The FastDay Forum

Well where do I start, yesterday I ate below my feasting calories, had 1200, and it was mainly all sweet things, got such a sweet tooth just cant kick it, by the end of the evening felt guilty, so started reading forums on this site and looked on the fasting diet site too, the more I read about TDEE the more confused I've got about it, cause I kept trying to work out to get to have a 3500 difference, I've used a TDEE calculator and even written it down, but I'm only getting a 2536 difference ( the calculator says im to have 1668 per day, so if I do 1668x5 days= 8340 and only 400x2 days of fasting = 800), ( even thou it says 500 for a women,which would make it even less), is it possible to loose weight by eating like that, I know I can also do a 4.3, for the past god knows how many years I've only been eating 1000/1200 calories per day, might be sometimes less or a bit more, so I feel scared to eat the 1668 cals a day, I'm at a loss and now wondering will this diet work for me!!!!

Hi Smudge

sorry you are feeling a bit down today re the TDEE, i am no expert and i dont fully understand it either or how it works, i know though that some of the figures on the progress tracker are not very accurate because i checked on different sites and i get a different reading grrrr

dont fret too much about it hun, am sure someone on here will give you some guidance,i never really count calories on feed days, i dont go crazy with food though because i simply dont feel like it and this what this WOL does to you so give it time and you'll see!!

take care and have a good day xx

Hi Smudge
Dont get freaked out by yr TDEE!
Mine is around 1900 cals and like you,every diet ive done, ive only had about 1200 cals a day..and did i lose weight..yeh maybe,temporarily- til i caved in coz was so hungry - and then ate more til i put the weight back,and more. Then a few weeks later the whole circus wd start again
So,low cal diets dont work,not for me

But i know how scary TDEE can seem!
How i handle my TDDE is
Have my usual two fast and repair days of 500 cals..all the cals eaten in one evening meal..that works best for me
My five TDDE days..having taken advice from a longtimer here..is..
Two day under my TDDE of about 500 cals under i.e., about 1400 cals
Two days under my TDDE of about 200 cals under i.e., about 1700 cals
One day usually Saturday of 1900 - 2000 cals

Have lost eleven pounds in seven weeks..shaky first 2 weeks ( felt like same pound or two was going off then coming back on) then went off the wagon a bit while on holiday,then suddenly over the last two weeks things began to change and am happy with what works out to one plus pound a week weight loss over seven weeks

What am even happier about is,this feels doable..dont get soooooo hungry like i did on 1200 cals day in day out and most importantly dont feel deprived as i did counting cals/ points/ syns etc as on WW and SW

And the health benefits on 5:2 for me is the best thing of all!

Dont give up yet,maybe give yr TDEE a chance for a week or two,see what happens? X

Ps sorry its so long but meant to say..if you add my cal count over a week, only works out to roughly 1200 cals a day anyways but mixing up the cal count daily confuses the body and stops it going into famine mode ( holding onto the fat coz it thinks youre starving) Plus the two 500 cals days gives your body invaluable repair time you wont find on any other way of eating x

Hey there, you sound overwhelmed! I too am a bit of a sugar addict and the sooner I tried to get control of it the better! I kicked out all fake sugars first (diet lemonade and sugarless chewing gum) and have slowly worked on reducing sweets. On your feasting days you should be able to have some things sweet (I do baking on the weekends) but you should really be focusing on overhauling your diet so it becomes about eating healthily for your lifetime rather than about losing a bit of weight and maintaining bad habits and food choices, to then just put the weight back on again. To give you an example, I made a lovely lemon drizzle cake yesterday. Rather than having a big dinner, my husband and I opted for a big healthy salad with tons of veg and a bit of cheese. Then we had some cake and it was very enjoyable and I did not feel bad about it. You are still early days in the diet so give yourself a huge pat on the back for getting yourself here. Good luck!

Thankyou , I will take note of what you have said and hopefully i can or should I say will kick the sweeties habit,
Have a good day , byr

Hi Smudge, Yes it is a bit overwhelming at the beginning! I think quite a few of us found the first fast rather a daunting prospect only to find it wasn't so bad after all! I would say give 5:2 at least a month and by then you should be losing weight and inches or as in my case inches only.

I use the figures on allocated on this website's tracking system,and I think if you look at my profile you will see that I can have 1246 calories on a feast day. So, that is my allocated amount. I then have the 500 calories on a fast day. I have been maintaining for some time now, but still try to keep around 1300 calories as I don't want to lose any more weight, but there again I don't want to put it back on.

I also have a very sweet tooth and found that 5:2 has tamed my cravings. I used to eat several small meals a day (recommended by drs) to try and smooth out my glucose levels (I am not a diabetic) and I was eating chocolate every day. Now it is a rare treat and I'm sure it's because I am putting fuel in my body when it says its needs it rather than me saying its 1pm therefore I must have lunch!!

Hi Smudge.
Some excellent advice from Candice, plateaumama and navwoman.

We all have our own way that works for us. We are all different.

I mean this in the nicest possible way, do you really expect to lose weight if you continue to eat lots of sweet stuff?

For me, I have cut down on high calorie food such as cakes, biscuits, puddings chocolate etc. I have also cut down on alot of carbs including potatoes and bread. I now eat healthy most of the time... big salads, plenty of fresh veg, very little processed food. I still have the odd meal out, and times when I eat rubbish and I enjoy a glass or two of red wine.

I strongly believe for this to work, changes have to be made. After all, it's the way we have been eating that has got most of us in this situation and needing to drop those pounds.

I have used the tracker on this site and have tried to eat under my TDEE and just over my MBR. I too vary the amounts to confuse my body.
As I said before. We are all different. Find what works for you and good luck on your 5:2 journey.

Lesley

Thankyou Lesley,
I understand totally what you say, but because I read you can eat normal ( what you want), I totally take it for that, at my own cost, I have known for a long time that the sweets ain't good, but I can't help myself and I keep thinking that as long as I'm within my calorie intake il be ok, but in reality it's not otherwise I would be slim!, I'm 12,6, ( and have been for a few yrs), and 50 yrs of age and feel awful, but better than what I have been, as used to be around 14,3, just want to get lower if possible, I seem to always be on a diet and getting no where,
So sorry for going on,, hehehe .

@smudge dhana's advice, on the other thread you posted, is very good - copied below

Re: Am I eating wrong??
by dhana » 13 Oct 2013, 11:08

Smudge, I think you're going to have to take a leap of faith here and follow the very good advice already given. 5.2 does work but not if you under eat - the body will hang onto fat reserves when you don't eat enough on the feast days, and as you have been eating only 1000 - 1200 cals a day for years then it may take a while for your body to get used to this woe, but it will. Try increasing good fats, like olive oil, coconut oil etc. butter and cream if you like it, this will help to conquer the sugar cravings.
It can be difficult in the beginning to get your head round this new woe because it contradicts what you have believed is the holy grail of diets for years, but there is no need to be so cautious around food anymore, only twice a week - eat well, protein, soups, eggs etc. and lots of veg on your fast days and you will find that over time your tastes will change to better food choices. good luck
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I think you're just going to have to take that leap of faith - nothing more to add except good luck

Thankyou silver darling for your advice too, I'm taking note of what you and everyone says, and intend to try and do it,

Its not a magic bullet, but I found that taking Chromium Picolinate helped with my carb cravings. Or it could have just been the time the cravings naturally eased off because of the diet.

Also the idea of fast for two days and eat NORMALLY for 5 doesn't mean eat what you like, or what you have normally eaten. It means eat like a normal person.

Check out your healthy slim friends, watch how they eat. If they have a bar of chocolate, do they eat the whole bar immediately? I bet they don't, I bet they break off a chunk and either share the rest around, or put the rest back in their bag for another day. That is what normal eating is all about.

Before this diet I had banned all biscuits from the house because if there were biscuits I would eat the whole packet, in one sitting. The rest of the family wouldn't get a look in. Now, I am sat in the kitchen, knowing full well there are two packets of biscuits in a tin on top of the freezer, 3 bars of chocolate in the cupboard, chocolate covered raisins on my husbands desk and I've just remembered the packet of mentos on my desk, right in front of me, there for all to enjoy. They have been there for 4 weeks, at least. Because of this WOE (and maybe the supplement) I enjoy my treats, but I stop before I go into hyperdrive with the sugar rush. I hate the feeling of the sugar and carb rush now and stop well before it. But it took a bit of perseverance and a little bit of time for my body to regain its full trigger and its sugar sensitivity switch.