The FastDay Forum

Having done 5:2 on and off for a year I returned to it properly in November without seeing much progress.
I was determined not to lose my way again over xmas but equally determined not to let my kids see I was fasting (I dont want them to know I do it) or feel deprived so decided to try the "window" approach - and loved it.
So, going forward I am eating between 2pm and 10pm each day as well as removing most carbs (I have pcos and they're no good for that, or anything else much really)
Have high hopes that this can be the way forward, permanently now

Hi Boo,good to meet you x great to hear you've found a way of making 5:2 work for you!
Good luck with yr journey,lots of support and help on here to smooth yr path x

[Tracieknits]

Welcome to the forum - a few people have found success with the eating windows and I think most of them did it with carb reductions as well. I hope you're one of them!

Thanks very much

Hi @Boo25 great to see you. The beauty of fasting is that you can adapt it to suit you...and it sounds as though you've found just the right method. Good luck with it. Hope you'll be happy and successful! This is the best forum for encouragement so you've definitely come to the right place
Bean

Thank you very much @nursebean
I popped in in December but then have only hovered around very occasionally rather than posted, hopefully I can make more of it now things are quieter

[carieoates]

Hello adm welcome from me too
Best advice from me is use the tracker, measure everywhere and keep it as simple as possible. Basic 5.2 works full stop.

Hello adm welcome from me too
Best advice from me is use the tracker, measure everywhere and keep it as simple as possible. Basic 5.2 works full stop.

Thanks v.much, def gonna be taking advantage of the tracker.
I loved basic 5:2 on "normal" weeks but found it quite challenging to do 365 days a year - I'd lose it once a holiday came up or a period of increased training (I do a lot of martial arts)
Obvs if I dont see results this way I'll look to going back though

Hello adm welcome from me too
Best advice from me is use the tracker, measure everywhere and keep it as simple as possible. Basic 5.2 works full stop.

Thanks v.much, def gonna be taking advantage of the tracker.
I loved basic 5:2 on "normal" weeks but found it quite challenging to do 365 days a year - I'd lose it once a holiday came up or a period of increased training (I do a lot of martial arts)
Obvs if I dont see results this way I'll look to going back though

And now I'm back to 5:2 - but with "windows" on the back burner for weeks where I'll struggle, cant agree more @carieoates - I need the simple. Windows was great and will def use again but much easier to "cheat" with it and get carried away.

And now I'm back to 5:2 - but with "windows" on the back burner for weeks where I'll struggle, cant agree more ] - I need the simple. Windows was great and will def use again but much easier to "cheat" with it and get carried away.

@boo25
Do you mean between 2pm and 10pm you would just consume too many calories.. bit of a "it's in my window so I'll just eat it anyway"
Have you considered 4:3 as a simple alternative but a "step up" from 5:2 . Maybe when you are in holiday mode or in training as you said in your opening post, you have more days that you can fast with 3 days to choose from .

And now I'm back to 5:2 - but with "windows" on the back burner for weeks where I'll struggle, cant agree more ] - I need the simple. Windows was great and will def use again but much easier to "cheat" with it and get carried away.

@boo25
Do you mean between 2pm and 10pm you would just consume too many calories.. bit of a "it's in my window so I'll just eat it anyway"
Have you considered 4:3 as a simple alternative but a "step up" from 5:2 . Maybe when you are in holiday mode or in training as you said in your opening post, you have more days that you can fast with 3 days to choose from .

No, I mean that on a saturday I'd move the window to be 10am-6pm - but then slide the 6pm to 8pm
I have reminded myself too that the thing I liked the very most about 5:2 was that I only had to think about anything diet related 2 days a week and that as long as I wasnt eating garbage constantly I could pretty much relax the rest of the week. I hate counting calories, food, to me, should be a joyous thing not something perpetually measured, and so equally should time. I also think that in general doing windows I wasnt eating enough calories in any case, I started doing MFP and only got to 1400 some days.

@ Boo - I came across this site because I have PCOS and desperately trying to lose weight. Can you share with me if you window approach is still helping you and still keeping you on track with the "PCOS diet?" Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated. I found an awesome article on PCOS and has diet tips. I was just wondering if I follow these tips and begin the 5:2 what results I may see. I realize everyone is different. Anyone else out there with PCOS and struggling with weight please feel free to share tips. Currently I am working on tips I received from http://detoxscientific.com/pcos-diet. I just started about two weeks ago and have lost about 3 pounds. Just curious if I can integrate these types of food choices in this diet plan for even better success.

[carorees]

@mcpherson1997 welcome to the forum!

Yes, you can certainly use the ideas from the PCOS diet alongside fasting. Fasting addresses the problems with insulin resistance that are behind PCOS and so does keeping your carb intake down as suggested in the article. I don't know about all those supplements and herbs though. I doubt they make a lot of difference. There are some odd discrepancies about fat in the diet tips (eat more fat but then have lean meat, for instance).

Look at the articles in the Fasting library (especially the science pages) for more about insulin resistance and diet.

Good luck!

@carorees
Thank you so much for the advice. I see you have met your goal, congratulations. Meeting others like you who have been through it and have positive words to say is motivating. Have a great day and thank you.