The FastDay Forum

I ask this question honestly and not trying to be pig-headed but the more I read some of the posts on here, the more I wonder if some people aren't approaching this WOE in a very disordered way, or perhaps this WOE simply lends itself to a disordered approach.

Bear with me.

The basis of the program is 2 days of very low calorie (VLC) eating and 5 days of normal eating. So far, so good. But then you get people throwing in liquid fasting, 16/8, 4:3 and now 3:4 and low-carb and suddenly you're looking at more days of very little to no calories and major restrictions, all to lose weight and achieve some magic number. I've seen at least one person on here with a very low BMI talking about trying to lose more weight and it concerns me.

And I may very well be reading this wrong but I've had enough friends with eating disorders to be wary of the signs. Am I being ridiculous?

I like the simple approach to 5:2! 500 twice a week split between breakfast and my evening meal - lots of herbal tea/water during the day.

Non-fast days I eat normally. I do calorie count, but this is mainly to keep me on track! I eat well. I deny myself nothing - I just ask myself 'do I really want this'?' - it's often a no!

Are you saying liquid fasting and low carb or any other form of IF than 5:2 is disordered eating just because MM wrote a book with arbitrary limits we are all supposed to follow strictly? Hmm.., well, if so that would be ridiculous.

But of course, trying to loose weight rather than maintain when you're around BMI 20 isn't very reasonable.

I ask this question honestly and not trying to be pig-headed but the more I read some of the posts on here, the more I wonder if some people aren't approaching this WOE in a very disordered way, or perhaps this WOE simply lends itself to a disordered approach.

Bear with me.

The basis of the program is 2 days of very low calorie (VLC) eating and 5 days of normal eating. So far, so good. But then you get people throwing in liquid fasting, 16/8, 4:3 and now 3:4 and low-carb and suddenly you're looking at more days of very little to no calories and major restrictions, all to lose weight and achieve some magic number. I've seen at least one person on here with a very low BMI talking about trying to lose more weight and it concerns me.

And I may very well be reading this wrong but I've had enough friends with eating disorders to be wary of the signs. Am I being ridiculous?

hi MelMandy
I admit I do agree with your post, I was thinging just this yesterday when reading about someone with already a low BMi trying to get down even lower, it is concerning, I don't do liquid fast or 16.8, just the 5.2 because its so flexible and easy to follow and I never feel deprived! and you are not being ridiculous at all, not from my point of view anyway, I think most members on here just want to reach their goal, like me lol, and then go on maintenance..at least that is what I am aiming for, I am in no hurry, I refuse to let any book or some scientific person tell me how or often I should eat,or worse what I should eat or not!! that is not for me, and that is why I love this WOL, I make it work around what suits me...but you are right, it is worrying when you read about all these extremes people put themselves through and then I think, hang on, its not menat to be like that!!
having said that, I guess people do what suits them, its trial and error...
thanks for posting anyway, I feel better knowing am not the only one with those same concerns! x

MelbMandy said:-
The basis of the program is 2 days of very low calorie (VLC) eating and 5 days of normal eating. So far, so good. But then you get people throwing in liquid fasting, 16/8, 4:3 and now 3:4 and low-carb and suddenly you're looking at more days of very little to no calories and major restrictions, all to lose weight and achieve some magic number. I've seen at least one person on here with a very low BMI talking about trying to lose more weight and it concerns me.

You have a point and with 11000 members there will be some who may be trying for too far. Should and indeed how can that be policed?
There are good guidelines for the forum, if you see a particularly worrying entry please bring it to the attention of the mods. They have experience with gentle help.

[Debs]

Azureblue is right, we do discuss these types of things and if there is a cause for concern, we do chat about it.

Possibly. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with straight forward fasting. However I do have to admit falling into a trap of being a bit obsessed with it all since I followed the crowd and started weighing daily instead of monthly. I have never weighed daily in my life before.

However, there is no getting away from it, you still do need to monitor what you eat on non-fast days, as you would whether you were on 5:2 or not. I have not seen any evidence here of people going below their TDEE on fast days though, but plenty who admit to the odd binge. Is that disordered? I don't know.

I too have spotted one or two people with very low BMI's trying to go further, but I have also noticed that forum members gently push back. But this seems to be a rare occurrence. Most forum members here seem to be mature grown ups who take a healthy attitude towards this WOE.

I think the problem is that our human instinct to eat as much as possible in case of famine, doesn't work in a world of sedentary work and plentiful cheap food. And so for some of us allowing ourselves to eat naturally can end up with weight piling on. 5.2 is a weird way of life,but if that or any other method will help people achieve a healthy weight that's great. I suppose people will try other artificial ways of eating if they feel that 5.2 isn't working for them. I know that for the last couple of weeks I've gained weight despite fasting and probably because I eat too much the rest of the time for a short person whose work consists of sitting on my bum all day! You're right though from my perspective anyone with a Low BMI needs to appreciate that more weightloss is not going to help them learn the most difficult thing which is to maintain a healthy way of life

The trouble with the more extreme versions of fasting is that they are not sustainable, which is why the 5:2 was designed around two days of low calories in the first place. It's simplicity makes it easy to stick with for life, which is the whole idea. We don't want it turning into yet another diet that you end up quitting because it's too difficult and then gaining the weight back on...again! Simplicity is the key

Bean

@nursebean So true!

Hi,
I too have seen on here some people (not many) whose BMIs are already at the low end of normal and have thought it concerning and when I started using this forum I saw all the different threads about 16:8, 4;3 etc and wondered what on earth they were. I've been doing 5 2 since June and have lost a fair amount of weight by doing the two days only, but over that time I have also starting eating less carbs and the occasional liquid fast, if only to give things a bit of a kickstart BUT I still eat well (more healthily than I ever have) and this is the first time I am eating like a 'normal' person - no real desire to binge, no eating in between meals etc. I don't see it as a 'diet' - just how I eat now. I do weigh myself daily and I probably was a bit obsessed with it in the beginning but now I just get on with it and my eating habits are probably FAR less 'disordered' now than they ever been. For me - it has been a revelation; I feel great and so much better about myself. It's a good point that was made about the possibility of disordered eating and I think it's a valid one but most people on here seem pretty sensible about it.

I can't see why liquid fasts, zero calories, would be considered extreme or not sustainable.

Many people say the same thing about skipping lunch or breakfast just once, and the thought of fasting in general. It's assumptions about how other people are supposedly torturing themselves just because they don't do exactly the same things you do.

5:2 liquid fasts works just fine for me together with mainly low carb, and allows me to binge as I please during weekends or when life calls for it. I have to weigh myself often to make sure I don't loose to much weight, it's a small price to pay for a sustainable, pleasant lifestyle.

If someone actually want to be underweight, starved and seriously skinny, I don't really have much of a clue about how to handle it, other than suggest it has something to do with a distorted body image.

Are you saying liquid fasting and low carb or any other form of IF than 5:2 is disordered eating just because MM wrote a book with arbitrary limits we are all supposed to follow strictly? Hmm.., well, if so that would be ridiculous.

But of course, trying to loose weight rather than maintain when you're around BMI 20 isn't very reasonable.

Michael, I'm not saying that at all - it's just that I seem to be seeing a lot of people combining everything into one program which ends up looking really restrictive - no carbs, liquid fasts followed by skipping more meals for 16/8. It seems less in the search of the health benefits Dr M wrote about and more about losing weight quickly. That seems very disordered to me.

But, like I said, I'm aware I could be reaching.

I can't see why liquid fasts, zero calories, would be considered extreme or not sustainable.

Many people say the same thing about skipping lunch or breakfast just once, and the thought of fasting in general. It's assumptions about how other people are supposedly torturing themselves just because they don't do exactly the same things you do.

5:2 liquid fasts works just fine for me together with mainly low carb, and allows me to binge as I please during weekends or when life calls for it. I have to weigh myself often to make sure I don't loose to much weight, it's a small price to pay for a sustainable, pleasant lifestyle.

you don't see anything strange about how you refer to your eating? Liquid fasts which allow you to binge?

I'm not judging, I'm not assuming that what you're doing is extreme, I'm just curious. I see so much language that seems to be worrying - bingeing and 'starving' days in other posts. That side of things concerns me.

But you're right, it's all about monitoring yourself and making sure you're not unhealthy or whatnot.

Hi,
I too have seen on here some people (not many) whose BMIs are already at the low end of normal and have thought it concerning and when I started using this forum I saw all the different threads about 16:8, 4;3 etc and wondered what on earth they were. I've been doing 5 2 since June and have lost a fair amount of weight by doing the two days only, but over that time I have also starting eating less carbs and the occasional liquid fast, if only to give things a bit of a kickstart BUT I still eat well (more healthily than I ever have) and this is the first time I am eating like a 'normal' person - no real desire to binge, no eating in between meals etc. I don't see it as a 'diet' - just how I eat now. I do weigh myself daily and I probably was a bit obsessed with it in the beginning but now I just get on with it and my eating habits are probably FAR less 'disordered' now than they ever been. For me - it has been a revelation; I feel great and so much better about myself. It's a good point that was made about the possibility of disordered eating and I think it's a valid one but most people on here seem pretty sensible about it.

That's a good point too - that idea of not feeling the urge to binge or feel guilty about eating on a 'diet'.

I know that most people are sensible and are much healthier than ever - it's a great WOE really.