The FastDay Forum

So for whatever reason I am simply not in the mindset to manage fasting at the mo. It's very very frustrating. Add to that another kilo gained and the disappointment keeps coming. However, some light at the end of the tunnel...today I managed an 8 hour eating window, I was going to try reducing it by an hour every day until it's about 4hrs. Does anyone think that this might reduce my sugar cravings (I finally got some l-glutamine so hopefully that should help)? A while ago I bought those diet pills that help you ingest 30% less fat than the meal contains and I keep wanting to take it, but then I realised that my meals actually hardly contain any fat...it's always sugar!! Today I had a horrific migraine, it has been ongoing for about 4 days and hopefully it is over now and I kind of do use a migraine as an excuse not to fast. But in saying that it did start to go away once I started to eat and I need to eat to take the ibuprofen. It's funny, having just written what I have written I am actually wondering if my migraines may be triggered by the sugars (including pasta and stuff) and if not triggered then perpetuated by them. Anyway, so tomorrow I am doing a 7 hour window all with a goal to make it to 4hours or a proper fast day. What I would really like to do is ADF.

@debsie - sounds like you've got yourself into a bit of a hole.....

Good news is there is a team of us here with a rope to haul you out!

Don't be too hard on yourself - restricting yourself to too small a window might backfire. Instead - I would plan your meals for the next day, whether it's a fast day or not, then make sure you stick to that plan. Definitely cut out the sugar and refined carbs - I know it's hard at first but the less you have the less you want. And ditch those nasty pills - you don't need those chemicals in your system upsetting your natural balance.
Sorry if any of this is teaching you to suck eggs - I hope you get through this quickly and start shifting the weight - nothing better for the motivation!

Hi @debsie Good luck with your plan. I think you are on the right track about sugar - don't know if it's the only cause of your migraines but it's a good suspect and well worth experimenting with reducing drastically sugars and other white carbs. You are probably well aware that you might get some unpleasant withdrawal experiences while doing this and be prepared to endure?

A bit of advice from someone who has been doing Fast-5 for over 10 months now ...
I wouldn't be too quick to aim for 20/4, I now do this most days but I got into it very gradually and naturally. I worry a bit about some folk on the Fast-5 forums who start that WOE and then proclaim after not very long on it that they are going to do 20/2 or something. It also took me a while to get to my lowish carb regime. I started heading that way while I was still on 5:2 and noticed I was not ravenous on my feast days, so I took the opportunity to step back a bit and focus on healthy eating. When I started I wad eating quite a lot of carbs - good and bad, and ready meals. Over time there came more salads, fish and veg and so on.

Psychologically I do find an eating window much easier to manage in avoiding too much carb because I focus first on eating stuff I know I ought to have and that does not leave anywhere as much room for the less desirable. I also have fats such as Greek Yoghurt or nuts as dessert. Finally, if you eat 3 meals spread out through the day plus snacks, you are spending so many hours NOT eating carbs it seems more of a struggle. For example: breakfast - must not have porridge, cereal or toast; elevenses -- must not have biscuit: lunch - must not have a baguette; dinner - must not have pasta etc etc. Emotionally draining!

Hope some of this helps - all the best!

This can work but don't over push yourself.
This week try doing 16:8 and no sugars of any sort.
Next week 16.5:7.5 and no sugars and no white carbs.
Week after 17:7, no sugars, no cakes or biscuits, try making your own rye soda bread, it's tasty.
Gradually take your daily carbohydrate intake down to 100g a day and your total daily sugars down to 25g and see how you feel.
Low carb+medium protein+high good fat (butter, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nuts)=happy bunny.
:0)

[Tracieknits]

Well personally, I would throw out those pills from the "health food" store. So many unverified claims, and so much profit to be made.

You need to up your fat intake, and reduce your sugar and carb intake. Fat is not the enemy that the sugar industry has painted it to be. If you look at the health of the "average American" since the lowfat dietary guidelines came out, you will see obesity has skyrocketed and diabetes has skyrocketed, along with our daily consumption of sugar. There are so many resources - actual scientific studies - showing that fat really isn't the nutritional bad guy.

So, I do NOT recommend shrinking your eating window.

I DO recommend: Increase vegetable consumption to at least six servings a day. Increase fat consumption. Throw out the sketchy pills. Reduce carb and sugar consumption. My endocrinologist suggests 150 grams of carbs a day - refined or whole grain, but you can subtract out any grams of fiber from the total carb allotment.

Good luck!