The FastDay Forum

Thanks again for all replies. I also had a good talking to by my Hubby last night so I am going to have faith that this way of eating works and that if I listen just a little bit to my body I will be OK.

B&W I love NES idea, especially as my sister is called Nes(s) hehehe!!!!

Oh honey when starting out I didn't know if I would be able to stick to the routine of fasting. I decided that I would eat if I had to but would try my very best to eat something worth eating!! I'm not doing the guilt thing either because that is the one thing that leads to the throwing in of the towel. I do log calories via my fitness pal as I am a natural eater, I love food & eating!!! The calorie counting via my fitness pal is more about regulating my consumption of food groups, trying to maintain a healthy balance. It doesn't help having a hubby who eats for ten & is the same weight he was when we met 12 1/2yrs ago!!! I needed to re learn sizings of portions especially processed carbs such as pasta, bread noodles & rice. I have always eaten healthily just too much of a good thing. Last year I contracted a stomach bug & lost 5lbs (hurrah) but by Christmas I had gained 7 ( not too disastrous & basically amounted to a regular over eat of around 100cals/day!!!

So my advice would be ditch the guilt as others have said if you feel you need to eat, Eat!! You can always fast another day that's the beauty of this system it's only 2 days out of seven but do make sure it is sonething worthwhile so if chocolate is your bag buy something totally scrummy (im a green & bkacks girl, i am better able to meter out plain choc as i Defo need less & couldnt eat a whole bar in one sitting but the same cant be said of milk & almond!!). So know your weaknesses too & try to moderate them!!! You can eat what ever but you do need to be mindful of calorie consumption in so far as not exceeding your daily allowance on a regular basis. Goodluck honey. DITCH THE GUILT & START AGAIN!! Xxx

I also don't count calories on non fast days, and don't intend to unless I stall on the weight loss. I am totally hooked on these chocolate covered rum balls at work. I have them on average once a week. I really love this diet because I can have treats like that and still lose weight. I do try not to go too overboard on non fast days but I feel a large part of that comes naturally after being on this diet awhile (I fill up more quickly; I don't crave snacks as much).

I hope you work through this. It's no fun to feel anxious about food.

B &W....are you avoiding wine on normal days? On non fast days it's wine for me with dinner every night. I share a bottle with my husband and love it! I can do without snacks, chocolate etc but not wine. For me it's one of life's top pleasures. However i had been wanting to ease back a bit,so another benefit of 5:2 for me is I get 2 wine-free days a week.

I know I am only in my second week but I have religously observed my fast days. I go 24 hours from supper one day to supper the next with nothing passing my lips other than water or coffee. When I eat the supper at the end of the 24hr period I eat meat or fish and a big lovely salad.

Then note the naughtiness: The morning after I have a big greasy spoon fryup with two rounds of toast and two latte! I ate a bag of crisps with a sandwich at lunch and had a normal supper. Today I will eat a normal sensible amount.

Here is the amazing thing:
I lost as much weight by the morning after the feast as after the famine. I think this diet is amazing!

"B &W....are you avoiding wine on normal days?"

Far from it, 4flipsake! I have wine with every evening meal on a normal day - but I have reduced the amount I drink.

I noticed that I could be halfway down a glass of wine without even tasting it - so every time this happened I would reduce the amount I poured out in the first place. And I eventually got down to 50g - and I could still have a bit left in the glass - on most days. On weekends I'd have a bit more.

And now I've declared my one fasting day of the week to be alcohol-free! [halo]

However, I have to admit to around a pint of home made stout whilst preparing dinner.

Glad to hear you're human after all B &W but you definitely deserve your halo. Nearly dinner-time on a non-fast day cheers!!

yep me too as in other blog i get down if i think not going to lose in a week and am thinking about food all the time and feel rubbish if i cant get to do my workout dvd . why is life so hard all i want to do is feel better about myself and what other people see me not as another fat person who sits around allday when in fact i work 60 hour weeks and have busy weekends .

Hi emsy44. I've only scan the other replies but here are my thoughts:

1. Stop calling them "feast days" as it's not about binging, it's about eating "normally". You fast for 2 days so you can eat normally without guilt and strict rules the rest of the week.

2. Quit sugar - this is very important for your long term goals. Allow yourself a couple of squares of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) each day and avoid any product that is high in sugar and that includes some breads, cakes, spreads and sauces etc not just lollies. But don't fret, there's plenty of low sugar alternatives out there - just avoid artificial sweeteners. It's the best thing you can do for your body and you'll feel the benefits in so many ways - not only weight loss. Google "quit sugar" for more info. Of course there are exceptions to this rule IMO - it's important to allow yourself to enjoy that celebratory piece of birthday cake or special restaurant dessert but on the rest of the time you should avoid sugar

3. As Bread&wine suggested, no snacking after dinner. That's when I have my 2 squares of chocolate and a cup of tea but no food after that. You'll be giving your body a chance to digest the last meal before you go to bed.

Having said all that, I still struggle and have gone off the rails the last few weeks due to stress but have religiously stuck to my fast days which resets my body brilliantly and has prevented me from gaining as I deal with external stressors. Now that they have begun to ease, I plan to be much more aware of what I'm eating and of my portions sizes during normal days to finally reach my long term goal without self sabotage.

Good luck emsy44

Agree with what has been said before. This WOE does make one more aware of what they put in their mouths. How they react to that knowledge depends on each individuals personality.

From a personal perspective, it has confirmed for be that volume of food consumed is my issue. Fast days is allowing me to relearn when to stop eating. Rather than continue till over full, I am learning to control myself before reaching that stage. It is also teaching me not to eat to a timetable. Just because it is dinner time, i do not have to eat if not hungry.

Armed with this knowledge, I tend not to stress too much on my 'feast' days with regards to food. I will eat what I desire and often this has included pastries and chocolate.

Early on, this has sabotaged my weight loss, slowing the amount lost. To balance thus out, I practice a form of 4.5:2.5. Normal fasts Mondays and Wednesdays. Restricted calories Friday. What this means us only one meal a day (dinner) on Mondays and Wednesdays, no more than 600 calories. In the Friday, still stick to dinner as the only meal, but because of social engagements, I do not stick rigidly to the 600 calories, but try to stick close.

Personally, this gives me a sense if freedom I have not felt with other diets and gas made weight loss relatively easily.

Thanks guys. Burra I think you are right. I will now call them eating days, as I do not eat anything on a fast day. The crazy thing is I have been excellent on fast days. However I think I have managed to finally sort myself out. I hope this works. I am going to eat low gi on mon, wed and thurs, then I will have fast on Tues and Fri. That just leaves a free weekend. I think I will be able to chill more as I will feel more in control.

Thanks once again to everyone for their ideas, they have all helped me to get my act together.

Today I have had a fab mexican eggs, guacamole and a low carb tortilla. Yum!!!!

Maybe the non fasting eating days should not be called or refered to as "FEAST" days!
Sort of a self fufilling prophecy.

Hi Emmsy44,congratulations on deciding to enjoy your non-fast days. That said, Mexican eggs--yum! Low-carb tortilla--not so much. One thing I have decided to do is eat real food. I won't eat bread or tortillas that have a long list of ingredients I can't pronounce and have no idea what they are--(low-carb tortillas have a lot of ingredients). If you have ever had a flour tortilla made the traditional way (flour, lard, salt and water/ or flour, lard, baking soda, salt and water) you will regard all other flour tortillas as inferior and not worth eating! Just one perfect tortilla is all it takes!

Hear! Hear! for all who wrote on this thread. My husband also 5:2 is very natural at not counting cals and also doing well. I can only speak from personal experience:
I did count calories carefully on normal and fast days for a couple of months sticking to TDEE as well as I could.
- This definitely re-educated me. And I did think of it as Training while observing myself. I have now stopped counting for about six weeks (only on fast days) and my bingeing has cut right back. I happily have a lovely session with almond milk choc Green and Black's and other treats without guilt and without counting (after all, I know about it and what I am doing) but only if it's in the house. (We have a huge unopened pack of choc digestives lurking at home, and tell each other we will not open it, so IF it were broken into we'd know who did it, so it's been sealed for weeks!)
- Shopping is then part of the re-education, aware of the big business and advertising pressure.
(Do I need this or not? Do I want it in the house? Two-for-one then becomes irrelevant.)

This forum is truly the greatest help, but thank goodness you all can't see the pack of biscuits or bars of choc in the cupboard , therefore my bingeing is my personal private responsibility and at long last I am OK with that.

RE: Real tortillas

Yeh I know what you mean. Was lucky enough to live in Mexico many years ago. That's where I got the taste. However that crappy tortilla made from loads of rubbish makes my low carb day a little sweeter. Yesterday I had mole with a torilla. Yummmm!!! I cant stop myself