The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

I've been doing so much better with sugar. I think the fresh fruit is helping -- @Carorees, do you think fresh fruit is a problem from a carb and sugar standpoint? Because I've been eating a lot more.

Yes, it can be a problem. Many people find themselves drawn to high sugar fruits when they cut out added sugar. However, whole fruits (as opposed to fruit juice) are still a big improvement over actual sugar! Try to stick to the lower sugar fruits (berries and cherries) and to one portion a day for optimum weight loss.

This healthy eating plate from the British Association of Nutritional Therapists is IMHO a great guide to healthy eating for those who are needing to lose weight. You'll see that they recommend only 1 portion of fruit a day. I disagree about sticking to lean red meat though.

[carorees]

What is it about a good fast all day and then the overeating in the evening? Caroline @Carorees? do you have any advice on this? Is it better to go without anything on a fast day - to avoid the sudden urge to want to eat the contents of the cupboard? How can we overcome this?

I have a theory about this. What I think this happens is, if you are not really burning fat. During the fast day you run down your stored glucose (stored as glycogen in the liver...hold around 1500 calories' worth), by the evening you are low on fuel because you are not really burning your stored fat due to background insulin levels being too high, this results in food cravings, particularly for carby/sugary foods. The answer would be to go really low carb and increase healthy fats (coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, butter) or fast longer to enable insulin to fall low enough to allow fat burning at which point your hunger levels should decrease.

Welcome back, @Tracieknits. It's good to see you on the forum again. I am also fighting the sugar monster but, at the moment, I seem to be winning. It all seems to depend on whether my head is in a good place, or not.
To avoid the post fast-day dinner munchies, I always make sure that I have a 'proper' dinner, including lots of vegetables, a few carbs and a dessert. This is then followed by a low-cal hot chocolate drink later in the evening. If I am tempted, I also ask myself why I 'suffered' all day, if I am then going to ruin it by over-eating later. Well, it works for me!
Your Paris trip sounds lovely so good luck to you and your husband with your weight loss journey.

Lovely to see you again my old mate!
I identify so much with lots of what you said
Lots of us fall by the wayside but we are to be applauded for getting back up,dusting ourselves down and starting all over again xx good luck, and that Paris trip shd be a good incentive!l
Ps and take note of my signature..we are just doing a cha cha cha!
@wildmissus happy belated birthday to you xx ! good to see some old pals returning ..rawkaren was here the other day ..its gettin to be like those" good old days" on fastdays again! Xx

Fasting causes the body to become far more efficient at using the calories it does receive. Add to this substantially increased insulin sensitivity and you set up the perfect storm for a hunger riot and regaining weight if carbohydrates are reintroduced in an unrestrained manner. Biology never forgets.

Welcome back. I'm having difficulties doing proper fasts at the moment but at night, after dinner, I brush my teeth quite early which make me not wanting to eat again. I'm considering signing up for the 'I Quit Sugar' program as that's my biggest problem, but I love baking...
This is the website: https://iquitsugar.com/

What is it about a good fast all day and then the overeating in the evening? Caroline @Carorees? do you have any advice on this? Is it better to go without anything on a fast day - to avoid the sudden urge to want to eat the contents of the cupboard? How can we overcome this?
Bean xx

Good question. Any answers?

An article about Circadian rhythms from Dr. Fung at IDM:

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/ ... asting-17/

Excerpts:

"Hunger is increased maximally at approximately 7:50 pm at the same time that insulin will be maximally stimulated by foods. This means higher insulin levels for the same amount of food intake. This higher insulin level will naturally drive weight gain."

"So the optimal strategy seems to be eating a large meal in the mid-day – sometime between 12:00 and 3:00pm and only a small amount in the evening hours."

[Tracieknits]

Wow! Thank you everyone for the warm and kind notes! Glad to hear I'm not the only one doing a program and fasting-ish @NurseBean!

Thanks for the info @Carorees -- I have been trying to keep it to mostly berries. Even though they say bananas are no points, I've been around long enough to be suspicious of them. But fresh pineapple has been rather inexpensive here so I've been splurging a bit on that too. In any case, my sugar consumption is down very dramatically, which can only be a great thing. Maybe if I start stalling on my weight loss, I will examine the fresh fruit intake. This will give me a good tool when I hit a plateau.

@ADFnFuel does this mean I'm better off *not* fasting if I'm not willing to give up carbs? But thank you for the info and the link. I never realized we're biologically hard wired for that time of evening to be a danger zone.

So glad to see you guys, @Candicemarie and @StowegateResident!! Thank you for the link @wmr309

Ok, my inlaws should be here in about 4 hours. I have a nice dinner planned of beef chili and cornbread (I'll be avoiding the latter), with a dessert of mini pavlovas with cream and fresh berries. I won't be adding sugar to the cream or berries, so hopefully not too much damage with that. I feel fasting has inspired me to a decent rythm with weight watchers. I'm having light days (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) where I am for a small eating window and not eating all of my points/calories. Then I aim for more normal eating on the rest of the week, logging everything and aiming for low carb. As of this morning, I'm 14.4 pounds down from April 15, and back to 51.2 pounds down from my high

I might not be on until Monday or Tuesday with guests in the house, but I'll try to log in .

@ADFnFuel does this mean I'm better off *not* fasting if I'm not willing to give up carbs? But thank you for the info and the link. I never realized we're biologically hard wired for that time of evening to be a danger zone.

Circadian rhythms are part of the reason behind the effectiveness of eating windows.

Totally giving up carbs isn't practical for anyone longterm. What I'd suggest doing instead towards evening is to consistently substitute something fat for something carb to avoid aggravating the evening insulin response even further. Zoodles for noodles, mashed cauliflower for potatoes with a butter or fat-based gravy or sauce for example. Then try fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries in full-fat heavy cream for dessert topped with a small handful of toasted, salted nuts - pecans or walnuts.

[wildmissus]

Blimey, it is 7:50pm I'm full up after my dinner and I'm just thinking I fancy some chocolate. Now I know what is happening I'm not going to have the chocolate.

Wow,there's always something new tolearn isnt there
That 750 thing explains a lot..thanks @ADFnFuel x

[Tracieknits]

My guess is that if you are fixated on having something sweet, some choices are superior to others. A small portion of real dark chocolate mousse (when I make it it has only 70% or more dark chocolate, whole egg, a pinch of salt and small knob of butter) would be a far superior choice to a cake or cookies. Or perhaps a small square of very dark chocolate with a handful of nuts.

I've been allowing myself a small square of dark chocolate with a cup of decaf coffee, but perhaps I should add a slug of cream to the coffee.

Welcome back, @Tracieknits!

I disappeared too - and guess what ... my weight zoomed skywards. I was ill early in the year, so couldn't exercise. Then I was better and began to exercise a bit more - & didn't diet because I was trying to get back fit enough to run a not-too-embarrassing 10k. (Oh, how we manufacture excuses). Race was yesterday, & indeed was not-too-embarrassing given my age & general state of decrepitude. Unfortunately, the clothes I'd been beginning to buy to fit my newly sylph-like (well, OK, less lumpy) state are now too tight for comfort. Today I accept the URGENT need to focus on my weight. Perhaps we should have a 'returning to the fold' group!