The FastDay Forum

[janeg]

oh@MaryAnn hope your arm and you are feeling better today!
Had a disastrous day yesterday in that it was a DODO day, we were going to a water park to play and then out for a meal with friends.
Guess what? I needed breakfast and that was it. Didn't have anything else until dinner time and really enjoyed it.,Didn't really pig out but did feel full.
So, I'm out of sync and will fast today. It's just one day out of the challenge . I really don't fancy trying back to back, so I'll just carry on my merry way.
It'll be fine

[carieoates]

I'm doing ok. Was an easy one yesterday. But as I'm away on weigh in day I will skip this weeks update.
I haven't been counting cars but just dropping most refined carbs. Salad days are here so a fat day lunch of salad and a bit of protein is equally as good as a cup soup. Getting used to this never thought I would though,


Anyone having trouble with this remember......
Plan
Decide what you can have rather than what you can't
Write it down and leave it either in your kitchen or somewhere where you can lay your hands on it easily
Get on with your life as if you can now forget about your eating plan
Make sure you've got that couple of squares of chocolate if you really need them
If you go over on the odd day it's ok.
If you don't like it, feel deprived...stop. You may have learnt something, you may not.

So who's feeling ok about ADF or DODO now?

As soon as the word "deprived" pops into our head, then fasting will become just like any other diet. Obviously though, fasting isn't like any other diet because of the added health benefits - our body gets to concentrate on repairing itself rather than constantly having to deal with food processing.

If DODOing means fasting with a heavy heart, then there's absolutely no point. Find your balance. What can you cope with? How many days are you comfortable with? That will be the recipe for success! So many members have written about the joy of flexibility - moving a fast day if it doesn't suit our social life, which makes fasting so "doable". Every other day fasting reduces that flexibility...and comes around so quickly too. It's pretty hardcore, whereas 4:3 (say M, W, F, which leaves the weekend free!) is a step up from 5:2 and might suit some people much better.

I suppose we're talking horses for courses here. All our hang-ups are individual, as is our relationship with food. Therefore, it makes sense that one size doesn't fit all. So let's not beat ourselves up - all of us are really trying....every day! Big gold stars all round

So many wise words. Thanks everyone! We shouldn't beat ourselves up if we can't do it...just move on. I think we are too hard on ourselves!
Anyway, confession time...I'm afraid I haven't bean able to do proper fasts lately. I have bean suffering quite badly. Firstly with period pain (had to eat so I could take painkillers) and yesterday my back went and I am now in agony and can't move anywhere without looking like I am over 100, which is quite an achievement I know but I won't be getting any telegrams from the Queen!
I must say I'm looking forward to doing MWF one week and TT the following week. I think that will be more "doable" and fun?!
So all I can say is try your best. The challenge is nearly over
A sorry Bean

Well said @hazelnut20 xx
@maryAnn how are you today?
@nursebean we know youre bats but what is BAT? X

BAT is Bean's Alternative Trial! I'm going to fast Mon, Wed, Fri one week and then Tues, Thurs the next. This way I get variety and never fast on the same day more than a fortnight. It's my latest experiment!
Thought this might be of interest to people, like me, who find overeating pretty easy...

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/6-appetite ... 0LgLXhM%3D

BeanChallenger #9 reporting. I know I am a hangers on as I only committed to 4:3 and last week one of them was half hearted. I am doing MWF with Monday's always going really well >400, Wednesdays OK (600cals) and Fridays OKish (800 cals). Despite this, I think I have been able to shift almost 2lbs. I need a few more weigh-ins after eating days. One more lb and I should be at my pre Christmas weight which means better "room for manoeuvre".

I am fasting today after a 350cal Monday fast and I am hoping to do really well this week. I think seeing my weight shift for the first time in weeks or even months, does encourage enough to get through the next fast. So thank you Bean.

I know people always despair about their over eating on non fast days and think there is something wrong with them ie they are some weird binger. But I believe we are made to have lean days and then make up (alright within reason) on feast days. I spent some time in Africa (many years ago) and always puzzled about their perceived inability to space their food out. When they slaughtered an animal (not very often) everybody was invited and they had a big feast, used everything up and then went hungry(ish) again the next day. I soon realised that with no refrigeration and insects everywhere, any food not eaten would spoil in the hot climate anyway. So binging was necessary to re-store them and so it is for us. However we need to find a way to fool our bodies on eating days ie with lots of not so calorific food like vegetables and get into the mindset that we can eat and there is plenty. I think the psychology and possibly physiology of days of plenty is as important as the fast days.

On my eating day yesterday I totally stuffed myself with mini corns, a punnet of grapes, an apple, and treated myself also to a punnet of strawberries. It came to over 450 calories. I know it is not a huge amount of calories (though expensive) but I felt almost bad about the fact that I ate until it hurt. Then I thought of the above. Just in case you may think me virtuous re fruit, I had also treated myself to a full English breakfast in the morning and a small danish late afternoon. After breakfast I wanted to take it easy for the rest of the day with maybe a soup and an apple for lunch and then a small supper. I did go over TDEE hopefully by not too much.

However yesterday's splurge makes today's fast easier.

Well said @hazelnut20 xx
@maryAnn how are you today?
@nursebean we know youre bats but what is BAT? X

Thanks for asking, CM. I'm much better than yesterday. But I'm mad at myself because I've messed up a deadline for a job application. I hope they are flexible, but I'm not going to hold my breath...

Hope so @maryann wdnt be fair that you miss out coz of doing a good deed giving blood x
Fingers crossed theyre flexible..lets know what happens

[Tracieknits]

Well I'm in for my second fast of my first week of 4:3. Hubby and I are undecided as to whether it will be 4:3 or true DODO. I guess we'll figure it out on Sunday >.<

I actually cheated less/ate less on Monday's fast than I have done in a while. But my mood was kind of vile. I know part of this is my thyroid is a mess, and that can make me really cranky. But I want to shift this weight.

The good news? I'm actually down 2.2 pounds from Sunday (even today, although I pigged out yesterday!), which means I have officially lost all of my Christmas weight and I'm now only facing the 3.5 pounds I put on in November after the parties and Thanksgiving. This is good.

I have some volunteering to do at the food bank, which should keep me really busy for several hours this afternoon. My husband flew to Florida this morning on business, so my son and I might go out for thai food. I get basil chili chicken on fast days - it's lightly steamed broccoli, onions, bell peppers and basil leaves with steamed chicken and a very, very light soy based sauce (no corn starch). I can get brown rice with it, but I'll probably skip that and instead have a yogurt later tonight.

I was going to have a salad tonight, but honestly, it's just too cold today for a salad. Our high is only supposed to be about 10c

Yay @tracieknits - well done you! Great news about the loss....

Oh poor @nursebean - sorry to hear you are not 100%. Thought the DODO forum was a bit quiet yesterday, but then, we are in the swing of it now, so you shouldn't have to gee us up.....though it's been so nice to have your support throughout. Do hope you feel better soon & get back to being your bouncy Beany self!

Oops, I've forgotten who else has posted lately. Will post this now & comment later....

Hi there DODO challengers just popping in to see how everyone is doing.
I have been DODOing (on and off) since September. I say on an of because I either DODO or I take a break and don't fast, usually school hols are my down time. The very first two weeks were by far the hardest, constantly thinking about food, stuffing my face on food days, you know how it goes, but then it just fell into place. If I have a big social event on a fasting day then I skip a day (it's is ok to do this occasionally )
Have I lost weight......I don't know...I don't weight myself (I have scales from Satan) but I do see myself getting smaller and I go by the fit of my clothes. I don't cut carbs, sugars, or anything else deemed dubious, bad etc. however doing ADF I have found I have naturally cut down on carbs, sugars etc. I just seem to not want them anymore. I want really tasty food, plenty of herbs and spices..... I just need to taste my food now.
Sometimes I go over on a fast day, so what? I fast EOD, I've learnt to get over a 600-700 fast day, I don't cut myself up about it. Sometimes I eat too much on a food day, meh, who doesn't, I don't do it all the time, but sometime I need that other chocolate bar. I think with ADF you have to chill about what and when you eat, just stick to the programme as best you can. No one will haul you over hot coals for slipping up occasionally, only yourself! That's the hardest taskmaster isn't it?
I've just had two weeks on hols, I didn't fast. I find I can no longer eat until my stomach hurts. I naturally skip meals if I don't feel hungry. I enjoyed the blueberry ice cream , but only needed one scoop! I'm now back DODOing. I don't miss fasting when I'm away, but I'm glad to be back fasting.
This challenge, well, I'm impressed so many of you went for it, big up you all. Yeah it's hard and social events get in the way and all you think about is food and, and, but..... It's only a month. Please don't think I'm being harsh I'm not, I'm saying this. You can be flexible with ADF, you learn to be. If you want a true ADF month then cancel you diary and lock the doors haha. No seriously, you learn to rearrange, I see friends, we eat cake, cooked breakfasts, lunch, dinner, drink wine (not all in one go), take this Saturday, a fast day, girls night in and a house full with pizza, popcorn etc, I shall fast then have 1 slice ( not deep pan fully loaded) a handful of the salty stuff and that's it. I'm not depriving ( gawd forbid) I'm fasting! I am in no way a saint, don't get me wrong I've just learnt to ADF to suit me. I don't think it's for everyone and you have to give it time.
If you're finding it hard, restrictive etc....it is, there's no getting over it.....but it is flexible.
If you're finding it ok ... Yay...
Keep going, one month in a lifetime is nowt.

At last.... The scales are heading down and I'm feeling more comfortable with the DODO fasting.
I can't say it's easy or that I've stuck to 500 calories but I'm close and am now back to my pre holiday weight .... It's taken one month to get my head into this
Thanks for your ongoing support everyone.

[Tracieknits]

Great post @Minsmum!
I have always been so intimidated by the idea of DODO/ADF I was going to try it for a month just doing MWF

Are you saying weekends as a mom aren't sheer torture when you're fasting one of the days? I just read Krista Varaday's book and she says that your hunger really goes away on ADF because your body gets used to the rhythm - and that there's not enough of a rhythm with 5:2 so your body doesn't expect it. So I'm wondering if I want to commit to including weekends in DODO

Thanks @Tracieknits.
We still manage Saturday night movie nights and Sunday roast dinners with friends (albeit every other week) but we do it. Min knows if I'm fasting so doesn't bug me for treats because she knows she can't share (she's a good kid). I work a lot of weekends so fasting those days doesn't intrude too much. However if I'm off, we get one day of weekend treats, but our weekends are also taken up by dance lessons and swim training (its now swim season so its Saturday night galas!) so we have other stuff to work around.
As for hunger going away, well yeah I guess it does kind of. I no longer get any hunger pangs on fast days and I don't eat on a feed day until about 11 ish, that's when I feel hungry. But the thing is its a true hunger rather than a bored hunger or an emotional hunger, it's more of a need to fuel hunger, I crave/need protein (usually eggs) bread or cereals leave me feeling disappointed. ADF has definitely changed my taste/cravings/needs when it comes to food.
Give a weekend a go, see how it is. Do what suits, you might find every second weekend works who knows, just don't deprive, stress or miss out. x