The FastDay Forum

So, I did my first ever fast on monday and I woke up the next morning with really soft skin. It was so strange, maybe just the amount of water I drank, but has anybody else experienced this?
Also, I weighed myself out of interest not really expecting a difference and I had lost 3 pounds in 1 day! I'm a bit of a chubba but still, thats amazing! It's probably all water weight or something, but I was wondering does anybody weigh themselves every day or is it just after fast days? Im kind of worried that I'll lose those 3 pounds then just put it all back on, especially if it in water weight.

Also, the main thing really. Does anybody else struggle to eat as much as they should on feast days? I work odd hours and most of the time I dont get home till 9pm so eat really late and Im struggling to get the amount of calories I need. I had 3 decent meals today but still only got 1700 cals and my tea was pretty late and I had to make it bigger than I wanted cause I was worried about not getting enough. Im going to try and fast on my work day tomorrow and see how it goes, but I work in retail and I am on my feet all day and running about so I am a bit worried. Does anybody else have a job like that and any hints?

Sorry for the long post. Newbie here looking for advice from the experts x

[Debs]

Hi there, and welcome on getting through your first fast day. The skin thing is certainly a sign that you are hydrating well. I get it occasionally as I drink heaps. Yes, your weight loss is likely to be water related, there are several topics on this, have a look at the FAQs and hints and tips if you haven't already.
There are various theories on whether to weight daily or weekly; some swear by daily and mapping the trend line through the libra app?! others weekly! whatever works for you as long as you are consistent! but others will have alternate ideas.
In terms of food, have you checked your TDEE in the progress tracker to see what you should roughly be eating on your eating days? I can imagine in your job it would be tricky to find time to eat, not sure what to suggest there, but I find it a lot easier to fast on busy days when I don't have time to think about food!

Good luck, and I'm sure someone else will be able to assist.

Hi and welcome:

Here are some tips as you start 5:2: post68626.html#p68626

Your TDEE should give you an idea about how much you should eat, on average, for your five non-diet days. Here is information on TDEE: 5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic6600.html

Good Luck!

Hi @sunsetborderline Well done a loss is still a loss, many members weigh daily then take the weeks average as there "official" weekly weight for me its once per week.
I don't struggle to eat to my TDEE at all but have read many times that lots of members up there fat intake to make up the shortfall there is a post on fats somewhere but I'm to thick to do a link check it out its very interesting, I can't get my head around this fat thingy myself because of what we've been bombarded with for 20 years or so.

Thanks a lot I think I'll weigh daily just to get an idea for the first week or 2 then just weigh once a week. I lost another pound after my 2nd fast day, so thats 4 pounds so far and I survived the day at work fasting so I think I'll just do fasts on work days and maybe motivate myself to go to the gym on days off haha.
I think I'll just ignore calories on my feast days for now and just try and eat healthily and 3 meals a day (I usually eat 2 a day because of work but I'll try and up it and eat more healthy things) and just see how it goes for now
Thanks for the replies x

I weigh daily. The thing about this WOE is that your weight will fluctuate a lot from day to day, even more than usual. I recommend using a phone app like libra or true weight (or just an excel spread sheet, if you're good at the statistical functions). The 3 lbs you lost were bound to mostly water weight as there's no way to get that big a calorie deficit in one day. You'll lose a lot of water weight on fast days as you use up glycogen stores. Don't get upset if you put some back on after a feast day--this is totally normal. If you think the fluctuations will make you crazy, perhaps weekly weighing after one of your fast days is better.

I think you've made the right decision re: feast days. The joy of this "diet" is that you don't have to worry about them. (Though having said that I did keep track of what I was eating in a food diary at first).

Well done @sunsetborderline On your 2nd fastday and the extra 1lb, if you only usually eat twice a day that's fine on this WOL as many of us combine 16:8 + 5:2 or for me 16:8 + 4:3 if you need extra advice on this checkout @ballerina and all the info is in her signature.

Welcome and good start. I only weigh every 2nd day. My weight , like everyone else's, goes up and down but gradually downwards. I have hardly seen any weights over 70 kg this year but in December it was mostly always over 70. My low weights go lower and my upper weight isn't as high. I have learned that my weight is variable. I love this 'diet' because I do lose weight and I don't have to even think about counting calories on other days. Not everyone does it that way. As you will see, many people do all kinds of different methods. But I only worry about what I eat 2 days a week. I think fasting at work is far easier than fasting at home.

I don't try to eat all of my calories on non-fast days. I think that would be too much to be honest. But, I probably make up for it on weekends when I splurge a little!

Also, I usually weigh myself every day, but I don't consider it officially except at my weekly weigh in on Monday morning. It's definitely going to be lower the day after you fast than the day after you don't.

I'm actually thinking of trying to just weigh weekly and not peek during the week!