The FastDay Forum

Hi All,

I am a couple of weeks into the diet and doing ok so far. My main reason for trying this way of eating is for health reasons ie. have had cancer in the past and have diabetes in the family which I am hoping to skip! I am not unhealthy, am 5ft 6inch and weigh 10st. 9lb at the moment so am hoping for some weight loss but nothing too drastic but do tend to carry my weight around the mid-drift (the worst place for health reasons).

I'm not struggling with the fasting days but must admit, I do go to bed really hungry and this tends to wake me up during the night. In the mornings, I feel absolutely fine and am hardly hungry at all. I was thinking of trying the 2pm to 2pm for this reason. Has anybdy else tried this and does it feel a bit long winded as it stretches over 2 days?

So you're considering having a normal lunch on Day 0 before 2pm, then the next normal meal would be dinner in the evening of Day 1 ?

I know a couple of people who are doing it this way (and it is described in Dr M's book).

Some people find it frustrating, as they are restricting on 2 days, probably twice a week, so that's 4 days a week they are watching what they eat and when. Other people find it fits into their lifestyle much better.

Phil, exactly that! What do you think??

The overall calorie deficit is likely to be the same, but the daily calorie restriction is less severe as it is spread over two days. So for weight loss purely on the basis of calorie reduction it should be fine, but the elusive health benefits may not be as good.

The main think is to ensure that over the two days you reduce your intake by 75% of normal or by 1500 calories. Exactly what this means for you depends when you eat and how much per meal, so a bit of pre-planning might help.

I haven't tried 2pm-2pm, but I've been doing 6.30pm-6.30pm, on two (separate) days per week, from the outset - usually Sunday/Monday and Wednesday/Thursday. I eat nothing at all between those hours, just have zero-calorie drinks such as water or black coffee.

My reason for choosing this variation is that I'm particularly interested in the potential health benefits of fasting for 16+ hours at a time, something which seems more difficult to achieve if you have to consume 500-600 calories during the "fast" day.

Twenty-two 24-hour fasts so far, and it's working very well for me!

[carorees]

I think many of us are doing 24 hours of calorie free fasting and then having a 500 cal meal before continuing to fast up to the 36 hours. The 500 cal is usually at dinner. If you fast 2 till 2 and then have 500, you won't be having the extra 12 hours after eating that we get because you'll eat a normal dinner.

We (husband and I) are new to this, just starting week 3, but we decided 2pm-2pm would be the way to go. So far it works well, day 1 we have a normal breakfast and lunch, a small dinner, then nothing else until a small breakfast on day 2 which normally leaves a few calories for a snack at lunchtime, then dinner(which is usually eaten a little earlier than normal!)Advantage is that we don't go to bed hungry on any day, but disadvantage is that it means calorie counting on 4 days instead of only 2.

I think many of us are doing 24 hours of calorie free fasting and then having a 500 cal meal before continuing to fast up to the 36 hours. The 500 cal is usually at dinner. If you fast 2 till 2 and then have 500, you won't be having the extra 12 hours after eating that we get because you'll eat a normal dinner.

You're absolutely right. And in fact that's very similar to what I am doing, as my evening meal is probably around 500 kCalories anyway, followed by nothing until a late breakfast/early lunch the following day.

However, I'm not sure whether the post-meal 12+ hour fast is (potentially) advantageous in terms of health benefits (rather than weight-loss benefits)? The original TV programme (if I haven't remembered it completely wrongly - always a distinct possibility!) seemed to suggest that 16+ hours of fasting were needed to switch on the "repair mode". Have I missed something? I would really like to optimise the potential health benefits of this system!

[carorees]

Well Dr M does 3x12 hours, so he must have confidence that 12 hours is enough if the calorie intake is low.

The 2 pm to 2 pm is a shorter fast than Dr. Mosley recommends. I discussed it with him on Twitter. Your fasting day should begin after you have eating your normal days evening meal and end with breakfast on the next normal eating day

I have solved my hunger problems by eating protein on my fast days. This stimulates the realease of a hormone that makes me feel full. I understand fat does the same.

I never feel full after eating carb!

[carorees]

Interesting...what does he say about his book suggesting 2 til 2 then? Plus he has talked about it on the official website and not actually said that one shouldn't do it just that the weightloss will be slower.

I'm not disagreeing with you...actually I really wish the 2 till 2 thing had never been mentioned in the book, I'd just like to know why it was put in because a lot of people have picked up on it.

If you don't eat after your evening meal on a normal day before fasting then surely it isn't really a normal day! Most people eating normally and sensibly feel free to have a bedtime drink or snack if they feel like it.

Interesting...what does he say about his book suggesting 2 til 2 then? Plus he has talked about it on the official website and not actually said that one shouldn't do it just that the weightloss will be slower.

I'm not disagreeing with you...actually I really wish the 2 till 2 thing had never been mentioned in the book, I'd just like to know why it was put in because a lot of people have picked up on it.

I haven't read the book.
The 2-2 thing is uncertain, scientists haven't tried it out. There is research being done on fasting during Ramadan.
I can't comment any more than that...

If you don't eat after your evening meal on a normal day before fasting then surely it isn't really a normal day! Most people eating normally and sensibly feel free to have a bedtime drink or snack if they feel like it.

I agree, I guess it only shortens the fast by a 2-3 hours so it probably doesn't mattter. We can go wild and interpret the guidelines too strictly...