The FastDay Forum

So after my first 3 weeks of the 5:2 diet I'd made better progress than expected...I'd lost 5lbs even though I'm not classed as overweight. I fast on a Monday and Thursday, and have a small 200 calorie breakfast then a 400 calorie evening meal.

However, the 1 thing that has marred it so far has been the headaches I've suffered most fast days, 1 of them developing into a migraine which caused me to puke twice one evening

This week was my 4th week, and again on Monday I started getting a migraine but this time was able to take my Migraleve tablets and prevent it worsening. Still, I felt drained during the evening and not up to doing much.

Reading through various posts on here and other sites, it seems a low blood sugar level could be the cause. I'm pretty sure it's not dehydration as I get through a litre of water by lunch, and it's shortly after lunch the headaches usually start. I cut caffeine out of my diet a few years ago, so it's not that.

I'm thinking of getting a blood glucose monitor to check my level on fast days. I've been researching them on diabetes sites and they don't cost much at all. But my question is, if my levels are going too low during the fast, what can I do to prevent it but still lose weight? If I was to eat at lunchtime then surely that's breaking the fast and will take my body out of the repair mode which it goes into?

I really hope I can crack this, it's such an easy diet to follow (plus I love the fact I now buy less food) but I simply cannot put up with the headaches and migraines

http://theconsciouslife.com/low-blood-s ... daches.htm asks the question "can low blood sugar cause headaches".

A 4g glucose sweet will fix a low blood sugar for 20 calories.

Hi DanKent and welcome!

I found I had the same problem as you - I could manage fasts without too much trouble, except for the headache that would arrive in the middle of the afternoon. They weren't being caused by caffeine withdrawal, dehydration, nor a lack of salt (something else others have said - try having a cup of bonox or miso soup). Try adding protein was something else to try...

In the end I decided to try skipping breakfast (easier than I thought it would be), having a small lunch (sometimes miso soup, sometimes salad with S&P but no dressing, sometimes with a small tin of salmon or a hard boiled egg), celery and low fat cottage cheese in the afternoon (peak headache time), and then a small version of whatever the family was having for dinner.

This has worked a treat for me. Might be worth a try for you too. Good luck!

Hi Dan I'm sorry that this amazing WOL is marring your fastdays I'm now going to read what Phil has sent you I'm not helping you at all !!
But just wanted to say I have the complete opposite 3 months into my very long journey I've not had a migraine at all and only one bad headache I never knew what was causing them (40yrs) and obviously don't now why they've suddenly disappeared but I am so Glad they have hope the sugar thing sorts it for you because I know what your going through. Good Luck Sue

Salt fixed it for me. When you drink a lot to stave off hunger you tend to lose salt as you pee more. I found the odd cup of Marigold bouillon fixed it for me. (Not the low salt one obviously!!) Normally it tastes very salty but I found it acceptable on fast days which seemed to tie in with the need for salt.

http://theconsciouslife.com/low-blood-sugar-levels-headaches.htm asks the question "can low blood sugar cause headaches".

A 4g glucose sweet will fix a low blood sugar for 20 calories.

Thanks Phil, that was one of the sites I read in doing some research before posting on here. The first suggestion it makes is to test your blood glucose level which is why I'm interested in purchasing one.

nilchoco - thanks, I will certainly give that a try, perhaps tomorrow on my next fast day.

Even though I suspect it's not salt related (as the first day I had a migraine I had a Powerade sports drink at lunchtime) as I'm going shopping tonight I'll pick up some Marigold bouillon too and try that on a day when I do just have breakfast and an evening meal

I read in a med journal a decade ago that people with migraines are more likely to have reactive hypoglycemia but not diabetes. Personally I find that I'm not sensitive to blood sugar as a TRIGGER, but when I have a headache coming or starting my blood glucose levels can be strange. In general, I believe people with migraines can be sensitive to changes in both glucose and electrolytes.

On your feast days, are you a grazer? Do you snack constantly? Do you consume a lot of salty foods? How do you "spend" your calories on your fasting days? Do you eat several small meals or all at once? When on your fasting day does your headache start?

Without knowing the above, my advice would be:
On fasting days:
start by eating 40% of your TDEE (studies on ADF looked at 25-40%, MM settled on 25%)
eat in 2 or 3 small meals

On feast days:
reduce your sugar and salt consumption, up to the point you don't feel deprived (if you are sensitive to them)
try to cut back on snacks, so that you are going at least 3 hrs between putting food in your mouth

If you gave this a go and didn't get headaches, then you could start cutting down on the calories on fasting days and relaxing the "rules" on feed days until you got to the regular 5:2. Your body may just need time to adapt.

When I started 5:2 4mo ago, I felt hungry and had several 50-100 cal snacks during the day on my fast days. I often had migraines the next day. Now I go from 7pm one night, have 100cal midmorning, no snacking (and not hungry) until dinner at 5pm, workout hard for 1-2hrs, then go to sleep and don't wake up hungry. No headache the next day. Things do evolve as your body adapts and gets "used" to it. Migraine brains have a harder time adapting to change, so you have to ease them in sometimes.

Just my 2 cents.

Well newoldme I'll try to answer you as best I can!

On a feast day I guess I am a grazer and go for several small meals a day rather than 3 large. After breakfast I'll have a mid-morning snack, then lunch, then a mid-afternoon snack, then my evening meal. I usually snack before/after my evening meal too. Naughty, I know! I think I'm lucky in that I have a fast metabolism, as you'd think I would be a lot bigger!

On a fast day I'll have usually either 2 Weetabix with soya milk and a little sugar, or scrambled egg whites on 1 slice of toast for breakfast. Then water all day (maybe a green tea around lunchtime, no milk, 1.5tsp of sugar), then for my evening meal perhaps a piece of salmon with salad or veg, plus a dressing. My headaches on these days start early/mid-afternoon.

I've skipped breakfast today, and will be having a seafood salad for my lunch (170kcal). Not sure whether to have something mid-afternoon (a miso soup or cup of bouillon), before my light evening meal. Will see how I feel later on.

With regards to migraines, before I started the 5:2 I was getting 2 or 3 a year. They were very bad to the point I'd be sick 2 or 3 times, after which I'd start to feel better. If whatever I'm doing now can help pin-point what was causing those then that'd be an unexpected result, as I always thought it was related to a large drop in the weather pressure (eg going from sunny weather to very overcast/thundery)!