Non-fast days sabotaging losses

This topic contains 5 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by Blueminerva 8 years, 9 months ago.

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Blueminerva

12:18 pm
23 Jun 15
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Hi guys,

First post – sorry if there is an ongoing thread about this subject but I didn’t see one!

I’ve been doing 5:2 for 5 weeks. I dropped about 6 pounds in week 1 (!) and since then I’ve been fluctuating up and down between 13 1/2 – 14st.

I know one of the rules of “fast club” is no regular weigh-ins. However, week on week my weight seems to be following exactly the same pattern. I fast on Mondays and Thursdays, I start the week at just below 14st and by Friday I’m exactly 13 1/2. This repeats like clockwork each week.

I’m suspecting (pretty sure…!) the non-fast days are the reason I’m not moving downward on the scales. At the weekend I like a few drinks (usually beer) and I’ll probably have a couple of meals out. Then ping! Back to 14st and we start the week again. I’ve recently started calorie counting on weekdays too (600 for my fast days, 2000 on other days) but the weekend is still sabotaging my numbers completely. And for those of you about to ask, my jeans fit the same as they did in week 1 😉

I guess my point is, does anyone else seem to be having this issue? Apologies if I lack understanding, but I thought you were allowed to have a treat here and there as long as you don’t go crazy and binge.

With that in mind, how angelic are you lot on your off days? Do you have a system in place like eat healthily Monday-Friday, then a few treats at the weekend? Do you calorie count 24/7? For those of you successfully losing weight, what’s your average intake like on a non-fast day? Low carb or any other special criteria, or just smaller portions and more green stuff?

Sorry for the barrage of questions! Just trying to get a feel for how you guys approach your non-fast days so I can work out a new plan of attack. I have started incorporating exercise (cardio and resistance) this week so we’ll see how that goes over the next couple of weeks!

Look forward to trading war stories with some of you! 🙂

Anne26

3:13 pm
23 Jun 15
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Have you done your TDEE to see how many calories you should have (max) on non fast days? Don’t forget your drinks have to be counted in that as well!

I’ve just started this yesterday and am doing 4:3 – yesterday I had 320 calories and today I’ve had 12 so far – milk in coffee but will have about 310 in total – going to eat tomorrow and fast again on Thursday. My plan is very careful Mon – Fri with 3 fast days and a bit more at weekends including wine.

Good luck!

JFitzy

3:27 pm
23 Jun 15
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Hi Blueminerva I think you will find with everyone if you go overboard for a few days it shows on the scales. You cannot physically put on 7 lbs of fat in a few days unless you are eating a huge amount of calories each day which I am sure you are not!

Personally I am pretty good Monday to Thursday and then allow myself what I want at the weekends but everybody is different. You are not supposed to worry about your calorie intake on non fast days (as long as you are within your TDEE) otherwise it will seem as if you are on a “Diet” which you are not – 5:2 is a way of life and once you get the hang of it you should find it works. Don’t forget one large white wine is 175 calories and a pint of beer is even more so when you add alcohol into the equation you can find you use your calories up very quickly!! 🙂 Good luck

MaryAnn

12:52 am
24 Jun 15
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This diet in particular makes water weight from stored glycogen go up and down quite a lot between fast and non-fast days. If you weight daily you have to do it with a bit of a Zen attitude.

But, it seems your overall weight isn’t going down. As long as you’re really sticking to 500/600 on your fast days, it makes sense that it is non-fast days that are a problem. In Krista Varady’s studies on alternate day fasting, people tend to eat about 110% of their TDEE on non-fast days, but that of course is an average. So there are a few things you can do to try to get non-fast days in check. People seem to hate counting calories, so that wouldn’t be my first suggestion (unless you don’t mind–it’s not so bad using an app like MFP). But I would at least write down everything you eat in a food diary. This alone helps people to reduce calories. I’ve also thrown 16:8 into the mix, when I felt I was getting too many unnecessary calories in the morning (muffins, lattes). If I’m really hungry when I wake up I have a soft boiled egg. Other than a splash of milk in coffee, I don’t have anything else until lunch. Some people throw low carb into the mix to try to get weight loss started again.

Good luck with whatever you try!

Oh, and here’s an interesting article for people who eat out a lot: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/27/upshot/How-to-Eat-Healthy-Meals-at-Restaurants.html?action=click&contentCollection=The%20Upshot&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article&abt=0002&abg=0&_r=0

Ilovecake

8:30 am
24 Jul 15
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Hi Blueminerva

I totally agree with the other posts. Just wanted to add my two pennith!

If you can bare to calorie count a couple of your weekends you may find that although you are not completely over doing it you are going over your tdee. I know it’s dull but I suspect that’s the issue. You mention eating out- normally restaurant meals are high in kcals, making them delicious. I can’t see many restaurants lasting long with salad and fruit on the menu!

I speak from my own experience and use this recent example- my partner was chatting one eve saying he wasn’t sure why he was putting on weight as although he doesn’t count kcals or 5 2 he will often not have lunch and does try to ‘watch’ what he eats. We used MFP to tot up his days kcals (minus lunch) and he was completely honest. He had eaten 4500kcals!! Luckily he has a pretty active job otherwise he’d be very big by now. Anyway, my point is- it is easy to ‘think’ you are sticking to 2000kcals but it is so easy to go flying over (one piece of cake extra and a fancy coffee will do) and then you will see no weight loss.

I lose weight when I keep a good check on my NFD’s as I can’t be trusted not to go wild and eat lots of cake if I don’t!

Blueminerva

2:00 pm
24 Jul 15
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Hi again guys,

First of all thank you all for your responses!

The first thing I did after noting how suspicious the huge amount of weight gain/loss fluctuation was was to go and purchase a new set of scales (the previous ones, £5 analogue scale from Sainsbury’s, didn’t really cut it!) I’m glad I did! The old scales were WAY out – they had me at 13 1/2 st when I was really 14 1/2!! Although it was quite alarming to see this at first it has really helped me to focus and stop kidding myself about my commitment levels when I knew I wasn’t giving it 100%.

The next step I took was to start incorporating some exercise into my routine and it has worked wonders, both in terms of weight loss and appetite control. I’m now down from 203lbs to 195 at a rate of about 1-2lbs a week, and while I do still fluctuate after a “treat” it’s only by a pound or so which is more like what I would expect to see (and most of this is likely water retention rather than fat accumulation!)

As an aside I’ve also started drinking VASTLY more water and this has also helped curb a few niggling cravings. Fasting is a doddle nowadays and I’m finally seeing results which is a huge relief.

Thanks again everyone!