The FastDay Forum

I binged on Thurs and Fri (chocolate bars/packs of sweets in the evenings etc) then i fasted yesterday totaling between 500-550 cals.

Today, i woke up and didnt feel hungry so thought i'd fast again today. It got to around 2:30pm and i started feeling hungry so had a yogurt then that splurged out of control and i totally lost it and eat everything in sight - i mean everything - cold sausages, yogurts, magnum, 3 club bars, bag of liqorice, 3 bowls of oats-so-simple with a load of honey in and jam, 2 hot chocolates, bag of hula hoops, bag of mini cheddars, whole cake (yes a whole cake loaf) .... i've probably missed something off the list! I stopped at around 4:30pm as i felt so sick...i actually had to sit next to the loo as i felt that sick and even now i still feel sick and am in bed lying down.

I now obviously feel upset with myself, i dont know why i do it and wonder if i have a problem? It is not just as easy as saying 'get a grip, don't do it' .... i cant help it! I am at my worst when in the house on my own which i was earlier. I do binge sometimes but i think this is the WORST EVER.

I was so pleased this morning when i stepped on the scales and i'd lost 3 Ibs from my fast yesterday and my stomach was way flatter and now i know that when i get on the scales in the morning i will be 1/2 stone plus what i was this morning.

I've tried to walk to work in the mornings totally 6.2 miles altogether but what's the point if all i'm going to do is binge! Why do i do it ...!!

Sorry, just needed to talk...

Hi JD, I've cottoned onto this post a little late I think, but I would highly recommend keeping a food diary and logging emotions/feelings that happen as and when they happen along with any food you've eaten. You'll find that they're intrinsically linked. What we eat/how we feel after, and how we feel/what we eat as a result. You'll find that you will get better at recognising your emotions as time goes on, and you'll be better able to recognise a binge trigger and have a much higher chance of preventing it from happening.

I know it sounds like hassle and you might think you already know what your diary will say, but by writing it down you will have a permanent record of how eating X made you feel Y and it makes controlling your eating a whole lot easier when you recognise what's going on inside your mind and body. I also have a troubled relationship with sugar and struggle to have sugary foods in the house for any length of time before I end up gorging on them. It might help to make those foods less easily accessible so that you can't just make a snap decision to binge.

I hope you are feeling more upbeat now and remember that we all have to make mistakes or else we'd have nothing to learn from

One of the best things about this way of eating is that you can't fall off the wagon. If one particular day is just too difficult to fast on, for whatever reason, you can just choose another day to fast.

And that's exactly what you have done, so you are still 100% on track. Pat yourself on the back!

As to managing lunch times at work on fast days, have something planned which doesn't involve watching other people eat. Have a hot, calorie-free or low-calorie drink, and then go out to the shops and treat yourself to something small but nice (and not edible!), or make a list of jobs to be done, or go on Facebook, or start some knitting, or clean out your handbag and tidy up your desk drawers, or go for a walk, or use the time to pay your household bills and make dental appointments and similar. Anything will do, as long as it keeps you busy.

Good luck!

Thank you - you are all so supportive.

I managed a fast on Monday (think i eat around 550 which i didnt think was bad for my first proper fast) then yesterday i woke up not feeling hungry at all so i didn't eat....i bought some marshmallow wafers (i don't know why really, i guess i thought i could have one now and then as a treat as they are only 50 cals each so better than a chocolate bar or pack of sweets) so anyway i ended up eating all 6 wafers in the pack which totalled 300 cals, i thought hey i'm still on track for my 2nd fast. Then i got the munchies and opened a can of rice pudding and ended up eating the whole tin with honey/jam added. Then i ended up eating the rest of the jam in the jar. Then i decided i wanted a grilled chicken breast. Then i decided i wanted some toast and honey (ended up having 3 slices!) then i decided what the heck and had a packet of crisps and some sweets oh and some hot chocolate. So not a great day!!!

Now i feel starving hungry and i'm trying to fast today....

Planned to walk to and from work (6.2 miles) but the weather forecast keeps saying how cold it is and chance of snow so i don't! ..... come on Jackdaniels!!!

Hope it goes well for you today.

I think sometimes the exercise is nice in the cold weather as I get really cold when I am fasting and sitting in my house working at the computer. Later on I'm going to walk to Pilates (but only a 20min walk) and that warms me up. The trouble is in this weather you can get quite cold walking for a long time so I don't blame you for not wanting to.

Jackdaniels I really feel for you. I think you have some ingrained eating issues there but that doesn't mean that you can't change. I think you could perhaps love yourself a bit better and stop trying to punish yourself with food and then feel bad? Can you find some way of stopping yourself after the first temptation instead of going into the downward spiral?
None of us are perfect, or we wouldn't be here in the first place. We will all support you and this forum is amazing for support.

Oh dear, as another binger I just want to hug you. We are such complex creatures. Lots of great advice and all I add is do not be too hard on yourself.

[carorees]

JackDaniels, it occurs to me that it would be useful for you to have a fasting buddy to do your fasts with. Preferably someone whose eating patterns are similar to yours and who is also starting out on this way of eating. You could have a pact that you would not break the fast unless the other did so too. You could plan your fasts together and be in contact regularly though the day to say how you are getting on. You can be there for each other and compare how you are feeling. That way I think you would be less likely to fall off the wagon on a fast day. Once you have got a pattern established of successful fast days I think the rest will fall into place.

I'm sure there will be plenty of volunteers to buddy with you here (not me, I've been doing it too long...you need another newbie).

Also I think you should not fast unless you have had a day of normal eating beforehand. You can hardly succeed if you start the day under fed!

I would happily buddy up. I binge too and am early on this journey. I live in deep rural France a long way from old friends and would appreciate the help it will also give me.

Posting for the first time, your post hit a nerve with me (as with many others I see). Evenings are the worst for me to eat healthy. Even if I'm good with my dinner, if any of my family is snacking then I end up eating too which sometimes ruins a good day of staying in calorie range. Then I end up disappointed in myself for not having more discipline. One thing I'm finding in just 1 week is how much my appetite & stomach changes the day after a fast, and I'm holding hope that as time goes on 5:2 will help me to change that bad eating habit.

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Hi Jack, oh I do sympathise with you. And with you too Bobshouse. I've just started out and am prone to binging too. It was a fasting day yesterday and after I woke up this morning went on a mad eating binge - one and a half tubs of Philadelphia Light, a tin of soup and a large cold tin of beans. I've had far worse binges but what the... Aaaargh! I also have to ask why I do it to myself...I was advised not to have binge foods in the house but I can binge on anything at all. PM me Jack and Bobshouse if you'd like to buddy up.

I would love some buddies - thank you.

I had another hurrendous evening last night - i WENT OUT and bought 2 flapjacks (i love them) , a multi-pack of break bars which i eat ALL of them , pack of 14 pink and whites , can of rice pudding with honey, grilled chicken breast, oven chips, baked baked with mini sausages, 3 packs of crisps - awful ! ...felt bloated and sick.

However, today i am fasting and have stuck to it! However, i have had awful stomach pains.

[carorees]

There you go...now all you buddy up and keep each other strong!

I do think there is a really good point about 5:2 versus traditional diets - getting back on the wagon is really easy. It doesn't matter if you put a bit of weight on every now and then due to a big blow out or holiday or something - 5:2 is about the long game. I know I can lose weight quicker if I was more careful on feed days but I enjoy them and an still on average losing a bit of weight here and there. I agree with don't try and fast unplanned or ad hoc - enjoy your feed days in a way that appreciates the food you do have. If you starve yourself on feed days it makes the fast days that much more difficult and more likely to overcompensate.

There can be too much of a good thing -- don't fast 2 days in a row! Also, be honest with yourself if this is a good WOE for you if you have issues with bingeing. It may or may not be.