The FastDay Forum

Well, this is just fine and dandy. Before we even really start 5:2, my husband announced he is moving onto The 8 Hour Diet. I've been reading the FastDiet, but I know he's had the book The 8 Hour Diet for a while. I didn't think he had actually read it (he takes books to work and reads during lunch), but I guess he did.

So now my head is spinning. He gave me the low down on the 8 Hour Diet (basically eat for 8 hours/fast for 16). He said someone at work is doing it and lost quite a bit of weight. He started telling me about the science behind it too, and said the book is a fun, easy read.

So I don't want us doing two separate plans for various reasons. I guess I'll try this along with him.

Has anyone even heard of this plan? I sure hope so. I really like this forum and don't want to leave, even if everyone else is doing 5:2.

I don't know about everyone else but 5:2 works for me so I haven't any desire to constantly skip around trying the next soup de jour.

It's been mentioned in this thread and this thread.
Broadly speaking, it's a 16-hour fast and an 8-hour eating window.
For instance, you fast from 9pm until 1 pm the following day (16-hour fast), have a meal/snack at 1pm, another meal/snack at 4pm, dinner before 9pm (8-hour eating window), and start again.

[carorees]

Yes, ballerina is doing this for maintenance. Check her posts in the maintenance section.

I think it works well but you do have to ensure that you reduce your calories enough. I think for a woman it would be relatively easy to overeat in the 8 hours unless you are fairly active.

I am thinking of trying it when I go on holiday as breakfast would be easy to skip.

Thanks for your replies!

I'll go look for Ballerina's posts. Well, at least you folks have heard of it! My husband really wants me to do this with him, so I will. Carorees, I agree you can't just shovel in the calories on this plan. Well I think what I'll do is be calorie-aware, but I won't be counting them. So I won't be sitting around eating a bunch of dark chocolate just because I can! ha ha!

I'll give it a shot for a week.

I tried it before I went to 5:2. As Caroline said, I tended to maintain rather than lose on it. I had my eating window 2pm to 10pm. It didn't reduce my appetite the way that 5:2 has. You can pack quite a few calories into 8hrs if you have a fondness for the right foods! Of course I'm not very mobile either so my TDEE is lower than most.

I do both. On normal eating days I don't break my fast until 1pm and stop eating between 8 and 9pm. It's not too difficult if you can cope without breakfast. You could drop dinner if you'd prefer. The most challenging time is after a fast day, waiting until 1pm to eat. Lunch on those days is very welcome and delicious.

Yes, even though I do 5:2 now I have got into the habit of skipping breakfast. On the day after a fast I might eat at about mid day but on the other non fast days I go through to around 2pm before I eat. I tend to have a light supper though. The 8/16 did upset my fasting glucose a bit. It didn't slip right back but it wasn't as good. I get dawn phenomenon (my fasting glucose is higher than at bedtime!) and I find I get better control if I have something last thing. Usually just a little cube of cheese is enough so on fast days I save a few calories. I had been climbing out of the pre-diabetic levels into full blown Type 2 with fasting BG around 8mmol/lt. I got it down to below 6 by going low carb. Since going onto 5:2 it has dropped again and my average is now 4.8 so I'm well pleased!

Wow miffy49, your blood sugar stats are very encouraging. One of the main reasons I am doing this WOE is to keep my pre-diabetes from progressing to full-on type 2. I hope continues 5:2 will work as well for me.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Miffy, interesting that the 8/16 upset your blood sugar. I just read a really interesting study about it http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 131703.htm
"Extended Daily Fasting Overrides Harmful Effects of a High Fat Diet: Study May Offer Drug Free Intervention to Prevent Obesity and Diabetes", but I guess everyone reacts differently. How wonderful that your blood sugar eventually dropped so much!

In any event, be it 5:2, The 8 Hour Diet, or whatever form it takes, I'm totally convinced that intermittent fasting is the way to go!

Hi Bordergirl, Originally my GP just told me to give up sugar! I was 12mths trying the NHS guidelines for Type 2 and my BG just kept on going higher and I'm sure I would have been bugged into going onto medication if it hadn't been for a freak low reading the day I had my annual check. I had been getting readings of around 8 but the day I went for my bloods it was around 6.8 on my meter so they left me alone. I decided I'd had enough of the NHS ideas and followed the low carb diet favoured bvy loads of people on the Diabetes.co.uk forum. I can really recommend keeping carbs down even on the 5:2

Rainbow, I think part of the reason that 8/16 didn't do the job for me was that my TDEE is very low because of my other health issues so basically I could pack away far too much in the 8 hours!

[Betsysgr8]

Interesting article, thank you for posting the link to the article rainbow. I can see myself delaying breakfast most of the time to make it more of a brunch at 10-11am and eating dinner by 6pm but I don't think I can go without my non-fat milk in my coffee before and after the 8 hours, it's pretty hard to cut back on fast-days as it is, lol. I wonder if the 100 calories would sabotage the effort?

Betsy, I've been spending so much time researching this intermittent fasting thing, I'm not getting my housework done! It's addicting!

Well, one website Leangains (promotes the 8 hour diet) says that 50 cals worth of sugar or milk in coffee won't break the fast. The actual 8 hour Diet book says that up to 40 cals milk/sugar/whatever in the morning won't break the fast. Personally, I'm not going over 50 cals if I need to.

I have a few members of my family who have blood sugar issues and they are all told to eat VERY small meals every 3 hours. If that is the way to go, it's only natural that not eating for 16 hours would mess with one's blood sugar.
I'm very happy that our NHS doesn't provide guidelines regarding eating. Not that I would ever follow them but many people would and I have a feeling that it would be bad advice.

TML, I guess everyone's mileage varies. But even Michael Mosley talks about (in his book) the mantra of the benefit of "small, frequent meals" and check out this article from the New York Times http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/3 ... cher-says/

Truth, is we just don't know what to believe anymore. Even the "experts" don't know! But I do agree with Dr. Mosley when he says the need for breakfast, and eating frequently for health are myths. But in the end we all have to find what works for us. I'm sure it won't be the same for everyone!