My 3-3-1 idea!

This topic contains 7 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by fasting_me 6 years, 11 months ago.

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LargeLady59

10:44 pm
18 Dec 17
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Newbie, just joined and never done any kind of fastings.

Background: 59, morbidly obese for decades, Stage 4 lipoedema. Tried many diets, lose painfully slowly and give up because I feel deprived and resentful. Just completed 6 months keto for which, total loss only 7lb.
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I’ve read up on 5:2 and 800/8 but I don’t feel that either of them suits my psychology and physiology. I would like to try something based on them but tailored to suit myself.

This idea I have averages at 1,140 calories a day but not the same number of calories every day. I’d do 18/6 or 16/8 IF daily, and, over each seven-day period:
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On three days restrict to 500 calories, mainly liquids, no meat.
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On three days restrict to 1500c of non-processed, natural real food with emphasis on vegetables and proteins.
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The above would be alternate days, then
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On the seventh day I can eat 2000c, comprising anything I wish.
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My purpose in this is to work with my own known weaknesses and eating habits, and the huge amount of weight I have to lose by April (for a reason).

I feel that having the capacity, once a week, to eat whatever I fancy might be the “key” I have been looking for. It should prevent me giving up yet again because of feeling deprived.

It means also that I don’t have to “chuck it in” over Xmas, as many intend to do. I can have my splurge on Xmas Day by making sure it lands on a 2000-calorie day.

Is there anything wrong with my plan?

Cinque

11:32 pm
18 Dec 17
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Give it a try and see how you go. Good luck!

LJoyce

12:17 am
19 Dec 17
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LargeLady59,

What you are suggesting is not dissimilar to programs others have also tried.

I tried lots of combinations of intermittent fasting and eating windows. Because I have a rather low TDEE I found it difficult to shift weight easily on 5:2 unless I paid attention to what I also ate on the NFDs. I am maintaining now but still find I have to be quite careful to keep my weight stable.
I do 2 FDs per week (up to 500 cal)
I do 4 CDs (controlled days). I do not count calories now, but I did in the beginning. These are days where I avoid high calorie “treat” foods. I eat normal meals but choose whole, fresh, high fibre foods and aim for balance. I avoid high fat or high sugar foods – eg cake.
I do one Free Day per week where I can have a “treat” food if I really feel like it. However I still can’t go overboard, it has to be one treat not several or I will still gain weight for that week, even with all the other days of restriction.

This sounds reasonably similar to what you are attempting. There are also many others (usually those with a low TDEE)who find they have to be quite controlled on most of their NFDs. The only thing that concerns me a bit is the calorie counting. It’s fine to start the program keeping an eye on calories but I certainly felt less anxious once I stopped monitoring calories every single day. The more you monitor, the more you are reminded every day that you are on a diet. If you eat a similar range of foods on FDs and NFDs it doesn’t take long until you know what your choices and serving sizes should be without having to keep counting the calories. It took me a while to feel confident about this, but you learn which foods are high or low calories and adjust serves accordingly.

One thing I have also continued with is an 8 hour eating window. This really suits me as I don’t feel hungry in the morning, so skipping breakfast is easy and if I eat in the morning when not hungry it stimulates my appetite, which is not helpful. My eating window ends with dinner which is also very helpful as evening snacking used to be a big problem for me. Confining eating to a certain number of hours each day suits some people but not others. For me it’s a useful tool that I do but rarely think about anymore – it’s become second nature to not eat until lunch time and not eat after dinner. I’m not suggesting you do this, it sounds as if you’ve tried already. I’m just saying that sometimes there are other tools that can help you deal with you food issues – this is the one that helped me most with snacking on empty calories on NFDs.

Good luck, I hope your program works for you.

LargeLady59

11:06 am
19 Dec 17
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LOL LJoyce, there was me thinking I had come up with a unique tweak on the 5:2 and now you tell me you’ve done (very!) similar and so have others. Guess my brain ain’t as special as I thought 🙂

Thanks for all the good advice.

I came up with my 3-3-1 because, having been on 16/8 and keto for half a year, I didn’t want to let my brain and body believe that coming off that meant it was going to be a free-for-all. I have missed normal foods so much that I am in danger of going overboard and wanting to scoff everything I have missed. But I do also feel very resentful especially as I live with three people who eat what they like and never get fat, and everyone around me is constantly going out or staying in and enjoying the whole range of normal foods like pizza and Indian and Chinese and alcohol etc.

I didn’t want to find myself on 5:2, with two days restricted and 5 days scoffing pizzas and curries etc. So for me, all 7 days have to be restricted, but on the other hand I do want some of the “goodies” everyone else has, hence ONE day where I can have up to 2000, maybe even 2,500 now and again as this would allow me to have a nice plate of fish n chips (I live by the coast and they specialise in this!) once a week if I want to. Everyone who comes to visit from other towns always says “Let’s go for fish n chips” and I am a party pooper who can’t ever join in – or who does and then hates herself afterwards for going off plan.

So I started on Saturday with my 500 day, and that was easy. Sunday was my 1500, again, easy. Monday was another 1500 but I messed up and ate a bar of chocolate and a bag of crisps at 5pm. Damn. However, I ate nothing more that day and so was still within the calorie limit even though that was a bad “choice” for dinner.

So today is Day 3 and I weighed and found I have already lost 7lb. I won’t get too excited as my weight fluctuates a lot anyway. When that 7 has become 14 I will get really excited as it will prove this WOE works.

Today is my 2nd 500 day. It’s going to be terrible hard because my last meal, which should have been a filling, sustaining and nourishing meal, was chocolate and crisps, so I have a rumbling tummy already and it’s only 11am! Well, lesson learned! We all make mistakes, the trick is not to repeat them.

Amazon

4:23 pm
19 Dec 17
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Hi,

Your idea sounds good, it is structured which IMO is very important, it’ll create a decent calorie deficit and it should be sustainable.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress 🙂

fasting_me

1:40 pm
20 Dec 17
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Good luck, LargeLady. I hope you have lots of delicious recipes for the Fast Days so you won’t feel deprived. Eventually your appetite will decrease, making it all easier.
As Amazon says, keep us posted!

Brads27

6:19 pm
13 Jan 18
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I am 23 stone and have been on the 5-2 for 2 weeks.I have lost 7lbs up to now and on my fast days I am having 800 calories,and ordinary days around 2500 calories,up to now its great,I know its early days yet.

fasting_me

11:26 pm
13 Jan 18
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Brad, good job so far. Nice progress.

Large, how’s it going?