Anyone doing the Fast Diet?

[Zandy595]

Zandy Is that enough calories? It seems light to me. I'd be starving on that diet!

Here was the day that I logged in on MyFitness Pal app. I was under my allotted 1470 calories.

Breakfast: Black tea with a bit of sugar and a splash of milk. Oatmeal with blueberries.

Snack: Tangerine

Lunch: Tuna salad with veggies on whole grain bread, carrots, Greek yogurt, and half of a Dove chocolate bar

Snack: Cut up fresh veggies

Dinner: Crescent hamburger casserole (I found on Pinterest--not very healthy, but well within my goal calories), green salad with ranch dressing

Snack: 1/4 of a cup of gelatto

Exercise: 60 minute "Barbell Blast" class

I don't really count my total calories throughout the day. I just try to eat healthy. I don't think I eat excessive calories, but I am overweight at 145 lbs, 5' 5" (small frame). I would really like to get back down to 120 again.

I wish I had a smartphone so I could get that app. There must be a website somewhere that does the same thing...

 

[lizabu]

I don't really count my total calories throughout the day. I just try to eat healthy. I don't think I eat excessive calories, but I am overweight at 145 lbs, 5' 5" (small frame). I would really like to get back down to 120 again.

I wish I had a smartphone so I could get that app. There must be a website somewhere that does the same thing...

My daily plate has a website and an app. You can use one or the other or both.

 

[hlg22]

It would if they aren't eating healthy to begin with.

I'm fairly certain that a large amout of people who think they eat a healthy diet, and who are overweight, actually are consuming more calories than they think they are.

As I mentioned above, to maintain my weight, I eat 1470 calories a day. When I was trying to lose weight, I cut it to 1270 calories. When I go to the gym, I can add between 200 and 300 calories to my daily intake. I really recommend a calorie counting app. It was a huge eye opener for me.

I know a lot of people who think they are eating healthfully, but are consuming a lot of sugar, fat and calories in between the healthy meals. One Starbucks drink can add up to 1/2 of your daily allotted calories pretty easily. If you drink a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha, you've consumed 660 calories. Pair that with the scone I mentioned earlier, and you've now eaten your entire daily allotment of calories if you're a 140 pound woman trying to lose one pound a week. I know nobody would claim that a mocha and scone is a healthy diet, but even if you're eating salads, fish, lean meats and lots of veggies, which IS a healthy diet....you're just adding extra calories on top of the 1200 you've already consumed for breakfast.

Totally agree. A work friend of mine is very overweight (obese, really) and developed Type 2 diabetes as a result. We went out to lunch occasionally, and after she became diabetic, she asked if we could go to a salad bar instead of our usual sushi joint, because she needed to eat healthy. So we did, and when we sat down I looked at her "salad" - it was iceberg lettuce, covered with all sorts of marinated vegetables and pieces of fried chicken, and totally coated in ranch dressing. She truly thought that was healthy because it was a salad, when she probably would have consumed less calories with a grilled cheese and fries. I know other people who eat out all the time and don't understand why they're not losing weight, since they're ordering options that sound healthy.

I use the Lose It! app and have found it to be a great way to actually keep track of calories, and I can even plug in recipes. Since I've been using it, it definitely keeps me on track as I have to think about whether it's really worth it to waste calories on certain things. I am not overweight but trying to lose a little weight now, and my calorie budget is about 1250. That gives me a greek yogurt & coffee for breakfast, apple and turkey sandwich (on sandwich thin) for lunch, and a healthy dinner of grilled meat or fish + veg, etc., plus an afternoon snack (something like oatmeal, salmon jerky, carrots+hummus, etc.), and an after dinner treat like one homemade brownie or small scoop of ice cream, so I definitely don't feel deprived. I relax that slightly on the weekends, but don't go nuts. With that diet and pretty strenuous exercise 2x/week, I'm steadily losing about 3/4-1 pound a week.

 

[Zandy595]

You're only eating like 800 calories per day. For the short term you will lose weight. In the long term your body goes into starvation mode making it difficult to lose weight. There's some really good advice on this thread. The trick is calculating how many calories your body needs just to breathe and pump blood and take in just a little fewer calories than that.

My fear is, if I eat more calories than I am now I'm inevitably going to gain weight and that's the last thing I want.

 

[indygirl99]

I saw Dr. Michael Mosley talking about it and doing the diet himself on a PBS show last night. There seem to be a lot of benefits to this diet and I'm considering trying it.

I also saw this program and think it is an option that would be worth review.
I really don't think it is a "diet" the way most people think of diet. It is more a way of life and eating. It was pretty impressive to see the difference in his blood work after 5 weeks of eating this way. Blood work doesn't lie.

Talk to your doctor and have the bloodwork done and then change your eating style for a couple of months (Dr Mosley did 5 weeks) and have the bloodwork done again and see what it shows.

I think that those on here who did not see the program really do not have the correct idea of what he was talking about. I really urge everyone who is so negative about it to look it up on PBS and actually watch the program. Dr Mosley actually reviewed 3 different ways of eating and then followed the 5 and 2 program for 5 weeks. He did also try the 4 day fast and gave his thoughts on it.

Zandy let us know if you do decide to follow this way of eating and how it works for you.

 

[Catananche]

I saw Dr. Michael Mosley talking about it and doing the diet himself on a PBS show last night. There seem to be a lot of benefits to this diet and I'm considering trying it.

This programme was shown in the UK quite a few months ago and this way of eating has had a lot of attention in the press, mainly positive. I think it's unfortunate that Dr Mosley has called the book "The Fast Diet" as it implies that it is all about fast weight loss, whereas the research behind it has stressed the health benefits including reduction in blood pressure, risk of type 2 diabetes etc (and a lot of the research was conducted in the USA). There is a lot of support and information at http://www.52fastdiet.co.uk/

 

[JoeKir]

I would definitely not ever consider this diet.

Zandy, if you're worried that consuming more calories will instantly cause you to gain weight you need to consider the fuel your body needs on a regular basis. Are you active? Do you workout or run? Is your job active or do you work at a desk? You certainly don't have to answer those questions and in no way am I trying to judge, but when your body doesn't get enough calories it goes into starvation mode and begins holding on to everything. It's even worse if you're active because your body will start breaking down muscle to fuel itself (hence why carbs are so important).

To reiterate above, check out http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm as it is fantastically accurate.

You also should consider your macro nutrients based on your physical needs. Carbs, Fats, and Proteins are essential to our bodies (fuel, protection of organs, muscle repair) and should never be cut out.

(Just for reference, I'm currently 6'2'', 185lbs, work out 6 days a week, and aim for 3500-4000 calories a day to fuel my needs. That said, I'm aiming to gain mass not lose weight, but even my wife who obviously doesn't want to add weight to her aims for 1800-1900 calories a day, and she's 5'4'', also working out 6 days a week.)

 

[AndyLL]

It was pretty impressive to see the difference in his blood work after 5 weeks of eating this way. Blood work doesn't lie.

Certainly fasting will affect your glucose levels. Who says that it is a good thing to have huge swings? And if you eat better and less and lose weight all your other 'blood work' will improve. That has nothing specific to do with this diet.

What intermittent fasting like 5:2 diets do is move the idea of tracking daily calorie deficits to a weekly calorie deficit.

If someone typically eats 2500 calories per day and then for 2 days eats 600 calories then they've cut out almost 4000 calories a week which is a bit more then a pound.

For someone that eats just a bit above their TDEE and fasts for 2 days WITHOUT changing their eating habits then they will lose weight when they start this diet.

However fasting diets tend to lead to binging on non-fasting days which will lower the weekly calorie deficit and cause the weight loss to stop.

You lose weight by eating less calories then your burn. ( becoming more healthy at the same time is a different issue )

Diets that mandate eating schedules try to trick the dieter into having daily/weekly calorie deficits without dieter having to understand how/why it works.

 

[scoutie]

There must be a website somewhere that does the same thing

MyFitness Pal has a website too. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ When I dip below my allotted number of calories after logging in for the day, MyFitnessPal App warns me that I may be putting my body in starvation mode, which will make it difficult to lose weight. I have hit a pleateau while trying to lose the last five pounds, and adding a hundred more calories a day made a huge difference.

I think the reason I've been able to maintain my dream weight is because I have to be accountable for what I'm eating. Seeing how many calories I'm consuming, makes me "budget" my calories. If I want a Chai tea from Starbucks and scone, I will have it, but I know that I need to cut back on something else later that day, or increase my gym time. I'll be forty soon and have had three children, so the days of eating whatever I want--as much as I want--are long gone. I think the key is finding what works for you long term. I know I wouldn't be a happy person if I couldn't have treats or if I had to follow a bunch of rules or only eat diet food. I'm guessing this is why people lose weight and gain it back within a few years. Fad diets aren't feasible long term.

We went out to lunch occasionally, and after she became diabetic, she asked if we could go to a salad bar instead of our usual sushi joint, because she needed to eat healthy. So we did, and when we sat down I looked at her "salad" - it was iceberg lettuce, covered with all sorts of marinated vegetables and pieces of fried chicken, and totally coated in ranch dressing. She truly thought that was healthy because it was a salad, when she probably would have consumed less calories with a grilled cheese and fries.

I know a lot of people like this too. So many people simply aren't educated on what "healthy" means. So many fast food salads have more calories and fat than a fast food burger.

 

[worm761]

I know a lot of people like this too. So many people simply aren't educated on what "healthy" means. So many fast food salads have more calories and fat than a fast food burger.

Go look at Pinterest. The amount of unhealthy recipes posted is scary. I know what healthy is but am choosing to eat crap tonight. I allotted the calories this morning so I don't go over.

As for salads, they have so much crap on them that they cease to be healthy. BUT my Zaxby's salad was worth every calorie and ounce of fat I took in. LOL...I eat it like once a year.

 

[wvjules]

My fear is, if I eat more calories than I am now I'm inevitably going to gain weight and that's the last thing I want.

You need to go see a nutritionist or something. That's not a healthy to be eating or thinking. Combine your current way of thinking with the Fast Diet thing and you are well on your way to having a serious eating disorder.

 

[Christine]

I haven't read specifically about the FAST diet but I think it has to do with th newest wave of study results that shows that fasting for specified times is actually good for humans and something we are genetically adapted to.

Dr. Mercola's website (even though he has become a little out there for me) had a good article about this yesterday. I don't think he had a name for it, but his evaluation made sense (and it's based on scientific data).

His approach is to fast for roughly 15-16 hours per day and to do this you eat all your calories during a very short time period during the day--say from 11AM to 6PM. He is now actually advocating NOT eating breakfast and he gives a lot of good reasons why. I won't go into all the reasons as I"ll probably get them wrong but you can read about it here. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/01/breakfast-mistakes.aspx

Very interesting stuff to mull over and is based on some revised data that is coming out (and going against everything we've been taught for at least the last 10 years).

I'm not sure what I think about it yet, personally--but it did make sense. My habits are so ingrained though that I don't think I can change!!

So, I think this FAST diet might be along the same lines.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

You can enter all your info at www.myfitnesspal.com. If your calories count is under 1200 calories per day your body will go to starvation mode. This is most likely the reason you are not losing any weight.

You can go to the site and read about it. You really should try a nutritionist. There are a lot of foods you can eat to reach your calorie goal and still lose the weight you would like to.

Also exercise is a very important key in the whole cycle.

 

[Desiree]

I didn't see the beginning of the show. I started watching when he did the 4 day fast. I would never be able to do that. I was interested in doing it for all of the health benefits, not mainly to lose weight. Weight loss it just a very nice bonus.



I think I eat a fairly healthy diet. Below is a typical day.

Breakfast - usually nothing because I'm often slightly nauseous at the thought of food in the morning. Sometimes I'll have a lowfat yogurt (190 cal.)

Lunch - a normal lunch for me would be a serving of carrot chips (35 cal.) and two servings of hummus (140 cal.) I'm eating this now.

Snack - a banana or some strawberries

Dinner - tonight I'm having grilled shrimp (5 oz), steamed broccoli (4.5 oz. no butter, just salt) and roasted potatoes (4.5 oz) with evoo and salt. Not sure about the calorie count.

Snack - once in a while, maybe 2 days a week, I'll have some chocolate. I think the serving size for Hershey Kisses is 9 and I never eat that many.

The only things I drink are water or unsweetened iced tea. Less than once a month I will have 1 regular soda, so I don't really count that. And I don't drink coffee, can't stand it actually.

Agree with what the others are saying. You are eating way below so your body is going into starvation mode. When I started back in November losing weight, I was losing steadily with around 1200-1300 and exercise. Now that the weight loss has started to taper and even though I'm still exercising as much if not more, I need to be eating more. I have upped my daily calorie level to around 1400-1500 and I'm starting to see the scale move again.

You don't need a smartphone to track your calories. Just go to www.myfitnesspal.com and go from there. The best thing about that website is that you can enter your recipes in and get an EXACT amount of what you are eating instead of trying to find similar items that are logged and put into a database. Feel free to add me if you want. My user id there is geauxgirl42

 

[North of Mouse]

When I need to lose 10lbs. or so, I just limit my daily calories to no less than 1200 and exercise like usual. If you go lower than that you won't lose, your body will just conserve. It works, but you just have to be consistent. Gorging and starvation never works, just sounds like a variation of that to me.

 

[AverageDiser]

I've been doing 5:2/Fast for two weeks now and have dropped four pounds..a nice 2 lbs a week. I decided to try it as much for the other health benefits as for the weight loss. The only difference between this and a 1200 cal diet, imho, is that I'm making my deficit in two days rather than seven. I would actually say I'm eating well on my fast days, but it did take me a couple to figure out the best foods.

Sample day would include: Breakfast of 2 servings of egg beaters with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and a slice of 35 cal bread for about 100 cal. Lunch.. salad w/ lettuce, spring mix, cukes, more cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, diced ham and 2 tbs of wishbone ff italian..again for about 100 cals. Dinner varies, there are a ton of recipes out there catered to the diet, usually chicken and veg. Mid afternoon I have carrots and ff ranch dip, and at night watching tv I have Orville Redenbacher smartpop kettle popcorn. As far as drinks..a lot of water, and I use stevia in my coffee.

What I'm finding on my off days is that I'm much more mindful of what I'm eating. I'm not bingeing, but if I want a couple oreos I eat them. Personally speaking, I'd much rather track two days a week than seven. I lost 50 lbs two yrs ago doing sparkpeople..stopped counting afterwards, and put it all back on. This asks you to go to one fast day a week to maintain your weight loss when you're done, and I can easily see myself doing that for the rest of my life now that I know how easy it is and that I'm not going to pass out from hunger!

 

[jsmith]

There is more to healthy eating than counting calories-and most of your 'low calorie' menus rely on some processed or artifically sweetened things which contribute as much to some of the issues you are trying to avoid by loosing weight as the over weight does-artificial sweetners spike blood sugar,induce sweet cravings and contibute to auto immune disfunction. Most fat free dressings,low calorie bread and low or fat free dairy have sugars or chemicals to replace the flavor value of fat and deprive you of fat soluable viatmins in the salad or veggies you eat them on.

 

[Tinetine]

She truly thought that was healthy because it was a salad, when she probably would have consumed less calories with a grilled cheese and fries.

The thing is, for a diabetic, a salad is healthier because, even though it is high in fat and in calories, it is low in carbs. I know it seems bizarre, but I suffered from gbestationnal diabetes, and my doctor told me to eat this way. Unlimited protein, unlimited vegetables (except potatoes, corn and peas), and limited carbs , all divided between 3 meals and 2 snacks. So I was constantly eating, and trying to avoid hypoglycemia while limiting my carb intake. It's a tricky balance, especially the first few weeks. Calories don't count at that point, just the carbs.

 

[indygirl99]

Certainly fasting will affect your glucose levels. Who says that it is a good thing to have huge swings? And if you eat better and less and lose weight all your other 'blood work' will improve. That has nothing specific to do with this diet.

What intermittent fasting like 5:2 diets do is move the idea of tracking daily calorie deficits to a weekly calorie deficit.

If someone typically eats 2500 calories per day and then for 2 days eats 600 calories then they've cut out almost 4000 calories a week which is a bit more then a pound.

For someone that eats just a bit above their TDEE and fasts for 2 days WITHOUT changing their eating habits then they will lose weight when they start this diet.

However fasting diets tend to lead to binging on non-fasting days which will lower the weekly calorie deficit and cause the weight loss to stop.

You lose weight by eating less calories then your burn. ( becoming more healthy at the same time is a different issue )

Diets that mandate eating schedules try to trick the dieter into having daily/weekly calorie deficits without dieter having to understand how/why it works.[/QUOTE


Have you had a chance to watch the PBS program that Zandy referenced? The study actually showed that those who followed the 5 and 2 diet DID NOT binge eat.

It is an interesting program and is worth actually watching.

I am a nurse and have it ingrained into me from my training that the science needs to be proven and it appears to me that there is science behind this. It is not for everyone but worth looking into for some.

 

[Zandy595]

I've been doing 5:2/Fast for two weeks now and have dropped four pounds..a nice 2 lbs a week. I decided to try it as much for the other health benefits as for the weight loss. The only difference between this and a 1200 cal diet, imho, is that I'm making my deficit in two days rather than seven. I would actually say I'm eating well on my fast days, but it did take me a couple to figure out the best foods.

Sample day would include: Breakfast of 2 servings of egg beaters with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and a slice of 35 cal bread for about 100 cal. Lunch.. salad w/ lettuce, spring mix, cukes, more cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, diced ham and 2 tbs of wishbone ff italian..again for about 100 cals. Dinner varies, there are a ton of recipes out there catered to the diet, usually chicken and veg. Mid afternoon I have carrots and ff ranch dip, and at night watching tv I have Orville Redenbacher smartpop kettle popcorn. As far as drinks..a lot of water, and I use stevia in my coffee.

What I'm finding on my off days is that I'm much more mindful of what I'm eating. I'm not bingeing, but if I want a couple oreos I eat them. Personally speaking, I'd much rather track two days a week than seven. I lost 50 lbs two yrs ago doing sparkpeople..stopped counting afterwards, and put it all back on. This asks you to go to one fast day a week to maintain your weight loss when you're done, and I can easily see myself doing that for the rest of my life now that I know how easy it is and that I'm not going to pass out from hunger!

Thanks for posting. I didn't realize you could eat all those meals on your fast days. For some reason I thought you had to eat all 500 calories in one meal. Dr. M said something about needing to eat his one meal for breakfast so he could stay alert at work.