The FastDay Forum

I am not sure I understand this "1 sleep fast" and " 2 sleep fast". I eat my dinner at 6 pm on my normal day, and then nothing else before next day (my fasting day)at 6pm ( after 24 hours) but only 400 as the max on my fasting day. The next day again ( my normal day) I eat breakfast, so what am I doing : 1 sleep fast or 2 sleep fast?

Pia

I am not sure I understand this "1 sleep fast" and " 2 sleep fast". I eat my dinner at 6 pm on my normal day, and then nothing else before next day (my fasting day)at 6pm ( after 24 hours) but only 400 as the max on my fasting day. The next day again ( my normal day) I eat breakfast, so what am I doing : 1 sleep fast or 2 sleep fast?

Pia

Two sleeps I believe. Your restricted calorie period includes two overnights.

A one sleep version would be a normal lunch followed by a restrictive evening meal, breakfast and lunch with the second day's evening meal back to normal. Hence only one overnight in the restricted period.

In my simple minded way I consider a fast day to last from midnight to midnight. So I get up on a fast day and only eat 500 cals that day - all at dinner as that is what suits me. The days before and after I eat normally - dinner around 7-8pm and breakfast the day after the fast at the normal time. I don't normally eat during the night when I am asleep. Anyway this seems to be working for me.

I am a beginner in this lifestyle, but this is my way (calories based on being an active male):

Last regular meal at 9pm of day A.

No food (but lots of liquids) until 6pm on day B, when I have my 600 calories (vegetables and lain protein).

No food until 9am of day C, when I start my feast day eating around 2100 Calories.

Cheer from the south!

I think you to be a "fast" on the 5:2 diet - you need to "fast" for 3 mealtimes. You don't get a regular early dinner one night and a regular late dinner the next night.

For example, tomorrow was supposed to be a fast day but I have a client dinner - so I am going to start my fast after lunch today and end it at dinner tomorrow - I am "fasting" for my 3 meals of dinner-breakfast-lunch.

I'm a 36hrs min, 2 sleeps girl.
I've naturally just started my fast after regular evening meal then no more than 500 for the following day then back to normal the day after but I've been finding I'm not getting hungry until lunch time following a fast day so I just break my fast then.

I do this, too. I eat nothing after about 8:00 p.m. the night before my fast day. I don't eat anything at all on my fast day until supper time. I try to eat a low/no carb supper - usually a huge, huge salad of greens - romaine lettuce & raw spinach in massive quantities with some bell peppers and onions and shredded cheese thrown in for flavor. Some form of low-carb dressing and a 300-calorie portion of some protein: steak, chicken or fish.

By 'tomorrow', the day after my fast, I usually feel really great and energetic and have not much appetite yet, so I usually don't break my fast until lunch time.

I'm one of the folks who fall into a 'calorie counting' group. I don't deliberately or obsessively restrict my calories on my non-fast days. But I am a chronic over-eater and an emotional eater. I've done all those calculations figuring out my TDEE and stuff. I use "My Fitness Pal" on my smartphone and log everything I eat every day, even fast days. I like the feature there where it tells you your calorie deficit (or excess) for the week.

Anyway, that's what works for me.

I call mine "Lean Day" and "Regular Day". It seems like a much more accurate name for what's being done. I find that other people are much more accepting of those names if you want to talk about it, and it just reinforces the concept to me when I use them...

If you read through some of the 'nerdy stuff', you will see the research suggests that why this WOE is so effective at all the health benefits AND fat-loss vs lean-muscle-loss relative to other 'diets' is the way it helps the body re-learn to be efficient at burning fat, and the way it helps the body go into 'repair mode' when it has depleted its glycogen stores.

The human body, no matter the size/fitness of the person, stores roughly 12-16 hours worth of glycogen. Quick and ready fuel in the tank, so to speak. Someone with a very high metabolism/very fit will burn through their 'tank' more quickly than someone with a sluggish metabolism. Your body has to burn up these stores before it goes into an exclusively fat-burning-mode. The longer you can stay calorie-free or at least carbohydrate-free after your body has used up its glycogen, the more you are 'forcing' your body to burn fat. When you do this off-and-on over a long period of time, your body will become more and more efficient at burning fat. This is part of what slowly decreases the insulin resistance, too, and kicks in that hormone that encourages your body to repair existing cells rather than build new ones.

When you add in all that 'nerdy stuff' research, then it seems logical to conclude that if you can go '2 sleeps' - 36 hours or so - then you get those 'fat burning' benefits for longer than someone who does 1 sleep.

In the end, though, you have to do what works and is sustainable for you! Insulin resistance sets off all sorts of signals in your body that you are hungry, that it needs more food. I think it was harder for me to fast early in this WOE because I was sooooo hungry. It's gotten lots easier for me - I love, love, love my fast days now! But I suppose for many of us, fasting early on when we're used to eating, eating, eating, is part habit and part our bodies not knowing how to switch over to fat-burning and so when the glycogen is gone we crave food.

Find what works for you to start with and then perhaps gradually increase the amount of time you fast until you get to that 2-sleeps/36 hour window if that's what you're aiming for.

Reading all this is doing my head in! I never was very good with numbers - so this is how I do it and can somebody tell me if I am ok or should be trying something else PLEASE

Evening meal on eating day is usually 6-7 pm - then I go to bed (10ih) - wake up (fast day) and have nothing to eat until around 1pm lunch time (200cals) and then I eat again at 6-7pm (300cals) - and then I go to bed (10ish) and have a normal breakfast the next day at around 7ish for an eating day to start!

Make any sense to anybody?!!!!

Thanks in anticipation

I will be following your rule of thumb. I was getting Bamboozled Thanks

I too like the aspect of repair day and rest day.
Having raised a rambunctious trio of tall lads, now men, I spent much time worrying about 'healthy pizza' and secreting vegetables or fruit in stews or pies or whatever.
Now, I so enjoy just letting menu and food choices waft by.
Happy Fast, rest,repair to us all, ...

If you read through some of the 'nerdy stuff', you will see the research suggests that why this WOE is so effective at all the health benefits AND fat-loss vs lean-muscle-loss relative to other 'diets' is the way it helps the body re-learn to be efficient at burning fat, and the way it helps the body go into 'repair mode' when it has depleted its glycogen stores.

The human body, no matter the size/fitness of the person, stores roughly 12-16 hours worth of glycogen. Quick and ready fuel in the tank, so to speak. Someone with a very high metabolism/very fit will burn through their 'tank' more quickly than someone with a sluggish metabolism. Your body has to burn up these stores before it goes into an exclusively fat-burning-mode. The longer you can stay calorie-free or at least carbohydrate-free after your body has used up its glycogen, the more you are 'forcing' your body to burn fat. When you do this off-and-on over a long period of time, your body will become more and more efficient at burning fat. This is part of what slowly decreases the insulin resistance, too, and kicks in that hormone that encourages your body to repair existing cells rather than build new ones.

When you add in all that 'nerdy stuff' research, then it seems logical to conclude that if you can go '2 sleeps' - 36 hours or so - then you get those 'fat burning' benefits for longer than someone who does 1 sleep.

In the end, though, you have to do what works and is sustainable for you! Insulin resistance sets off all sorts of signals in your body that you are hungry, that it needs more food. I think it was harder for me to fast early in this WOE because I was sooooo hungry. It's gotten lots easier for me - I love, love, love my fast days now! But I suppose for many of us, fasting early on when we're used to eating, eating, eating, is part habit and part our bodies not knowing how to switch over to fat-burning and so when the glycogen is gone we crave food.

Find what works for you to start with and then perhaps gradually increase the amount of time you fast until you get to that 2-sleeps/36 hour window if that's what you're aiming for.

Found this thread to another thread reply.
This was one of the clearest explanations of the No Graze theory I stand by now
And that you need calorie restrict for say 30 to 36 hours (2sleeps) not the 24 hour erroneous adaptation of 5-2

The explanation above and faery' s description make most sense to me and were how I understood this WOE works so well. I think to drop the word fast would lose the theory behind it.

I call it a water day, because of drinking water rather than tea.

I'm happy for the terminology on this site to change, but personally wouldn't favour 'diet day', preferring maybe repair day? I know diet has a wider meaning, but it also has negative connotations, this is a WOL for me not a diet, and hence I can do it!

I haven't read all the responses yet, but I will. But let me say I found Dr. Mosley's post confusing. Ok, I admit I'm not the best with numbers, but this is what I do: I am fasting for 16 hours out of a day and eating for 8 hours out of a day. It's not 5:2, but some members of my family did this with great success, and I'm doing it too. They gave me a book on the concept called The 8 Hour Diet. Also, I like to keep it simple, and I hate counting calories, so it feels like a good fit.

P.S. Moggie, I read your blog about your one year 5:2 anniversary. Congratulations! Your picture is beautiful!