The FastDay Forum

I'd be interested to find out of the liquid fasters, are these a zero cal liquid fast or a 500 cal liquid fast?

It seems my jeans are getting tighter and a while ago they were loose and a this is while on 5:2 at mon/thurs.
Its taken me a good part of my fasting time since April to get hunger under control,because it is mainly a mind thing rather than a actual physical hunger. I do get hungry around 2-3 but its not unbearable at least most of the time.

Does it take a lot more resolve to zero cal liquid fast than to simply eat an evening meal on a 500cal fast day?
I can actually accomplish stuff more than my brain thinks I can. But its a hard place to get to.

Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas to you.

Hi Zamale,
Although I rarely fast deliberately these days, sometimes it just happens, I find it easier to eat nothing, just do a liquid fast and then back to normal the next day. It is a very individual thing but I find my hunger switch is very easy to turn on. Try it and if you find it works for then you have another tool in your 5:2 box. Good luck

Ballerina x

Thanks for that Ballerina, I am toying with the idea. But I cannot do without a splash of milk in my tea. My tea is my saviour, with tea I can do most things, but it can't be black:)

Got to try if it pains too much, will succumb to baked beans with hot sauce.

I'd be interested to find out of the liquid fasters, are these a zero cal liquid fast or a 500 cal liquid fast?

I do zero calorie liquid fasts Mondays and Thursdays.

Does it take a lot more resolve to zero cal liquid fast than to simply eat an evening meal on a 500cal fast day?

No, I find it easier to do have no calories, no resolve needed. I can feel hungry for a few hours until early afternoon, it passes without being much of an issue. The only problem now in maintenance is to not loose more weight. Thursday morning I ckeck my weight, If it's too low I have breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Hunger isn't pain. There's no limit to pain, hunger only has one level, you can't be "very hungry", just hungry. No need to make a drama out of it IMO.

@Micheal H That is interesting to know that there is only one level of hunger. I may just have to do it to see for myself.

I shifted to liquid fasting because I found it easier to not eat at all. Once I had my evening meal I was so hungry I could have chewed on a door handle.
2 months of liquid fasting has made it easier when I do have a 500kcal fast now.

I liquid fast with water, black tea, and one white coffee mid morning. I find it fine, and enjoy a day without the expense and hassle of food and clearing up. I only have the tea black, as that's how I usually drink it anyway.

Zamale, I understand that a splash of milk in your tea is fine, it is still a liquid fast but as I hate milk in my coffee I don't feel the need to indulge.

Michael, how lucky you are to have only one level of hunger. I can go from slightly peckish to absolutely ravenous and everywhere in between. I do agree however that it is not painful, just sometimes difficult to ignore but being busy certainly helps.

Ballerina x

I mostly liquid fast twice a week, and find it as easy if not easier than having any food. Eating anything seems to trigger a hunger switch in me - so even if I'm hungry, if I just don't eat, the hunger waves passes and I forget about food again. If I eat, then I get more hungry and have to battle not to eat more. Easier to just not eat at all for the day.

Mine is mostly zero calories, although I will sometimes have milk in my tea or a couple of spoons of cottage cheese just before bed to help me sleep better (sometimes I wake up really early and can't go back to sleep - I don't wake from hunger (it happens on non fast nights too) but I've found that a little cottage cheese helps.

I have done one zero calorie fast, but normally my liquid fasts are soups, bulletproof coffee or some kind of green juice. The calorie intake tends to be less than 500, but not zero.

I do a no-calorie liquid fast on Mondays (just water and black coffee) and a 'regular' 500-calorie fast (dinner only) on Thursdays and have not really found much difference between the two. I do like the convenience of not needing to worry about eating on Mondays and the 'cleanse' it gives my body after the weekend. If you feel like it, give liquid fasting a go Zamale; you can always have your 500 calories if it gets too hard. Only you can tell what is right for you.

Just last week I started a liquid fast, due to having quite a lot to eat over the weekend and not feeling that hungry. So, last Monday I had just a cup of Bouillon which is around 15kcals I think. On Wednesday I had the same again plus a Miso soup (42kcals).

Apart from feeling a little moody (although this could've been sleep related), I found it much easier than having 2 or 3 meals which equal under 600kcals. The main reason, is that when I start eating on a fast day, my body doesn't want to stop!! So often, I'd have my evening meal and want to keep troughing like a pig! It's like floodgates opening. So now, I find that by liquid fasting I don't have that problem. Plus I think I lose more weight.

[wildmissus]

Just to echo what everyone else says, I also zero cal liquid fast twice a week. Every now and then I do get moments when I really want to eat but I don't and it passes quickly. This isn't hunger but perhaps more like a craving or just boredom.

This is all very interesting and thank you for taking the time to let me see how you all tailor this for you.
I will try this in the very near future like next Monday, but I think I can get by with maybe 94 calories over the day in my cups of tea. Baby steps here:)