I have previously embarked on the 5:2 diet and was impressed in the weight loss. However I felt weak on fasting days and typically didn’t do organsied exercise (playing sport, spin classes etc) on these days.
So, I am scared to go full-on 800 cals a day as I think it will affect my exercise regime.
Any advice?
Josh

When you are eating low carb you need to supplement electrolytes. Our bodies store water to help process carbs. Cut out the carbs and the kidneys release the stored water (Hence the large weight loss at the start). But when releasing the water the kidneys also release electrolytes. So you need to increase your salt intake.

I’m a keen cyclist and recently completed 6 weeks of 800 BSD.

First 2 weeks I really didn’t feel much like cycling. My first ride I felt like I had 40 miles in my legs before I’d started! It took me 6 weeks before I felt remotely normal on the bike. I was pretty tired / grumpy for the first 3 weeks but it did pass.

For me i was just ravenously hungry after exercise. It was the only time I really struggled with the hunger during the 800 cal period. I’ll admit I snacked but I stayed on plan,. nuts and seedy crackers from the recipe book. Better to stay on plan than reach for the biscuit tin eh?

I think there are a lot of questions. People are finding their way. I know for sure I’ve got some endurance events coming up where I’d eat the usual ‘fuelling’ crap like malt loaf, bananas, sandwiches, gels and I’m experimenting right now with dried fruit / nut mixes instead.

When I did the Fast 800 I found the first few weeks challenging in terms of energy to exercise. Although overweight I was quite active running/biking. Calories expenditure could be 3000+, so 800 was always going to have an impact. I did nothing for first week (bad carb flu day 5/6) and then eased in gentle jogs etc thereafter. I allowed myself 1000 kcal on days I exercised maybe more sometimes. I just decided I wouldn’t be setting any Parkrun PBs during the 8 weeks. I went from 92kg to 77kg (lower afterwards). The drop in weight alone had a huge impact in exercise performance afterwards… well worth the effort.