The FastDay Forum

Just a question about eating windows. Probably here somewhere but wouldn't mind it discussed separately.

Over a period of seven (7) days what on average is the total calorie deficit achieved for the eating window technique of intermittent fasting. So I don't mean for people also using 5:2, 4:3 or 6:1 but for someone purely using 16:8, 19:5, fast-5 etc.

The calorie deficit for someone on just 5:2 is easy to work out (and will of course depend on your TDEE)

I have no idea how many calories I eat on Fast-5, it is not a calorie counting WOE. I just know it works for me.

When I do an eating window ( school holidays) I take my TDEE and minus 500 cals. This then gives me a 3500 reduction in cals so should lose at least one pound. I work it out through MFP and a spreadsheet I have on my PC this works for me because I know I would eat over if I wasn't careful.

When I do an eating window ( school holidays) I take my TDEE and minus 500 cals. This then gives me a 3500 reduction in cals so should lose at least one pound. I work it out through MFP and a spreadsheet I have on my PC this works for me because I know I would eat over if I wasn't careful.

So in your case Brand-ie you are calorie restricting as well as setting patterns of eating times. I am thinking that this can be the only way it could work for weight loss though others seem to suggest otherwise.

ie. if you changing eating patterns and still consume say 1.25 x TDEE it cant be good. '

As @Izzy says, it's like asking how long a piece of string is and as @barbaritasays it's not a calorie counting regime. For me it's about the fasting and IF has, for me, been a slow progression from 5:2 to a 16/8 eating window and it has gradually shrunk to, often, just the one meal a day. I don't count calories and if I'm eating out where the food is already calorie counted for you then I am aware that I can eat in excess if 2000 calories over lunch and it makes no difference to my weight. Having said that, if I do have a HUGE lunch then the next day I am never very hungry so perhaps it balances out naturally, but as I said, I'm more interested in the perceived long term health benefits but then I am on maintenance. If I was to start again, knowing what I know now then I would go straight to an eating window as it is such a natural way for me to eat although I can see that it won't suit everyone. So, in answer to your question, don't know, don't care because it's not about calories.

Ballerina x

I didn't count cals while I was away for the weekend but was aware about what I ate. I still lost two pound that week. I am still in the early stages of my weight loss though.

[. if you changing eating patterns and still consume say 1.25 x TDEE it cant be good. '

Not sure why you think this is necessarily bad...........

Ballerina x

[carorees]

The eating window approach doesn't involve calorie counting because if you eat too much (your 1.25x TDEE scenario) you simply shorten the eating window until you can't. The fasting hours give the appetite suppression that we all know from 5:2. With a little experimentation you can work out what eating window is right for you.

When I have roughly totted up my calories they average 1200 (TDEE is 1500). I'm losing 250g per week so that's about what you'd expect from those calorie figures.

[. if you changing eating patterns and still consume say 1.25 x TDEE it cant be good. '

Not sure why you think this is necessarily bad...........

Ballerina x

When i said it cant "be good" i didnt mean its not good for you. probably expressed it badly and as you probably all notice it i type faster than my brain works and lazy about punctuation what i really mean to say is.

if you are eating more than the required TDEE its amazing that eating windows methods allows people to still lose weight. you would imagine if calorie restriction is just not part of this eating regime, it's almost miraculous that one can still be losing weight.

The eating window approach doesn't involve calorie counting because if you eat too much (your 1.25x TDEE scenario) you simply shorten the eating window until you can't. The fasting hours give the appetite suppression that we all know from 5:2. With a little experimentation you can work out what eating window is right for you.

When I have roughly totted up my calories they average 1200 (TDEE is 1500). I'm losing 250g per week so that's about what you'd expect from those calorie figures.

Therefore in your situation carorees you are indeed calorie restricting and possibly every day of the week, so heck yeah i would expect you to be losing weight.

I was under the impression by some that you dont need to count calories, you dont need to calorie restrict and you can even eat more than TDEE and you still lose weight which is an entirely different proposition

the restriction and eating windows then is still a "diet" in the old fashioned sense of the word in that it affect the total consumption of calories. not just the time one eats.

i dont mean to sound defensive or argumentative in my posts here though i know it seems like i am.. just trying to come to grips with the enthusiasm in the fast -5 and eating windows tent.

[carorees]

The difference between the eating window approach and a standard diet is that there is still a fasting component so you get the benefits of having time off from eating plus the appetite shrinking effect which you don't get with a 3+ meals a day diet. So there no need to count calories. Many of those in the eating window tent are fasting longer each day than some 5:2ers are doing twice a week. So IMHO it's all different ways of doing the same thing. Namely allowing your body to repair and at the same time burn off some fat!

I think whatJR is asking is what I am trying to sort out too
If I eat the same food spread over the whole day,that I eat in my window,will I still lose weight?
I think from my reading it's not the case.the fasting from all food food for a time period is what causes the weight loss and health benefits.
Am I correct?

[carorees]

If you eat the same food spread out as you would have in the eating window you will likely lose weight but it might depend on how insulin resistant you are and your chosen foods. If you eat a lot of carbs then the eating window might...note I said might...give you better weight loss. If your diet is low in carbs it will probably not make a difference. In our survey of 5:2 fasters last year, the length of the fast seemed to affect weight loss but that might be due to the appetite suppressing effect of fasting affecting intake on the non fast days.

However, if you spread out your calories you will likely be hungrier than if you keep them in an eating window, especially if your diet is carb heavy.

Hi @sarahg

Dr Herring discusses the role that insulin plays in fat burning in the physiology section of his book. Basically insulin levels have to fall below a certain level for fat burning to occur. On the 3 meals a day plus snacks regime this does not get much of a chance to happen as every time you eat the body makes more insulin to process the carbs and prevent blood sugars going too high. So on the conventional WOE significant fat burning takes place between when your evening meal is more or less digested, and breakfast ( e.g. assuming dinner at 8, midnight to 8 am and we could describe your window as 12:12). On 16:8 you get an extra 4 hours fat burning a day, on 19:5 an extra 7. So the fasting is important and you would not achieve the same result by spreading the same amount of food out over the day.

Thanks,thought so
I have just started my eating window after a hard day,when I must say I felt my motivation slipping.
So will keep on sticking to this fast 5 ,at least for three weeks to see what happens,it helps reading these posts.thanks all.