The FastDay Forum

I just started IF 2 weeks back and now I found this community online. I hope to share and learn from the members here and achieve my goal of losing 30 lbs in 3 months.

Vick

We seem to have similar goals. I’m trying to lose 35lbs and started 16:8 last week.

There doesn’t seem to be much going on on the forum, unless it’s just me!

Good luck.

It used to be a very active forum but some people manage to maintain weight loss without the need of the forum and others have (unfortunately) given up. I'm planning to be back on regularly as it has been a great help in the past.

Good luck with fasting. Have a look at using the progress tracker as that's a great tool, where you can have mini goals and a long term goal.

Still finding my way around so your pointer is gratefully received. I’ve tried fasting before with some success so skipping breakfast isn’t too much of a hardship. It’s snacking particularly late at night I struggle most with!

What do you guys think about longer fasts like 36 or 42 hour fasts.

Welcome @vikbhard and @h2596!

Vick, this forum does not support longer fasts where no food is consumed (the standard 5:2 fast day is 36 hours with 500 cals consumed in that time, though some people don't eat any food on the actual fast day - I see that rawkaren is planning this). So depends what you mean by 36 or 42 hour fasting!

H, I have similar issues to you re late night snacking! What strategies have you tried to help limit this?

Best wishes to you both,

What do you guys think about longer fasts like 36 or 42 hour fasts.

Hi Vick,

Welcome to the group. 10 pounds per month is possible but approaches the upper end of what's likely (I did it in 2013 and have maintained since then). To that end I'd suggest going to ADF rather than 5:2. It's essentially one addional day each week (thereby cutting total weekly calories by around 30%, IIRC). It provides a consistent routine that can get you to fat burning mode (and eliminate hunger) somewhat sooner.

Presuming that you're not diabetic and are otherwise healthy...

For a 36 hour three-days-a-week fast you could simply not eat those 5:2 recommended 500-600 calories on fast days.

For a 42 hour fast do the above while also skipping breakfast every day of the week.

Rationally when you think about it, neither of these two protocols risks health for the vast majority of otherwise healthy people. You will always, afterall, be eating something the very next day. Please realize that this site limits discussions of extended fasting, so it's quite likely this post will be edited to smother the second suggestion. In any event, see pages 258 and 259 in the book The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung. (See reviews posted in the science section.)

Everyone reading this, please realise too that fasting is only one tool in the box to both lose weight and help regain a healthy life. It is no better than any other weight loss method in terms of providing a one-time permanent cure. To accomplish that you must carefully reevaluate what "normal eating" means to you. We all got fat and unhealthy by "eating normally". Losing weight and immediately going back to any former "normal" absolutely guarantees quick and dramatic weight gain.

Hope this is helpful.

Edits: Fixing typos.

... re late night snacking! What strategies have you tried to help limit this?

Cravings often occur in the evening around 8pm or so due to our cyclical, hormonally induced nature.

The most effective way I found to eliminate this is to give into it.

Seriously, try eating something fat - like a very small piece of cheese. It works.

What do you guys think about longer fasts like 36 or 42 hour fasts.

Hi Vick,

Welcome to the group. 10 pounds per month is possible but approaches the upper end of what's likely (I did it in 2013 and have maintained since then). To that end I'd suggest going to ADF rather than 5:2. It's essentially one addional day each week (thereby cutting total weekly calories by around 30%, IIRC). It provides a consistent routine that can get you to fat burning mode (and eliminate hunger) somewhat sooner.

Presuming that you're not diabetic and are otherwise healthy...

For a 36 hour three-days-a-week fast you could simply not eat those 5:2 recommended 500-600 calories on fast days.

For a 42 hour fast do the above while also skipping breakfast every day of the week.

Rationally when you think about it, neither of these two protocols risks health for the vast majority of otherwise people. You will always, afterall, be eating something the very next day. Please realize that this site limits discussions of extended fasting, so it's quite likely this post will be edited to smother the second suggestion. If any event, see pages 258 and 259 in the book The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung. (See reviews posted in the science section.)

Everyone reading this, please realise too that fasting is only one tool in the box to both lose weight and help regain a healthy life. It is no better than any other weight loss method in terms of providing a one-time permanent cure. To accomplish that you must carefully reevaluate what "normal eating" means to you. We all got fat and unhealthy by "eating normally". Losing weight and immediately going back to any former "normal" absolutely guarantees quick and dramatic weight gain.

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks! This is helpful. I have lost about 6 lbs so far over about 3 weeks by doing 5:2. I'll experiment with ADF and see how that works out.

Everyone reading this, please realise too that fasting is only one tool in the box to both lose weight and help regain a healthy life. It is no better than any other weight loss method in terms of providing a one-time permanent cure. To accomplish that you must carefully reevaluate what "normal eating" means to you. We all got fat and unhealthy by "eating normally". Losing weight and immediately going back to any former "normal" absolutely guarantees quick and dramatic weight gain.

@ADFnFuel I couldn't agree more!

Re your suggestion for helping evening snacking, unfortunately the snacking is not just the result of cravings but of habit and the enjoyment of eating foods I love... I do often have some cheese as the "first port of call" and it sometimes will limit the amount I eat afterwards. But I do love sweet foods and obviously have not been prepared to give them up...Much as I agree with all the theory about added sugar foods... I do accept that it is my choice to eat these foods, and therefore I also accept the consequences. But I am always looking for strategies that I am happy with that help me limit the evening snacking. I do find ones that work for a while, from time to time. Overall, my weight management is reasonable, so as cblasz has said to me, perhaps I should stop worrying about it all so much!