The FastDay Forum

Re: conviction
Have felt a bit bingey on some days after fasting and eaten ridiculous amounts--still losing avoirdupois nonetheless. Maybe the doctor is right in suggesting that the fast/famine approach resets things internally.

That's low, mind you I weigh 17 stone and I do walk for around an hour a day. I try to stick to around 1600 and not count the exercise on MFP

1600 is good, you can eat -almost- everything you like. Almost...

I too eat normally on non fast days - crisps,chocolate,chips,Chinese takeaway one night( not all at once lol or same week) & I've lost 17lbs in 12 weeks. My attitude to food has changed,I know when I'm hungry or just thirsty or bored. I don't eat the same amount of cals everyday - a few of us have noticed that changing your daily amount can help weight loss.
I fast on work days & enjoy not eating ( only miso or low cal cup a soup) at work. But I work 3 days so on Fridays I fast during the day but have bigger meal in the evening & perhaps a treat taking it to ~ 800 - 900 cals - sort of 1/2 fast. I don't calorie count on non fast days now but did at start.

Look it's all about us individually...I couldn't believe it either, being a no carb person too. But I have lost weight every week for 7 weeks, tho it is dwindling and I am planning on re focusing on my feed days. However I have never counted cals except loosley on fast days, but in saying that I would no more eat crips/dominos/burgers than inject heroin into myself I have different vices so it is all an individual thing - give it a go, see what your results are and tweak from there

[quote="TML13"]No, no, I'm not implying anything like that! I was just curious since mine is 1270 and I struggle to squeeze in a pud once in a while, LOL!!![/quot
Hi, that's a super low tdee. My fitness pal would say thar is the minimum for any one as it is what the brain/body needs to function. Are you sure that is right?? You are about the same bmi as me and I think mine is about 1500 with light exercise.

There's good advice here about tdees. I'm going to suggest a slightly different approach.

While you must count calories on fast days to ensure you stay below 500, I don't think you should calorie count on non fast days. I don't and have never calorie counted. Calorie counting is something that gets really boring and is why many people give up on diets quickly. Michael Mosley didn't want to do it and that's why he thought 5:2 was such a good solution.

However, it is difficult to know what normal is. as let's face it, we all came here because we want to lose weight, hence, we haven't been eating 'normally' before - either dieting or overeating. However, we all know the difference between bingeing and having a day of eating to satisfaction but not going overboard. So be mindful of what you eat on non fast days at first, but eat when you would normally eat and eat the things you like. If someone offers you something and you want it, take it. If you find you're binging you may need to follow the tdee advice for a while though.

If you restrict too much on non fast days you will end up bingeing or giving up because 'starving' or restricting yourself too much is hellish and doomed to failure.

You asked, what's so different about fasting? Well, it's this: fasting 'resets' your hunger after one to two months. You naturally start to eat less and make better choices. This has happened to me even though I didn't expect/ intend/ try for it to happen. I also now eat a much more balanced diet. I'm not interested in biscuits and sugary junk no longer has a hold over me. This probably sounds crazy, but it's true. Your body just sort of adapts and casts off old bad habits. I've lost a stone and a half in 3 months and I've never dieted before - couldn't stick to anything. You obviously have better willpower so you should find this a cinch. The ability to relax slightly on non fast days should make it even easier for you.

You also must realise fasting is something you will do for the rest of your life. It's not like other diets where you do it for 6 months and then spring back up to pre diet weight. But the thing about it is that you'll quickly understand why it will be easy to do for life. I've experienced even more benefits beyond weight loss and resetting hunger so I no longer feel deprived. A new sense of wellbeing, positivity and enjoyment of life, clearer skin, improved memory - I'm still me, but I'm a different, better person.

So I say don't calorie count or aim to stop calorie counting very soon. Otherwise your turning a very special and powerful life journey into a bog standard, doomed to fail diet.

Best wishes. redhead x

Hi Littlegang

We that have been dieting (= aiming to get in better shape by changing our eating habits) will feel that something so simple is too good to be true.
My BRAIN goes into starvation mode just hearing the word FAST, because I know that means headaches, low blood pressure, moodiness.And thinking of food ALL the time.

Before I did my first fast yesterday I read alot about what others experienced. Someone said,, on fast days its easy cause she didn't have to think what she has to eat, it's just water or tea all day untill the planned dinner. And I thought...yeah right...and it worked.
Realistically, yes I expect difficult days too.

Yes it is true about the total of calories that you consume, but I do believe when one fast it is the chemical reaction that happens in you body too that "reset" your body that you will eat less over time, ie on you feast days.

If there is someone out there that want to get really technical about what really happens with your insulin levels, intestines, brain, hormones etc on a fast day, I would love to hear!

Wow TML that sounds so low - like calorie counting dieting low.
Are you a dainty, tiny person?

My fitness pal would say thar is the minimum for any one as it is what the brain/body needs to function.

MFP produce a decent phone app but do spout a lot of bollocks too. My Overeating Pal would be a better description - exercise to eat !! Err, no.

Evidence suggests that your brain/body does not rely on a constant intake of food "to function" - it takes hunger strikers months to die and a very obese Scotsman fasted for a year, so please leave the MFP mythology on MFP.

[carorees]

It may be true that the body needs to burn around 1200 cals a day to survive but that's what the fat stores are for! You don't have to eat those calories every day! You have enough glycogen stored for around 2-3 days and depending how overweight you are you might have enough fat for a year!

You may, however, experience a reduction in the amount of calories your body uses, as it tries to conserve energy, if you go below 1200 for many days.

For me the 5:2 plan is liberating because I had been calorie counting since the beginning of the year with success, but I wasn't enjoying my food! I know my TDEE and am recording calories on MFP on a daily basis for the first 4 weeks. I'm already feeling much more energetic, have a positive outlook and best of all, no more guilt when I indulge myself.

I'm not tiny, LOL! I just have hypothyroidism. My TDEE would be around 1400-1500 if it wasn't for that.

TML
That seems very low. For most this would be the BMR and I assume you are not just lying in bed 24/7. So how much a you eating in your feed days? I hope that more than that otherwise I think you wouldn't get the benefits of the fast/famine WOE. Oops I see you said you have hypothyroidism... However if treated you should have a more normal TDEE....

It's not treated yet so I have to stick to that TDEE for now. I don't find it too low though, considering that I was eating less than 1000 before 5:2.

I can't say that I am lying in bed 24/7 (sometimes I wish, LOL) but I do sit down 22 or 23/7 since my job is placing me in front of a computer typing...