The FastDay Forum

Most people seem to be using the 5 2 diet primarily to loose weight. I have never been over weight and do not have problems maintaining my weight. I would like to use the 5 2 diet for the health benefits apart from weight loss. It is my understanding that it is the fasting that improves one's glucose levels, cholesterol ratios, insulin sensitivity, and IGF-1. How should I modify the diet to reap those benefits with out losing weight?

Do I still do the 600 cal fast day meal or do I eat what I want at that meal?
Do I increase my caloric intake on non fasting days?
If I go to the 6 1 maintenance diet will I still get all the health benefits of the 5 2 diet?
Or do I modify it some other way? Thanks

Hi TT and Welcome
Yes 600 calories to be taken as + when you wish for me this is evening meal only because once I eat I actually become more hungry, as for other days eat to your TDEE
which if/when you've filled in your details the tracker shows this for you, I believe doing 6:1 still gives you the health benefits, and maybe the longer the fast the better

I'm sure @caroreeswill pop in to explain so much better than I can Good Luck Sue

Most people seem to be using the 5 2 diet primarily to loose weight. I have never been over weight and do not have problems maintaining my weight. I would like to use the 5 2 diet for the health benefits apart from weight loss.
If I go to the 6 1 maintenance diet will I still get all the health benefits of the 5 2 diet?

From a non scientific perspective i would imagine that you would only get 1/2 the health benefits as you are only doing 1/2 the days. I believe that there is no extensive scientific evidence yet of the health benefits so once cant really put a "number on it" but the "repair" benefits would have to be more if one did the fasting twice a week.

So if you can do 2 days, do 2 days but then 1 is better than none.

And it means you can eat what whatever you want on non fast days whereas those managing their weight down need to stay within their TDEE. Another way to reap the benefits is to eat daily only within an 8 hour window with a 16 hr break, but to eat freely in that window rather than drop your calorie intake.

Welcome and good luck

And it means you can eat what whatever you want on non fast days whereas those managing their weight down need to stay within their TDEE. Another way to reap the benefits is to eat daily only within an 8 hour window with a 16 hr break, but to eat freely in that window rather than drop your calorie intake.

Welcome and good luck

Wondering rawkaren. did MM mention 16:8 in his book. i have the book but havent finished reading

and is there scientific studies of benefits, weight or otherwise of 16:8.. if so is there thread around here on it. im gathering a bunch of links to study over Christmas new year break on my IF.. sabatical.

btw ive yet to try 16:8 as i just havent got my head around it.

Dunno Juliana. Just one version of fasting I have picked up amongst many others both here and on Interweb. Maintainers like @ballerina swear it works for them. I have drifted into it naturally during weekdays.

I've lost weight doing cautious 16:8
But yes very cautious ones Sue

[Debs]

My husband is doing this for the health benefits too, and does a rough fast two days a week, occasionally going over 600cal; he has lost a small amount of weight but not a lot. I understand that 6:1 does confer health benefits as well though.

Hi and welcome:

The only way I know of is to do it right on the fasting days and eat more on your non-fasting days. The best way to do it is to not eat anything on your fasting days and, for you, eat even more on your not-fasting days.

Good Luck!

Hi and welcome:

The best way to do it is to not eat anything on your fasting days and, for you, eat even more on your not-fasting days.

nil calories?

typed that as my stomach growled and howled for me to break my fast and its only 12.47pm in the arvo.

the stomach won

This thread about how various forum members are maintaining weight might be useful to you. There are a lot of different strategies. You might have to experiment a bit to find what is right for you.

weight-maintenance-f18/who-is-on-maintenance-how-long-how-do-you-feel-t9930.html

Good morning everyone,

I also wanted the alleged long term health benefits of fasting so when I went onto maintenance I did, and still do, 16/8 every day because that way I get a fast every 24 hours. My daily window is usually between 2 and 5 hours rather than 8 but that is a personal choice. If you don't wish to lose weight then just eat more during your window. This does not suit everyone, it is just another variation of intermittent fasting and the link to the thread is included in my signature. Good luck

Ballerina x

The general consensus is that the longer the actual fast, a minimum of over 14 hours, 24 hours to 36 hours with no calories being the ideal.
Then if weight loss is not desired you need to up your calories on your normal days to compensate.
Aim for a minimum of 14 hours without food and see how extending it works for you. If its not adaptable to your needs, you won't stick to it, so make it fit you. Not you adapting to a diet.

Hi TT13, welcome to the Forum. First, it’s good for me to have someone posting who wants to do it for health reasons not to lose weight.

I started 5:2 to support OH who was told by her GP she needed to because of blood pressure issues. She’s given up and I’ve kept going though a slightly different version.

Second, as far as I’m concerned there are no rules, no sacred texts and it's best to do whatever suits you, which is what I've done.

To go some way in answering your OP questions, Breadandwine (forum member) is now on 6:1 because he was losing too much weight and from his GP he knows he’s getting the health benefits.

When on 5:2 basically I ate normally on non-fast days and found it difficult to eat more anyway. Our diet is a healthy one. Also, if we went on holiday we didn’t continue or at Christmas or any other celebration. We had our days but we changed according to circumstances.

To keep things simple I’ll just say I’ve changed my pattern. Tonight we will eat at around 6pm, certainly finish by 6.30pm. I won’t eat any food until 6pm tomorrow evening, though will increase fluid including a cup of coffee with semi skimmed milk at about 10.30 tomorrow. I think that’s a 24 hour fast.

If I start to feel unnaturally cold (it is an issue with me) I’ll have a salad at lunch time tomorrow.

I’ll do the same next Wednesday and Saturday but not on the 25th!

All the best to you in your choices.

I too was really only interested in the health benefits of this WOE as I do not want or need to lose any weight as my BMI, Body Fat Percentage and waist to height ratio are all well within the healthy parameters. I have naturally eaten to a 16:8 pattern for years as I'm just not hungry in the morning and very rarely eat breakfast unless I'm on holiday, so I 'fast' to a certain extent every day. Despite wanting to maintain I now find I have lost a few more pounds just by fasting one day a week (I do also exercise 3 times a week), so am now reducing that to once a fortnight whilst keeping to my 16:8 routine and maybe upping my TDEE or allowing myself some extra goodies over Christmas.