The FastDay Forum

Were you an apparent “sugar burner” before 5.2?
Did you eat frequently, and feel uncomfortable if you didn’t do so? (headaches, nausea, emotional upsets, etc) (Group A)

Or, did you eat meals for the most part, and have no trouble (see above) skipping meals or going several hours without eating? (apparent “fat burner”) (Group B)

Then, for each of these groups, rate how your first few weeks of 5.2/fasting went:
1. Pretty easy, hungry the first few times, but nothing more than a transitory headache and some hunger pangs.
2. Pretty tough for at least 4 weeks; headaches, etc, but eventually settled down to a livable routine.
3. Really tough for more than a month; either unable to continue, or just toughed / toughing it out.

If you were in Group A2 or A3, did you find that after being on 5.2 for awhile, you could space out meals better on non-fasting days as well? (such as, but not limited to, not eating breakfast regularly)

I’m asking this so as to fine tune our recommendations to potential 5.2ers; if we know they might have more problems initially, perhaps they could “ease” into 5.2 by eating less frequently for a few weeks before jumping into 5.2 (12+ hours without eating). I’ve said elsewhere that I was Group B1, but years ago would have been Group A (probably A2).

[Tracieknits]

I remember it not being easy for the first month or so, but the weight was coming off pretty quickly, so it was easy to keep with it. I got headaches for probably the first two weeks.

[wildmissus]

In the beginning I was a B1....it's not like that now though...really struggling now.

Like Wildmissus I was also a B1. Don't eat breakfast now but I am struggling to have any successful fasts. Not quite sure why. I got to target weight then put on about 5lbs and seem to be happy there so maybe that is the weight that I should be. I exercise quite a lot and eat mostly healthily and what I want.

A1, hunger but no headaches. After 4 months switched to a daily 5 hour eating window, now it is 4 hours, no headaches, not often hungry.

@wildmissus, do you have any insight/thoughts as to why you're having problems now? does it seem more physical, more mental, or a combo of the two? or something else entirely...

[wildmissus]

@ferretgal, I'm not entirely sure but I'm wondering if I started 5:2ing like any other diet. In the beginning I was vigilant about what I ate every day but like any other diet that is not sustainable. I always new that this is a permanent way of life but my demon within came back and won't let me overdosing on the bad carbs. So like any other diet I have fallen off the wagon. Therefore for me it is a mental thing. I have never given up hope of getting myself in the right head space to get going again properly.

I was neither group A nor B. I ate because of the habit of eating every day,3 times a day, without any thought and without even knowing what feeling hungry was (and I still don't) and didn't skip meals because I was taught it was bad for you. It's only when I decided to try 5:2 that I broke a lifetime of eating habits and only because I was bore to death of eating steamed vegs and steamed chicken breasts every day.

On the other hand, fasting was easy from the get go.

The first couple of weeks were tough getting used to the hunger pangs and insomnia, like Maderley my eating schedule was on autopilot. I do recall really being charged up and motivated by the Horizons Eat, Fast, and Live longer program. And once I started seeing results, which was within the first couple of weeks it reinforced the notion that whatever minor discomfort I experienced, the end justified the means !

@LouLou51, doesn't that seem to be the way of it? Our bodies have different ideas than our heads...I just read an interesting book, "Secrets from the Eating Lab" (Traci Mann); she talks about strategies for getting to and maintaining a livable weight, not necessarily one aesthetically acceptable. Unfortunately, it seems she is negative about IF and doesn't appear to have investigated it herself. It does seem that mainstream "diet" (or even "anti-diet," like Ms. Mann) gurus are negative about IF/5.2 until they personally give it a go. Seems that many of the articles I read describe it as "starving" 2 days a week; yeah, I get hungry on light days, but it's seldom unmanageable. And in a milieu where food is unavoidable and ridiculously abundant (like my son says, First World problems!), we are unused to "denying" ourselves...while being told we are "bad" and lazy and have no willpower (because we're fat)... sigh. Heck, I CAN "deny" myself twice a week; I just can't do it EVERY DAY. Just the thought of "Oh, I won't be able to have that EVER AGAIN" (well, maybe once a year) is enough to get me stuffing my face madly....

Bee-One if I must pick. Within the first week I transitioned completely from 6:1 to full ADF, realizing that each step was "just one more day". The two dominating memories for me was that the first 2-3 days were a first-time-ever experience and those amazing evening 600 calorie (Woo! Hoo!) meals were a must-be-experienced-to-understand-it sensory delight.

Agree with Manderley and Brougham: a lifetime of three times a day as ingrained habit; the ends (and immediate progress) justify a few days of temporary discomfort. Of course joining a worldwide exploratory adventure of shared insights and experiences, discovering what actually worked and what didn't, made it all that much easier.

Feeling a bit as 'the odd one out' as I never had any issues in terms of headache or hunger pangs. From day one the only thing I ever experienced was a slightly increased sense of hunger (but that's just how it is supposed to work) and some occasional cold feet. This even when fasting on two consecutive days during 5:2. Might be related to my strategy: three small meals over the fastday, so no prolonged period of fasting. So it's B for sure and perhaps B zero, indicating no problems with fasting from day 1 and 2 (first two consecutive fast days).

Thx FG
I'm definitely a B, possibly a 0 to 1, as P-JK says. 52 was and is a great relief Sorry it's short, off to bed. Best wishes x

[carieoates]

I got headaches but started drinking more teas and coffees during the day to cut those hunger pangs down. Now though I can go til lunch daily without food as I feel odd if I don't get a noisy tum by 11. A hot drink and I'm sorted.
Also obsessing about not eating was a problem but now I plan my meals so that there's no room for thought.

I am not very good with those given categories.
I had been low carbing for years before doing IF. The low carbing had stopped working.. I think I probably had 3 meals a day + morning coffee snack and something at afternoon tea.
I remember well, how I thought I was going to die, when I first went without food. It was just awful.
I cannot remember how soon it got easier, but this is by far the easiest kind of way to lose weight. And there is something very natural about it. Not eating weird foods or anything like that. Just NOT eating!!! Easy. Hassle free.
I've been doing this for 3 years I think, and have since completely lost any sense of hunger. It is cool.