The FastDay Forum

[Moogie]

We've had a busy old year here at FastDay, what with our shiny new look and developing our free & premium programs with Ways of Eating.

Blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of time has gone in to all of this and we're so glad to have received some lovely feedback about the new site.

However as you may know, my health has not been great over the last few years. Since my pulmonary emboli I have been struggling to juggle my workload let alone have any kind of life beyond work. In the last few months I have had to make some decisions about changes in my life so that I can try to start living again.

Earlier this year when we developed our fasting programs it felt like exciting times and I was keen to get the site revamped and fresh. It took longer and more effort than I had anticipated, but I truly gave it my all. I wanted this to be a lasting legacy, as I planned to reduce my working hours with a view to passing the FastDay torch back to the team and focusing on my main job instead.

With my need to leave for the sake of my health, we have had to look at the situation realistically. I have always believed in openness and honesty with the community and so here are our cards on the table so to speak.

Sadly for the team, FastDay has not been making any money. It is not even covering its own costs anymore. We relocated to a new, cheaper server in a bid to slow down the financial drain but this is not a solution in itself. Our free program is doing quite well and we had hoped that with the revamp and reduced bills, coupled with folks opting in to the paid program that we might be able to make ends meet and eventually start to turn a small profit. It seems we were over optimistic about the success of the program and uptake to the paid version has not been as we hoped.

I'm sure you can understand that things cannot go on like this indefinitely. The company is not in a position to take on someone else to run the forum and now there is a hard decision to be made.

We see two options:

Close the FastDay site, forum etc and FastDay as a company.
Give the site to someone else and just close FastDay as a company.

It's just not viable as a business without someone who can put a lot more time and energy into it than I am able to. It's a sad day indeed when it comes to this kind of decision, especially after all the work that has gone in to this, the wealth of knowledge & experience the site & forum contains and the lovely community itself.

We would far prefer the site to keep running, but we cannot do this as a company anymore.

It would be amazing if someone out there was willing to take on the site (and its associated costs) and run it as a hobby. Perhaps one day they'd like to run it as a business themselves or try to cover the costs with sponsorship or advertising. I know there are a few webby types among us and I think it's important that whoever takes the site on has some experience with running a website & forum.

So there we have it. That's the situation.

It would be such a shame for all this to just be gone - I don't want you all to lose your trackers, blogs & everything else here. I'm sorry it's come to this. I didn't know my decision would lead to this, but here we are.

If you are interested in taking on the site, please drop me a line.

Wow! I haven't been here for a couple of weeks but I certainly didn't see that coming!

Moogie, I know how hard you and the team have worked on the site and its associated ventures but no-one using the site could fail to be aware that the numbers using it have dropped off dramatically, so I suppose that it shouldn't come as such a surprise.

I am not in a position, either technically or financially, to take over the site but I do hope that someone will step up to the challenge so that all the time and effort that has gone into it will not be wasted.

It is down to the support and friendship that I have found here that I have managed to maintain, more or less, at my target for over three years. I will miss that camaraderie and do hope that a solution can be found. I shall keep my fingers crossed for a good outcome!

[Debs]

I joined this site when it first started and had a hiatus from which I had recently returned. It has given me amazing support over the last three and a half years and it has completely changed my thinking on eating for which I shall be eternally grateful.
More than that I have made some extremely close friends as a result.
I'm not in a position to assist either as I don't have the technical nous, let's hope someone does.
Thank you Moggie for giving a support mechanism to so many of us.

xxx

I can only echo what Stowy and Debs have said and add a big THANK YOU Moogie and big hugs from me xx
I do hope we can somehow keep going...i have so many friends here and so much laughter,fun and even tears shared on here..part of my life now for over three years
If some of us could pay a monthly sum,could it keep going? I for one wd chip in
MOogie the most important thing is yr health, the best news wd be to hear youre well again..nothing matters more than good health xoxoxo

[carieoates]

This is a very sad day for me and I hope that someone can take it over. It's not just the info and challenges but the new friends we have made over the years. My eating and general food related thoughts have altered beyond belief since I first logged on those years ago. I hope that those early to mid discovery of their new way of eating can help one another and continue to give and gain support.
Fingers crossed and better health to our moggie

Recently a large corporation in the U.S. (connected with weightloss and diet) decided to do away with their online forum and use Facebook for support. Members were outraged and created their own forum through Proboards - a free service wherein a simple, easy to access forum can be created for free. This may be an idea to keep the Fast Day forum going in the event of a complete shutdown.

https://www.proboards.com/create-free-forum

https://www.proboards.com/frequently-asked-questions

I'm sorry to hear this. Like the previous responders, this forum has been very helpful to me, and 5:2 has been a life changer. Feeling very badly for Moogie.

I took a look at proboards. If we had a forum there, and enough people were to join, it might be a substitute for fastday. I found one forum there for 5:2, specifically for Americans. Why you would limit a forum to just people from one country is beyond me - it's virtual, for goodness sake - but there are many like that ("XYZ sufferers from southeast Arkansas"...). That 5:2 forum is clearly not in use. The moderator wrote "I will keep this board up but there is not much activity so I may not be here all that often. Sad to so see that it looks like this board has become a browsing stop for visitors and not a daily discussion." That was three years ago.

Very sad news indeed, but your health @Moogie is the most important thing so quite understand the decision. Very disappointing for you though after all the work you have done over the years. You have my thanks and appreciation. I have learnt a lot from taking part in this forum and from the information on the website.

I have no technical knowledge but I do have some time I could contribute to help keep some sort of forum going.

How much time have we got before you will have to close the website, if that is the decision?

I'm so sorry to hear this. If this forum shuts down is there any reason why we can't start a thread on here.
https://thefastdiet.co.uk/

I'm so sorry to hear this. I have been on this forum for about 3 years and have really enjoyed the information and support here. I'm sorry it hasn't worked out the way you've hoped. But, you definitely have to do what's best for you.
If the forum does go away, there are some websites where we could set up a free forum, but it certainly won't be the same.

I can only echo the above comments. Although I don't contribute much these days ( since I lost my fasting buddy) I do look at the forum every day when I am at home.I still live in hope of meeting some of the other members some day somewhere. I have learnt so much from the discussions and committing to regularly fill in my tracker helps to keep me on message. Like @CandiceMarie I would pay a subscription if it would help to keep the site going. It seems such a pity that all the hard work you have put in recently should go to waste.

I would be so sad to see this site go; I will miss everyone. Perhaps we can still communicate in other places such as the Fastday facebook page or another forum but it will not be the same.

Shame to lose the tracker, not so much for my data but because the latest version is so fantastic! And all the accumulated fasting wisdom ...

Thank you so much for your hard work @moogie, and may your recovery continue. I am afraid my IT skills are rusty and not in the webby area. But like CandiceMarie I would be happy to pay a subscription and I would be happy to give some (unskilled) time.

Oh @moogie, I am so very sorry to read this - but I do understand and appreciate that your health is the number one priority.

I have blessed the day I found this forum..so many times. Will watch the developments with interest and I'm only sorry that I am so useless with computers.

Thanks so much for all you have done xx

In thinking back I can barely believe my luck - nearly 3 1/2 years ago - at having managed to stumble into this unexpected and totally effective weight control and health-enhancing way of life.

As an early adopter and recently only-occasional poster, I offer a heart-felt "Thank you!" to Moogie and her crew for taking the initiative to create, nurture and support this site. Best of health and life to you Moogie! I'm sending a virtual hug to you, a lovely and most-caring lady.

If there's a legacy to fastday, it is permanently cherished within the people that it has helped. Their ability to make one aspect of their lives measurably and noticeably better stems directly from the combined enthusiasm of its initiators and the group of contributing members. These people relentlessly researched, challenged, self-experimented and openly shared their experiences, encouraging innumerable others with what actually works best when it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance.

Thank you all for enhancing an aspect of my life that'll be hard to match elsewhere with equivalent success. I've learned much and will gratefully pass it on given the chance.

To its diverse group of supporters both new and old from around the world, there's no doubt that you can get to your goals with IF. Spend some time reading some of the older posts, notice the scientific method in action, look for simple consistencies and apply them to your own life. Keep what works best for you. The method - intermittent fasting, IS simple - too simple in appearance actually to be believed on first impression. That quickly changes. The results are delightfully empowering and profound. The tools you learn along the way? Permanent.

Thank you everyone for your input, insights and commiserations. This site would not and could not have been the same without you.

Adfnfuel

Well I haven't been here in ages, but I weighed myself this morning and thought "right, time to get control back, so lets visit Fastday"! To echo the others Moogie, what an excellent job you have done, through good health and bad. I am sure we will all remember you and the other regulars fondly, no matter where things head. Good luck and may the best outcome prevail. Glen