The FastDay Forum

I started the 5:2 on the 11th November and fast every Monday and weds. I have lost 5lb so far and am happy enough with that. My main problem is that I still tend to head towards binging on Sat and especially Sunday. At the start I was happy with the notion that this is following a more natural pattern of eating and some binging is normal. Has anyone any ideas of reducing this weekend binging, without developing the feeling of being constantly aware of having to reduce food?

Going by replies to similar posts,the longtimers here seem to say not to worry too much about bingeing in the early weeks,as youre doing well with your fasts,tho i know it can feel demoralising to binge or want to binge..but there's a lot going on with yr physiology right now which has nothing to do with lack of willpower,being weak or greedy! This WOE is a big big change to your body and takes time for things to settle down
In the weeks to come you can address the bingeing but may well find it sorts itself out of its own accord..it seems to be a common prob but youre not alone with it ..well done on your loss so far! Over a pound a week is good going! X

Tell us what your binging consists of... we might have more ideas then on how to reduce it.

I struggled with feed days for several months, no issues with fast days. It calms down, particularly if you clean up your diet. But I wouldn't rush, it's easier done incrementally. Eat what you want, not as much as you want...

I would only worry if you're slipping into bad habits like eating when you're not hungry or eating bad processed food. Overeating a bit on nonfast days is pretty normal.

Don't worry about it so much, just concentrate on your fast days and the others will fall in to place in time. Saying that, that's not the green light to eat as much as you want. In time your habits will change, if only for the most part. Most of us enjoy the occasional pig out but over time we found we no longer want them as often.
Good luck
Dee

Mindfullness does help. Think to yourself why do I want to eat? And see where it takes you. If its because your partner has just bought a treat home of a lovely googy chocolate cake with frosting, then have some. This diet is not out to ruin your social life as many others do.

But, if you are eating because of boredom, because the fridge is there, habit, comfort eating, depression etc? Then try and be mindful and correct the underlying cause rather than beating yourself up about being 'weak willed' . The one thing your aren't is weak willed.
I wrote a bog post about it here... blog/Julieathome/i_never_lacked_willpower%C7%83_b-1438.html

Thank you all for your genuinely helpful replies. I don't seem to eat when emotional,its in part habit,and being prompted by seeing food. The worst bit is when I have eaten something then feel ''oh that's lost it'',then I over eat. I do not have a problem on fast days,beyond the pain of it! I have lost 6.6lb now and am more than happy with the rate of loss,and fully expect it to slow down. All of the replies have helped,I shall not expect too much early on and will try to be more mindful when eating.

Hi Diverdoc,

I know exactly what you mean. I've been fasting for around 6 months, and I still binge on carbs on my non-fast days, and especially at the weekends. I like to cook and bake on Saturdays and Sundays (hubby cooks during the week) and just seeing all the food around, and having access to the fridge, means it's hard not to start picking. And then once you've started, it's hard to stop, or it seems there's no point.

But the most successful phases of the last 6 months were when I did a fasting day on the weekend. We don't do big Sunday lunches at home, so unless we're invited out, I tried to fast on Sundays. I don't eat much on weekdays anyway (work is too busy, and there's no food around to 'look at'), so a Sunday fast seems to make a huge difference to the overall weekly intake of calories. Of course it depends on your family routines, but try putting one of your fast days on Saturday or Sunday and see if that makes any difference.

Good luck!

Dimmit

Dimmit,that is useful,kind and inspired! I shall try it.

I'm trying to eat slightly below TDEE on weekday feast days and then i can eat slightly over at the weekend. as long as my weekly average calories are a healthy level then i think that's probably safe enough.

Diverdoc I'm with you on the binging - I started on 24 nov as part of maintenance and have still managed to lose 2.5 pounds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the binging will reduce as will my appetite as a few of the folks on the forum say.

Like you, I'm ok fasting, but I know that I crave food especially if I haven't had breakfast. For example, today I was traveling on business and had a really early start so no time for breakfast. I did so well for the 6 hours I was in transit, avoiding airport food and succumbing to only a 1oz packet of peanuts but the result was I was starving by the time I got home and before I could make my poached eggs, I had eaten a delicious orange muffin (recipe courtesy of this forum), hummus on a slice of toast and four chocolate truffles. I was ok until I ate one piece of chocolate, then I needed another and another. Mindfulness and thought seemed to go out of the window

I just need to think, plan better, eat breakfast and forgive myself the moments of indulgence - it will all balance out

Good luck!!

Thank you both. Today have fasted and its gone easily and with less intake than a usual fast day.I am sure part of it is to be relaxed when things happen and control will come over all. I have been discussing with various people what a good way for many this approach seems to be. I am still in awe how on a fast day things such as cravings are ok,but on a Sunday well what can I say.

I'd like to add my thanks to all posters here as this is exactly what I've been struggling with too. I'm hopeful that my body will sort itself out/reset itself at some point. I just hope that point comes around soon as at the moment this feels like a lot of hard work now for little gain.

dands,I fully agree,peoples replies have been really helpful.