5:2 Fast Days, 500 or 800 cals?

[BaconAndAvocado]

I’m a bit confused.
Just started the 5:2 this week and was under the impression that I was to have 500 calories on fast days.

Then I read the Fast 800 recipe book where the author recommends 800 calories for fast days.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Bump

I got the impression it used to be 500 and was then upped to 800 as no significant difference made to weight loss.

How have you found it?

I did the 5:2 a couple of years ago and on the 2 fast days I was allowed up to 500 calories. It worked really well. Lost a stone in the first couple of months. Good luck with it.

@25yearsnhsworker

I got the impression it used to be 500 and was then upped to 800 as no significant difference made to weight loss.

How have you found it?

I’m only on my second Fast Day but I’ve found it surprisingly ok! So far this week I’ve lost 1.5 pounds and that’s before my second fast day.

Also, I’ve been trying not to eat anything after an early dinner which has also been much easier than I thought.

However, I am only on week 1!

I’m trying to shift about 10lb which I think should come off quite easily. It’s more about maintaining that weight afterwards that I’ll find harder.

Reading about the 5:2, it seems that fasting for 2 days a week is very healthy for the system generally, not just when trying to lose weight.
So if I carry on finding this eating plan doable, I may just carry on with it.

Time will tell.

I’m also a bit confused about this. I understood that MM had suggested increasing to 800, but saw that almost everyone on the main 5:2 thread uses 500 calories.

I guess that the period in between meals and sticking to your tdee on non fast days are key contributors rather than just the fast day calories. I tried 500 last week but kept going over to 600-650 and felt really miserable for failing afterward. I did 750 today and found it much easier having a 200 calorie lunch, 400 calories dinner and some calories on milk for tea and some fruit.

Good luck OP!

I have one and a half stone to lose and started the fast/IF diet last week, after not having a lot of success with Keto. I have kept a diary and every day I have had either 500 or 800 calories, with 2 days where I've had 1000. I've done 16:8 and drank between 2 and 3 litres water every day.

I haven't drank alcohol, eaten any starchy carbs, anything processed, sugar...

Last Sunday my weight was 69.7Kg and today is 69.9Kg.

To say I am gutted is an understatement. I do feel it in my body that a lot of water retention has gone; surely even if just this, it should have been reflected on the scales?

Well, for my first week of 5:2 I had 500 cals on my first fast days and 800 on the second.
I lost 3lb and I'm thrilled.

I also stopped eating anything after dinner so kind of did intermittent fasting but only something like 14:10.

I'm going to continue with eating 800 on my two fast days this coming week and see how it goes.

BananasAreEvil Are you sure it’s not your scales? I stood on mine earlier tonight and it read 11:10. Stood back on them an hour later ( showing DH the bad news) and they read 11:8.

MM suggests the tape measure is a better indicator anyway.

Last time I did the diet the weight didn’t go down dramatically for about six weeks.. People noticed after 3 weeks though and my stomach went really quickly too.

Unfortunately it is not the scales as I had blood taken last week and it was the same at the nurse's office.

I am sticking to it though, and hope that eventually the scales will get the message.

I thought that 800 cals were for men and 500cals for women.
Because it is harder for women to lose weight.

5:2 is 800 and 1500 cal respectively. When MM started with this, it was 500 cal but he has since changed his advice to minimum of 800 per day. According to him there wasn’t much difference in between 500-800 cal per day and as 800 cal makes it more sustainable, that’s where his current recommendation is.

Can I jump on and just ask the new plan does that mean that the 2 fast days you can eat 800 calories and then 1500 on the other days x