A different 6:1

[Babaraella]

I was reading Look magazine from last week and there was an article about a 'new' 6:1 which involves a lower calorie diet (1200 ish) for 6 days and then a 'feast' day of (I think) an extra 1500 calories.

Sorry if this has been covered a lot already, I did a search and couldn't find anything. But I wanted to know if anyone has tried this and does it work? I think it would suit me much more than doing actual fast days.

[TalkinPeace]

that depends very much on the TDEE of the individual

[charitygirl]

God that sounds rubbish compared to 5:2 - 1500 cals really doesn't feel much diff from 1200, and while it may be some people's TDEE, it's going to feel like constant deprivation for

[charitygirl]

For many!

[sleepdodger]

I unintentionally do this using my fitness pall
I would say its more maintenance than loss but I'm only 5'4 and size 10 (chubby 10) and more than 1500 a day would see me balloon

[Babaraella]

It's basically dieting for 6 days on about 1200 calories and then absolutely stuffing your face for the 7th day (2500 ish calories, I think - so it's not 1500 calories but an extra 1500 on top of the 1200). Doesn't sound that healthy but does sound appealing to me. Just not sure if it will work...

[charitygirl]

Just doesn't sound practical (what if you have two evenings out in a week?) or sustainable (deprivation every day nearly). Plus, might yr body go into the starvation, weight retaining mode it avoids with 5:2?

Have you tried a 500cal day? I've been doing 5:2 for over a year, and am constantly surprised how doable the fasts are. Lots of people start off by trying to keep under a 1000caks and work their way down.

[Babaraella]

No danger of even one night out at the mo with two babies

The only thing that makes me think it might work is when i've been on low calorie diets before and then had a 'giving up' day and pigged out, if I went back on the diet the next day, it almost seemed to shock my body to losing more weight than if I'd just kept up with the diet.

I'm on about 1400 a day at the mo but just not sure I could manage the fast days as I'm finding even this many calories tough. If it doesn't work I might give the 5:2 a try but I can see me being ratty and headachy from lack of food.

[Boleh]

At the risk of sounding like a 5:2 evangelist - if you did 2x 500 cal fast days to replace 2x 1400 cal days then you'd have an extra 1800 cals to eat over the other 5 days this means you could eat 1700 cals on 4 days (300x4 = 1200) and 2000 on one day (the remaining extra 600). Sounds like much more fun than the relentless grind of 1400 a day to me

Headaches can be dealt with by plenty of water and for me stroppyness seemed to subside after the 1st couple of fast days. I do eat lunch and dinner though - couldn't last all day like some folks!

[Babaraella]

Hmm the 2000 sounds appealing! Does it really work like that then - so it's calories in a week rather than a consistent number per day? If so I could probably do that if I knew there was a 2000 day round the corner (and as long as I kept losing a couple of pounds a week).

[Boleh]

Yep - I used your 1400 a day as a baseline but you are aiming for a total deficit of around 3000 cals a week - usually made up by 2x 500 cal FD where if you had a TDEE of 2000 cals you'd have a 1500 a day deficit. You then eat the whole of your TDEE on the other days. The 5:2 diet I think spreads this evenly but lots if people have a few less during the week and a bigger feast day at the weekend.

That way you get the same deficit as reducing by just under 500 cals every day.

That's just the simple calorie element of 5:2 there are possibly also benefits to the fasting itself and to mixing up the calories per day so your body doesn't adapt to a lower level - worth checking out the links at the top of the main thread. Particularly do the TDEE calculator - 2000 cals a day is a very rough guideline and not correct for most people.

[TalkinPeace]

Babar
the best weekly routine I've found is
Monday = 500
Tuesday = 1700
Wednesday = 1700
Thursday = 500
Friday = 1900
Saturday = don't ask
Sunday = 1900

on a TDEE of 1900 ish

[Babaraella]

Thanks for that boleh and talkin. My TDEE was about 1900 so that must be right for me. Presume that's for weight loss not maintenance?

What's Saturdays calories?!

[TalkinPeace]

Saturday in my world involves wine and cheese and anything else I fancy
many others have cake or choklit habits