The FastDay Forum

Don't you ever miss breakfast, though?

This is why I don't do 16:8 - I know it works for a lot of people but although I can easily do without breakfast on a fast day I love
my toasted baguette with butter and tea in the morning as it is the only time I eat bread. I also like to eat with my kids before school and work and if I skip breakfast it isn't a good example for them. But I understand it is an easy meal to skip for a lot of people. I find it easier to skip lunch than breakfast but then of course you don't get the long fast benefits of that!

Don't you ever miss breakfast, though?

I don't miss breakfast @nursebean but I am missing lunch!

Thank goodness you've changed your avatar back to a bean too...'cos I couldn't make out what on earth your old one was!

@nursebean I am with you I miss my breakfast so I do as many eating windows as I feel I can accomplish. So am tending to do a litmus test eg "what will I do today?" Some days I feel hungry so have a healthy real food breakfast again it's what I feel like eating, I might then eat more that whole day as it is an instinctive thing, but the next day will be some kind of window day. Just finished a fortnight ADF stint and surprise most days were a window eating pattern without any qualms.

So I am still doing the odd day fluid fasting under 500 cals and the rest are mixed bag of 5-8 hour windows. It depends on what's up in my life. A fast or feast to fit each day ...how good is that

Nice to see a bean

Yes the Bean avatar is back!

Its funny but I can't imagine NOT fasting every other day. I'm actually a little trepidacious about my holiday but need to tell myself that its only two weeks in a year. Trouble is, it takes so long to lose the weight that you gain doesn't it! Never mind.

If I'm honest, it wouldn't matter if I skip breakfasts because I tend to munch on a bowl of cereal in the evening anyway...naughty Bean

I don't mind missing breakfast, but when I especially want some breakfast food and have planned a longer fast I just have breakfast for lunch instead, or even as a dessert after dinner

Luckily my kids are small and we never really have breakfast together anyway apart from the odd time at weekends so it really is the easiest meal for me to miss, but I've never been a big breakfast eater anyway.

I don't miss breakfast- it took a while but I look on it as an easy sustainable way to reduce calories for ever- couldn't manage without my coffee and skimmed milk though even on a fast day.

This post made me think I am eating towards my instinctive needs and using fasting windows as the tool. My binge/ craves seem less or I am getting stronger willed. Substituting celery for crackers seems to have stemmed my need for cheese which may have been my need for protein. Sorted now with regular chia desserts.

It is easier using fasting windows once you work out what best suits you I think

Breakfast - could mean a particular kind of meal such as sausage, bacon and eggs. or a meal consumed at a particular time of day, say between 7 and 9 am. So when people say they wouldn't do an eating window because they love their breakfast, I wonder which they mean? Many people are happy to have a fry up at any time of day (hence the all-day breakfast), and one could be unconventional and have porridge or muesli at 1 pm, maybe as a small dessert after lunch. Or is it wanting to eat shortly after getting up; if that is important then I can understand why an eating window does not appeal.

We have breakfast together as a family. Two days a week it's only coffee for the adults but on other days it's a social event I don't wish to give up. So for me it will have to be 5:2, or 6:1, but no change in eating windows for the time being.

My friend that stopped using 5:2 as she didnt think it worked "for her", I today converted my friend to 16:8 starting tomorrow. 8hour window, 9am to 5pm as she said she often skips dinner.
I told her to do it every day and if like on Thursday when it's her birthday to do it from say eating 12 midday to 9pm as her family will take it out to dinner.

She liked the concept of being able to eat whatever she wants in a window. and not counting calories etc.

Told her if she finds it ok to try to extend fasting to say 17hours or even as high as 19 hours.

Did I do good?

You did REAL good!

Mind you, why don't people try ADF? So much easier! Although I seem to be stuck on 11 stone at the moment. I keep waiting for 10 something to appear but to no avail. It's a case of so near so far

You did REAL good!

Mind you, why don't people try ADF? So much easier! Although I seem to be stuck on 11 stone at the moment. I keep waiting for 10 something to appear but to no avail. It's a case of so near so far

with ADF is this a calorie thing on fast days or an eating window.

somebody should draw a decision tree diagram or a matrix that explains it all. one of the "analytical" in here could probably do it

My friend that stopped using 5:2 as she didnt think it worked "for her", I today converted my friend to 16:8 starting tomorrow. 8hour window, 9am to 5pm as she said she often skips dinner.
I told her to do it every day and if like on Thursday when it's her birthday to do it from say eating 12 midday to 9pm as her family will take it out to dinner.

She liked the concept of being able to eat whatever she wants in a window. and not counting calories etc.

Told her if she finds it ok to try to extend fasting to say 17hours or even as high as 19 hours.

Did I do good?

After 1 week my friend reported back and said she lost weight. She is doing 16:8. May be coincidental but if not, then if you are a "failed" 5:2er, well why not give eating windows a try, starting with 8 hours.. and if possible move to 5 hours. Depends on your lifestyle of course and if you can skip breakfast most days. I know my sis who has given 5:2 a break wont countenance eating windows for that reason.

I did 5-2 last year and the weight loss was very slow until I added 16-8
Then I stopped everything,regained the weight and really struggled to get back into the fasting.however I have been tryin an eating window approach for three weeks now .the window ranges from 8 to 5 depending on many things...and finally the weight is going down.i am at the low end of bmi and I am in my fifties and I have dieted all my life and I am short so lots of reasons why I struggle to lose weight. I just can't seem to get back into cutting my calories down to 500 ie doing 5/2 type of fasting but find it easy to restrict eating to a window.i don't count calories when I eat but I would say most days I don't eat that much....unless it's dinner out.however I do notice that if I close the window around 8pm I lose weight .even if I eat the same food in that time .
So I try having lunch around 2pm ,snack 5pm,dinner at 7 pm .if I change it around and have the snack after dinner I am heavier the next morning.anyway I have lost weight just doing 16-8 but it is slooow .would like to hear from others ,should I try a fast day too?

I did 5-2 last year and the weight loss was very slow until I added 16-8
Then I stopped everything,regained the weight and really struggled to get back into the fasting.however I have been tryin an eating window approach for three weeks now .the window ranges from 8 to 5 depending on many things...and finally the weight is going down.i am at the low end of bmi and I am in my fifties and I have dieted all my life and I am short so lots of reasons why I struggle to lose weight. I just can't seem to get back into cutting my calories down to 500 ie doing 5/2 type of fasting but find it easy to restrict eating to a window.i don't count calories when I eat but I would say most days I don't eat that much....unless it's dinner out.however I do notice that if I close the window around 8pm I lose weight .even if I eat the same food in that time .
So I try having lunch around 2pm ,snack 5pm,dinner at 7 pm .if I change it around and have the snack after dinner I am heavier the next morning.anyway I have lost weight just doing 16-8 but it is slooow .would like to hear from others ,should I try a fast day too?

I guess yes, that for many 2 fasting days is harder than eating windows. Yes, I would try 1 only fast day to add to your 16:8 regime to speed up the process. It will give you some extra calorie restriction which could only benefit your ultimate aim. In my opinion of course.