The FastDay Forum

Hi,

I have been following the diet now with strict accuracy on my fast days for a about 5 weeks now.

So far have put on 1.5KG's, and feel completely terrible on my fast days.

On a fast day I have a banana at about 12:30, then nothing until 18:00 when i have two slices of toast and a snap pot of baked beans, followed by a Müller light diet.

All adds up to about 580 cals.

On the 'normal' eating days i do what it says on the tin and eat what I like.

On my fast days I find it really difficult to concentrate and feel very weak all day, and just crave to go to bed to sleep? I'm also really short/bad tempered on these fast days.

Is there something I'm doing wrong, can you help please as this does not seem to be working for me.

Thanks.

I'm no expert, but I would suggest that you get more protein onboard on fast days. It keeps you full and doesn't mess with your blood sugar. Suggest drop the toast, banana and Muller yogurts and focus on lean meat, fish, eggs or pulses and non starchy veg. Watch your carbs on feed days too. Good luck.

I know a calorie is a calorie but it is much easier if the calories are from decent food. A nice stew with meat or pulses is very filling and good and you feel much better.

Trust me I've done it both ways and decent food (protein/bit of fat/veggies) whilst a bit more effort is easier all round.

[carorees]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear you are still struggling. The fact that you are finding fast days so tough suggests to me that your body is not starting to burn fat but is relying on your glycogen stores, which when they run low is giving you low blood sugar so you are feeling dreadful. And of course without fat burning you won't lose weight.

Why this should be, we can't tell without more info. You may have very high insulin levels which stops your body from releasing fat for energy. Have you had blood tests done in the past? They may tell us something.

It might be possible to force your body into fat burning by following a very low carb diet but I don't know enough to advise you on that really.

On the other hand, you might not be losing weight simply because you are getting too many calories on feed days but it does not explain why you are feeling so bad on fast days.

So, first steps...make a rough count of your cals on feed days (remember to include drinks) and consider going really low carb on fast days and possibly the evening before the fast day.

Maybe some others here may have further advice!

If you really aren't feeling well on this diet maybe a visit to your GP would be advisable. Just to rule out any medical reasons why you aren't doing well on it.

Otherwise, on your non fasting days, it might be an idea to count, weigh and check your portion sizes accurately for a week or two. Myfitnesspal website and smartphone/tablet app is really good for helping with this. You can eat anything you like on non fasting days, but you can't over eat. There's no point fasting several days a week only to binge on the eating days. I'm not suggesting that's where you sre going wrong, but it's why I'm suggesting the weighing and counting for a few weeks. It may be that you are inadvertently taking in larger portions than you realise. I've been there and done that, I know how easy it is to do without knowing it.

On fasting days you do need to get your head in the right place when you are starting out. I found it best to just switch off any thoughts of food and keep very busy for the day. Drink plenty of water or low cal fluids. And I mean a lot. More than you think. I aim at a good sized mug or glass at least once an hour. Before I did that I used to get a really bad headache by the end of the day.

Good luck and don't let yourself feel that you're failing. You just haven't quite found your feet with it yet. And do visit the Doctor if you keep feeling that unwell. If for no other reason than to reassure yourself that you're fine and it's not harming you.

[carorees]

Of course, I forgot to say about drinking lots! Gum is right, you need to drink a LOT. I find it hard, but I'm sure I read Dr M or some other knowledgeable person say that drinking a lot helps with the weight loss.

Visiting your doctor is a good idea but they may be dismissive of fasting as not all of them have 'seen the light' and may not consider that you need any tests, just that you should stop fasting. So you might not want to mention that you are doing this diet but just say that you feel very shaky and unwell if you don't eat regularly.

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies, I started this diet 'cause I thought it was a simple approach eat 600 calories on fast days then what I like on the feed days?

Seems this is not the case?

If I do have to resort to weighing my food and counting the calories on feed days and also now having to count the carbs I take in, I'm not sure I can continue with that level of investment, and go to a calorie controlled diet instead?

I feel so despondent that I'm not suitable for this diet, I really struggle with my weight and feel I'll just keep on putting on weight.

Our Dr's are not that helpful and would dismiss my concerns as "diet issues", "go away eat more then come back to see me if you still feel bad".

Thanks again for your replies.

[Moogie]

You can eat whatever you like on your feed days, but not however much of it you like. My rule of thumb is that when you start 5:2 your feed days should be exactly as you have been eating beforehand. So, keep to your usual eating habits on those days and cut down to the 600 on two days a week. You'll find your eating habits change naturally as your appetite shrinks and your attitude towards food changes.

You don't have to count your feed day cals in the long term, but in the short term doing so may give us a better idea as to why you've not been losing weight

Just think about your fast day food in terms of fuel. Lower quantity, better quality makes fasting easier but it's up to you. I was suggesting stew as liquids help you feel fuller longer.

Still much easier than calorie counting every day. Mentally far easier to sustain long-term. If there was a magic effort-free way to lose weight...we would all be thinner but I think this is worth a bit of effort.

[carorees]

No you won't have to count calories on feed days in the long term, just for long enough to check you are not overeating on feed days. Could you manage one week of calorie counting? It's hard to advise you what to do if we don't really know how much energy you are taking in over a week.

You don't need to count carbs either, just leave off all sugar and starchy food during fast days and perhaps for your dinner the night before (so just have meat or fish and vegetables but not beans I'm afraid and no desserts). If we can kick start your body into fat burning I think you will be able to ease off on that as well. Once your body gives in and starts fat burning the weight will come off. I think that the carbs you are eating on your fast days is stopping your body from going into fat burning mode. The toast, beans, yoghurt and banana are all high in carbs.

There is one more thing you can do to get it fat burning and that is to exercise on fast days. You probably won't feel like it beforehand but it is likely you will feel much better afterwards.

I know this sounds hard, but if you feel you could give it a go for one more week with the changes I suggested I think you might be able to turn the corner and it will all get easier.

Thanks all,

I think I'll try the Doc's and find out what is going on, why i feel so terrible on fast days.

I'm not sure I can exercise I find it difficult to do anything by lunch time, and just keep getting weaker throughout the day.

I'm fit in terms of cardio, as I cycle indoors about 40mins 5 times a week at high intensity, up until 2 months ago but due to a back issue i have had to reduce the exercise, which is why i have turned to this diet. The exercise has helped me loose 5st since Jan 2011. I was 19st, I'm now about 13.5st, i want to get to 12.5st so was hoping this diet would get me there.

I'll give it another try with some of the suggestions you have made.

Thanks.

I didn't mean to suggest that you have to count carbs on fast and feed days, just don't rely so heavily on them. I find on fast days that protein and veg keeps me full. I agree that drinking lots of fluids helps. I also find that on feed days if I eat loads of carbs, my weight goes up. I certainly don't keep a tight rein on anything on feed days, I just keep half an eye on them, but that is my preference and my experience.

I have just seen your last post and I agree, get yourself checked out. Come back and let us know how you are doing.