One week in..but I have a couple of questions please!

This topic contains 5 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by PeelyWally 9 years, 5 months ago.

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Shabby

1:03 pm
8 Dec 14
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Hi everyone,

I’m one week into the 5:2 diet..and I’m thrilled that my weigh in this morning tells me I’m 4lbs lighter! I have a long way to go though.. I was 16st12 last Monday and my goal weight is 10st12. Not going to be a quick journey but this week felt manageable and I’ve got a massive dose of motivation to make it happen this time!

I had a couple of questions though, if some seasoned 5:2ers can help with please..
– I’m fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and am doing a 36 hour fast – nothing after Sunday dinner until Tuesday morning. Is this the correct way of fasting? It’s pretty tough but not as horrendous as I thought it would be
– on my non-fasting days, I’m eating below my TDEE. Is this necessary? I presume it’ll help speed up weight loss but I’m calorie counting everyday at the moment and I’m not sure my current obsession with food is sustainable! My TDEE is 2157kcal but I’m generally eating about 1500kcal.
– is it better to do exercise during the week or move to a 4:3 diet to help speed up weight loss? ADF seems really hardcore but I’m wondering whether while I’ve got loads of motivation to try and drop as much weight as possible, I should try a more focussed approach.

Thank you for your replies in advance. I’ve been lurking on the forum all week and it’s a great place for support and motivation so thank you all!

PeelyWally

3:18 pm
8 Dec 14
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Hi Shabby – Just a couple of observations:

You said “I’m fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and am doing a 36 hour fast – nothing after Sunday dinner until Tuesday morning. Is this the correct way of fasting?

Nothing ? The 5:2 diet says you are allowed 500 calories if a woman or 600 a man in the 36 hour period. Some people on here eat nothing in that period but they generally would be very experienced and have worked down to that.

“on my non-fasting days, I’m eating below my TDEE. Is this necessary? I presume it’ll help speed up weight loss but I’m calorie counting everyday at the moment and I’m not sure my current obsession with food is sustainable! My TDEE is 2157kcal but I’m generally eating about 1500kcal.

I believe it isn’t necessary to go into that level of detail at your stage. I have been doing 5:2 for around nine weeks and have lost a good amount of weight with no calorie counting other than on my fast day, and that’s simple the way I do it. I would say try to be fairly sensible on your non-diet day without becoming obsessive.

“is it better to do exercise during the week or move to a 4:3 diet to help speed up weight loss? ADF seems really hardcore but I’m wondering whether while I’ve got loads of motivation to try and drop as much weight as possible, I should try a more focussed approach.

Exercise is always good but may not speed up your weight loss if you look around the forums here. Again my advice would be to follow 5:2 strictly on your diet days (500/600 calories). Take some exercise. Walking, swimming…whatever you like – trying to avoid injury. If after a couple of months you want to experiment, maybe try 4:3, ADF, fewer calories on fast days etc.

Good luck !!

simcoeluv

5:07 pm
8 Dec 14
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Hi Shabby:

5:2 requires that you eat 5/600 cal or less on your diet days. Nothing is less, so it is fine. Tying it into your third question, by eating nothing on your diet days, you are effectively getting about the same results as if you were doing 4:3. Experience shows that people that do 4:3 tend to eat a little more on their non diet days so the net calorie restriction they achieve is not what the numbers would predict.

Here is some information on 5:2. Number 4 covers the caloric intake differences between 5:2 and 4:3 and eating nothing on your diet days compared to eating 5/600. Number 5 covers exercise and why it does not help weight loss that much. https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Amazon

5:48 pm
8 Dec 14
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Hi Shabby.
I lost a couple of stones doing 5:2, fasting Mon/Thur, i.e. having 500 calories on those days, but then I decided I wanted to lose weight at a slightly faster rate so have experimented with 4:3 and ADF which has increased the rate of loss. I exercise most days, but IMO the exercise helps with toning rather than weight loss. After a while you’ll know approximately how many calories you are eating without having to count on non fast days. If you want to exercise, go ahead, we all know that it is beneficial, but if you want to speed up the weight loss try 4:3.
There are many on this forum who eat less than their TDEE, and also a fair number who believe that low carb and low sugar helps the weight come off. As you continue you’ll work out what suits you best.
Good luck and let us know how you get on. It might be worth you taking a look at Jojo’s “lose 2lbs per week” thread, which is where I am usually found!

Shabby

9:11 pm
8 Dec 14
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Thanks for all your responses! Really helpful..

Sorry I should have been clearer – when I said nothing, I mean I’m drinking water with some squash, and coffees (with milk and 1/2 sugar) which I class as nothing but the calories still tot up to about 100-200 a day.

Interesting that if I consume no calories on my fast days it would in effect be the same as 4:3. I fast for Ramadan once a year with no food or water for 19 odd hours a day (although you end up binge eating so put on weight!) so given that I can drink during these fast days, Im not finding it as difficult. Let’s see how I go going forward though..

The only reason I’m calorie counting so studiously is because my eating habits were completely off the rails! I feel like by calorie counting, although a little obsessive, has helped me get control back. And the fact that I have log everything in my calorie app means I’m less likely to cheat! Hopefully as I get better at eating the right foods, I can start relaxing a little..

Interesting that your comments indicate that exercising doesn’t help weight loss – I thought it may have sped it up. I have two young boys (both pregnancies got me into this overweight state!) and fitting in the gym or a class would take a lot of prep and coordination.

Really helpful replies – I think for the time being ill stick with my 5:2 and liquids on my fasting days and see how I go. I’ll also continue to eat below my TDEE on non-fast days and hopefully I should see the weight drop off.

Thanks for the best wishes – I will have a look at the link for newbies and also Jojo’s forum post..

PeelyWally

10:22 am
9 Dec 14
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Hi Shabby. The best advice I can give are to read all the links and posts simco provides. As I mentioned I have been on 5:2 for around 9 weeks and am absolutely delighted with my weight loss so far. I don’t own the 5:2 book or have never seen the documentary and I attribute most of my learning and inspiration from reading his posts on this site.

Good luck !