Which is best, 5:2 or 6:3?

[Juno321]

I'm new to the diet so looking for any advice I can get!

I don't have a huge amount of weight to lose, my BMI is 24 but I've been struggling to get the baby weight off for 5 years!!!

Would I be better at sticking to 5:2 or doing 6:3? Would I lose quicker with 6:3 or could I retain the weight if I'm having too few calories? I don't want to lose weight too fast but I do want to drop about 2lb a week.

Does anyone have any experience with both?

[Bimblepops]

Do you mean 4:3 or 6:3? Your post has confused me a bit...

[Juno321]

Oops sorry yes 4:3!

[TalkinPeace]

4:3 is harder
start with 5:2 and if you start to find it easy, throw in the odd week of 4:3

[Juno321]

Thanks. My TDEE says 2048 cals per day and I just think if I ate that 5 days per week I'd put weight on. It seems loads!

[TalkinPeace]

Its probably a lot less than you think - and the 500 calories on the other two days provides your deficit

use MFP and a good pair of scales to find out what you actually eat - then join the big thread

[MelanieCheeks]

If your bmi is 24 (ie in the healthy zone) then you'll find it very tough to lose 2 pounds a week. The average on 5:2 is around a pound a week: anectdotally, upping it to 4:3 doesn't really have much impact on the rate of loss, though it can be a useful breakthrough a plateau.

[Juno321]

Thanks, definitely going to start with 5:2 then.