The FastDay Forum

[Debs]

Not a popular day I know, but I am on my own and still in bed reading with a cup of tea at 10.15am and it always feels easier when the day is already half over!

I got back from a three day spa and health retreat yesterday which involved a combination of PT sessions, pilates, massage and good food and decided that I needed to take stock of where I am and start calorie counting if I actually want to get anywhere. So, an inpromptu fast day today and then 5:2 and calorie counting when I get back to work on Tuesday. Not ideal, but it is the only way I can manage my input unfortunately.

Hi @Debs I'm in as well. I so agree with the stay in bed, half the day gone principal

I am thinking of making a note of my experimentations. Today I am exploring lunch as the meal, started out OK with coffee, soon starving (I swear this is because I have had 2 feed days in a row) so had a mini protein bar, by 12.30 I was hungry enough for lunch. So had 300 cal veg/legume curry. Now I feel very full. Let's see how the day progresses. I am contemplating my Sunday in the future as 1000 cals, sort of a bridge between feasting and Tuesday/Thursday 500 cal days. I am so less hungry after only 1 feed day. Well I'm guinea pigging myself as usual, so be interesting to see how it goes. Good luck with your fasting. Ps a little Nana nap helps too.

[Debs]

Yes, I am my own experiment as well, and have previously found that having lunch instead of dinner helps as I can console myself that it isn't too long until I eat again the next day!
I am off to the shops when I get up (yes, I know, decadent, but it is a good book!), and should cope ok. It's the days I get up for work at 4.30 that are my biggest problem. As long as I am busy I am ok, it is the rest of the days I struggle.
I'll be interested to see how you go.
Deb

Good luck @Debs and @GMH!

I will be interested to see how you both go too. Debs, I think a lot of us have to do some sort of calorie counting, as we do not have the ability anymore - if we ever did - to know when we are actually hungry or, alternatively, have had enough to eat.

I do approximate calorie counts unless I know what the actual value is (eg for processed foods that come in a packet, but even those values I round down/up) - I don't weigh anything but have an idea of how many cals are in certain portion sizes. I work in counts of 100 cals - eg my large salad is around 100 cals, the piece of fish/meat is around 200, the small apple and orange together are around 100. I probably underestimate a bit, but it is good enough to know whether I have eaten TDEE of 1600 or have overindulged to 2600!! And I just count it up in my head. So it doesn't seem too tortuous this way. Exact calorie values are impossible to know anyway - there is always variation in measurement and I can't believe that everyone's bodies extracts the same calorific value every time from a given item of food.

Getting up early would make it more difficult to keep your eating in check - sounds like you need to try a few different eating schedules to see what works best - tho you probably have already. Maybe you do need a full English to start the day, and see if that keeps the hunger at bay. Then low carb veggie broth soups through the day, finishing with a protein and veg meal for dinner. Plus some fruit or something sweet if that is what you need/want. But I am sure you have already tried it all.

Best wishes to all Sunday fasters!

Look it's all interesting really. I understand everyone has their own method and of course it's mostly trial and error, but I find it so interesting how many people can go without any food and not be gnawing at their own limbs! I get HUNGRY without food my being overweight was never about eating huge servings of food, rather eating high calorie food and wine. I guess I wasn't that overweight either and watched my weight like a hawk. I ate mostly low GI carbs for years. Which is another reason I don't want to count calories on non fast days, all those years of obsessing and still obsessing 3 days a week is enough so a lot of it is where you are coming from.

Yes getting up early ...5 or 5.30 daily for me..seems to make things feel harder, but really I go to bed early so eating early is best. 3 hours since lunch and I am still full, only about another 5 hours to bed, so I'll watch with interest how I feel. I was always one of those children who was always saying Why? WHYYY? The answer was, cos Ys a crooked letter and Zs no better!

GMH, I also often feel hungry - more so now than when I was losing weight. State of mind? Or partly cos I do need to eat less than I used to? I can manage the hunger during the day knowing that I have a decent meal ahead, but I must admit that 500 cals a day is not enough to stop me feeling hungry in the evening, which is why I normally have 100-200cals more on a fast day. Hope you find a solution to your hunger pangs!

@Sassy1 well 4.5 hours since lunch and only just a smidgen of hunger, having an 8 cal hot chocolate. It worked much better having lunch....so far Do u mean u r still doing 2 x 600/700 fasts as ur maintenance?

Hi @GMH

Glad to hear that having lunch on a fast day is working for you. I assume you have participated in the thread on this?

Yes, still need to do 2 fasts a week to maintain but only because I have days where I significantly exceed my TDEE... My challenge since achieving my goal weight has been to get this overeating under control... Don't have an answer yet. I don't want to give up any foods that I enjoy, which may be the problem.

I am a bit puzzled, though, that 2 fasts a week doesn't result in me losing weight, because when I WAS losing weight on 2 fasts a week, I did regularly have days where I overindulged (if you follow). And I also seem to put on a similar amount of weight whether I seriously overindulge or just overindulge a bit (in the short term - I am sure the amount I ate would make a difference in the longer term). The human body is a complex thing!

Hope the hunger pangs stay away for you for the rest of the fasting day

[Debs]

Interesting responses, thank you! Yes, I get really hungry a lot of the time on non fast days and once I start eating I find it hard to stop, so the later I eat the better I am, but I know that I over eat by TDEE every day which is why I need to calorie count. The issue then is I need to eat small amounts more frequently otherwise I am permanently hungry!
Yes GMH, early starts are a bugger aren't they? I can normally wait until 9 or 10 for breakfast and then it is no holds barred if I am not careful. I eat too many nuts etc., so they will have to go for the time being. Not going too badly today, even managed a walk around the shopping centre without wanting to vandalise the cake shop!

I am also fasting today, because I am still doing ADF till the end of month. Got up about 7 am and have had black tea and coffee and water until 12:30. I'll not have lunch as my main meal, because cannot sleep if empty. I am not hungry, but feel a bit empty now. Which is why I am writing here. I gained weight on my last fast day, so being extra strict again. Hoping to go below 52 kg so I'd have some play room to maintain. My ideal weight is 51.7, because I am very small. Just to prove it: my BMI is over 20... It seems very hard to lose this little bit... And I'll have to cook the supper tonight.. Well, tomorrow I can have breakfast etc, etc. Good luck to everyone fasting on a Sunday.

[Debs]

Good luck @Margotsylvia, stick with it, I often find lunch works better for me.

@Debs yes really interesting isn't it? I'm not hungry on feed days. I eat a large breakfast...porridge with Greek yoghurt, or omelette, about 400 cals at a guess. Usually carry mini protein bar in case I get hungry. Then lunch is standard, Lebanese spinach and cheese or mushroom, spinach and cheese pocket. This is cos it's freshly made, $2 or $3 ;>) and most importantly easy to grab and eat while I'm driving. Occasionally I'll have a cinnamon scroll instead. Always a cappuccino somewhere (plus coffee at home). I find if I have a filling meal I don't snack, too full! Then I have another quick espresso at home, then dinner of whatever I want and wine ...Wednesday/Friday/Saturday. Coffee is my addiction

Have a good one guys ! X

I'm in today for my usual Sunday fast day. Bought some Malabar spinach yesterday. I have never seen or heard of it before - huge leaves and stalks. I think I'll have it with some fish for an early dinner ( guess it would be "tea" if I was in Britain)
Good luck everyone.

@judithn wow that Malabar spinach sounds interesting. Is it like Silverbeet? Aussie seem to call Silverbeet, Spinach. I love any type of spinach, bit of butter and chilli is a new fetish. Let us know what it was like. I just looked it up, grows on a vine!