The FastDay Forum

My eating window has just closed and it was so lovely - peanut butter on toast to break my fast at about 1:30 - had to eat on the run as I was really busy working from home and had to dash out grocery shopping. Then a choc chip cookie when I came home, then made a fabulous roast chicken dinner - roasted with thyme and tarragon butter in the skin, plus lemon, salt and pepper, semolina roasted potatoes (just...wow...), roasted carrots and celeriac (I stick the tin on the bottom of the oven while the chicken is roasting and it just sits happily till the chicken comes out) and steamed spinach, gravy, strawberries and cream for dessert, a CHEESE course and a Marsala and small piece of dark chocolate to cap it all off. We all sat on the sun-drenched patio. I am extremely sated but not so stuffed I can't move. I enjoyed every mouthful.

If I can enjoy meals like this without guilt and still lose weight, it will have been worth every second of fasting and postponing food this morning. I haven't decided whether I'm going to 16:8 over the weekend or way-hey (I love that expression) but I'm leaning toward the former - if only because I am trying to break out of a plateau. I may not achieve 2 consistent 16 hour fasting windows (in fact I am sure I won't) but I will try to maintain 2 8 hour eating windows. If I can do that I will consider it a success.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I agree with others, the 16/8 window reduces your calories just because its hard to squeeze them all in, although I find I can if If I try
So Im doing the same, a variety of different fasting during the week, but whatever comes to hand on the weekend, it will be pizza tonight as my 15 yr old niece and 6 of her closest friends are staying for a sleepover and thats what they will want.
Mummybunny, I hope thats an NZ Savvie.

Hey Amber
I am in the the West End of kent near Tunbridge Wells.
I have sort of fallen into a 16:8 regime today, apart from some milk in my tea first thing, Must read up on this properly tomorrow
Night all

Revelation! Thanks, Ballerina. Having reached a plateau and being stuck for weeks at 9st 1/2lbs, I was wondering how to shift those couple of pounds. I happened upon the 16:8 thread and for a while wasn't sure what it was. Initially, I thought 16 feast days to 8 fasting! Anyways, I read a number of Ballerina's posts and eventually sussed it out.

As breakfast is my favourite meal, I procrastinated for some time as to whether I would attempt it. Today, I finally plucked up the courage. Easy, peasy lemon squeezy! I thought I would be writhing with hunger by 11am but not so. Up at 6am, couple of hours work at the computer, dog out from 8am to 10am, disabled mother taken shopping, sorted and fed by 1am; not a single pang until about 1.45pm when I indulged in a light lunch in the sun. Have since had dinner at about 7pm and no desire to eat since (now 11pm).

So, I am going to give this 16:8 thing a whirl and mix it in and amongst 5:2 days from Monday to Thursday and cut myself a bit of slack on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Cheers, Ballerina - I don't think I would have attempted it without reading your posts and the link to 'Men's Health' was really useful. Hope you are enjoying France!

I was going to fast today but then decided to do 16:8 instead, (ive alreay done 2 fats this week anyway).

I had breakfast at 12 noon, a very small lunch about 2pm, then dinner at 5pm (early as I had to go to work), and finished off with a yogurt and coffee with milk at 7.30pm. And only water and a fruit tea since.

I'm going to try and stick to 16:8 over the weekend too as I'm stuck in a rut with a holiday looming. I'm fine going the mornings with no food but I am an evening snaker normally so that will be my challenge. I can do it on fast days so I should be able to do it on non fast days too.

I also have just tried the 16:8, thanks to this thread! And I think I'll stick with it, was doing it on my fast days anyhow... so now it just extends my fasting into the next day, and also closes the amount of time I can eat... I think that's a nice way to limit. I do have a cappuccino in the morning, yes with a little steamed goat milk, so it isn't 100%, and like many of you, I also will allow myself a little slack on the weekends if I go to breakfast, but part-time seems doable... Although I have to say, the first time I tried it, I was really hungry and hoping lunch would roll around! But like with the 5:2, but I got busy, rode out the hunger and then by today, I really noticed I wasn't as hungry, kind of like when I started 5:2 and I was super hungry at first, but then as I rode out the hunger, I learned that I could, and then that hunger went away!
It gives me a little longer to fast food free, which I think is where a little more fat burning may come in.... I'm just very hopeful of that at this point anyway, as I am such a super slow starter... and have such such a long way to go.

So to Ballerina, thanks again for introducing this topic.

Hi, amberenchanted, reading thru all the 16/8 - not sure if I want to get so complicated - then saw your question about Kent - - I used to live in Eltham SE9 (almost Kent) and we had a holiday home down in Margate, well Cliftonville to be exact. Loved that place - I know its all gone downhill nowadays but as a kid it was great. Did you ever go to Dreamland?? - or, are you too young??

Good luck with all your 5:2 and 16:8 - I'm doing quite well here in sunny Southern Cal. even with a few very difficult fast days thrown in now and then.

Sue

I read the book,Sians
It says do 8 min of exercise before breaking fast
Also,lists power foods usual stuff we mostly know,good carbs,lean protein,nuts etc
I like the 16/8 idea as I find it easy to skip breakfast
Except today I have woken up starving .seems Saturday is my hungry day after three fasts and 16/8 all week
To eat (breakfast) or not to eat,that is the question?

Hi Lovemyparrot in SoCal where it seems like it's still fairly cool? I'm here outside Sin City, toasting away in our first real heat blast of the summer (108), but what the heck, "It's a dry heat!"

Ballerina really started a tidal wave of 16:8 interest. I'm finishing my second day of 16:8 this week, interspersed with a couple of 5:2 days. I'm still working it out, but I'm enjoying it. Weight loss with 5:2 was slow, not steady, but always trending in the right direction. I just decided to add 3 or4 16:8 days to keep it going. To me it just seems to be a little added insurance and not hard to do.

Someone commented recently that they were losing flab/flesh/weight in places that they had never ever lost before while on a diet. I found this to be true about feet and ankles--never really lost it there! And I am slimming in my midriff--haven't done that since I was a 20-something. It's fun!

And food tastes so good--even simple things. So even if you're worried about it being complicated, it's not. It's the most flexible WOE & WOL that I've seen.

Chris, doing 5:2+16:8+Way-hey!

Sarahg, sounds like a perfect day for brunch!

Hi, Bordergirl - I lived in Henderson for 7 years so I know all about 108 and up!!! One of the best things about living there was the short drive to Boulder City to sit outside at Milo's with a glass of wine and watch the world go by!!

Yes, its still pretty cool here - we have our "June gloom." Am really thinking hard about incorporating 16/8 and have been reading these threads (and your blog) with lots of interest. Thanks everyone for all the info.

This week I did 2 days 16:8, 2 fasts & 3 eating days & despite fish & chips on Thursday I have just weighed & I have lost 1lb 12oz! Slightly more than normal 5:2ing!
I know it is only one weeks weigh in since doing some 16:8ing but I am very pleased

Bordergirl,I held out until 1pm and then had a huge lunch.even my husband commented but feel good now and tried to stick to healthy things.still have space for a good dinner then may try fast tomorrow
I like this 5.2 and 16.8 combo

I'm bursting with q's now, I've read pages 1-9 and it seems very interesting. Is 16/8 also called the 8 hour diet, or the 8 hour eating window?

I am having a lot of brain fog, due to being pre menopause. So I get more baffled the more I read, but its very interesting. Secondly what amount of cals do you consume in this 8 hours.

I'm thinking of doing 11 am - 7 pm. I've never really snacked after dinner aside from tea with skim, but can do herbal tea after 7 pm.

Having trouble with gaining losing after mon/thurs 5/2. I dont want to go into finding my TDEE. I'm usually moderately active, but I'm recovering from minor surgery. So will maybe find out TDEE when I'm back at the gym.

Thanks guys, this thread is very supportive and I'll be sticking keenly to it.

Hello Zamale
My understanding is that it is also called the 8 hour diet & there are books on Amazon about it. You eat your food within an eight hour window with nothing calorific outside of that window. So for me that means a late breakfast or brunch so no eating between 7pm the previous night & 12-30 to 1-0pm the next day. I have just started this so I am only a novice at this but missing breakfast is no great hardship to me. You can then 16:8 as many days as you wish as well as fasting on two days as in 5:2ing.