The FastDay Forum

I haven't fasted for months but have been maintaining doing 16/8.until now.for some reason the weight is creeping on.everyday I start well planning to fast and then in the evening I eat too much,not even really bad food,just too much food .i can't really work out why the weight is coming back as I havnt been eating that much.i am still exercising
So today I decided to commit to a fast and am writing it here so that it is in writing
Will count the calories and report back at the end of the day.
Wish me luck

good job Sarahg! I am not quite clear from your message if you mean you eat too much on the first evening of your fast or on the second?? Either way, don't let that deter you from starting. Just tell yourself to do better next time and count that day as a fast. If you wait until you are 'perfect' you are likely to lose motivation and be too hard on yourself. Very discouraging. We are all in this for the long haul and some fasts are better than others. For instance I have a chest cold and decided to do a slightly watered down version of a fast yesterday because I couldn't be bothered with the whole thing. That is fine, I am happy with that. Probably had about 750cals which is way better than a feast day. Just keep on keeping on, I say!

I eat too much dinner on my fast day, I start with good intentions to fast,eat no breakfast ,light lunch and then two helpings of dinner and then snack snack snack until I have eaten too many calories to call it a fast day.then I wake up the next day and repeat the pattern so as a result I haven't had a fast day for ages but I also feel .like I am always fasting as during the day I fast.
Does that make sense?

yep I get that. So basically you are doing really well except falling at the last hurdle. I guess the rational responses are to get rid of whatever you like to snack on that isn't low cal. Swap those things for something better- dry popcorn? cucumber? doesn't sound great but that is the deal. Go to bed early! I visualise my fat cells being eaten up when I lie in bed at night and go to sleep happy. To be honest I don't have this problem because by the time night comes I feel the fast is done and I just look forward to the morning. My difficulty is the mid-afternoon. But be glass half full- you are doing great the rest of the time! Perhaps put your mind to substituting those foods if you cant stop the snacking. The other option is to eat less at dinner and allow some snacking- build sensible snacks into your plan?

Thanks so much.its nice just to be able to,talk about it
Am going to try eating a bit more earlier in the day so not starving at night.

sounds like a good idea. I can wait until about 2pm before I eat but I kind of lose it then and feel wretched all day. In order to keep my dignity I have to eat a small meal by 1pm. This is a real learning curve and I think the trick is to get to know what you personally have to do. Not set yourself up for failure and then feel bad. Let us know how your new strategies work and don't be shy to keep tinkering with them. It took me about a month to settle on a plan that works every time.

Hi Sarahg ( and toad)
I so agree that it is trial and error to find how to eat those 500ish calories on fast days to make it easiest for you.
I'm one of the "nothing till dinner" fasters, but I do suffer between about 2pm and 5pm. I find if I can hold off though it does mean a pretty sustantial meal at about 6pm, followed by a "no sugar" hot choc, and then chewing gum if I feel nibbly!
I keep up the mantra of "vegetables are my friends" on fast days.
Good luck Sara.

I agree with the others on this, but as was said the most important thing is that it works for you. That is why I love this way of eating. I am different to the others yet again, and find that three small meals a day works best for me ie porridge made with water for breakfast, low cal soup for lunch, apple mid-afternoon, and then a salad plus a veggie meal (you could have fish or chicken here), and I am never hungry.

Hey sarahg, agree with those above. Maybe you should ease yourself back in by eating something a bit earlier. I have been having a small bowl of porridge for lunch (which can be as late as 1-2pm) and this just helps to carry me along until I have the rest of my calories in a small meal around 6pm. Don't make it hard for yourself, this WoE is not about struggling - let us know how things go.

Hi Sarah G. Everyone has given you good advice so I just wanted to wish you luck in finding what works for you. Do keep reading and posting on this forum as there are many people here who will give you advice, support or a big virtual hug whenever you need it

Hi Sarah all good advice from everyone, and as you've done it before you've already worked out what works for you, I'm evening meal only person also but that's because its best for me as if I eat lunch/snack I actually become more hungry. Also your head has got to be in the right place to be totally ready for this, and getting a grip now before it gets to stage where you start to feel the depression creeping in is the absolutely right time so Good Luck to you Sue

Hi Sarah sorry to hear yo are struggling. Maybe it's time to rethink your strategy for a couple of weeks. Maybe just 5:2 for two days and some eat to your TDEE feed days that are free of any fasting.

I get what you are saying as I do a lot of 16:8 and it does seem like ages of fasting. Sounds like you are doing really well until time to stop but the weight gain and the cravings signal I think to mix it up a bit. I find 16:8 is more maintenance solution unless you add the 5:2 as with weight loss much slower. Then our bodies need also to replenish too.

You seem also to be saying portion control is an issue. if you do 5:2 on your other 16:8 days it is only a time restriction that you have to stick with. You only need 3 x 16:8 days a week to lose weight so you can have a couple of feast days a week too.

You exercise too so you burn up energy and will be hungry am sure but have you factored you will be storing water in your muscles.

Does the eating actually trigger the need for food. I am a dinner only faster. But as soon as I have my dinner I just want to eat more and more. I am seriously thinking of going for a liquid fast as the craving after my meal is really serious. Yet if I don't have that meal I would probably be fine till the next morning. I just have to persuade my hubby that it will be O.K. for to not eat on a fast day.

This forum thread may help you. resources-links-f3/topic1499.html

[carorees]

Welcome back! As others have said, maybe you need to experiment a bit to see what works best this time around. I'm very interested to know why 16:8 is not working for you now. I was hoping to use it myself for maintenance! I feel that something must have changed even though you were not aware of it. Our bodies are very sneaky about getting us to put the weight back on. Some things they do are: make calorie dense foods (especially carbs) much more appealing to us, making us feel we've eaten less than we really have, make us move less when we're not formally exercising and adjust our metabolism to require less energy. I was hoping that the fasting lifestyle might prevent some of these things from happening, so I'd love to hear whether you think any of them are to blame for your creeping weight gain. Plus, once you get a few fasts out of the way, how things progress. Perhaps 16:8 is too much of a continual calorie restriction and so it is better to do the occasional high calorie day(s) counterbalanced with 500 cal days, so that your body does not feel constantly in a famine situation.

I wonder whether trying a 500 cal fast day after days of 16:8 is too tough and you should start with some feast days before having a fast day. Of course that is scary. So how about setting a higher calorie target for your first fasts? Say 800? And try to tackle the snacking rather than worry about the meals.

Good luck!

Thank all
Let me start by saying I gave had a really good day .making the commitment here and having all the support has helped so much
I fasted properly for the first i me in months
Carorees ,you are so right.because I have been doing 16/8 every day and starting every dy as a fast I have been feeling permanently deprived.interesting that gillymary says I only need to do 16/8 three times a week. I think you are right I need a day of no fasting .i need to wake up eat breakfast and not plan any kind of fast .i think I am afraid that if I do this I will let loose and not stop eating so really I could say that for the past few months I haven't really been doing 5-2 or 16-8 just a mixed up mess.
I think 16-8 could work for maintenance and will try after a few week of 5-2 done correctly
Thanks again to all for the support.
Fast one of the week,almost over.and no fasting tomorrow.