The FastDay Forum

... I have gained 18lb's this year. I think I have decided that fasting is not for me as I obviously can't control my intake on non fast days. I'm probably more obsessed with food and diets than I was before I started this and I'm worried that this might be come more serious. Not happy.

@rawkaren - my anecdotal observation is that an experience like yours is not uncommon. I continue to be baffled that this doesn't show up as a finding in the clinical trials. However, I think it's not necessarily specific to fasting, IYSWIM, as increased awareness leading to the obsession part of the continuum with foodstuffs, diets, restriction, deprivation is probably common to any food intake modification that is associated with weight loss. That said, it is a niggle in my mind that a small number of people have attributed their trial of fasting to the development of BED when they report not to have had it previously in their lives.

However, I'm a little unclear as to whether you are consciously aware that you "can't control [your] intake on non fast days" or if it's something that you're surmising from the results (the 18lbs), so to speak?

As for the rest - I agree with others about the powerful impact of stress as I have a soft spot for the notion of allostasis and its impact on our lives and health. I think when people are very overweight/obese, then modifying food intake can have a tremendous impact but there comes a point when there's not (relatively) that much to lose and that's when other factors such as adequate rest, a good circadian rhythm, exposure to sunshine, time with those you love and those who love you - all of this seems so much more pertinent - and if any of that is out of kilter it can have profound impact on our body composition.

ETA: clarity

Previous mention of allostasis: post199307.html?hilit=allostasis#p199307

... I have gained 18lb's this year. I think I have decided that fasting is not for me as I obviously can't control my intake on non fast days. I'm probably more obsessed with food and diets than I was before I started this and I'm worried that this might be come more serious. Not happy.

@rawkaren - my anecdotal observation is that an experience like yours is not uncommon. I continue to be baffled that this doesn't show up as a finding in the clinical trials. However, I think it's not necessarily specific to fasting, IYSWIM, as increased awareness leading to the obsession part of the continuum with foodstuffs, diets, restriction, deprivation is probably common to any food intake modification that is associated with weight loss.

However, I'm a little unclear as to whether you are consciously aware that you "can't control [your] intake on non fast days" or if it's something that you're surmising from the results, so to speak?

As for the rest - I agree with others about the powerful impact of stress as I have a soft spot for the notion of allostasis and its impact on our lives and health. I think when people are very overweight/obese, then modifying food intake can have a tremendous impact but there comes a point when there's not (relatively) that much to lose and that's when other factors such as adequate rest, a good circadian rhythm, exposure to sunshine, time with those you love and those who love you - all of this seems so much more pertinent - and if any of that is out of kilter it can have profound impact on our body composition.

Previous mention of allostasis: post199307.html?hilit=allostasis#p199307

Thank you @ssure and everyone else. Until recently my TDEE was 1300 - it's quite hard to stay within that on non fast days when traveling, working, not being in control of your own environment etc, so a couple of hundred calorie creep is not difficult and over time - bam - a problem. The irony is that now I'm fatter my TDEE is 1500 - which is how I arrived at where I am now!
As callyanna says, I do eat clean, but I eat too much. I probably underestimate how much fat I eat in reality.
Stress is undoubtedly playing it's part as well as reduced activity. I need to create some space to do more in the gym.
I have started 2015 at the highest weight in my life so I need to do something urgently.

Stress is undoubtedly playing it's part as well as reduced activity. I need to create some space to do more in the gym.

Ignore this if it's intrusive but do you like working out in the gym? Some people do as it's the only time they can devote to themselves. I do gym work (strength training) but I like social physical activities and I find the social part of it as de-stressing as the physical side, IYSWIM. As you may have gathered, I'm a very keen paddler - I would do it every day if I could. As it is, even during Winter, I chomp at the bit because it's only 2-3 times a week (with one of those indoor).

I just wonder if some people might gain multiple benefits from identifying a physical activity that they wholeheartedly enjoy and anticipate with delight - and if it has a built-in social dimension that allows them to spend time with kindred spirits, then so much the better.

As you were.

I feel for you @rawkaren 2014 was such a rollercoaster year for you
If its any consolation,you look fab in the latest pic where youre wearing the outfit you bought for yr mums birthday
But that doesnt mean much if you feel unhappy with yrself and gaining eighteen pounds back is no fun.
Due to greed, i put back on two stone in 2014..to be fair i was quite down at times over the last year..it took me a while to realise i was coz normally i' m quite upbeat so i guess there was a lot of comfort eating going on with me hardly noticing
Back to you..like Cally said, youre a clean eater, so at least you're not eating cr* p
I dont know the answer..i think 5: 2 works,but we have to be in the right mood,and its fairly easy to slip out of the zone. Like others have said,give yourself a break,you might be overthinking it all, have a little time out and see how it goes. Sending hugs xx

Oh Karen @Rawkaren I'm so sorry to hear you're not happy. You really aren't alone, though. There's a few of us (me included) have put back the weight we lost...but we've come back...so something must be right with this method. I thought I read somewhere that you had a 27 inch waist! That's amazing. You've obviously had a tough year so I really hope 2015 will be a better, brighter one for you. D'you know, if you find non-fast days difficult then maybe ADF would suit you better? That way you can eat more on normal days. I don't know if you've tried that before.
Anyway, try not to get too down. I'm sending you big bean hugs xx

Hi Beano @nursebean Thanks for your hugs. I'm pear shaped and short so it all goes on the bottom half
@candicemarie. Us Scorps have had a difficult chart these last couple of years so hopefully things will get easier for us both in 2015!
@ssureI don't really like the gym, so it tends to go to the bottom of the todo list in my day. I'm actually quite fit as I force myself to go in and prefer lifting weights to cardio. I'm rubbish at team sports although I did once play touch rugby in a tournament and really enjoyed it but it nearly killed me! As a kid I did alot of ballet and gymnastics so didn't really get the opportunity to practice team stuff too much (apart from in dance mode). Swimming in the summer too I love.

It's a tragic day for us in France as 12 people were executed in Paris. One of the cartoonists killed was a big part of my childhood memories, he did great caricatures in a tv show I watched and I have great memories of him. My heart breaks as this tragedy is so near and as the killers are still on the loose, we live in fear. Forgive me to be so negative but I needed to talk about it.

#JeSuisCharlie

@Manderley my thoughts are with you and Parisians at this sad time! I was closely affected by London 7/7 bombings as I made my way to work that morning. It is a complicated world and talking is GOOD. x

It's a tragic day for us in France as 12 people were executed in Paris. One of the cartoonists killed was a big part of my childhood memories, he did great caricatures in a tv show I watched and I have great memories of him. My heart breaks as this tragedy is so near and as the killers are still on the loose, we live in fear. Forgive me to be so negative but I needed to talk about it.

#JeSuisCharlie

@Manderley Just catching up with the news. This is a very sad day indeed. These souls have paid a very high price for freedom of speech and it is absolutely heartbreaking. Thinking of you.

How awful@Manderley Thinking of you

I love how people in Paris have come out on the streets in their thousands @manderley
As Jimi Hendrix said,When the power of love overcomes the love of power,the world will know peace.
Alas, i can't see this happening soon x
Talk as much as you need to - we're here for you x

@Manderley I made it to Trafalgar Sq to be with friends - pen up! x

Je Suis Charlie ...parce que L’Amour plus fort que la hain x x

@Manderley I made it to Trafalgar Sq to be with friends - pen up! x

Well done @lizbean! " the pen is mightier than the sword!"( Edward Bulwer - Lytton) xx

Thank you all so much for your support in these dark hours

I was in a total panic mode last night. OH has his office/Paris flat just a few streets away from where it happened. The last time we had such a tragedy, as much as I can remember, was 20 years ago, with the bombings across Paris and I wasn't in such panic state.

The end of 2014 was really bad for me, I was in a dark place. I lost all my livelihood, didn't know how I will be able to even keep a roof over my head and learned all that the 31st. So, you can imagine..... I didn't talk about it to anyone, even not OH, I wouldn't have asked him to help me, I am a proud one so I deal with things on my own, in my woman cave. I since dealt with things and everything is back to normal but still... not a good way to start the new year. I even put on 5 kgs which is huge for me, and it's not because of what I ate, I barely ate this past weekend only homemade soups, but because of the stress which always made me put on weight

EDIT : In fact, I just read that the last time we had such a tragedy was in fact during the Alger war in 1961.... I really need to stop watching the news and start focusing on something else....