The FastDay Forum

Hello All
Just started my first fast today with my husband.
We were expecting it to be really hard/impossible and it was surprisingly easy. I had to tell somebody!
Had our last (large) meal last night about 6 pm. We decided to try and last until 10.30 am and have some porridge but felt fine this morning. Apart from some minor tummy rumbles, we felt perfectly OK so we decided to see how long we could last before having another meal. We were hoping to get to around 6pm so that we could say we had managed 24 hrs without eating. This was partly as an experiment and partly to make it more fun and challenging.
I went for a walk with a friend and had a flat white in Costa Coffee - mistake! 135 calories down!
Back at home I splurged on a 29 calorie miso soup which felt like a sort of lunch and was a change from the herbal tea and water I was drinking.
I still felt fine, even energised and alert.
After another bout of hunger pangs at 4pm ish which passed quickly, I was again fine.
To cut to the chase, we both lasted until 6.15 pm before having a salad and mushroom and leek omlette. It tasted wonderful after the fast. I noticed I was full enough after eating only half my share but ate the whole portion anyway, scared of feeling hungry later. Silly?
I still have a low calorie yogurt to eat later.
We both noticed we felt tired and lethargic after eating, compared to the slight 'high' of fasting.
In all, it was pretty easy to go from dinner one night to dinner the next - something I would never have predicted in a million years. The main thing to note is that, as everyone says, the feeling of hunger doesn't build until you're desperate or fainting. Your stomach might rumble and you might feel like eating but if you don't eat, the feeling passes and you feel completely normal again. It's surprising if you have never tried it.
I hope to keep fasting and will experiment with splitting my 500 cals into breakfast and dinner this Thursday. Thanks for creating this forum, Moogie - it's been really useful already. Jo

PS - Update: at the end of the first week and after two fairly easy fast days, we both lost 4 pounds and I lost 2 inches off my waist. I took this last measurement 3 times as I couldn't believe it. Probably water but even so, I am delighted!

PPS - Update: end of second week, lost a further .5 pounds and an inch off my hips. Feel slimmer, whatever the scales say - clothes are looser

[Tracieknits]

I'm glad it went so well for you! I can't say it's quite that easy for me, but I"m hoping to get there.

Hi Tracieknits
I really expected it to be impossible so pleasantly surprised.
Maybe I was delirious though, looking at the length of my previous post!
Good luck. Let's keep going!
Jo

[carorees]

Was feeling quite full after my 500 cal dinner but a couple of hours later felt hungry again. Hopped on the exercise bike and did 3 x 30 secs max biking...hunger pangs gone! Going to bed while I'm still warm cos it's so cold!

Hi Fast Jo

I did my first fast day last Friday and like yourself I found it relatively easy. I was at work so was distracted and kept busy.
I split my 500 cals over breakfast and dinner with a cup of soup for lunch.
Today is my second fast day and I am doing the same again porridge for lunch and dinner and this time a miso soup for lunch. I found I had a headache in the evening of my fast day so I am going to try miso instead for lunch.
I also found on the following day after my fast I had loads of energy.
Hope you are not too hungry today, I wasn't following a fast. Surprised me really, going to have my other fast day on Friday.

Good Luck

Hi selmoon
Interesting to compare experiences. Were you surprised that it was relatively painless?
Good luck for Friday, I'll be trying again on Thursday, this time trying a new distribition of calories. It makes it more interesting to experiment.
Last night, at the end of my first fast day, I felt hungry in bed so decided on a slight cheat and ate the emergency oat cake I kept on my bedside table (I know - weak!). I thought it would save a night of rumbling stomach etc. Then I had bizarre dreams and slept quite badly! Not sure if this was related to the fasting. I also took some new vitamin tablets after eating so maybe they had an effect.
Feel fine this morning, the day after the fast and have dropped a pound. Not sure what I was expecting weight loss-wise but a steady 2 pounds a week off would be great.
I notice you're in Scotland (all that porridge a giveaway). Me too, Edinburgh - where are you?
Carorees- that's interesting that you exercised your hunger pangs away - will definitely try that. Thanks for the tip!
Jo

Hiya Fast Jo

I was very surpised I found it sooooo easy. Ask me again tomorrow as I am doing it just now I was thinking tonite I might have chicken and veg instead of another sachet of porridge. (been reading about the effects being better if more protein than carbs eaten on fast days) I'll see how I feel later.

Ha! An emergency oatcake, I like it..... I am on the other coast from you, over to the West in Glasgow.

Hope it goes ok on Thursday. It will be interesting to see how you feel later on today.
Selmoon

Hi selmoon in Glasgow
I feel fine so far today and surprisingly, don't feel like eating snacks or possibly even lunch now that I know I can go for hours without food and feel OK. The main thing is, I'm learning what my body needs in terms of fuel. I'm not particularly active so maybe I don't need that much to get by.
The chicken and veg idea sounds good as I imagine you might get bored with porridge in the end! Mind you, oats are supposed to fill you up and I can see the appeal of keeping it simple.
Good luck today - let me know how you get on.
Jo

[Tracieknits]

It's funny, I can't tell you how many of my friends on Facebook reported sleeping very poorly last night! And none of them are fasting. My son and I both had trouble - but my son had his full ration of calories topped of with some ice cream last night, so it wasn't fasting for him either.

I have to agree, going to bed with an empty tummy isn't the most fun. I've been getting myself a packet of fresh raspberries or strawberries for my fast day before bed snack. They're expensive, but I figure I'm eating so much less and it's for my health

After reading this I've got a picture in my head of an oatcake in a glass box with a little toffee hammer!

I found my first day yesterday was easy as well. I even did some exercise which I've not done for a while and I feel good for doing it.

I'm fasting mon/thurs and weighing on friday morning but thought I'd jump on the scales this morning just to see and I was 3 pound down. Good start!

Hi folks

Love the image of the oatcake in a glass box by the side of the bed.....lol (Pixie)

Glad your first day went well. Good Luck for Thursday.

Fast Jo, just had a lovely large mug of miso for lunch to keep me going and hopefully keep the headache from appearing. Fingers crossed.
Yeah I know what you mean, I felt that the fast day had reset a switch in my body as I didn't want to eat my usual and that was on a Saturday too. Mind you, I did still had my Saturday wine and munchies later on in the evening!

Still thinking chicken breast, salad and some veg and another mug of miso for dinner.

Feeling fine so far, only 1hr 30 mins to go then a 45 min walk home

Have a good day folks.
Selmoon

Haha Pixie! Laughing about the glass box and hammer for the emergency oatcake!

Clearly I need to address my fear of hunger!

Getting better though. Today I ate whatever I wanted for breakfast then nothing all day as I really wasn't hungry, even though I was walking for over 3 hrs.

No rumbling tum today either.

I really enjoyed my dinner and dessert but find I have only eaten about 850 cals which isn't really enough for a non-fast day, is it? I suppose I have the rest of the evening ...

Well done selmoon, sounds like its going great. That miso soup is pretty good for 29 cals, isn't it?

Jo

Hiya

Well, that was relatively easy for my second fast day. Decided to have a chicken salad for dinner and another cup of Miso to keep the headaches away. Well, I finshed the mug of Miso and could only eat 1/4 of my salad.......... I was full! How bizarre. I just went with it and had another couple of cups of hot lemon and ginger and a couple of paracetamol as I could feel a wee bit of a headache coming on and I needed some sleep.

Having a drop of Dorset Ceral Museli for brekkie with a touch of natural yoghurt and an apple just now. This usually takes me a couple of hours to eat anyway when I am working. Have had a couple of mouthfuls and feel full......again!

I have the left over chicken salad for lunch. Will I be able to eat that?

Have a good day Fast Jo, Pixie et al.
Back to the grind for me
S

PS Fast Jo, hadn't tasted the Miso before yesterday. Really enjoying it and yes it is great for 30 cals

Hi again Selmoon

Yes that miso is great. I think the brand I got was Clearspring and they have different varieties - have you seen them? I think either tofu or sea vegetables (seaweed). Both are nice.

Well I'm waiting with baited breath to see if you finished your cereal! And will you ever get to the end of that salad?Just how big was it anyway?!

Jo

Hiya Fast Jo

I bought the Miso from Holland and Barrett. I haven't seen the Clearspring variety. Did you get it in the supermarket or a fancy Deli?

It took me nearly 4 hours to eat my brekkie, I usually take an hour or two when working but 4 hours..... lol

I did eat my salad....yay. (My salad wasn't that big, salad leaves, one spring onion, one stick of celery, one tomato and one breast of chicken. That was it.)
Had paella for dinner tonite and only had 2/3rds of it, again because I felt full. So, I'll have it with some salad for tomorrows lunch....bizarre. I think my stomach has been reset Again I walked home from work, a brisk 45 mins and felt fine.

How are you doing today?

S