Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 33

Thread: eating every second day

  1. #1
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default eating every second day

    As a diet. Seems like an easy way for me to cut my calories in half. I'm an all or nothing girl quite often...not like I binge on the 'on' days, I just eat to satiation (2000 calories or so). On the 'off' days, I have some lemon juice in water and an apple if I get too dizzy. I'm usually fine though. It's psychological- I can push off the hunger and look forward to eating well the next day!

    I'm running about 5x a week, 4 miles or so. Plus a yoga or pilates or firm DVD when I can fit it in. I think this is healthy. I read that it's a good way to keep the metabolism from crashing. Anyway, I find this way easier than trying to eat 1300 or less calories everyday. I've kinda gotten fat-ish again, and f*&^ this, I want to get back to my 'fighting weight' once and for all.

    So, anyone else heard of this? For those of you more informed about nutrition and whatnot, does this seem like something I can sustainably do until I lose twenty pounds or so? Thanks! In any case, it definitely seems to work so far (has only been a few days though).

  2. #2
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    it's something that you *can* do, but then again, anorexics *can* starve themselves. i dont mean to be harsh, but what you're doing isn't healthy. the point of dieting is to lose weight and keep it off, correct? as with any diet, if you don't change your eating habits for good, you will put the weight back on. you have have have to do it the healthy way.

  3. #3
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    Sorry, I did think it was healthy. I was curious- I lose objectivity. Believe me, I am incapable of starving myself. It's not my thing. I just want to get my old slim self back, quickly. I read that this was a method to lose weight fast without killing the metabolism- the eating days, I eat healthy meals. Doesn't it average out to just the same as eating diet portions daily?

  4. #4
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    but, back to my original question, how are you going to keep that off?

    plus, dieting isn't always about portions. yes, it's important, but it's about food choice. if you're eating food that's ok for you on your "eating days," why not just eat well and exercise? i promise you you'll get longer lasting and better results.

  5. #5
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    The thing is, I generally do eat well and excercise, but this fat is so goddamn stubborn. I've got a BMI of 21 now- it's not too heavy, but I used to have a BMI of 18. I'm naturally small framed- I look better on the thin side.

    So when I eat well and excercise now, I get more toned, but I stay kinda thick. I hate it. All the women in my family are thick. If I want to get thin, eating 1500 calories a day and running 4 miles doesn't even do it! I've tried, I've been so careful- it just comes off agonizingly slow. Every time I've lost weight, I've done it by really, really reducing caloric intake. And once I eat more normally again, it doesn't just pop back on. I stay down...I've just taken a month off dancing and excercising, so it's come back a bit...

    I think I can keep the weight off by just watching out when I get skinny again? I run a lot. Maintaining weight isn't too hard. The weight I've gained, I gained gradually, through carelessness and inactivity. When I'm more active, I pretty well don't put on weight, BUT I don't lose it very easily either.

    I'll try to find a link- I promise I didn't pull this out of my ass. It's even supported as a healthy lifestyle choice for those who want that 'long life' benefit people get from eating lower calorie their whole life.

    http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/art...estriction.php

    Hell, I could do this for a long time even. It's not all that hard. I do smoke though- that could make both the non-eating days easier, and totally negate the longevity thing. Longevity isn't all that appealing to me though. I just thought it was interesting.


    Here's a little I quoted. It's fascinating...

    With colleagues, Mattson plans to study how this kind of eating pattern affects humans. Mattson already knows that some people do make the switch to intermittent fasting, with apparently little pain. After publishing a report last year on the diet’s benefits in mice, Mattson received calls and emails from people who, for a variety of reasons, decided to try intermittent fasting.

    Mattson’s objective is not weight loss (though the ad hoc fasters happily report pounds lost, as well as other health benefits including reduced allergy sensitivity and more energy). Nor is Mattson especially interested in extending life span. Instead, he wants to boost what he calls the human “healthspan”—the period of a life in which a person enjoys good health, even into the eighties or nineties.

    Indeed, Mattson's findings suggest that one can enhance health parameters by regulating diet, even without losing weight. Intermittent fasting, like calorie restriction, may circumvent the aging process by reducing free radicals in the cells. Mattson explains that these highly reactive molecules can damage cells, and with age, the cells become less adept at eliminating them.

    Numerous studies show that free radicals are involved in a host of age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s.

    Although calorie restriction and intermittent fasting seem to induce similar health benefits, Mattson suspects the two approaches differ somewhat in their metabolic effects. Based on his cellular studies, he says, “Fasting seems to increase the resistance of cells to various types of stress that can cause disease, while calorie restriction may be more effective at curtailing free radicals.”

  6. #6
    God/dess krchab99's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    3,233
    Thanks
    100
    Thanked 43 Times in 30 Posts
    My Mood
    Breezy

    Default Re: eating every second day

    please post the link i am very intreasted in this.

  7. #7
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I edited the previous post and put it in. You can also google "eating every other day" for more sites with the research. I'll keep you posted how this goes for me over the next few weeks.

    I gotta say, it's doing wonders for my poor digestion (so far).

  8. #8
    God/dess
    Joined
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    8,427
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    wellll, good luck, and i hope it works for you. i know how you feel about the fat just not going anywhere, but i dont have the willpower to only eat every other day!

  9. #9
    Member
    Joined
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    35
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    Hmmm, I never thought of doing this! Do keep us posted.

  10. #10
    God/dess
    Joined
    Feb 2002
    Location
    OUTTATHISWORLD
    Posts
    7,219
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 23 Times in 15 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    Is this like the Calorie Restriction diet?



    oh nevermind...I see above that what you're referring to is the intermittent fasting. Interesting...I've never heard of that.


  11. #11
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    ^^^Yes, but a little different too. Apparently you can eat every second day without reducing the net intake of calories...which means you eat as much as you want on the on days I guess. The scientists apparently thought this "intermittent fasting" was easier for people to handle than calorie restriction in the typical sense. I know it's easier for me!

  12. #12
    Senior Member
    Joined
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    104
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    so this has helped with digestion? how? i mean is it making you more regular?

  13. #13
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I don't get IBS symptoms as badly anymore (cramping, bloating, food intolerance, constipation, etc). Maybe the rest on the guts is helping? I don't know why, quite frankly.

  14. #14
    God/dess sxybrat07's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2006
    Location
    in yer bum
    Posts
    3,827
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 12 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    Hmm this is interesting. Never heard of it, but I wonder how it affects your metabolism. Since typically not eating makes your metabolism slow down, I wonder if this would as well? I know my trainer yells at me when I only eat 3 times a day cuz she says it slows down your metabolism, but *shrug* everything's open to interpretation.

    Just be careful if you try this so you don't get sick/dizzy/pass out, especially if you're driving.
    I believe you Dottie and you have my support

  15. #15
    God/dess PaigeDWinter's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Cocoa Beach, FL
    Posts
    10,220
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 52 Times in 37 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I have eaten every other day, because it was what I could afford at the time, and it sucked. It made me sick, I would pass out from hunger, etc.
    Number of times Rickrolled on stage: 6
    *******************************

    Marasmus ... "Ladies don't fart. They butt-laugh."
    Marasmus says, "Oh no, that wasn't gas, it was merely a rectal chuckle."

    Marek says, "A friend of mine got punched in the face by a dominatrix stripper about two weeks ago and I thought of you."

  16. #16
    Featured Member flickad's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    1,860
    Thanks
    268
    Thanked 103 Times in 67 Posts
    My Mood
    Pensive

    Default Re: eating every second day

    It sounds less than healthy (and less than sound in metabolic terms) to me. However, it's definitely a case of 'different strokes for different folks'. If it works for you and you haven't noticed any ill-effects, maybe you could give it a try for a little while more. Keep an eye on your health while you're doing it, though. Regular medical checkups might be a good idea and I wouldn't advise doing it for too long, if you do plan to continue.

    I don't see that you need to lose weight at all if your BMI is 21, however. A BMI of 18 is actually slightly underweight. Maybe you've just gained up to your normal weight and it's your perception, not your body, that is distorted. It's possible that the reason it is so hard for you to lose weight is that you actually ARE at a good weight for you, so your body is resisting a loss that would be unhealthy for it.

    (Lest anyone thinks I'm a hypocrite: Sure, I diet, but I'm not actually at a low weight. Once my BMI is at around 19-21 or so I'll be easing off. )

  17. #17
    God/dess
    Joined
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    8,031
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 143 Times in 42 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I can't see any scenario where this is good . . . fasting yes, restricted calorie sure, but feast/famine has to catch up with your metabolism eventually . . . Molly, you are not a normal girl. And this comes from a loving place.

  18. #18
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Your imagination
    Posts
    2,875
    Thanks
    19
    Thanked 174 Times in 119 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    the way dieting is supposed to work is that you have 1-2 days per week where you eat 2k calories or whatever anyway. it keeps your body from getting too used to the low-calorie days. and mixing up when in the week you 'cheat' also helps keep your body from thinking it's starving on the reduced-calorie days.

    exercising 3-4 times a week and following this method of dieting (1000-1200 calories 5-6 days a week, 1500+ 1-2 days a week), i lost 10 pounds in a bit less than six weeks. i also have a small frame, and losing more than 2 pounds per week pretty much starts taking you into unhealthy territory.

    this is a formula i found in a book on weight loss and/or maintenance for boxers and high-intensity training athletes. it's how to calculate maintenance caloric intake.

    take your current weight and multiply by ten. we'll call this 'base calories'.
    based on your exercise level (low, med or high), multiply base calories by .3, .4, or .5 and add the number you get to your base calories.

    take your new base calories number and multiply by .1 and add that number to base calories for your total MAINTENANCE calories.

    for dieting, you'd skip the multiplier for exercise level, but exercise at a medium or high level while taking in your base calories times .1.

    so if your current weight is 110, your maintenance number of calories under each level of exercise would be:

    1831 for .5
    1709 for .4
    1587 for .3

    the above is to maintain a weight.

    for dieting with no multiplier or lower multipliers, your calorie intake would be the following (exercising at a .4 or .5 multiplier level):
    1465 for .2
    1343 for .1
    1221 for no multiplier


    as you can see, you're supposed to take in a pretty large amount of calories and lose weight at a slow steady rate, moving up or down notches incrementally to maintain or lose weight.

    we all want to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, but there are reasons the sort of formulas above are overall better ways to go.

  19. #19
    Veteran Member bella du jour's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2006
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    397
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 51 Times in 30 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    stop dieting- it will ruin your body and your goals.

    When you struggle with your body over food it's just not gonna do what you want it to do. I've always been a little heavier than i like (on average 5'3, 135 lbs) and though calorie restrictive dieting allowed me to lose weight (at one point I was down to 95 lbs) it ruined my health and destroyed my metabolism. For years my metabolism was so slow that i could GAIN weight eating 1200 cals a day and exercising 4 days a week, because I was working against my body and not with it.

    A few years back I just stopped. I stopped worrying about food... i ate when i was hungry, stopped when i was finished... stopped obsessing about food and how much I weighed. i was around 135. I started going to the gym a few days a week without trying to overdo it, just 45 mins of cardio and a little light lifting. Ever so slowly my metabolism began to recover.

    Now I weigh 116lbs, and am in the best shape of my life. I dance 2-3 8 hour shifts a week, and never go to the gym. I eat cookies, pasta, grilled cheese, whatever... but I'm no longer tempted to snack because food is simply no longer on my mind constantly. My metabolism is where it should be, I look great, and most importantly I'm no longer miserable about the way I look or the way I live. I had no idea that this would happen, I simply had to stop living the way that I had been living... and it turns out that when you do what is right for your body, it tends to pay you back in kind!

    Please be good to yourself... disordered eating is a terrible thing and ruins lives. You sound like you're on a slippery slope right now, so be careful!

    B




    All about my boobs...

  20. #20
    Featured Member pinkpvc's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,012
    Thanks
    130
    Thanked 252 Times in 117 Posts
    My Mood
    Angelic

    Default Re: eating every second day

    eek! sounds too much like the anorexics favourite 3-2-1 plan e.g eat 300 cals one day then 200 etc. than start cycle again (not reccomending this AT ALL)
    Does it keep the metabolism up cos i shot mine to fuck through years of eating disorders and find it really hard to lose weight.

  21. #21
    Featured Member flickad's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    1,860
    Thanks
    268
    Thanked 103 Times in 67 Posts
    My Mood
    Pensive

    Default Re: eating every second day

    Quote Originally Posted by pinkpvc View Post
    eek! sounds too much like the anorexics favourite 3-2-1 plan e.g eat 300 cals one day then 200 etc. than start cycle again (not reccomending this AT ALL)
    Does it keep the metabolism up cos i shot mine to fuck through years of eating disorders and find it really hard to lose weight.
    I've also had years of eating disorders. What made my metabolism repair itself was years of eating enough (and not being able to lose weight for a long time). Unfortunate but true.

  22. #22
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    3,422
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 16 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I'm reading more about CR, and basically it seems that the idea is in fact to slow down your metabolism. This higher efficiency of the BMR is what they think leads to a longer life (because the cells slow down the aging due to their carefulness with energy...something like that). The idea is to live the rest of your life off a calorie reduced diet, so that your metabolism will have to slow down to keep you from getting too skinny to live. They all seem quite thin anyway...were they to go back to normal calorie consumption, they surely would gain weight and have metabolic problems.

    I've never had a real eating disorder, I don't think. I've a little f*cked up about my eating/ body issues, but it's never gotten to the point where I was scary skinny or making myself throw up or anything.

    I don't think I can keep on with this every other day thing, since it's starting to give me bad stomach aches- some of the meds I'm on require me to take them with meals, and now I know why. Ow. I don't want an ulcer.

    I am now all intrigued by CR. It's damn hard to do- you have to be super careful with what you eat so as to maintain nutrition value while eating fewer calories. And you can't do it all at once- they say you should gradually reduce over the course of 6-9 months. I don't really care how long I live, but the idea of aging much prettier appeals to my narcissism. Assuming the world or I don't end before I get old, but you can't live banking on an early death, no matter what palm readers say.

    I am going to try this...it's healthier food no matter what. I'll let anyone know who's interested...I figure, I'm obsessed about food anyway- I should do it for 'health' over pseudo-eating disorderly reasons.

  23. #23
    Veteran Member Kitsune83's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    241
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: eating every second day

    okay.....this is kinda old, I know....but I HAVE to reply

    Hello my Name is Sigyn, and I am a recovering Anorexic/Bulimic....of 8 years
    Onward.....I was hospitalized for Anorexia 5 times, and Bulimia once...
    Intermittent eating.....promising in rats....guess what? YOU are not a fucking rat! Those amazing little creatures have metabolics completely different from our own....and we can't mimic it!
    Fact: You Metabolism slows after a mere 12 hours.....it takes longer to go into famine mode, but it's a slippery slope....why do you think the first meal of the day is "breakfast"? get it? you're breaking a fast
    Eating every other day is unhealthy, seriously....I mean it.....it's fucked....there's no other way to put it really. I've struggled for too many years, and watched too many friends die not to say something.

    You're better off eating 1000 calories per day than 2000 every other day....please don't continue to do this if you still are.

  24. #24
    sexynsweetSF
    Guest

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I have had success in losing weight by just not eating dinner if you dont binge during the day

  25. #25
    God/dess ahmeerah's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Center of the World.
    Posts
    3,128
    Thanks
    66
    Thanked 82 Times in 51 Posts
    My Mood
    Breezy

    Default Re: eating every second day

    I prefer calorie restriction diets too. When I need to lose weight I only eat between the hours of 12 noon and 8 PM. I fast all morning and just have juice if i really need something. And then I'll eat SUPER light (salad and fruits) on weekends (or two days a week).

    It's called the "natural hygiene" diet.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. National Call in Sick Day/ Boycott the pump day
    By Gemini_Syn in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 05-26-2008, 10:32 AM
  2. eating during the day
    By pinkpvc in forum Body Business
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 04-24-2007, 02:42 AM
  3. What are you eating?
    By MojoJojo in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 47
    Last Post: 12-28-2004, 05:22 PM
  4. Eating on the go?
    By DestinyDevine in forum Body Business
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 06-18-2004, 11:09 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •