The FastDay Forum

Let's fast today!!!!
Hope you are both OK and that the scales have been good to you this Monday morning.
I have lost a lb and am now firmly in my maintenance buffer zone. I hope there wont't be any voices today trying to sabotage my success. You never know. Good luck girls. Speak soon.

Well I lasted until 11 o'clock before having breakfast, that's really good for me and it worked out less than 100 calories. I had my usual half of a Linda McCartney sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes, at least I don't have to calculate the calories when I stick to the same food.

I hope you both do well today, three fast days might work well Steph, I've done that before. I couldn't keep it up for longer than three weeks but found that it had stopped my snacking habit, for a while anyway - and I went back to three fasts again just for a couple of weeks at a time when my eating got out of control. That was near the start of my 5:2 WOE when I was still enthusiastic and the lbs were steadily falling away. I've recently got too set in my ways to do that now, but I've decided to do two fasts this week, I only managed one last week. I'm not sure which day I'll do the second one, I'll see how it goes. ...And who knows? I might join you and do 4:3 in a week or two.

Ieramul I think you are more disciplined than either of us, you are a good influence despite the finger biscuits. You have already made a difference to my eating habits - I wouldn't have done any fasts at all if we hadn't become buddies. Do you use your Monday morning weight as your recorded weight on your tracker? I always use the weight of the morning after a fast which I suppose is cheating really as by then I haven't been eating my usual foods for nearly two days.

Ieramul, I forgot to say "Well done on the weight loss"

Thanks coffee,
Well done for managing only 100kcal for lunch today. That leaves you enough for a small meal tonight so you can sleep better. The good influence works both ways. Because of you two, I seem to be disciplined at the moment.
Coffee, two fast days should be sufficient for you. I will do two fasts this week, too and then a low carb/no sugar day on top of that as I suggested to steph.

Coffee, I didn't mean for steph to fast for 3 days on 500kcal but do two normal fasts at 500kcal and then on a third day (pretend it is a fast) eat to TDEE but with very much reduced carbs and NO sugar. You see, I believe if it is treated and planned as a fast day we seem to apply more discipline. On fast days we automatically reduce our carb/sugar intake which means we would bring our carb/sugar days down to only 4 days a week.
Maybe I should have called it 5:2 with an additional discipline day of no carbs/sugar.

I weigh myself every day but I only count the Monday weigh-in because I feel it shows the real weight after three normal eating days. After a fast day I am always a lb less as I have little food inside of me.

Since my weight was good this morning I felt like experimenting a bit. I felt a bit strange this morning, hungry, not too bad but shall we say "empty" not like sometimes when you are so full from the previous day that breakfast is the last thing you want to consider. So I got up and had two boiled eggs with a handful of mixed nuts, probably about (250kcals) (less than half my fasting calories). I normally get really hungry once I start eating but I wanted to experiment if I could get away with it, if I had no carbs. It is now 1pm and I am hungry but OK and I have a feeling/hope that I will be able to hold out until tonight with a boullion or two to tie me over this afternoon. Let the experiment commence.

Good luck with your experiment Ieramul
Yes that's true about fast days, using this sort psychology should help us all. I am definitely more disciplined on fast days, I rarely think of chocolate at all - well I might sometimes think about it but don't eat it.

Good morning! (good afternoon) Just got up and am starting my day. Not hungry at all, as usual. I ate to my TDEE yesterday and stayed away from junk, mostly. I did eat a small handful of crackers and I ate 3 little pieces of red licorice (nibs) from Adam's candy bag. I wish I knew how to stop him from using his money to buy junk. I haven't been a very good example. He didn't eat his supper, didn't like the chicken, then he didn't even eat the toast I gave him. So aggravating. I plan on making sloppy joes for his supper tonight, which I know he likes.
I second that comment Ieramul, I wouldn't have been able to do this without your and coffee's support. You are an inspiration to me. I think I would have given up by now without you both! It is hard in the evening's though because you are both in bed snoozing when I am trying to fight the munchie monster.
Good for you Ieramul to have done what you set out to do, maintaining sounds like the way to go for you.
I find the fasting days much easier to stick to than eating properly on non-fast days so I am hoping that treating Wednesday as a "fast day" only to TDEE I will be more diligent and focused on the goal. I don't want to step on the scale this morning, I will just get frustated. I think I will stick to Friday weigh ins but not sure if I will put it in my tracker as I think I have been doing it wrong. It says I have already lost kilos of weight
Well, on with the day! I am walking to another grocery store this morning, a much closer one, a more expensive one, but they have better vegetables. I have become spoiled by fresh produce since going to the Farmer's Market all fall. I miss the fresh carrots. So, I will pay a bit more but get some food I want to eat It is a beautiful day out with some sun. Hopefully, I will enjoy the walk and be motivated to go out a couple of more times today for walks as I won't be going to the Y for my exercise class this morning - no car to get me there.
How are you guys doing this afternoon? managing ok?

Hi steph and coffee, EXPERIMENT FAILED MONUMENATALLY. I just came back from my lunchtime walk and guess what. Since writing my e-mail earlier and during the walk I became soooo hungry, I can't remember being so hungry in a long time. As my walk lasted 45 minutes I thought the hunger might subside but it didn't. During the last 10 minutes of my walk, I decided to go to the supermarket and get some food. Sooooo I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have given up on fasting today. I think I might have consumed less calories yesterday than I thought because I woke up and was hungry which is not the case normally. I am not too good knowing how many calories there are in my husband's cooked rich meals (roast potatoes, yorkshires and cream sauce etc) so I always imagine I had about a thousand calories or what not.

Having thrown in the towel I need to do my fasting tomorrow. I can hear coffee, singing on her Maisie walk: "...pick yourself up, dust yourself down, start all over again." That's the essence of this WOL, ... or this poem by William Hickson ‘Tis a lesson you should heed– Try again; if at first you don’t succeed, Try again....

I sincerely hope you two are doing better today.

Oh that's a shame Ieramul but it was an experiment, better luck tomorrow. I hope it doesn't mess up your plans for the rest of the week, will you still try to fit in the half fast along with the two 500 cal ones? Or if you haven't eaten too much already could you use today as the 'half fast' day?

Hi Steph, I rarely go to bed early, I'm usually around until about midnight but I suppose that's still too early to chat when you are struggling, you will probably have just had your evening meal then.
Could you set a few calories aside from your fast day or TDEE allowance? Then when you feel that you absolutely must have something to eat you could have a few very low calorie nibbles all ready and waiting. If you leave them somewhere to hand then you will be less likely to rummage through the fridge or food cupboards where you might be tempted by all the naughty foods.

Hi coffee, excellent suggestion - but sadly too late. I BLEW IT BIG TIME!!!! I succumbed to a mother of a binge. I went to Lidl next door and got a mini baguette, tomatoes, salami and strawberries yoghurt, mixed nuts (sort of good) and some spiced biscuits (decidedly not good). In fact I am so full that I am in as much pain now than when I was hungry. I am either extremely good or the opposite Give me a little finger..... But I solemnly swear tomorrow I will be extremely good and do a super fast, followed by my TDEE-LOW-CARB-NO SUGAR-Wednesday.

Sorry Ieramul but I couldn't help laughing, I know it's not funny at all but that's what happens to me on the days I give up.
Here I go again --- Scarlett O'Hara this time "After all tomorrow is another day."
....and I'm sure it will be a successful one!

Hi coffee and steph - I think it is funny, too. It is also interesting how much our mind plays a part in this. I wrote in my first post this morning that I was wondering if my day was going to be sabotaged - as if I was expecting it to happen. And of course if you wait for it it WILL happen. On top of this I had good results on the scales and so subconsciously I probably got a bit smug or complacent and gave in more readily than if I had had bad news. We are complicated creatures us little earthlings - that's all I can say.

Note to self: I MUST WATCH MY WORDS BETTER and speak positive.

Good advise to steph, coffee. Worth trying out. Not sure it would work for me. A couple of hundred calories make me even hungrier, once I wake the dragon I am in trouble. I think I need to eat my lot in one go and then shut the system down.

So sorry to hear you binged Ieramul and feel so full to bursting. I guess we are taking turns LOL. But tomorrow is another day. I love those sayings you two know. The are so fitting. Just don't beat yourself up about it. I'm with you, a few calories here and there make me hungrier too. I've done the exact same thing as you when I've stepped on the scale, the day went to pot. We have such strange minds and wonky justifications. It's in our heads. I did so well, I can eat what I want now. You recognize what you've done and that is the first step to changing. As for me, I seem to forget the lesson learned or perhaps just don't want to remember what happens when I give in to food. And then comes trouble.
Coffee you are right I have to be more mindful of what I buy at the grocery store and what I have in the house in terms of snacks. Unfortunately the crackers that are for my son's school lunches end up in my belly more often than not. I also have to change my way of thinking about weekends when I allow myself to go crazy. Once I start eating I tend to keep on going and then I crave carbs more often than not. I am pretty proud of myself for getting through yesterday without bingeing.
It is an absolutely gorgeous day here with the sun shining, a light breeze and warm temp. I overdressed on my little walk to the store. When I got home I sat outside with my neighbours for a while until I couldn't stand listening to Tom anymore. He has this tendency of making up stories. I told him about my rent mix up with Revenue Canada and he had to say he knows a guy in the States who pays over a million dollars in rent every month. What a story LOL. He drives me nuts but he is a really nice guy and bends over backwards to help when I need it.
Just had a phone call from the mechanic. He had to put another starter in my car to the tune of $140. It is another used one and he assumed I wouldn't want a new one because it would have cost almost double. Well, I could have paid for a new starter to begin with and I wouldn't have needed another! He didn't even ask me what I wanted to do. Ticks me off a little. But, I should have asked him to call me first, which I didn't. Anyway, I have to go outside to see if I can get a lift across town from one of my neighbours. I don't want to spend another $15 on a taxi.
Coffee, I'd love to have your support before you go to bed at night. Lately, once I start eating in the afternoon I want to keep eating. Someone telling me I shouldn't would help because I tend to forget and ignore my stomach and brain LOL. I get into this "zone" of eating. But I imagine you are busy with your husband in the evenings.
Talk again soon!

I suppose we are all experimenting, every time it all goes wrong we try something else and still make changes even when we get good results. I would find it so boring if it was the same all the time. These ups and downs tend to keep us on our toes. Oh these old clichés, I can't seem to say anything without them, they seem to crop up in everything I post both here and on Facebook. I blame it on my mum, she was always using them, bless her.

My hubby spends most of the day and night in bed Steph, he is so uncomfortable sitting in a chair so he sits in bed watching TV. The late evenings tend to be my quiet time. I don't sleep well at night as I wake up about 4 am, if I were to go to bed earlier it would probably be 2am.