The FastDay Forum

Wow, today I must say I am totally shocked. I must say while loving the concept and practice of 5:2 I was still skeptical as I felt a bit mislead when I read here on the forum that feed days are not the free for all the book would have you believe. And yes the book does give that impression, one paragraph in Mimi's section says...Can I eat what I want on free days/ and she writes...of course, we eat fish and chips, and cakes and crisps and such things.
Well this fortnight I put that to the test and I mean put to the test. I ate pizza, sausage sizzle, whole pack of party mix lollies, several packs of chips, bbq, a whole day and night of non stop drinking for a union march, hard beer drinking on both weekends, red rooster, ice cream and a huge mothers day feed. I really went to town and was feeling incredible guilt.
I did weigh in today.......Still lost 1.8kg and 2cm off my waist

So now I am convinced this works and I am very very happy.
Even so I will not be partaking in blowouts of the scale I did in the last two weeks, but its awful nice to know that I really do not need to be a calorie Nazi on feed days or feel guilty for having things I like.
I have noticed my portion control improving drastically. Suddenly the suggested serving size for my muesli (50g) which is really jack shit is now enough???

Only real drama i have is I always wake up at about two or three in the morning on fast days and cannot get back to sleep. Last night and interesting question occurred to me. If we start getting the benefits of fasting within hours, then why do we not get these benefits normally..we fast 6-8 hours every night?? Is it because of the calorie intake during the day?

Hey bigfellanomore,
Thanks for the post! I have had a similar experience - well, maybe not quite like yours, but having a substantial amount of food and drink, and still seeing a loss. Awesome. Haven;'t had the sleep problem, hope it works out for you. I can't answer your question - personally I think our poor bodies need the 6-8 hours to recover from what we've done to them?

[Betsysgr8]

... but its awful nice to know that I really do not need to be a calorie Nazi on feed days or feel guilty for having things I like.

Love this ! Maybe it should be included in Moogie's request for quotes?

Great to hear your experience! Yes, I'm feeling I can finally relax about what I eat on 'feast' days, and am also finding that my appetite is reducing naturally.

I'm 4 weeks in, and still have the insomnia problems :/

I am also four weeks in and getting good results which keeps me focused and determined to continue. The only thing that hasn't been good is my sleep patterns. I'm not sleeping like I am accustomed to. I usually sleep like a log but since starting this WOE I have had poor sleep. Mainly getting off to sleep. Hopefully this settles down.

I agree with the not having to be a calorie nazi and still see results. I eat freely on my non fast days, and some weeks I don't lose weight but my waist has gone down consistently over the months I've been doing it, no matter what I eat. I'm also 100% okay on this being a slow loss, and would rather not have to over-think at all, on either fast or not fast days.
Happily, my sleep hasn't been adversely effected. If anything, I'm sleeping better now.

I'm glad you've seen good results! I feel the same way. The scale moves so gradually for me that I'm usually like "oh well at least I'm not gaining weight with how I eat on feed days" but when I look back over several weeks it does end up being about a pound a week lost!

Anyway regarding having trouble sleeping, I was having that too. And awful cravings. I basically switched my fasting routine around and it has gotten easier. The night before a fast I usually have a snack before bed. Then in the morning I have coffee for breakfast. To stave off hunger I drink a lot during the day and have a diet soda around 4pm or 5pm to delay dinner even more (I'm a student so this also gives me an evening study push). Then dinner as late as I can--7pm or 8pm. Something healthy with a lot of veggies. I used to spread my 500 kcal out, not be as strategic about eating a little extra the night before a fast, and not drinking enough liquids, so play around with your routine a little. I also think my pain threshold has gone down (been at this 10 weeks) so yours may still too.

And i am starting to enjoy the fast days . This WOE is very liberating from other things I have tried, Atkins, Protein SHakes and the like

Does this mean we

THROW TDEE AND ALL THAT IT TAKES TO CALCULATE IT OUT THE DOOR!

???

I have thrown TDEE out the door cos I felt it was too restrictive for me and was not how I wished to live and I too have lost weight consistently for 10 weeks and I normally drink/eat what I like on feed days. However it suits some people to count cals on feed days and obviously if they get results doing that and didn't with a free-for-all, then that's what an individual needs to do. As bigfellnomore says, it ain't in the book to count cals on feed days, in fact Mimi specifically says NOT to do that. But it's an individual choice and some of us can consistently lose weight 'going for it', so lucky us :>)

I'm with all of you on that. I don't want to count calories. I want this to be my normal way of life and not have to over think it. I haven't lost loads yet but it is starting to come off. If I know I'm going to overdo it on a feast day I skip breakfast now I know I can! My appetite is definitely diminishing which is great! Bit of a setback this week as I've had a nasty cold and cough. Didn't feel up to fasting and have been comfort eating too. Back to it properly once I'm better.
I tried liquid fasting only and succeeded but I think I'll keep that in reserve for when I really need to. On my fast days I only eat in the evenings now and have around 300 calories.
This diet is great isn't it!

How glad am I to have found this! I did recall seeing the programme and he did say he didn't count calories on feed days, so I thought I was defo not going to lose weight as I made a little piggy of myself....low and behold, I stepped on the scales and id lost 3lbs???? I was astounded! I expected a definite gain. I actually got on the scales three times as I just didn't believe it!! So to all the sceptics out there give it a try...you never know!!

I too put the diet to the 'test' by having a week where I did 2 days fasting and then a week on holiday with no fasting but plenty of food (fish & chips, pub dinners, wine, chocolate) and I didn't put all of the weight I'd lost back on. I don't have huge amounts to lose as I'm already in the healthy weight category, but I do want to halt the very gradual creeping up of my weight and get back into the slimmer clothes I bought around about the time of my wedding 18 months ago.

As many people here are, I'm a seasoned calorie-counter/weight watcher/healthy living lifestyle enthusiast, so the thought of having to continue to count calories every day really doesn't appeal - after all isn't that the reason most of us wanted to give this a go?

I'm back into it again this week and after a fast day on tuesday when I felt really hungry all day, yesterday was surprisingly not a 'stuff-my-face-with everything' day as I thought it might be, in reaction. I suspect today might be different - after a large bowl of porridge an hour ago I am ravenous again and I haven't even left the house for work yet...but then again, I'm not counting calories so maybe some toast & marmite before I go might do the trick.

Does this mean we

THROW TDEE AND ALL THAT IT TAKES TO CALCULATE IT OUT THE DOOR!

???

Well that's what I've done with good results but there seem to be quite a lot of people in the 'keep under TDEE camp' as well who have had good results also.

I do have to add that I my 'normal' diet is pretty healthy - I eat lots of veg-based curries, stir-fries, salads and smoothies (even green ones, hence my name!) - with a bit of wine & chocolate on the side. What I want to be able to do is continue to enjoy this healthy diet and still be able to add things like toasted cashew nuts to my stir fries, dollops of homemade almond butter to my porridge and also have the chocolate, without the weight creeping up as it has been doing. What I don't want is to be so hungry after a fast day that I can't control my hunger and end up bingeing on unhealthy food. THat to me is not a healthy balanced approach and surely negates many of the health benefits we're all seeking. Sure a once in a while blow out is fine and fasting will help us do that without it affecting our weight loss, but every week that can't be good.

I think once I've settled into it it will be easier to manage my hunger and predict when I'm going to want/need more food and when I don't need it. Just being able to function without a decent breakfast is a massive step for me and one I never thought possible!