The FastDay Forum

Hi everyone,

I really need a bit of support!

I've had such a hard time fasting and being good on non-fast days. Everything was going great for months, I lost pretty much all I wanted to lose, and was cruising along nicely. I even managed to maintain my new low weight over loooong holidays in Europe.

Then, my little 5 year old son had an accident. Nothing life-threatening but bad enough that he needed surgery and may need more. That has really sent me into a frenzy of overeating, terrible attempted fasts and so on. I know I shouldn't worry about this at such a time, but I feel that all my efforts are being wiped out. I put on 4 pounds in 2 or 3 weeks. Seems like nothing, but I'm a small lady and I had only lost 6 pounds to start with, so it means I have put on almost all the weight back on. I also have underactive thyroid so losing 4 pounds is extremely hard (hence my happiness when I did manage to lose them). It took me months to lose the weight, and 3 weeks to put it back on

Fasts have become such a chore. I'm OK during the day and then get SO hungry, and once I break the fast, the floodgates open and I stuff my face. The day before a fast, I also stuff my face in preparation. Basically, I ruin all my efforts. I lose 1 or 2 pounds on fast days, then put them back on in the next 2 days, and never seem to lose anything in the long term. It's like a never-ending yo-yo.

Any suggestions?

ok nanou- you need to CALM down. It is all a complete bummer that is for sure! I think you just need to go abit easy on yourself and do it again. Don't waste time beating yourself up- most of us eat under stress. You did it once, you can do it again. Probably with more ease because this time, you know what works for you and what to do. So get up. Stop being mad at yourself and the cosmos and get started. that is it.

You are having a very stressful time, and hugs and best wishes to you and your son.
Give yourself a break, don't worry about fasting, you have the rest of your life to sort that out and now is when your son needs his mum on top form. High stress sabotages dieting anyway.
{{{+}}}

[janeg]

Nanou, I am sorry to hear about your struggles. Please be kind to yourself.
Could you maybe try 16:8 for a wee while?
Although dieting/healthy eating etc may seem trivial, sometimes feeling thatyou have control over things can help cope with everything. 16:8 may be easier to do, feel kinder and give you some success.
I really think that your head needs to be in the right place to do fasting. You've done it before and can do it again. Just not just now.
Hope things settle down for you and your wee one gets better.

Although dieting/healthy eating etc may seem trivial, sometimes feeling that you have control over things can help cope with everything.

Janeg, that's exactly what it is. A dozen little things have unraveled over the last few weeks and putting on weight just seems to add to the feeling of losing my grip on things. I AM a control freak too, which makes it harder to let go.

Fasting in an emotional state is very hard indeed!

[carorees]

Oh dear, that's no good you struggling. As janeg says, give yourself a break and try a different approach. If you find it OK to fast in the first part of the day, why not try 16:8?

Also, when you do need to snack, try going for low carb/high fat snacks (e.g. nuts). They should make you feel fuller longer and not trigger high insulin levels. If you keep your insulin levels down your body cannot put on fat. Stress raises cortisol levels which impairs insulin sensitivity so all the more reason not to snack on high carb foods. Overall, if you can keep your carbs down you can put the brakes on the weight increase and hold position while you deal with all the more important stuff. You can come back to 5:2 when life is back on track.

[janeg]

Don't do it then! Give yourself permission to have a break/change how you do it. Plan what you're going to do but make it something that you can achieve (no setting yourself up to fail) Take the control back in one area and it'll feel a bit better.
Hopefully

sending hugs...some of us cant eat when a crisis hits..some of us overeat to try to push down all those horrible emotions of fear and anxiety.
its awful when your child is ill..decisions about your son have to be made by the medics rather than you and while thats reassuring,life suddenly seem out of your control
Maybe if you have a little time, you could look up Emotional Freeing Techniques ( EFT) on youtube..there are videos showing you simple techniques you can use to dissipate your anxiety and worry
And in addition take on some of the ideas here..dont fast just now.. Just try to eat properly for your health and strength so you can keep going for your son and yourself
Then when he is well on the way to being his old self agin,you can get back into 5:2 ..its never too late x

Hi Nanou,

I'm sorry to read about your stresses and I fully understand the need to control something in your life whilst everything around you appears to be unravelling but the others are right, you KNOW you can do this and you know HOW to do it, so, off you go and do it again. Try to imagine how healthy this is going to make you, weight loss or not, and how beneficial that will be for your little boy to have a happy, healthy mum, good luck,

Ballerina x

Nanou, lots of positive and happy vibes

I was in the same situation last week. It was a disaste and I was feeling very bad, disappointed, upset, angry, you name it. I took a break for the rest of the week, ate what I wanted (without binging but without restricting either) and stopped focusing on it.

Yesterday I had my first fast since the incident and I felt so much better, everything went well, even if I was really cold in the evening.

Maybe try to take a few days break and stop focusing on it because the more you will focuse on it, the worse it will be. Try to relax (I know, it's easier said than done) and be kind to yourself.