The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

Mmm, that salad sounds really delish @barbarita! My soup (principally a celeriac soup but with added veg from the freezer that needs eating up [courgettes and runner beans] and then some leftover chicken chopped up and added was really nice and I had one piece of sourdough toast to go with it. Resisted having any sweet treat for dessert but succumbed to a largish piece of cheddar about an hour ago. Looking forward to my chilli con carne with a tablespoon only of rice in about an hour, then the kitchen will be closed. Should be a 4.5 hour window I reckon.

That soup sounds good. I don't think I have ever eaten celeriac. My OH is the soup maker in this house @carorees, it uses up the wilting celery and any other spare veg, and the bags of kale I get from Aldi. It doesn't matter too much how it tastes because I put Apple cyder vinegar in my serving and think of the brownie points I get for eating 'green soup'.

My window went as described plus one square of 100% chocolate to finish.

Today started at 2.15 again as I was a bit late back from my walk. Spinach omelette to open. The last carton of organic chickpeas which were to be home-made organic hummous turned out to be organic butterbeans. Some of them ended up in green soup. A standard sized smoked salmon and avocado salad followed. There will now be an intermission, and later nuts and 100% chocolate, to finish at 6.

I think a have slipped in through the flaps of the eating window tent without consciously making this decision! I have struggled a bit with my fast days and sometimes gone over, so have been very careful on my feast days to compensate. I now find like Bracken that more often than not I only eat once a day unless I am very hungry like today and had a slice of smoked salmon and poached egg at lunchtime. My appetite seems to have found its natural balance

[carorees]

Tripped over the guy ropes, eh, @skinnyjeans? Welcome anyway!

My window opened today at about 1.30 with the last of the chilli con carne from last night on toast with a sprinkling of cheese followed by a tangerine and a scone with jam , I think it will be a carby day as I'm really busy today and OH will make dinner (usually makes a pasta dish). Hoping to eat around 8pm making a 7 hour window. Had a sudden drop in weight on the scales this morning of 1.3kg which I guess was down to having had a low carb day yesterday; I'm expecting to bounce back up tomorrow!

I've not had celeriac either. Is it filling? @Barbarita? Don't you find the evening long when you finish eating at 6?

I seem to have slipped into this tent too! I popped in for a browse and now I appear to be subscribed and getting notified of all new posts. It must be a sign!

I'm contemplating giving the eating window a go........getting lots of inspiration from all of you!

Hi @nursebean. I don't find any problems with not eating after 6 and I used to be someone that would snack on crisps and cheeselets and stuff while watching TV. Who would have thunk it? It may help that I go to bed tennish and am not hungry when I do. Also I have a huge variety of Pukka teas to entertain my taste buds in the evenings. I have my current favourite, Elderberry and Echinacea, as soon as my window closes.

Hi @nursebean. I don't find any problems with not eating after 6 and I used to be someone that would snack on crisps and cheeselets and stuff while watching TV. Who would have thunk it? It may help that I go to bed tennish and am not hungry when I do. Also I have a huge variety of Pukka teas to entertain my taste buds in the evenings. I have my current favourite, Elderberry and Echinacea, as soon as my window closes.

Well, I've spent most of the afternoon reading this thread from the beginning(only 1/2 way thru). I find this concept very interesting, but it will be a change for sure. I've been doing 5:2 since January 5th with not great results. I seem to average about 1/2 lb a week. I really have no problem with the fasting days......it's the normal days that get me!

My routine has been to go to boot camp in the morning(5:45AM) and then come home at 7 and have a low carb/low fat egg white protein shake made with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. This will hold me until 5PM when I go home for dinner on a fasting day. Does anyone have any experience with doing a strenuous workout in the morning and not eating for 4-5 hours after? I think I will give it a go tomorrow. I'm going to switch to 16:8 for the month of March and see what results I can achieve. I may still throw a 500 calorie day or 2 in the mix to try to get things moving. I'm going on a cruise with a bunch of girlfriends in 7 weeks and would love to shift 10+ lbs by then! I actually have about 30 to get to goal, but 1 step at a time!

Thanks in advance for any input you may have on my situation. This is a great thread!

I haven't been here for ages so am glad to see that window eating is still popular as I was an early adopter of 16:8. I never eat during the week until lunchtime and then often have only a very small dinner with the family. I only have tea in its various guises before lunch then I use coconut milk in it in the afternoon and evening. My window size varies depending on what I'm doing, at weekends it often opens at 11:00. I have maintained successfully for the past year using this method and in the main, only eating when I'm hungry. I never have to worry about missing out on the odd chocolate or cake as long as it's within my window frame. It really is a good way to not go over the top on non fast days with the freedom of not counting calories. So, as they say 'pick your window'!

Does anyone have any experience with doing a strenuous workout in the morning and not eating for 4-5 hours after? :

Hi Lori,

On fast days, I often do a lunch workout (HIIT or other cardio) , around 12 or 1pm and then perhaps another workout around 5 (often a 4-6mile moderate pace run) and I don't eat until 7:30ish. (except for 3pm packet of miso soup - 28 cals) I find the exercise often suppresses appetite quite well as well as distracting and keeping busy until meal time.

Another fan of the 'eating window' here Rarely does anything pass my lips before midday nowadays, apart from herbal tea. I'm more of a Clipper girl than a Pukka girl @Barbarita! Current favourites are Lemon & Ginger, Apple and Ginger and their Sleep Easy tea for the evening. I've been happily maintaining my weight since last September following this way of eating. Usually ease up a bit calorie wise at the weekends but compensate during the week by having a couple of low calorie/low carb days.

My only slight concern is that I've read that fasting stresses the body somewhat. So as I effectively fast for 16 hours, sometimes longer, everyday am I continuously putting my body under too much stress, I wonder? Any thoughts on this @Carorees or anyone else?

Well, I didn't start my 16:8 as planned. I went to boot camp and just came home and had my protein shake as usual. I think I would have been ok, but I SO look forward to that when I get home. It is only a total of 3 carbs, so maybe I'm still in fat burning from my overnight fast plus workout?

To do 16:8 properly, I'll have to make my shake and bring it along to work to have for lunch I suppose. Just need to get into a new routine!

[carorees]

Hi @noodle The guidelines set out by Brad Pilon say that daily fasting for 16-18 hours is fine. There are plenty of folk who have been doing daily 19:5 fasting for years. I think that your body will let you know if you do too much by increasing your hunger and cravings. Also if you are going through a stressful time maybe you could increase your window or take a day off occasionally until the situation resolves.

I've been eating this way for 19 months and still feel good!