The FastDay Forum

Hi,
Just wondering if anybody occasionally throws in a week of 4:3 fasting.
I've a big event on in a few weeks time and thought i might lose a bit quicker if i do a couple of 4:3 weeks.
That said, I'm enjoying 5:2 so much I'm afraid to mess with it.

Also as I couln't bear to fast Friday to Sunday it would mean 2 of the fasting days would have to be done consecutively.

Any thoughts or experience with this?

Hi

I've been doing this for the last two weeks, Tues/Thurs/Sun.

I won't do it this week.

I am in the 4th week, and I think it's worked for me, as I hadn't really got used to reducing what I ate the other days.

Other things like my OH has been working on a Sunday, and I like to have a drink on a Sunday, but wanted to stop it, meant that I did it.

I find having only 1 day inbetween a strain, but it's early days, and I suppose I am still "dieting" rather than WOE'ing! (if that makes any sense)

ADF works so I can't see why 4:3 shouldn't work for you, provided your eating ok on the 4, doing an extra day would only speed up weight loss I suppose, again I don't know what the experts would say!

How are you feeling on Fast days? As you are new, I reckon 2 consecutive days would be ok for the short term once your keen, but moving on I think it might risk you loosing heart with things??

This week I am looking forward to Roast Dinner on Sunday!

[carorees]

I did 3 fast days the other week but had more to eat in my one meal of the day. It was accidental due to having been cooked a delicious evening meal on the first fast day of the week which I could not really say no to. So I probably had 700 cals on each of the three fast days. It was fine, but it did feel a bit more like a serious diet than just doing the 2 days! I will certainly do the odd week of 3 fast days, especially if trying to compensate for a big eating occasion!

Thanks Bob & Caroline for that.

I think I'll give it a go for next week and possibly the week after.
I'm finding the fast days pretty easy, so think I could manage an extra fast day for a week or 2.

It would only be in the short term, as i completely agree with you Bob that you don't want to lose heart and feel the drudgery of previous diets.
And after all it's still only 3 days dieting, as opposed to 7!

I've been doing Mon/Wed/Fri and found it very doable - I'm losing weight week on week and it's become a way of life now. I allow myself 500 cals on fast days, eat sensibly on Tuesday and Thursday (non-fast) and basically have more or less what I like on Saturday and Sunday, although I have found the things I would have chosen to eat prior to doing IF don't have as much appeal as they did. I wonder if this is because they're no longer 'forbidden'? Could be.

Anyway, I'm not losing more weight each week on 4:3 than I was on 5:2 but I am losing steadily, whereas on 5:2 I could go 2 weeks with no weight loss which I found quite disheartening. Even if I only lose 0.25lb in a week, it's still a loss.

I think doing two fast days one after the other, then a feast day followed by another fast would be quite hard. Is Friday difficult to fast because of social commitments? If that's the case why not just do a partial fast on Friday, i.e. skip breakfast and lunch and just allow yourself extra calories for dinner, say? Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

Thanks Marlathome,
It's great to hear other peoples experiences.

It's not that Friday poses particualrly challenging things for me.
But I've always felt Fridays were a kind of treat day
and I've always hated dieting at the weekend, which is why they never worked for me in the long term.


I'm gonna give it a go and I'll post how it goes
Cheers

Hi All,
I'm doing 4:3 as I have hit a plateau for a whole month. I've also hurt my ankle and had to go on steroids. Needless to say I have not been doing well. I have only put on 2-3lbs which isn't bad considering the set backs.
I'm planning to do 4:3 until the end of this month then decide what to do then.
Feeling sorry for myself

Just don't want to gain and go back to how I was.

Hi Jacquiann
Hope 4:3 get's things moving again.

Will you post how it works for you?

[carorees]

Is Friday difficult to fast because of social commitments? If that's the case why not just do a partial fast on Friday, i.e. skip breakfast and lunch and just allow yourself extra calories for dinner, say?

Think that's a great idea!

Hi Emerald 17,

I will keep you posted. Can't get weighed at the moment as I can't stand on my foot !!

Plan on measuring my waist as well so see if there are any changes.

I've done the occasional 4:3 when I've had a busy week socially or a busy week coming up.
I haven't found it any harder than doing 5:2.
I don't know how it has affected my weight as my next weigh in isn't until the forum weigh in March.

Saw a member on here the other day (can't remember which post thread) saying that before they go on holiday they do 4:3 the week before and then the week after they return, which usually pretty much negates what they put on whilst away! Sounds a good plan and one which I intend to try myself later in the year. I don't think there's anything wrong with chopping and changing - some people do ADF and they manage OK - so it's back to that saying again "whatever is right for you". You can't do any harm IMO. I also think when I get closer to my goal weight and I reach that plateau then I'll have to up it to 4:3 to continue with the weight loss - so good luck Emerald17 let us know how it goes.

I ended up doing my first 4:3 this past week with two of the days being consecutive. Schedule seemed a bit hectic for me this week, so I wanted to be a bit pre-emptive.

It was okay, but by the second day I was a bit grumpy lol. Hunger-wise, I lacked any sort of appetite which kind of frightened me a bit (omg starvation mode!) lol I was just being foolish considering I had plenty of time to over-analyse things especially since it was a Saturday.

All in all 4:3 is doable- but I also definitely like the idea of partial fasts, if you can't bother with a third or attempting to complete them consecutively. Now that I think about it I might experiment with that as well sometime in the future if needed.

Good luck

[Tracieknits]

I'm going to do it this week. Hubby and I were supposed to fast on Monday. He left town on a business trip early in the morning. I stuck to my fast like a good girl, but he was unable to stick with it - big business dinner waylaid his plans. So he's coming home on Wednesday and fasting again Wednesday and Friday. I'll do it with him for moral support.

I've done a couple of weeks on 4:3. I generally fast on Mondays & Thursdays, but will throw in a Saturday as well. If I do, I generally eat a little bit more on the third day - last one I had 640 cals instead of 500. I'm going to do it a bit more regularly now, while I am feeling particularly strong on this regime and I want to keep the weight loss up.