The FastDay Forum

Hello:

I am new to this idea. In fact, my hair dresser told me about it, I researched it online, and now I am really interested. I completed the hcg diet recently, and I do lose weight (1.4 stones/20 pounds) in 3 weeks. But I've done it several times, and I just can't seem to keep the weight off. And I'm far more overweight than I would like to be which makes me severely depressed. But with the hcg diet, you eat 500 calories a day for that 3-4 week period, and although a person uses medication to do it, it isn't hard to do. But when I can't keep the weight off, what is the purpose of fasting for 3-4 weeks, feeling overjoyed that I have lost, but slowly edging back up again, and being close to the same weight after I fasted? It isn't fun.

So I want to try this diet. If I can make it a lifestyle for about a year, I should be down to the weight I want to be IF it works.

So I am here to learn as much as I can. I hope I can figure out how to do it quickly.

I read a lot of things about how to do this. I do have a couple of questions. I tend to eat a lot of meat (after Atkins dieting for a while). Other than the 600 calorie requirement, can I just eat meat on fast days? And on the non-fast days, must I restrict my calories or can I eat what I want (which might be meat three meals a day)?

[Moogie]

Hi & welcome

As a woman your calorie limit for your fasting days is 500, but you can 'spend' those on whatever you want. Protein is very good for keeping you full, so if you just wanted 500 cals of meat I can't see that being a problem - though I'm sure there are folks here who have a better idea about whether this is healthy or not!

On your feed days, just eat as you would normally eat. You may need to calculate your TDEE if you've been dieting for a while and no longer know what is 'normal' for you. You can eat what you like (but not 'as much as you like') - though to me I'd say that living on meat 24/7 probably isn't the most balanced of diets. You'll need some veg in there too surely to keep healthy?

hi! I did hcg last year and lost weight but it all went back on as the i started eating 'normally'. I have had similar inch loss on 4:3 and weight coming off slowly but eating all foods and no deprivation... only thing i need to do is exercise!!!

[carorees]

Regarding protein, there is a long thread on this topic on the nerdy stuff section. However, I would like to point out here that studies have found that the drop in IGF1 (which reduces the risk of cancer and other conditions associated with cell growth) that was seen in rats on a calorie restricted diet and was thought to be responsible for extending their lifespan, was only shown in humans if protein was reduced as well add calorie restriction. It is possible that fasting with a high protein diet will not bring the IGF1 reduction (though of course that does not mean no weight loss).