I think I need help?

This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by julesk68 10 years, 8 months ago.

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julesk68

12:04 pm
8 Mar 14
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I have been doing the IF diet now for 2 weeks. I have fasted on Tuesdays and Thursdays, having small salad for lunch and fruit salad for dinner, not exceeding the 500 calories.
I think I am eating too much on non fast days. I have read the site and the book and it says eat what you like on non fast days but should I be counting calories or limiting my intake of food. I don’t go mad, but I will have 3 meals a day and I do eat bread. I may have cereal and toast for breakfast, sandwich, crisps and cereal bar for lunch and then a cooked meal for dinner with maybe a glass of wine. I might have a bar of chocolate or packet of crisps in the evening and I only ever drink diet drinks.
I have gained 1lb in the 2 weeks I have been doing this. I am not going to give up though, I really just need some advice to make sure I am doing it correctly.
Please help.

Amy C.

12:15 pm
8 Mar 14
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I don’t believe the book advocates eating what you want only. You do need to watch your calories. Use the tools to determine your BMR and TDEE and eat some number of calories in-between these two numbers.

There are lots of apps and tools to help you track what you eat and you would probably only need to do this a couple of days to determine where the problem is.

Read the posts on this forum and the website. This topic has been discussed quite often. Many people give hints on what worked for them for you to consider doing yourself.

davidrob

1:13 pm
8 Mar 14
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maybe the book is just trying to sell itself? by saYING YOU CAN EAT WHAT YOU WANT?
THAT CAN MEAN-so everyone thinks its so easy-its not: like any diet you need focus and mind over matter control.
a)eating what you like in very small portions- which will lead to binging/withdrawal symptoms/cravings on your fast day
b)low carb/hi gi/low gl food in larger portions.

if you have to stick to a third of your TDEE(what weightwatchers caLL POINTS) ON YOUR fast day then its discipline not just eating what you like when you want-

may be this statement refers to your non fastying days?

Carla

2:09 pm
8 Mar 14
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@ davidrob

As someone who lost a total of 35 pounds in six months on this diet (lifestyle change) I assure you the “you can eat what you want” is exactly what makes this diet sucessful and sustainable.

http://mymorningcup-chc.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-cup-of-success-52-diet.html

What you want certainly doesn’t mean as large a quanity as you can consume…but I accomplished this by having my cake and eating it too…just not on Fast Days.

I used an alternating day approach 4:3 for the first 30 pounds and it helped me seriously cut back portions when I switched to 5:2. I simply wanted less. I eat a fairly balanced diet but I love my carbs and desserts, too. All of the previous diets that placed foods into good and evil categories were set ups for failure (for me) Throughout my 53 years I literally gained and lost the same 30+ pounds over and over and over on them.

The 5:2 is sustainable. If I see a pound or two creeping up I will just do a week or so of 4:3 and it is gone.

And yes. Otherwise I eat whatever I please.

Amy C.

4:23 pm
8 Mar 14
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The phrase “eat whatever I please” has different meanings. What I please to do is what you say is not what should be done: eat as large a quantity as I can consume.

I have lost touch with what my body needs to eat and what I want to eat for comfort food. I have 40 years of disordered eating to correct and my never get to the stage where I can clearly understand the signal my body is giving me.

Until I can get in touch with my body rather than my emotions giving the signal, I will need to keep close tabs on what I eat. Perhaps others are the same way.

Someone gaining weight on this plan suggests that the calories may be too high on the non fast days.

Carla

5:31 pm
8 Mar 14
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Amy

If you go to my profile and go back to the first few months when I started the Fast diet you will hear much the same from me. My caloric intake must have been seriously 3000-4000 on a lot of days (pre-Fast Diet)…a lot of fast food and extremely high calorie foods and enormous portions. I would literally eat a plate of pasta that should have (portion wise) fed a family of four. Or polish off a half a pizza with a Coke.

For over 25 years I had a seriously dysfunctional relationship with food. A lot of emotional eating and tried all the latest and greatest diets. A great number of them who had me obsessing over carbs or fats or sugars or whatever the “evil food du jour” was. In my opinion the divison of foods into good and evil is as dysfunctional as anything else.

I definitely counted calories on both my fast and non-fast days during the first few months to get a grip on normal portion sizes and it was shocking to see how many mindless calories I was stuffing in my face.

After getting a grip on portions and calories though…I stopped listening to the internal “good foods-bad foods” dialogue that had been ingrained through half a lifetime of dieting and began to enjoy foods/flavours/textures again.

Life is too short to never have a Cronut or Tiramisu.

fp1222

7:07 pm
8 Mar 14
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Amy,

I am a 56 yr old M and I have been using the 5:2 since the first of the year. I am down 32 and I truly eat what I like on the 5 non-fast days. That being said I can also tell you that I have significantly reduced my intake of calories by using the MyFitnessPal app. I try very hard to stay on track with my daily targets (or less) but when I am truly hungry or crave a particular item I eat it. I have always felt deprived and/or starved on various other diets. This one is not that way for me. If you aren’t measuring your caloric intake I would strongly urge you to try it. It is enlightening to know what different foods mean to your totals for a day/week.

Take heart though, this 5:2 does work although in my research it has indicated differences in approach and results between m and f. Good luck and stick too it, you will find a balance that works for you!

Cheers

simcoeluv

7:15 pm
8 Mar 14
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Jules – hi and welcome:

You may not be having any problem at all – just some water weight: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/really-no-weight-loss/

Just focus on eating 500 or less for your diet days and give it a month to six weeks.

Good Luck!

julesk68

10:00 am
9 Mar 14
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Thankyou all for your responses. I am def going to keep going, I do find I am less hungry now on non fasting days so I might give a bit of calorie counting a try on my non fasting days just to see how much I am consuming. I also might give the 4:3 a try to see if this helps. Thanks everyone x