The FastDay Forum

I can't say I like fasting. I'm fine during the day but I don't handle it well come 6pm and I get to Waterloo Station and find the trains are delayed and I have no idea when I will get home and have dinner (it seem to always happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, my fast days). Then I finally get home and no one (neither husband nor au pair) has fed the kids so I have to wait for one of them to make a proper dinner because at that stage of hunger I have neither the capacity nor the imagination to prepare dinner for them - I can't handle anything more involved than peanut butter on toast - and of course nothing has been defrosted (I keep a well-stocked freezer) and it just drags on and on and it isn't 8:00 till we're eating. I have tried and tried to get husband to be more proactive with feeding the kids when I'm at work and fasting (he works from home) - sometimes he is and sometimes he isn't. If I was living on my own and didn't have to worry about husband, kids, au pair or anyone else eating (and of course I do, because I'm the mother, right?) I'd find fasting much, much easier.

But while I sometimes feel sorry for myself on my fasting days, I can't think of any time where I've just said "sod it - I can't handle this today" and then binged. I've had a fair bit of stress in the last couple of months and kept going faithfully. I keep telling myself that if I want to lose the weight and get the health benefits I have to do this - there is no alternative that won't make me completely miserable. I am definitely NOT miserable 5 days a week, and far from miserable for the majority of the other 2. I also find on Tuesday mornings I am "ready" for my fast after the weekend, even if I'm not really "looking forward" to it.

So while I wish I didn't have to fast, it really isn't that much of a hardship. Will I continue when I get to maintenance? Maybe the fact that, every time I log my weight into the Progress Tracker, it pushes further and further out my expected goal date is trying to tell me something - you'd better get used to it, kid: this really has to be a way of life.

BYoung just a little concerned for you. I have to say it is a very powerful effect on the body IF so I am intrigued as to what you said. Like what is it, where does it come from, maybe our nerdy people would know @PhilT only asking as so much good info has been collected is there a psychological or pathophysiological reason for BYoungs feelings as described. Though fleeting does low BSL do this? Hope you don't mind my asking

Thanks again Gillymary for your concern. I really am OK. The good effects of the fasting totally outweigh the transient bad feelings. Really. And I don't just mean weight loss. I hav e stopped binging which was previously completely ut of control

I can't say I like fasting. I'm fine during the day but I don't handle it well come 6pm and I get to Waterloo Station and find the trains are delayed and I have no idea when I will get home and have dinner (it seem to always happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, my fast days). Then I finally get home and no one (neither husband nor au pair) has fed the kids so I have to wait for one of them to make a proper dinner because at that stage of hunger I have neither the capacity nor the imagination to prepare dinner for them - I can't handle anything more involved than peanut butter on toast - and of course nothing has been defrosted (I keep a well-stocked freezer) and it just drags on and on and it isn't 8:00 till we're eating. I have tried and tried to get husband to be more proactive with feeding the kids when I'm at work and fasting (he works from home) - sometimes he is and sometimes he isn't. If I was living on my own and didn't have to worry about husband, kids, au pair or anyone else eating (and of course I do, because I'm the mother, right?) I'd find fasting much, much easier.

But while I sometimes feel sorry for myself on my fasting days, I can't think of any time where I've just said "sod it - I can't handle this today" and then binged. I've had a fair bit of stress in the last couple of months and kept going faithfully. I keep telling myself that if I want to lose the weight and get the health benefits I have to do this - there is no alternative that won't make me completely miserable. I am definitely NOT miserable 5 days a week, and far from miserable for the majority of the other 2. I also find on Tuesday mornings I am "ready" for my fast after the weekend, even if I'm not really "looking forward" to it.

So while I wish I didn't have to fast, it really isn't that much of a hardship. Will I continue when I get to maintenance? Maybe the fact that, every time I log my weight into the Progress Tracker, it pushes further and further out my expected goal date is trying to tell me something - you'd better get used to it, kid: this really has to be a way of life.

Keep up the positive spirit when you can. The weight loss and hopefully better health overall will get you through the fast days. Us Mums have the worlds on our shoulder at times.

I like not having to do the mountains of shopping for food and not having to pay for the damn stuff.

It just makes so much sense to be living on less.

AS others have said 6.00pm onwards can be not so good and I find sleep dificult on an empty stomach. It seems almost to generate a caveman spirit ....like I should be hunting for food if I'm hungry.

It's the only way I can see of sloving abit of a weight problem so, yes, have to say I like it.

Plateau atm lol 13.6 stone ..... I recall this from a few years ago. It WILL go.

I feel pretty neutral about actual fast days--I don't like feeling hungry, but it passes. I enjoy not having to think about my meals--I know exactly what I'm going to eat (OH takes care of his own meals anytime I don't feel like it, fast day or not. we're retired grandparents with no kids in the house, so that part's easy.)

I very much enjoy the ease with which I lost the weight and reached my goal. Now I'm experimenting with various combinations of 5:2 and 6:1 to see what will be best for maintaining, still struggling with habitual portions on non-fast days that now make me feel overfull. I don't feel that maintenance is tedious--in fact, the experimenting is interesting.

If IF confers any other health benefits, that's a plus. Actually, my blood work in June showed a decline in total cholesterol from years of 198 to 173.

I like not having to do the mountains of shopping for food and not having to pay for the damn stuff.

It just makes so much sense to be living on less.

Actually that's the bit i love love love about fasting. The money you can save is substantial!. Consuming food is not without expense, unless you are are a self sufficient gardener. I remember posting one of my mad calculations of saving $30 a week per person on 5:2 and thus say $1500 a year and that's not to be sneezed at.

I am sure after 3 months on the diet i've actually cut back grocery spending by much more than $30 a week per person here.

Unlike other diet plans, we don't have to pass money to a marketing organisation for consulting or equipment or food packages as we can "self manage" our new eating regime.

And you dont have to buy special food in tins, or special supplements or drugs for losing weight. Just realised... this diet is a nightmare for the commercial world of diet products and services!

You only need the book to buy i guess and thats not much.

Of course we have to go out and buy new clothes for our fantastic new figure but that's fun.

my old post..
5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic4284.html

Great post GMH and wonderful comments! My feelings on fasting depends on the fast day - I consistently seem to be ready to fast on Monday, which generally goes well, and then the rest of the fast days (sometimes just 1 more, sometimes 2 more/week) may vary. Some days are incredibly difficult (like today, but not impossible) to get through while others are fine and I even feel pretty serene. But either way I do it every week. Some days are difficult to focus while at work and I may feel a bit weak, but overall my energy is sufficient to be productive (I remind myself how sluggish and unproductive I feel when I eat a big lunch and then try to work.)

I am boosted by progress I see in my weight/clothes size. It is so great to wear clothes I couldn't for so long and nice when people at work take note of my weight loss, but I can also be sad when the progress isn't there as much as I had hoped, plus I'm hungry so I get a little discouraged on those fast days.

On fast days, my husband and son notice I am generally a bit "excitable" at certain times of the day (when I'm hungry or have a headache). I'm thinking a more regular exercise plan could help with this or workouts on the morning of a fast (before I get really hungry). Chamomile beverages or hibiscus tea seems to help for a quick fix.

Right now I'm also working on not eating too much on non fast days, but still managing to enjoy life/eating out, which is proving to be a delicate balance. On some weekends I can really destroy the progress I was making up until that point, even with long workouts. I don't like to count calories on non fast days but need to watch them a bit to speed up the progress. I have been doing this since 4/15 and am very close to a major goal, but confess I do get a bit impatient with the slow but steady weight loss...

I will stay on this WOE as long as my doctor says I can, hopefully forever, as it is very manageable for me and has important health benefits. I tell everyone about it who asks about how I lost weight, but I can't say I always love fasting....

I don't like waking on fast and repair days,coz i immediately want a cup of strong tea with milk,but i can't have it!
and i don't like the hunger pangs tho they pass quickly
I also don't much like in the evening when i 've had my 500 cal meal ( coz i can't wait til next morning)and then i want to keep eating

I do like the thought of repairs being done and of course,the ultimate reward,clothes getting looser and people saying my face looks very bright ( think the endless drinking of water on fast days brightens the skin and eyes x

[Tracieknits]

It all depends on when you ask me. Ask me on a non-fast day and I will tell you it's great. Ask me on a fasting morning and I will tell you I don't mind it and it's worth it. Ask me in the afternoon of a fasting day and I might bite you to see if you are tasty. I don't eat until 6pm on fasting days, so I get a wee bit cranky at about 4pm.

I have just had a 2 1/2 week break (due to holiday with family) and think fasting is great. I kept an eye on my weight and it stayed off but as of Monday I have to be serious again. Still some more kilos to lose, plus other health benefits I don't want to miss.

Love fasting and so much so i find Friday i just cant wait for.. its the only day where i have 2 feast days before it. (I am doing 3 days of fasting). i just feel better, lighter and quite enjoy my very well planned or if not planned, very light nutritious evening meal.

I also work on the basis now of only one big meal in the evening. I didnt think i can do it but i have now got my time to break the fast down to 4.20pm! im aiming at the big meal such that i eat nothing from say 11pm the night before to 7pm the next day which is 20 hours.

I have good days and bad days. Having reached target, I'm transitioning into maintenance at the moment so I have dropped to 6:1 and a 16:8. Last week was weird to eat on Wednesday for the first time. If I have a busy fasting Monday, I'm fine.... if I'm less busy I can get grumpy, but the good days far outweigh the "bad" - and even the bad aren't THAT bad!!! I like the potential health benefits of fasting but I wish I could know that they are working for me. Michael's programme did say that it doesn't work for everyone so I'd just like to know that I'm one of the lucky ones......I guess only time will tell on THAT score!!!

Yes Domane .me too..would dearly love to know what health benefits i am actually getting/ going to get
For now i am just keeping faith that i am helping myself by doing 5:2.. Altho i have plenty of weight to lose,and hope to continue to lose on 5:2,its the health benefits that i am really interested in x

I enjoy feeling in control, something I never had before for very long. Some fast days I feel rough some I feel great. Once I have had my evening meal I am full and do not need any more. I hope I can continue with this for life because I know it is doing me good.

Being in control is a fantastic feeling as well as feeling so much fitter. I am always glad to start a fast day but know that by late afternoon I am edgy or snappy. So we aim to keep busy here, but occasionally have a nap if time permits. I am finding the day after a fast is the difficult one as I am not really hungry but get a low blood sugar type wobble as the day goes on. Made better by eating something. So perhaps my fasting/ healing effect rolls on beyond the fast day? Great!
We definitely will be fasting twice a week into the future.
As it is I am losing weight very very slowly - not as exciting ! after a fast day as when we were losing more dramatically - and am near my arbitrary goal. I think that maintaining could be something like now!