The FastDay Forum

When i first started this WOL i thought once im on maintenance ill be on 6:1 but ive decided (and im just forward planning cause i havent got there) that 5:2 is what i will do for the rest of my life not 6:1. I reckon 1 day in 7 is too few to

a) keep you focussed
b) get the longevity and health benefits

if as some people say they lose too much weight (which i doubt for me,), ill just up the amount of calories on a fast day by a bit which wouldnt be hard.

i just feel 6:1 is too "diluted" if thats the right word.

and 5:2 seems to be the generic for anything IF these days in terms of a term, so 5:2 it is.

I do fasts on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and just to drop Sundays is a massive change for me, and thus freeing "weekends" for being "bad".. or indulgent (of course always within TDEE )

btw.. plan to be on maintenance, that is reach my goal on my fast- anniversary, mid April. - so excited about whats to come!

thoughts.?

It would be really nice to have some scientific evidence comparing the different methods in both short term and longer term studies.

At the end of the day, though, won't weight maintenance be an important determinant, too? You might keep losing on 5:2...

It would be really nice to have some scientific evidence comparing the different methods in both short term and longer term studies.

At the end of the day, though, won't weight maintenance be an important determinant, too? You might keep losing on 5:2...

As its been slow in weight loss in the last few weeks i just cant see it happening. i might be wrong when i get there. but really feel that need to "repair" more than once a week.

Perhaps i like the simplicity of fast days and the lovely quick fast-appropriate meals.

Hiya

Congrats on nearing goal! I haven't really set a goal but over the last couple of months I have been hovering around 9st, sometimes under by a pound or two, sometimes over. I have been doing 5:2 all the way through and I think I'm maintaining rather than losing on 5:2, mainly as I eat too much at weekends and on other non-fast days. It's very easy to do!

I suppose I'd like to be a few pounds lighter so the theory is that I'll tighten things up for a few weeks and hopefully get there (maybe slip in the odd third fast a week) but I'm not too worried, as long as I can still get in to my new size 10 skinny jeans (which are actually quite tight!!)

So, just do what works for you - I don't count calories on fast days or non-fast days, for me that would feel too restrictive and I'm trying to get an intuitive feeling for the 'right' amount to keep me at the weight I want to be. Some people would continue to lose on 5:2 - sadly this is not a problem for me, or at least it's a problem I'd like to have for a few more weeks!

It's certainly true that every time I tried to switch from 4:3 to 5:2 I felt like the longer gap between fasts made them harder. I felt like I got out of practice. I'm hemming and hawing about what maintenance plan I will follow. The one I originally outlined--basically, easing myself off of 4:3 by going to 2:1 then 5:2, then 6:1 if I needed to in order to stop losing-- had this problem in mind.

My weight loss really slowed down a lot once I got to a healthy BMI, so I have my doubts as well about ever getting to 6:1, though I have some hope that if I can get my muscle % up, my metabolism will improve...

Hi Juliana, I agree with greenmonster, do whatever works for you.
Best of luck reaching and maintaining your goal
(I think I will need to do 5:2 on maintenance - which I have just started - as of late I seem to exceed my TDEE on non-fast days...)

That makes sense to me. I'm no where near maintenance, but I was actually thinking that to maintain I might need to fast 2 days for a while. I think that takes off some of the pressure to be strict with your calories on non-fast days. But, if you had a week where you couldn't get that second day in or whatever, you wouldn't have to worry about it that much!

Good luck! Hope to join you down there some day!

I think you've got it bang to rights @Juliana.Rivers.

I've been havering on about this on my thread. I'm supposedly in maintenance (Christmas day is not the best day to dip below one's target!) and intend to go on with 4.5 : 2.5 (more flexible on Fridays) for the rest of my days for the health benefits, not least the putative anti-gaga effects. If my weight drops too low (ha ha, just now) I'll up my calories at the weekend (don't think I'd change the repair day calories, if anything I'd like to get them lower to intensify the repair effect).

Anyway, all the very best! FatDog

Juliana, you describe my situation. I have reached goal but continue doing 5:2, Mondays and Weds since last fall. My weight has stabilized with daily weight measurements between 169-173. The only times I have skipped fast days have been holidays. My original thought was to move to 6:1 but since I stopped losing while continuing 5:2 I'll stay with it. Occasionally I'll feel as though it's too much of a yo-yo with fasting days then eating days but overall feel great.

Juliana, you describe my situation. I have reached goal but continue doing 5:2, Mondays and Weds since last fall. My weight has stabilized with daily weight measurements between 169-173. The only times I have skipped fast days have been holidays. My original thought was to move to 6:1 but since I stopped losing while continuing 5:2 I'll stay with it. Occasionally I'll feel as though it's too much of a yo-yo with fasting days then eating days but overall feel great.

Thanks sounds like you have your maintenance mode worked out well @brougham

For me going from 4:3 to 5:2 will be a significant change in itself and it still gives me a solid 5 "foodie" days

Hiya

Congrats on nearing goal! I haven't really set a goal but over the last couple of months I have been hovering around 9st, sometimes under by a pound or two, sometimes over. I have been doing 5:2 all the way through and I think I'm maintaining rather than losing on 5:2, mainly as I eat too much at weekends and on other non-fast days. It's very easy to do!

I suppose I'd like to be a few pounds lighter so the theory is that I'll tighten things up for a few weeks and hopefully get there (maybe slip in the odd third fast a week) but I'm not too worried, as long as I can still get in to my new size 10 skinny jeans (which are actually quite tight!!)

So, just do what works for you - I don't count calories on fast days or non-fast days, for me that would feel too restrictive and I'm trying to get an intuitive feeling for the 'right' amount to keep me at the weight I want to be. Some people would continue to lose on 5:2 - sadly this is not a problem for me, or at least it's a problem I'd like to have for a few more weeks!

Apart from the fact i have that extra fast day, your situation is like mine. I dont count the calories on any day and that probably explains my slower than average weight loss but a definite trend to reaching my goal.

Have you tried adding another day to your week for fasting @greenmonster? Even just for a month

I think you've got it bang to rights @Juliana.Rivers.

I've been havering on about this on my thread. I'm supposedly in maintenance (Christmas day is not the best day to dip below one's target!) and intend to go on with 4.5 : 2.5 (more flexible on Fridays) for the rest of my days for the health benefits, not least the putative anti-gaga effects. If my weight drops too low (ha ha, just now) I'll up my calories at the weekend (don't think I'd change the repair day calories, if anything I'd like to get them lower to intensify the repair effect).

Anyway, all the very best! FatDog

Thanks
@Fatdog, i probably should know but what is 4.5 : 2.5 ?

I'm also mulling this choice over. As you know, my original goal date was my birthday in November, hence not "needing" the Christmas Club. Then I joined up as member number 1 in the Thanksgiving Club. Then I switched to Xmas, and now, here I am halfway through January, still with a tiny bit to lose. So clearly 5:2 has already become a maintenance-type approach for me.

My current thinking is to do a 5.5:1.5 approach, similar to what @FatDog is proposing, I think, but one day less fasting. So, one day of standard, about 300-400 calorie, fasting (I don't measure either). And one day of no food till dinner, and then a more typical dinner with perhaps a small dessert, ie. a 600-700 calorie day.

The nice thing about your decision, Juliana, is that it can be changed. In a week, a month, a year. And changed again. Ah, the beauty of 5:2.

Ah ha, somewhere between 4:3 and 5:2?

I do a 'strict' Monday and Wednesday repair and then aim for a decent Friday repair but if I don't make it, I forgive myself as it's a Friday

Except my 'strict' isn't very strict in most folks' books - 500 to 600 calories when, theoretically, I should be nearer 400 I suspect. Still, it has worked for me and (from the wee bit research I've read, the 25 to 33% of TDEE was pretty arbitrary!). Truth be told this WoE is pretty flexible all round - so if I end up with a half-repair on Wednesday, say, I *try* not to beat myself up too much - it is, after all for life.

Well done on getting closer to your target weight@Juliana.Rivers Lucky girl and my thoughts are to do what's right for you because you know your own body better than anyone, and its no big deal the 2 days each week we already look forward to our first fast after a weekend and do one willingly most weeks so adding an extra day to me anyway would be no hardship at all.
Then if need be you can adjust accordingly either
weekly or biweekly