The FastDay Forum

I have just done a 2 day back to back and today will do a 16:8 as I'm not hungry yet. I've only done it to try and break my carb addiction that has reared its ugly head again since Christmas.

Hi
Well after doing 3 back fasts to get rid of plateau I lost 2lbs so Im happy with that!, would I do it again NO but I will be sticking to 5:2 as I have a appointment with the dietician next month and hoping to have reached my target weight of 10 stone, as The 1st time she weighed me in Oct 13 I was 12' 5LB the second time just b4 Xmas I was 11' 9LB and 3rd time 2 wks ago 11' 1LB and now I am 10'8LB. My weight loss is slowing down now but I will not give up

Well done @Mariondot40 So glad that you're kicking the extending fasting into touch great news on your 2lb lost and the nurse can only be impressed. Try out adding 16:8 to your 5:2 whenever you need a boost in the future.

Can you explain the 16:8 for me please as I dont really understand it think I must be a bit dim!
thanx

I think there's nothing wrong with 4:3 if it works for you - but that's not the same as 3 days back to back fasting which doesn't sound to me like a good idea at all (for all the reasons mentioned above).

@mariondot40 16:8 = an 8 hour eating window
My normal days have now become more like 18:6 = 6 hour window sometimes 20:4 when I save all my cal for a meal and wine out in the evening.

16:8 is 16 hours of fasting, then an 8 hour window where you eat normally. It generally knocks one meal off your day so saving you few hundred extra calories. There has to be a clear 16 hours of fast though. Its not as hard as you might think. Many of us have found that we don't have breakfasts anymore as we don't feel hungry the morning after a fast and it extends to the rest of the week. So dropping the breakfast is no real hardship. That then gives you from for example, 12 noon till 8pm to have 2 meals and a snack. If you are planning a meal out or something like it, move the window so it starts at 3pm till 11pm. But once the 8 hours is up, that window slams shut.

I think it's safe to say that this works better varying the amounts of calories over the week, just make sure you do eat enough to sustain you properly in between fasts.

The best way to do this if you count calories is to average your daily intake over the 7 days and see if it's a reasonable amount. The other way is to use a tracker app like Libra which calculates it for you, useful for someone like me who doesn't count calories.

Less and less is not always a good idea for the reasons discussed in the other posts.

What an interesting conversation! It seems like there's a commonality to the thread and I'm pretty typical!

I do 5:2, but have found that I do better if 2 of the 5 days are eating lightly. I eat very moderately on those days (today is one of them). My TDEE is around 2100 - 1700 kcal, depending on how I adjust for age and the inevitable dieting plateau (I have only done the calculations, haven't ever taken an actual metabolism test), so I try to eat under 1400 kcal on light days.

Of course, I lose faster on 4:3 (for me 4 ounces is a LOT to lose in a week - I am, and forever have been, a slow loser), but 5:2 is no big deal for me. 4:3 feels more like depravation.

I wonder if the urge to do 4:3 or more isn't motivated by dieter honeymoon and the hyperfocus one can get into when losing weight. I'm certainly guilty of it on occasion, and I've watched many friends roll into it often enough.

Hi

All I want to do is eat sweet things today which I have had some grrrr

Brain chucking hissy fit because it was deprived. Don't worry and don't give yourself a hard time. Stop it being a rollercoaster of good and bad and just let things improve slowly.