Sudden success after 5 days (yippee!)

This topic contains 3 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Cari69 9 years, 4 months ago.

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Cari69

9:48 am
15 Jul 15
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Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share with you my first BIG success on the plan.
I started 5 days ago and registered an amazing success after 2.5 fast days! (1 day off in between).
Day 1 fast
Day 2 normal
Day 3 fast
Day 4 normal (no food before 3 pm)
Day 5: I suddenly dropped 5lb overnight after my body seemed to be ‘holding on to it’ previously. It seems to be quite easy for me not to eat until mid-afternoon if I keep busy during the day (and consume all my cals in a 5-6 hour window). This drop followed a 90 min walk and a very short HIT session on day 4. Total loss in the 5 days: 6lb.
I am not expecting (or aiming for) to continue losing at this rate, it seems to be an initial burst of my body FINALLY letting go.
For the last few years I have been mostly paleo and have been doing my own versions of HIT/8FIT/caveman stuff. I also play the double bass for a living, which means I am (and need to be) quite strong and fit. However, 2 stone less would be nice! Despite spending endless hours running/walking and working out I could not get below 200lb successfully and stay there (my goal is 165lb at the moment).
I have done IF before, but obviously not long enough for my body to finally give in!
So, after my previous post a few days ago, this is what I plan to do now:
500 cals on fast days, no cheating, no adding exercise calories to allowances!
Normal days: stay between 1200 (Myfitnesspal’s calculation for me to lose 2 lb a week) and 2200 cals (my average daily need when moderately active). I will however add calories ‘earned’ by exercise to this total, counting only long hikes/runs etc and only 50% of the cals actually burned. I won’t tally up HITs and other strength workouts.
Finally, this is a plan, not written in stone.
Great to be here and fab to finally have some success.
Best wishes
Cari69

tomtit

12:16 pm
15 Jul 15
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sounds like you have it sorted!! good luck 😉

HappyNow

12:26 pm
15 Jul 15
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Cari,

Congratulations on your loss.

A word of caution however. If I understand you correctly, on your non-fast days you intend to eat under your TDEE but then in addition ‘eat back’ calories you estimate have been burnt through exercise?

You should know that your TDEE already accounts for your level of activity. Therefore if you eat to TDEE, and then eat more to compensate for exercise, you will in fact be overeating.

Can I suggest that you just do it by the book for a while and see how it goes? (Up to TDEE on non-fast days, quarter TDEE or less on fast days, no cheating on any day)

If your aim is to lose weight, eating less and not more really is the way forward!

Cari69

12:53 pm
15 Jul 15
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Hi HappyNow,
Thanks for the clarification.
I have leaned from the past that if I do eat up to TDEE or equivalent I will not lose weight. I’d be lucky to stay the same. Therefore I have calculated my TDEE to the absolute minimum, ie sedentary. I am however quite active. I walk everywhere, run, cycle and do HITs. This does not seem to be enough for my body to shed pounds though. I do occasionally (3-4 times a week) have to step things up. It’s these longer trecks in combination with eating very little before that seem to be shifting things. I do sometimes feel afterwards or later on in the day that I need to have a couple of hundred calories leeway.
So I am definitely under eating, hopefully without unbeneficial results other than losing weight.
Cari69