The FastDay Forum

Hello Everyone,
After a 2 year bought of illness which I had to take some very heavy duty drugs to recover, I am feeling a bit deflated. As a result of the illness and drugs I have gained almost 50lbs!!!! I never let it bother me and decided to get well first and deal with more cosmetic issues later. I have been unable to do any exercise while I was ill however before I feel ill was training for a marathon so thought I would find it easy to get back in shape and drop the weight. Big Mistake!!! I am finding it more difficult then ever.
I have done my research and decided to jump into the fast diet. I am looking for some advice and inspiration regarding fasting and exercising at the same time. I used to love sweaty work outs but find I usually need to eat after them. I feel I may struggle to exercise on fast days and stick to the calorie limits. Does anyone have any ideas to get around this?
Thanks

I exercise on fast days. I've always exercised before breakfast anyway. 2 years is a long time and I'm glad your doing well now. Maybe ease back into exercise and if its too hard just exercise on feed days not fast days
Good luck.

Welcome Stacey83. I "fast" by eating nothing till evening. After I have had my evening meal I feel I have enough energy either to get on the exercise bike, where I can do 30-50 minutes a go, or do the 30 day Shred. It's never been a problem for me. Your need to eat may be you telling yourself that you have "earned" more food because you've just worked out. If you can get past that you will soon find you don't really need to eat after the workouts - you may feel hungry but it shouldn't be any worse than the hunger you will feel throughout the day. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

I do a boxing / circuits work out on Monday which is always a fast day. My fast days now are just one meal in the evening with a miso soup around 2pm to keep me going (around 18 calories). I find by saving most of my calories for the evening meal I can cope with exercising.
Initially I was having lentil soup at 2pm, so a bit more of a split day. That didn't work too badly either, so I'd suggest experimenting to see what works best for you.
Also be nice to yourself. 2 years of being ill and not exercising will mean it is a struggle to get back to the level you were at before. Ease into it gently and be careful of anything too high impact now you weigh more. Would suggest some yoga (especially if you can find a power yoga class) rather than straight into hard cardio / running.

Welcome Stacey, since you haven't exercised for a while maybe you should try the 5:2 diet on its own for a few weeks and after start to introduce exercise.

Congratulations Stacey on making a start!
I did no exercise apart from the odd very short walk due to a health problem for three years. I was warned to go carefully because it would be so easy to pull muscles or just generally damage myself when I started again.
So I went to a physio to make suggestions and give me a gentle programme to get going again. Really pleased - it was the best £40 I've ever spent! He really encouraged me and showed me all sorts of things I wouldn't have thought of! Walking was one of the best and easiest. But got me back to swimming which I hadn't done for years either.
Good luck - be kind to yourself!

Hi Stacey,
I rarely eat breakfast now since starting 5:2, and always exercise on an empty stomach now with no problems.
I started Zumba to try and help build up my strength after grueling cancer treatment.
In the beginning I could barely manage 1 class, and used to go home and sleep all afternoon.
I now manage 3 classes a week without difficulty.
After spending most of my days indoors I have benefitted so much from getting out, exercising getting fit and making new friends.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do. X