The FastDay Forum

Hello everyone, i am new here, i also joined the FB page. I wanted to start today so planned my first fast today. The reason i chose today is because i wanted to do it when i knew OH would be at work. (i find him to be a bad influence food wise) Anyway i have been with the kids all day and decided to take them to a kids indoor play thing. They ate chips and sausages etc and this didn’t bother me at all and i wasn’t even hungry. I managed to get through making the kids dinner and wasn’t tempted. However i made my dinner (99 calories) then i caved!!!!! had ice-cream, which led to biscuits,which led to chocolate. Why can i complete a fast without falling off the wagon? how do you all do it? I’ve heard such goo things about this, does it actually work?

Hi @Bunnyc80 And Welcome you maybe new but you haven't failed you've actually done a good length fastday
OK you was over your 500cls don't beat yourself up about learn from it then do a better fats next available day,
Work on how well you went all day cooking for the children a and not eating yourself choose a more filling meal with plenty veggies if you fill up on other stuff you won't need to look for other foods also drink plenty water because thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger good luck

@Bunnyc80, all is not lost. You had a terrific eating window or 16:8 day! Fair play for passing the chips. That i couldnt do!

It can take a few goes to get the balance between fasting and eating enough of the 500cal not to cave in. Used today to learn from. Try eating low cal high protien foods. Protien is best for keeping the hunger at bay. Grilled fish or chicken breast, or even an egg (or 3, if you just go for egg white) are good value for cals. Read up on recepies here.

I find that I had to plan exactly what I will eat the night before a fast day. I have to pop it into MyFitnessPal.com to make sure I have food weights etc. Its easier then to think "I can have X for lunch or dinner" rather than spending the day thinking about all the things I cant have.

Hi..the words newbie and failing cant go together as getting through a day on restricted calories is a new experience for you..a new skill to be learnt. The first day you got on a bike I bet you fell off and I also bet you didnt say you had failed at cycling! Take each fast day as a day of learning a new skill. Listen to what your body is telling you. I had a headache after my second fast so tomorrow I will drink more. I also read lots of threads to learn from others so on my second day experiment ed with drinking oxo and it worked for me. You have learned that perhaps icecream needs to be hidden at the back of the freezer until your non fast day. We never learn as well from the things that go right as the things that go wrong. Anway the beauty of this woe is the flexibility. There is nothing stopping you doing 2 days consecutively if you are disappointed with one of your fast days. So take care and no more f words!

Hi @Bunnyc80. One way to not overdo it later in the evening is to save your 500 calories until the evening. I find it much easier to not eat anything (lots of drinks though, tea, coffee and water) until dinner time. That way I can have a substantial meal, lots of veggies, some protein and maybe a small amount of good carbs. I then have cals left over for some berries and yoghurt or maybe a low cal hot choc.
You may have to do some trials to see what works for you. Good luck and let us know how you are going

A good thick vegetable soup, two bowls even in the evening (keep the potatoes out of it, as they are high in carbs/calories) will fill you right up. Also try and keep something in the fridge for those moments when your hands just reach for food. I have found a bowl of carrot sticks, already sliced, or a big bowl of raw coleslaw (a squeeze of lemon or lime juice adds to the flavour) is very low calorie but takes ages to work through.

But some of us find that we can be utter angels till the first food morsel passes our lips then the hunger comes in like a tsunami and is irresistible. For me and quite a few others, just not eating at all is the way for us to go. I usually just have tea and water all day, giving myself an allowance of milk to take in my tea. Its easier than fighting the cravings once the hunger monster has been woken up.

P.S. I bet if you actually weighed and measured what you really had it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as you assume.

Lots of good ideas here. I recon you did really well! As others have said, plan a decent evening meal, solid protein and lots of veg. Wait 20 minutes before you go for anything else to eat and you'll find you are no longer hungry. Tell yourself you can eat ice-cream tomorrow. And yes, it really works.

hang in there. it definitely gets easier. I thought I was a champion faster for sitting through a few parties and dinners with little or no food. My hat is off to all you parents who regularly have to prepare food for your kids while fasting and/or sit through their meals.

[carieoates]

Hello and welcome from me too.
Well done for doing so well on your first fast day. As already said planning is key. Even if you have to have a calorie counted ready meal, you are allowed 500 cals. I'd be hungry after 99. That's just not enough especially when you're starting out.
I too have to prep food for my family, and i plan ahead often have the same but just slightly modified. You don't have to wait till the evening meal, you can have a small lunch and dinner if that helps.
Scubachick said something very good. "Plan what you can have, not what you can't" that's priceless that is @scubachick
Put you details into the progress tracker, and it will tell you how many cals you can safely eat and still lose weight. Plus measure everywhere.
Good luck

This recipe saved me at the start

http://food.ninemsn.com.au/recipes/ilee ... entil-bake

It is chewy low cal and satisfying, also try the soups on this forum

Teas, water and a coffee to get you over the first hump, strong herb teas like licorice or ginger lemon. A salty drink like stock or miso would take you to dinner time and you would not really face the hunger pangs. Having gone to dinner time you might find a low cal soup and a low cal hot chocolate made on almond milk and you have it in the bag

You did well, we all have those days. Once you get your mojo it just becomes something you look forward to doing every few days

Best of luck

@Bunnyc80 don't be so hard on yourself. I think you did amazingly well considering you've got kids. I take my hat off to everyone on here with kids because it must be so difficult not to have a quick nibble of their leftovers here and there! I'm terrible for that!

I think everyone has given you really positive advice. If I were you, I would save my calories until the evening (maybe after the kids are fed) and, if it makes it easier, get yourself a ready meal or just make a quick omelette or something. I tried eating at lunch time once and thats when I caved in too...bowls of cereal, anything I could get my little mitts on! Give it a go and see if it helps.

Good luck Bunny...and don't be hard on yourself. You did good xx

Welcome to the forum.

F words that are relevant to this forum and WoE: Friendly, Fun, Fulfilling, Fantastic, Functional (help me out forumites) ....

Fail .... well, who hasn't caved at the end of a fast day, my nemesis in the beginning was white bread smeared with Oxo spread. That's not failure just a mini setback.

Pick yourself up and I promise it gets easier.

Hi Bunny,loads of good advice here so i' ll just say "welcome and well done so far"
Here's to more and more success
And to add to @brian1 s F list...forgiving! We all understand the mini set backs here and help each other back on track ..so keep calling in to help you focus ( another positive F word ! )

@Bunnyc80, you ask, "Does it really work?"....and I say a resounding, "Yes it does!!!" So good luck with the fasting and to a new you.