weekly calorie decrease or fasting – what helps you lose weight?

This topic contains 5 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by lgc27 8 years, 4 months ago.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

gs1084

6:14 am
25 Nov 15
Permalink

Hi
I have been on a calorie restricted diet for around 3 years now, originally losing 56kg by reducing calories and increasing exercise.

I started the 5:2 as a way to break a plateau after seeing some friends with great results. I am finding it quite easy, but am yet to see any real results, and i am a little confused…

after watching the documentary it shows that an ave woman eats say 2,000 calories a day. so eating that over 7 days would be 14,000 a week. by cutting down to 500 calories on fast days the weekly intake would then be 11,000. a calorie decrease over the week of 3,000 calories.

before i started, i was eating around 1200 calories every day. now i am eating 2 days of 500 calories, and 5 days of around 1600 (what i love most about 5:2 is that i can relax on “Feed” days) so i have gone from 1200 x 7 = 8,400 to 500 x 2 + 1600 x 5 = 9,000 — a weekly calorie INCREASE of 600.

Does this mean i am doing it wrong?? will i only lose weight if my weekly calorie intake is under what was the norm before i started? or are the health benefits in the FASTING, not the calorie decrease…

Would love to know all your thoughts!!!

pen nib

6:52 am
25 Nov 15
Permalink

I have found keeping to 1200 cals on a non fast day works well for me – I’ve made it a goal to lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week and that’s what I’ve been achieving for about ten months now and have lost 4 stone!!!
If 1600 cals on non fast days still works for you and you’re achieving the weight loss you want why not stick to it!

pen nib

7:04 am
25 Nov 15
Permalink

PS
I’m sure the health benefits are both in the 5:2 regime and the consistency of eating better
food! By avoiding the filling high calorie foods there’s room on the daily allowance for more variety I find!
Interestingly I’ve been able to stick to the plan over the past three weeks in spite of being away on holiday (mainly self catering but one week long spell of b&b) by still counting the cals and missing out lunch when breakfast was provided. The proprietor was a bit surprised at the regular two poached eggs every morning and no bacon and sausage etc nut I eventually ‘spilled the beans’ and she was really interested and borrowed the book!!

And… exhale

11:50 am
25 Nov 15
Permalink

Hello – the key for me is that 5:2 is very easy to stick to, as long as I write everything down. If you calculate your TDEE without exercise, then stick to it for non-Fast days, then you ought to lose a regular, sustainable amount each week, regardless of what you were eating before.

Losing weight is all about achieving an energy deficit each week, and most other diets achieve this by reducing calories each day. I found that really difficult to stick to, so two days of determined fasting plus five days of eating what my body needs works for me.

Good luck!

Pot-bellied Heron

4:48 pm
25 Nov 15
Permalink

The short answer is yes, you will only lose weight if your calorie intake is less than it was when you were on your plateau.

You managed your previous caloric restriction fine so 5:2 should be a walk in the park. Maybe try water fasting on your fast days instead of 500cals.

Jesper M

7:42 pm
2 Dec 15
Permalink

@gs1084: Doing 5:2 together with calorie restricted diet is too much if You ask me.

Your challenge is that your body is now adjusted to 1200 cals / day, I guess thats your new (very low) TDEE.

A wellknown challenge with the usual calorie restricted diets (low calorie intake each day) is that over time the body adjusts to this new (low) level. So infact you have to go even lower to loose weight. You can do that with 5:2, but it sounds like a very restricted diet scheme to me 🙁

For 5:2 (or any other intermittant fasting scheme) to work optimally you should NOT DIET on non-fasting days. You need to eat up to Your TDEE on non fasting days to get the full benefits of the fasting.

Thats also the reason why you should ideally have two full non fasting days between fasting days – to get well into feeding-state before next fasting.

I have no clue how long it takes for a body to raise TDEE again.

see more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG89j432w-Y
around 1h6minutes

lgc27

7:03 pm
3 Dec 15
Permalink

If I understand you, you were eating an average 1200 calories a day, but you are now eating and average of 1600 calories a day? Regardless of how you spread it over the week it sounds like you are eating more. If you eat more then you are likely to lose weight. The 5:2 isn’t magic it – still requires thought about what you are eating the rest of the time.