The FastDay Forum

I wasn't on 5:2 long enough to compare.

Im thinking of something in between a 6:1 and a 5:2. not sure what to call it lol

i pick 2 "fast" or 500calorie days in a week then on another day.. not consecutive i do a 1000 calories which is way under "normal eating"

any ideas what to call this?

I'm in my 8th week. 4 weeks have been 5:2. One was 6-1 due to a vacation. I followed the 6:1 with a 4:3 to make up for the lost fast day. Last week I did another 4:3 because my normal fast days (Monday and Thursday) were disrupted and I preferred to fast 3 days instead of go for a longer than normal period between fasts.

5:2 weeks are pretty easy for me and getting easier all the time. 4:3 weeks are a bit harder. I am hungrier on my fast days when I've only had one "feast" day in between.

While my 4:3 weeks have been more difficult, they have still been manageable, And I think I've lost more weight on 4:3 weeks. But overall, I'm quite satisfied with losing 1 lb. per week which is my normal result for a 5:2 week. I don't feel any need to rush the weight loss. I'm more worried about sticking with it for the long haul, and since 5:2 is easier for me than 4:3, I think I am more likely to stick with this for the long haul by following 5:2 most weeks.

I'm going to try 4:3 from next week, for 3 weeks, until the next monthly weigh-in. It will be interesting to see whether that makes any difference to my weight loss. I've been on a slow lane since Easter, although still losing. I'm 4lbs away from my target weight and I'll see whether 4:3 gives me some boost.

I'm, only on my 2nd week last week was a bit tough but this week easy was thinking also I could do the 4:3 for a while then cut back I don't think its too hard just a mind set, I'm 59 and will post results as I go nothing else has every seemed to work, intend to go walking today also most days if I can

I like to have 2 food days followed by a fast day, so I suppose I fall into 4:2 category. Although reading this the 4:3 using mon weds and Fri as fasting days sounds workable so may give that a try.

Personally, I don't think I could sustain 4:3 in the long run. Even now, after 14 weeks of 5:2, if I have only one feed day instead of two between my two fasts I get rebellious (and physically tired). I feel more tempted to ditch the second day (haven't given in so far, but the urge is still there). Also, I feel more inclined to have dessert, snacks, start baking, etc. With 2 days inbetween, I feel much more content, have to use less willpower, and feel more energetic on the second fast day. 4:3 would have to be a rather short-term effort for me.
Losing 1 pound per week works fine for me. I love good food, cooking, eating, and sharing. With 5:2, I feel I can still do that without overcompensating or getting "fed up" with the whole concept.

I did 5:2 for a month, then 4:3 for three weeks. The first two weeks on 4:3 I was fine, but this last week I have REALLY struggled, and it really felt like a 'diet'. So have decided to drop back to 5:2 next week. I am a bit worried (irrationally) that this will make me regain lost weight, but logically I don't think that can be true.

I always intended to do 5:2 fasting on Mondays and Thursdays but for both weeks I've been on the diet I have had to move my Thursday to a Wednesday. This left me feeling anxious that I would undo all my good work eating normally for four straight days and as such I fell into a 4:3 of mon, weds and fri. I have found it so easy, it is saving me about $60 a week from not buying lunch at work and I have lost 3.6kg in 2 weeks which is amazing considering I only had about 5kg to lose.

I figure when I hit my target I'll see how I feel and may drop to 5:2 and then eventually 6:1 to maintain. However I think you would need to stay on each step down for a very long time to maintain because if you drop the fasts too quickly you'd probably put the weight back on!

I completely agree that for me the 4:3 put me into a habit which is easy to maintain. As I have never done a 5:2 week I can't say whether or not it would have had the same effect but I do feel that 5:2 would feel a little less structured.

The other advantage to 4:3 is that I basically eat whatever the hell I want on my feed days which I doubt I would be able to do and still lose weight on 5:2. I don't bother to calorie count and usually do end up eating fairly healthily because I prefer that kind of food anyway. But on Thurday night I had a large chips with loads of chicken salt and tomato sauce and it was sooooooo good! And on the Tuesday I had a burger! (hmmm was a bit of a naughty week!)

I think the most important thing is to do what you can maintain. There's no point in forcing yourself to do 4:3 and ending up miserable and giving up if you would prefer to do 5:2 which you could have maintained!

I finished my 9th fast yesterday and found it remarkably easy, not that it's been particularly difficult, but yesterday seemed even easier than usual, maybe the mind set was right? If this is the case might just have a go at 4:3 !

What got me thinking particularly was this morning, as usual after a fast day feel really well, not hungry.
So just coffee so far for breakfast today, usually on weekdays I keep calories to 1000/1500 then fast on Weds or Thurs again or might try a 3 day week fasting, especially while the mindset is good.

MrsNog is quite amazed at how well I'm managing fast days, I'm one of those who normally cannot pass a biscuit tin or cake box

I'm in two minds about this. Done 5/2 for 4 weeks and the last 2 weeks tried 4/3.
When I was doing 5/2, I was better 'behaved' on my non fasting days, now on the 4/3, I tend to overeat on unhealthy stuff again as it feels like a 'reward' for all the hard work ( silly I know).
I get the 'more routine' thing on 4/3 but it seems an awful lot of fasting and feels more like a diet than it does on 5/2. I guess we are all different, but I think I might go back to 5/2, unless I manage to pace myself on non fasting days too...

I did try 4:3 for 3 weeks.
Week 1 - 0.2 kg lost - fairly easy Mon and Fri fast, on Wednesday I had difficulty sticking to rules and ended up overeating (TOTM as well)
Week 2 - 0.5 kg lost - had a very good week
Week 3 - 0.5 kg gained - started off with a very indulgent weekend, then had fasts on Tue/Wed and Fri. I felt so deprived of food I actually ended up gaining after fasts and loosing after normal day.

Maybe if I had a will of iron I could keep doing 4:3, but I don't. I was too hungry and couldn't focus at work as well. My conclusion is 4:3 is not for me, too many restricted days, which leads, in my case, to physical and mental distress.

I've been doing 4:3 now for 2 weeks I think. Last week I caved on one of the days but this week I was ever so good. I did find the last day tougher and I had a few spots swimming in front of my eyes by early evening but it was nothing my evening meal couldn't cure.

I much prefer the routine of 4:3 and I find I'm still very well behaved on my feast days too, as long as I keep tabs on what I eat and don't start snacking! I'm not expecting to lose extra weight on 4:3, just to gain a sense of rhythm I think.

<Waves at HopefulHeart - you and I have swapped posts on this subject before!>

I originally started with 5:2 and then considered 4:3, as I too felt the rhythm on 5:2 was "off"; three normal days until the next fast seemed too long. After further research, 4:3 seemed a bit too severe for me, too much like an every day calorie-restricted diet, which hasn't worked for me for any length of time.

So, as my new signature says, I'm switching over to a "two days normal, one day fast" cycle. That gives, on average, ten fasting days a month, two more than you'd get on 5:2 and two less than you'd get on 4:3.

The only potential drawback is that fasting days won't be the same each week, so for some people this cycle could make it harder to plan. It suits me and my boyfriend fine, as it doesn't really matter which days I fast, and if we want to go out on a fast day, I still have the option either to switch temporarily back to 5:2 or do 4:3 until I get back on track to what I'm calling 48:24.

I think that's the tremendous advantage of intermittent fasting: it has so much flexibility that you really can find a method that suits, and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do on 48:24 - I can always change it again if I'm not happy with it.

I started on ADF to get into the habit and then after 10 weeks swapped to 4:3. Mostly lost a lb a week until I went into muscling up but back losing again now. Not really worried about speed of loss as getting fitter and the slower the better for my skin.

I like the routine, the rest of my life is pretty random as I don't go out to work every day.