The FastDay Forum

My 5:2 journey started off well, I was a really good girl! But lately I have a major problem with mindless snacking. Since my boyfriend left, I don't know if I'm doing it out of comfort or habit but I'm eating lots of rubbish snacks chocs, biscuits, crisps. I want to stop but I'm just doing it without even thinking. Anyone else experience this? Does anyone have any tips? Would really appreciate any advice. Thanks a bunch xx

Oh, I'm sorry about your situation and think that you need to take steps to be kind to yourself. One way of doing this is to make sure that you don't have the opportunity of unhealthy emotional eating of rubbishy foods. It might be an idea to clear out your stocks of crisps, chocolate etc and not to buy any more. If there's none in the house you won't be able to indulge. Alongside this, make sure that you indulge yourself in other ways. have nice scented baths, listen to good music, take yourself off for country walks, have some fun....Be good to yourself.....

Take Care,

Bracken

Hi dreamer, I had this for a few weeks and started gaining. I don't know if the gain was because of the snacking or TOTM but I was eating too much of the wrong thing. Anyway I decided to do 4:3 or 16:8s for a few weeks, to save cals that way. It seems to have sorted it's self out, with less non-fast days in between, I'm more mind full of what I'm eating and the weight is coming off again. I hope this helps you. I'm sure this will pass soon enough, just stay strong and keep fasting.
Dee

Hi Daydreamer21
Sorry to hear your news
You are number one think about You not the other half .
Comfort eating is so easy to do but can't you throw away the bad stuff and buy in some healthier nice things .....strawberries yoghurts nuts ..... doesn't sound as good as chocs and stodge but its a treat.
Hope you feel happier soon x

As Bracken says, treat yourself to a nice pamper session at home, long soak in a bath with some scented candles and lots of smellies, face mask, hair treatment, nails, whatever makes you feel good about yourself. Buy yourself a new lippie or a magazine, anything to lift your spirits a wee bit and some healthy low calorie snacks> Good luck! x

Hi daydreamer21
I certainly sympathize with the comfort eating, I am sure that is why many of us need 5:2 in the first place!

Lots of good suggestions for you already.

You could also consider writing a list of 10 things you could do at home instead of comfort eating and stick this on the fridge, pantry, anywhere you store food.

Have a drink of water or nice herbal tea before you eat any comfort foods - that may be enough to stop you then going on to eat them.

If you are going to eat comfort foods, make yourself measure out a small quantity, then sit down and make sure you savour every piece - you may get sick of it quickly!

Try 16:8 - ie only allow yourself to eat in an hour hour window each day.

Reflect on how good you feel after a fast day, and how not good you feel after snacking on less healthy foods, and try to keep the good feeling in mind as an incentive not to snack.

And finally, many of us do still indulge in comfort eating or other lapses from time to time, but the great thing about 5:2 and its variants is that it does seem to be easier to get back into the routine than with other ways of eating.

Best wishes

Hi daydreamer21
I certainly sympathize with the comfort eating, I am sure that is why many of us need 5:2 in the first place!

Lots of good suggestions for you already.

You could also consider writing a list of 10 things you could do at home instead of comfort eating and stick this on the fridge, pantry, anywhere you store food.

Have a drink of water or nice herbal tea before you eat any comfort foods - that may be enough to stop you then going on to eat them.

If you are going to eat comfort foods, make yourself measure out a small quantity, then sit down and make sure you savour every piece - you may get sick of it quickly!

Try 16:8 - ie only allow yourself to eat in an 8 hour window each day.

Reflect on how good you feel after a fast day, and how not good you feel after snacking on less healthy foods, and try to keep the good feeling in mind as an incentive not to snack.

And finally, many of us do still indulge in comfort eating or have other lapses from time to time, but the great thing about 5:2 and its variants is that it does seem to be easier to get back into the routine than with other ways of eating.

Best wishes

Thanks guys, I should be used to my boyfriend and I not seeing each other with this whole long distance thing but something in my head has triggered some kind of emotional response this time. Plus I don't know when I'll see him again because I can't travel atm with my back hurting so much so that is weighing on my mind. Plus all the stress with my back/work/the cat- everything has just gotten hard. I'm probably not snacking as much as I think I am but I knows it's more than before Jamie went home. Plus in work, the kids were having lots of parties for various festivals and our "naughty cupboard" got massively restocked- it's hard to avoid it after a stressful day of 90 kids screaming lol. But what I think I might do is maybe by some "good" snacks, like you suggested some nuts/dried fruit things which aren't TOO bad for me compared to chocolate/crisps. Thanks for all your advice guys, I really need the encouragement right now

If you can bear to nix the sugar and white carbs for a few days and eat lots of green veg, fat and protein, your cravings will go. Hope you get back on track soon. You have come so far.

Well tomorrow is a fast day, thankfully my fast days have been perfect- just the non-fast days. But yes, Saturday I'll try 16:8 because a girlfriend is coming round for pizza, bad movies and comfort food night just to hang out. But Sunday onwards I'll try low carb- I was going to this week but that didn't happen. Sugars are really a crutch for my bad days :/