The FastDay Forum

Hoping for some advice from all you more experienced and knowledgeable fasters out there!
I have been 5:2 fasting off and on for the last two years. Fasting has been suiting me OK in my current job most of the time. I am partially based in my "base" office and other times out with other companies which is quite intensive so I don't tend to fast then, because I find fasting affects my concentration and I'm not quite as sharp. Fasting is fine when i'm just quietly getting on with admin in the office though. On weeks when I have a lot of company visits I don't fast but that's OK, maybe I don't lose weight for a few weeks and lose out on some health benefits, but I look at the big picture and I'm fine with that.
I'm about to start a new role where I will effectively be "with a company" all the time, I'm really excited and looking forward to it but I think it's going to be pretty intense, so I'll need to be sharp and on the ball all the time. I'd really like to keep on fasting (haven't fancied weighing myself lately but I've probably a stone and a half more I'd like to lose; and I do feel better when I'm fasting). I'd welcome any suggestions about how to keep on fasting and keep sharp on fast days...
Wondering if I should move my one meal to lunchtime? I do fine most days on 16:8 by not eating til lunchtime so maybe that would be an option?
Is this a common problem and if so, I'd be interested in how others cope - especially if you have a job you find is quite intense or intellectually challenging!

Hmmm...I do have a mentally challenging job, though at the moment (and since I've been 5.2ing) I mostly work from home, which makes fasting relatively simple (though not always easy!). Once a month I travel to our Olympia office (70 miles each way, ick!); I do NOT fast on those days. However, that's due to the extreme change in my schedule those days; instead of getting up at 8 am, I get up at 5 am, which as a night owl is very hard for me and makes fasting difficult, if not impossible. (I try to schedule my Oly days on non-fast days.) I would imagine that your schedule will be relatively stable? (Oh and congrats on the new role!)

Today is a light day for me; typically, I'll have black coffee, then a medium pot of green tea (going to make that right after posting this, 10:30ish here). I find that the "slow drip caffeine" of consuming a pot of green tea over a few hours helps with both hunger and concentration; too much coffee upsets the tum and makes me jittery. I often have a glass of water with fiber mixed in 1-2pmish; I generally have a cup of veggie broth with a tiny blob of coconut oil (fat really helps satiety without triggering insulin) about 4pm. I eat my first solid food of the day after work (5:30pm), usually about 6pm, and it consists of one of the following: a hardboiled egg (or poached if I haven't boiled any); a small salad (which may include an egg) under 150 cals; or fat free plain Greek yogurt with fresh fruit (peaches are my fave, but out of season now). I have dinner 9-10pm (as a night owl, I always eat late; I am most concerned with sleeping well!). I try not to eat after dinner.

The above schedule works for me; my energy stays pretty even and the hunger pangs I do get are manageable. My energy/concentration is more affected by the quality of my sleep the night before than how much I eat; in fact, I've long known that I cannot eat something sugary (such as doughnuts or pancakes) first thing in the morning (obviously talking about normal days!), makes my blood sugar freak out for the rest of the day, no matter what else I eat later. I am better off NOT eating at all than doing that. I am also in the camp here of "eating early wakes up / pokes the hunger monster," and I prefer to let him lie as long/late as possible. My biggest challenge is making sure I plan exactly (on MFP) what I'm going to eat for dinner HOURS beforehand, so the Hunger Monster isn't making my decisions.

I had a VERY challenging/stressful week recently; management was all up in our faces about some new information on our website and it was quite a stretch getting it all out there on time, what with them breathing down our necks. I didn't find fasting made any difference; in fact, being very busy is good when you fast; plus, no lunch break means I can either work through or take a mental health break instead of eating.

[wildmissus]

I have recently changed my role and hours at work which means that I work five 4 hour shifts with three of the shifts in the evening. I fast 2 days a week and on those days I eat at around 3pm and when I come home from work I have a low cal hot chocolate. I don't use my brain at work but my job is quite physical. I am finding these changes suit me very well especially as I usually get the munchies mid afternoon on a fast day anyway. Before the changes I had many a failed fast.

@Littlereddragon congratulations on the new job. As you suggest, how about trying lunch instead of dinner to keep you going in the afternoon (I sometimes do that on intensely busy days) and save 100 cals for a treat at the end of the day. Or perhaps split the calories between lunch and dinner. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thanks so much @ferretgal, @wildmissus and @Lizbean for the messages (and the congratulations! I'm so excited, really looking forward to the change).

You've all made some great suggestions and I think it's going to be a case of experimenting with all those. It's so encouraging to know that you all manage OK in similar situations

Since I have changed from having my main meal in the evening to eating at lunch time on normal days as well as fast days I often find I don't eat later in the day anyway or if I do then it may be a bowl of soup or something similar that is light and easy to digest. I feel more energetic and no longer have any abdominal discomfort and as a consequence I have a better quality sleep.

Is it possible to switch one of your fasting days to the weekend ?

Or on fast days in the week, maybe break your 1/4 TDEE allowance to 1/2 at lunch and 1/2 in the evening. This gives you the afternoon to cope better and stay concentrated.

Must admit i find the same. fast days when i try to not eat till dinner affects my concentration so i will break the fast if i need to at say 2pm or 3pm with something light.

This is interesting, thanks @Juliana.Rivers and @galexinda. I think I'll try a late lunch next week and see how I go. I'm wary too of the whole "waking the hunger monster" thing but I think this approach is worth trying.

Weekend fast days are a good suggestion but wouldn't fit in well for me unfortunately.

I'm a big fan of eating at lunchtime on fast days. So long as you have some protein and keep the carbs low, you won't wake the hunger monster. My favourite is a big bowl of homemade soup with added protein which I take to work in a wide necked flask. Let us know how you go.