The FastDay Forum

My fast yesterday totally went out the window. I am still losing weight though and although I know the fast was not a full one I still have reduced my cals and that's good. Have you thought about an eating window rather than fasting for a full day . That way you might be able to ease into a full 5:2 gentle. What I love about this is you can fit it in and there is no failure.

On my fast days I always carry a low cal soup and an apple...just in case and somehow while I know it's in my bag it makes the day easier, if it was not there I would be thinking about food and slipping out of the office to grab a sandwhich....sometimes it's mind over matter?? And I always end up with a battered apple!! Be nice to yourself x stress does not help xx

I think it depends on the person.
I tried 4:3 last time around and it was too overwhelming. I felt like I was always dieting.

Fair enough.. we have to just work out what works best for oneself. we are all so very different.

3 days can definitely make it feel a bit like that.

[janeg]

As an ' all or nothing person', I find the terminology/words we use tremendously powerful.
I don't have a diet- it's a way of eating.
I have 'half fasts' for the days when I manage most of the day then need to eat over the quarter calorie allowance. No failure allowed here thank you!
I also plan to do half fasts if it's looking a bit dodgy that The fast may not be a full fast, then , if I'm needing more/ can't get lower cal, it's fine and if I do a full fast it''s also fine. Win- win.
And if I'm just kidding myself on, out comes the wet fish for a slap around the head
Still losing, still slowly, and not getting hassled about it.
Maybe helpful?

Oh @oxnard_montalvo, I hear you! *sending cyber hugs* I have a touch of perfectionism in me too and it is a curse as I rarely do anything perfectly which makes me so mad at myself. I have to force myself to live by the 80:20 rule (20% effort at the start gets 80% of the results and 80% effort for the last 20% of the results). Most times 80% is good enough. Im not a brain surgeon or anything. Nobody will die because I didnt finish....(fill in task of your choice!)

If anybody else said the things our inner voice says we would probably deck them! There is a bit of conscious effort to actually say "yeah me" instead of "aw you big eeegit, you have only done a half hearted effort and ruined it again". I find it almost uncomfortable posting something under the "delighted" section here. I try to blow my own trumpet in the relative privacy of my blog, but there is still lots of negative stuff in there.

There is a great tongue in cheek post here about those inner voices: http://www.fastday.com/post71147.html#p71147

] Yes we all get set backs (me now included)
Agree that going easy on yourself and maybe a few days off fasting then kick back in on Monday.
Why not try for 6:1 making it one good + true 500 cal fast
Maybe including a few or all other days at 16:8
This will ease you into the fastdays once again then build up slowly to you 5:2 or 4:3. Good luck.

Like @brand-ie I wonder whether for the time being you might find an eating window method easier? Instead of facing long hours of no food when you wake up on a fast day, just postpone breakfast for as long as you can, perhaps by just half an hour a day, until you get to twelve or one o'clock. Then just eat how you want within the next 8 hours. When you can do this without much inner muttering and cursing, you could then shoot for a proper fast day with the calorie restriction. Get a few under your belt and then go for 2 a week, with the option of going back to 3 meals a day on feed days.

I agree with @barbaritaand @Brand-ie about trying the eating window if you really can't fast @oxnard_montalvo, but at the end of the day I am afraid a little self discipline is required either to stick to an eating window or 5:2. Changing the habits of a lifetime, which is why we're all here right now, isn't an easy option. Be kind to yourself by all means but somehow you have to be strict with yourself for a short while. It honestly gets easier as you go on.....I promise and it IS worth the effort!

Fasting is definitely not easy. It definitely takes self discipline and the lack of discipline is what causes the weight gain in the first place. In the beginning of my journey it taught me to be mindful of everything I ate but then I started making excuses and before you know it I gave up on 52. Now I'm back and trying to regain the discipline and it is not easy but it is attainable.

On fast days I cannot get food off my mind. I think about constantly even though I am not hungry. And before you know it the devil wins. Fasting is mind over matter. Filling your time with work, walking, housework etc to take your mind off food helps. Remember it is human nature to want what you can't have.

Thanks. I have tried 16:8 in the past...I was always ravenously hungry all afternoon though, And again, it felt like I was dieting all the time...I will probably do 16:8 when I go on holidays though.

To be honest, I think last Friday was simply a bad day for fasting for me. I am fasting today instead, and it's feeling infinitely easier. Still tough, but doable. So maybe I just need to learn to listen to my body when every fibre is saying don't fast. Because now I know it's not the beginning of the end - a successful fast today will prove that. Just need to not catastrophise every minor set back.