2 Fasting days
5 Normal days
simples.
Even I can't do much wrong with only 500 calories to play with on my fasting days.
But what about those pesky normal days?
And the devil is pretty much in the detail as usual.
Because call it plain old semantic pinickery if you like - but the point I think I have been deliberately misinterpreting is the difference between what I'm reading - 'Eat whatever you like' and what I'm actually doing - 'Eat as much as you like'.
I am not an adherent to 'calories in equals calories out' - I think it is more subtle than that.
Nor do I like being stopped - call me childish, but as soon as I tell myself 'no' - then I want, want, want, want. I can be quite appalled at my own lack of self control.
Part of the joy of the fasting concept was not having to record anything there after. Result.
Get a grip woman - that isn't what its saying!
What I know about myself.
1) I'm not losing enough weight
2) I know that in order to lose weight two things need to happen - a) I eat no more than 1300 calories a day (which is a real chore for me and has no longevity to it) and b) part of that calorie reduction needs to happen in carbs (something I agree with but find difficult to stick with all the time)
The maths of the 5:2 diet.
All the articles I have read about calorie controlled diets, suggest I should be able to lose weight on 1500 per day, but that has never happened for me. I have juggled the figures, but only get a result when I remain on or under 1300 - and even then the weight loss is steady and slow, not drastic at all.
So take the 1300 cals per day that I know will result in weight loss and multiply it by 7 (days per week) = 9100 cals per week.
- minus off the 500 x 2 calories for my 2 fast days leaves me with 8100 for 5 days.
8100/5 days - leaves me with 1620 calories per non fast day.
Any more than that and I'm still not going to lose weight am I?
Its likely I will still enjoy most of the health benefits of the actual fasting process - but not my personal goal of real weight loss.
So what does 1620 calories look like for me?
Remember, I seriously can't be doing with weighing and recording like a slave - I hate it.
Take today so far - a completely un-thought through eating experience.
Breakfast total 244kcals - about 50g of Alpen muesli 176 cals; about 100ml whole milk 62 cals; 1 mug of Assam tea with whole milk no sugar c.6cals.
Mid morning snack total 322kcals - 2 mugs of instant coffee with semi skimmed milk no sugar 82 cals; Coop Truly Irresistable (and it is) chocolate and coconut yogurt 240cals (shit!)
Lunch total 570 kcals - Uncle Ben's express Mexican style rice (250g) 390cals. Pkt of Cadbury Freddo Faces 180cals ( I acknowledge that this is a pretty crummy meal full of rubbish, but I was late this morning and this was as good as I could manage - lame I know)
eek - this only leaves me 484kcals for the remainder of my day - and in honesty, whilst I don't feel hungry, I certainly don't feel nicely stuffed either!!
This evening I have planned - pork stir fry with pinapple and tomatoes in a honey sauce with whole grain & wild rice and to round it off, a very nice gluten free apple & rhubarb crumble with cream (custard for the rest of the family - their choice), because my youngest has a music exam today and I wanted to make something he really likes as a treat
But it hardly takes Einstein to work out that I'm likely to exceed my remaining calories for today just inhaling the aroma's of tonight's planned meal.
Soooooo.
Clearly, its not all semantics is it?
I think that this bit of the 5:2 diet really needs to be rammed home to be honest. The whole emphasis is on what to do for the fast days, Mimi Spencer even has a cook book solely for the fasting days - but the real work is clearly in managing the non fasting days .
1620kcals I suppose are quite generous in the world of diets - but it is so easy to suck up calories unheeded.
I realise that today's diet could and should be reconstructed to accomodate the right balance of calories - but that isn't the point - the point is I want to eat un-heeding, un-charting, unconcerned.
And that isn't going to happen in a month of Sundays if I'm serious about shifting the flab!!!!!!!
I like this 5:2 diet. And I can easily live within 1620 cals per day. And there is no getting around it - diet is a fandagle way of saying - plan and restrict!!!!!!!!!!!!
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