The FastDay Forum

Does anyone have any input regarding this topic?

I suffer from a mental disorder, don't know what. Doctors say it's ADD, Bipolar disease, GAD, depression, aspergers... It depends on the doctor, what name they put on it.

It doesn't matter. The main problem is the depression, the anxiety and the panic attacks. The other stuff doesn't really affects me much.

I feel I'm so incredibly low during and after my fast days! I'm so depressed I can't do anything, and really anxious.
Should I stop? I've only done 3 fast days, so maybe give it time? I'm not sure it's worth it if the fast is working as a catalyst for the down episodes.

Please let me know what you think!

[Moogie]

Only you, your doctor & loved ones can be the judge of your own mental wellbeing, so please be careful when considering any advice folks here have to offer.

I will note that many of us struggled with the first few fasts, feeling grouchy due to the lack of food - and perhaps this feeling could have triggered a generally negative mental response in you? It's possible that just as the rest of us have become accustomed to fasting and don't tend to get grumpy anymore, this phase may also pass for you.

Can you tell us a little about how you do your fasts & how you break them the next day? What do you eat?

Are you an emotional eater? Could it be the emotional connection to the food (and lack thereof, on a fast day), causing this?

Hi fasterstronger. Sorry to hear you are struggling. I'm not qualified to advise either (carorees might know?), and depression is a serious condition, so please do your research carefully. However I recall from my past life that there is often a connection between nutrition and depression, especially if your blood sugar is disrupted. Those who have ADD are often dietary sensitive. Some ideas to try here, but if you can afford to go and see a nutritional consultant, you should as everyone's biochemistry is different - especially when it comes to supplementation. I'm sure you have tried a few here already, but you never know:

*Cut out or steer clear of sugar and stimulants like coffee, coke, alcohol etc. My OH says I'm a miserable old cow when I eat too many refined carbs and sugars. So I gave it up and feel a million times better.
*Get your zinc levels up but take it in combo with magnesium if taking it as a supplement. Oysters, red meat (link here of top 10) are all good food sources of zinc. http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/zinc.php.
*Eat tryptophan rich foods such as turkey and pumpkin seeds.
*Make sure are eating lots of good fats.
*If you can bear it, have a go at giving up wheat and diary for a couple of weeks and see how you feel.
*Try to get outdoors every day for at least 15 mins. Walk around the block in your lunch hour and take some exercise.
I do hope your condition improves.

Does anyone have any input regarding this topic?

I suffer from a mental disorder, don't know what. Doctors say it's ADD, Bipolar disease, GAD, depression, aspergers... It depends on the doctor, what name they put on it.

It doesn't matter. The main problem is the depression, the anxiety and the panic attacks. The other stuff doesn't really affects me much.

I feel I'm so incredibly low during and after my fast days! I'm so depressed I can't do anything, and really anxious.
Should I stop? I've only done 3 fast days, so maybe give it time? I'm not sure it's worth it if the fast is working as a catalyst for the down episodes.

Please let me know what you think!

What I think is you should give it time but thats not to be confused with advice...... I'm not medically trained to advise.

To be honest I regularly feel awful when fasting but watching the scales needle move is the compensation.

Hi I suffer with PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) in which I was diagnosed nearly 2 years ago. I'm on numerous amounts of medication but since I've been on this WoE since August only, I feel quite good. At first my symptoms were grouchy, irritable, lethargic etc. Well I'm going into my 5th week and feel strong in myself to want do this. It's either this or Type 2 diabetes ( borderline). This is giving me my confidence back after years of putting weight on. I feel totally in control of it and thats a good thing, right! Keep in touch but only you will know. But do speak to your doc, my doc suggested this diet for me. Take care x

Just echoing what the others have said above..and i think its important to see yr physicians
coz they will know better than us about yr health probs
And wanted to wish you good luck and well done so far...
Not easy when youre struggling on a daily basis anyway x
Let us know how you get on

[wildmissus]

Just a few comments from my own personal experiences -

I've been doing this a while and I sometimes still get grumpy, lethargic and tired on a fast day but overall my mental wellbeing has improved (something I'm aware of having suffered mild depression in the past).

If I remember correctly in the book there is evidence that people with depression improve over time.

You can make a huge meal with 500 cals - eg.veg and bean stew.

The benefits of the weight loss far outweigh the sometimes yukky fast days and definitely makes you feel better mentally.

If you are struggling but want to continue why not give 16:8 a try for a while and see how you get on with that.

Just my thoughts.

[carorees]

Sorry to hear that you're finding the fast days are exacerbating your symptoms. Some good advice above...particularly that it is normal to feel grouchy and down during the first few fasts, so take heart that it is likely to improve if you feel you can stick with it for a bit longer. Second, the fasting process can bring a sense of improved mood once you are used to it, so again, time will tell. Third, try different forms of intermittent fasting and also experiment with the foods you are eating (particularly reducing refined carbohydrates if you tend to eat a lot of those as this will stabilise blood sugar which should help your mood) to see if a bit of tweaking will help. I would say that it is probably best to get the 5:2 fasting established before tweaking or you won't know whether any changes you experience are down to the tweaking or the adaptation to fasting. Fourth, if you are in any doubt, please do consult with your doctor.

I expect (and very much hope) that a couple more fasts will see you vastly improved. Take care

Thanks so much to everyone for taking your time to replying!

Yesterday, I did my 4th fast and I was hungrier but happier than normal. So - success! I don't mind being hungry. But I do mind being anxious.

I will give it another month or so (that's eight more fast days) and see where I am. I'm not doing this to loose weight, but to improve my health and also my mental health. Since a lot of people have experienced a better mood after following this woe for a while, I hope that will happen to me as well.