less than that overall so an average spread across the week of 1100-1200 per day would probably work for me (ie. about 1350-1450 per day on feast days). I was frustrated before because I did the maths and it didn’t really work that well so I hope this time it won’t be the case.

Lindyw

4:29 pm
2 Jan 14
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If your TDEE is 1400-1500 at the moment then on your two fast days you shouldn’t exceed 350 -370 calories to lose weight. Then eat between 1400 and 1500 on your NORMAL days. Stop thinking ‘feast’ days and think NORMAL days. If you drop your calories to 1200 on normal days you will be in starvation mode.
Take your measurements especially your natural waistline, don’t rely entirely on scales as usually if you are not losing weight you are changing shape and losing inches.
If this way of life suits you, once you have reached your ideal weight you can continue to eat normally for six days and fast for one to continue to experience all the other benefits of fasting. Because this is so flexible, it is easier to maintain than the yoyo dieting of counting cals, weight watchers, slimming world etc.
You don’t say if you have read the book, if not you should try too.
Good luck with your short term target and let us know how you get on.
🙂

JAT

4:48 pm
2 Jan 14
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No I meant in order to lose weight I would need to eat a daily average of 1200 cals, so due to the fast days I meant that I would eat as you’ve said around 1400-1500 on ‘normal’ days.

I have read the book and seen the Horizon programme too. I read the book last year though so maybe I should have a refresher. I wouldn’t want to go down to as low as 350-370 cals on fast days so I’ll see how I get on with 500 on the fast days and try and eat 1400-1500 on the other days.

I took measurements last time I lost weight but I wasn’t very happy as it only seemed to come off my waist (which is already only 27.5 inches, my boobs and my hips not my tummy or bum/thighs where I wanted/needed it to come off.

I also found that I didn’t lose enough body fat and for me it’s really important as although to most people I don’t look massive I do have a very high % body fat, around 35-38% so I’ve got loads to lose.

aitch51

3:50 am
3 Jan 14
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My sister and I have both lost weight, but in very different ways. For me the first place was the breasts and,let me tell you, half filled cups are a rather sad sight!
For my sister, now down within healthy BMI range, her breasts were almost the last place for weight loss. She is still distinctly buxom and takes a DD cup, whereas I am a C.
Everyone has a different pattern of fat loss, and I’m afraid we just have to live with it. Remember that the archetypal female body has heavier hips, unfashionable though they may be.

Nika

6:13 am
3 Jan 14
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Wow, what a discussion here already. I’m almost afraid to chime in.

I think a lot has already been said JAT! You seem to know your stuff. Like the others have said be careful not to underfeed your body, but otherwise I wish you the best of luck 🙂

JAT

2:40 pm
3 Jan 14
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Thanks, I got through the first day (fast day) ok and had around 550 calories. Today so far I’ve had about 1000 calories as I always have a bigger meal at lunchtime and to be honest can’t see myself wanting to eat another 400-500 calories this evening but maybe by the time I have a few snacky things like yogurt, fruit and nuts I can get there. Feels like a lot of food when I’m on a diet though and it’s hard not to eat less but I just have to keep telling myself I have to eat to make up for the fast days.

Sue Denim

3:19 pm
3 Jan 14
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I’m really not sure you need to make an effort to catch up on eat days, just eat what you feel like. For me half the benefit is a reduction of calories on eat days due the body getting used to being hungry.

For your height you are only just in overweight category, so I don’t think you will see the same reduction as someone with a higher BMI.

how did you work out you have a high %age of fat / BMI?

JAT

10:55 pm
3 Jan 14
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To be honest that’s how I feel Sue. Today after lunch I was full on around 1000 calories but felt that I had to eat so made a healthy soup for dinner and had that with a corn tortilla and a small amount of cheese which added around another 500 calories in total. I could have easily done without it. I want to see weight loss fairly fast.

I know I have a high fat % because I have body fat scales which although I know are not 100% accurate are within around 5% margin of error. They are currently reading a horrible 39% and my other scales which also show body fat & water are showing 36%. I also have body fat calipers which show around the same.

Basically my problem is I have never had much muscle and am a small build generally (hence the 27.5 inch waist, small ankles, calves and lower arms/wrists). I am an hourglass shape.

BMI isn’t accurate anyway because it doesn’t differenciate between muscle and fat. Someone can appear to be overweight from their BMI when in fact they are carrying little fat and a lot of muscle. In my case it is the other way around.

I know that naturally I should be around 8 stone 5 pounds and while some say I’d be too thin (mainly those who are used to seeing me as I am now or only a little bit smaller) but right now I am carrying so much fat and it really is uncomfortable.

Sue Denim

8:36 am
5 Jan 14
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What do you do for exercise? If you can put 1500 cal a week in to some cardio work (e.g. spin cycling or running), which would be around 3 sessions of 30-40 mins hard effort, then you will probably see another 1-2lb a week coming off. If you can eventually get to the point where you exercise on fasting days, then you can expect even better results.

I appreciate BMI is not a great tool, but its all I could calculate with the data.

Kirstey

2:09 pm
6 Jan 14
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I really dieted last year for about 3 months I ate a strict calories control diet where I didn’t eat more than 1500 calories, and I walked the dog about 3/4 miles a day. I lost about 1lb a month! Looking back I must have been in starvation mode as doing housework, work , walking etc must have took my calorie intake down.
Interestingly over christmas I ate like a pig!!! I mean so so much, ferero rochers galore! Yet I’ve only put 2 lb on!
Anyway I think there is definite reason and fact behind the starvation mode theory, I used to ignore it before but I was proved wrong.

With the 5:2 diet, does the body not go into starvation mode and “keep” calories the next day you eat?

quasiliberi

8:34 am
7 Jan 14
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Hallo JAT, my experience is very similar to yours. I started with the fast diet nearly when you did and after a week I’ve lost about 0,600 kg (about 1,3 lb). Anyway I tried it last year too and after 2 kg loss in 1 month, I didn’t loose weight anymore. Maybe I was overeating in feast days….
Now I make my 2 fast days (sometimes less than 500), and on normal days I eat about 1400. Then I try to move a little more, having a walk of about 40 minutes or cyclette for half an hour, at least 5 days a week. Ciao, Laura
(Ps sorry for mistakes but I’m italian 🙂 )