The FastDay Forum

Just started intermittent fasting this week and have decided to try 4:3 as it appeals the most to me.

Today is Wednesday and my second day of fasting (I plan to fast on Mon, Wed and Fridays) and already am cautiously amazed at how quickly I'm adapting to the fasting. Weirdly was actually looking forward to my fast day this morning!

This might change, but at the moment I'm not planning to eat a meal as such on my fast days, and these past two fast days I've just had coffees and water through the day, and sugar free chewing gum. I'm just worried if I start eating the hunger monster will take over lol, so think for me it might be easier to just avoid food in general on those days - but I'll see how I go and if the feeling takes me I may try a small evening meal at some point. Any input on this is very welcome!

Have 2-3 stones to lose overall but fully expect to aim for that goal slow and steady over at least a 12-month period. In the meantime I have a birthday coming up in mid-October, so am hoping to maybe drop a dress size by then. Fingers crossed!

Feel very lucky already to have found this fab website and forum, and am looking forward to hearing from folks, new like me and more experienced

Welcome @floo76 - glad you found us!

You sound as if you are pretty well informed about the 5:2/ 4:3 approach to intermittent fasting - and there is lots of info in the LEARN pages as well as in the discussion forums - you can do a search to find topics of interest (you may need to refine the search).

Good for you managing a whole day without eating! That's more than I could ever do. A few people have used that strategy but many do have an evening meal. I understand your fear of releasing the hunger monster, but most people find meal options that are filling enough and see them through the evening without needing more to eat. Some do keep a few cals up their sleeve for a bedtime snack to avoid going to bed feeling hungry. Different people react in different ways, and handle feeling hungry differently, so just experiment with what works best for you if you do feel at some stage that you need to eat on a fast day.

Do make use of the "Fasting today" threads, consider joining the challenges, and keep us posted on how you are going. Aiming to lose 2-3 stone over 12 months sounds a realistic goal - depending to some extent on your energy requirements, a loss of about a pound a week is expected. Mini-goals are good too - dropping a dress size in a month is possible, especially if you are quick to lose initially (loss may slow later - I think I have noticed that for those who have long-term success with this way of eating, their trackers show an exponential decline). In theory you should lose more on 4:3 than 5:2 but I am not sure that is the general experience - it is possible that those on 4:3 eat more on their non-fast days?? But whatever works for you!

Best wishes and good luck.

Hi @@Sassy1!

Thanks so much for your warm welcome

We are a widespread bunch, you in Australia and me in bonny Scotland, love forums which bring folks together from all over the world like this.

I tried 5:2 several years ago and for whatever reason it didn't gel for me (most likely my noggin wasn't in the right place to be trying it), so I think when I decided to have another bash at intermittent fasting this time around, I knew if I went ahead I would probably be trying a different variation of IF.

I already think though it will be great to mix it up if I need to and do a 5:2 the odd week if that's what works out best with my schedule / social life

Feeling so motivated right now which is fab, that's been majorly lacking up until now! Tho today was kind of tough day at work and my tummy felt a bit upset and had to run to toilet a few times. Think it will just take a bit of time for it to get used to this fasting / eating on alternate day thing.

Thanks for the tips on the forum and setting mini goals etc Am also really loving all the success stories I've read so far on here, so motivating

P:S can anyone tell me how to add that I'm doing 4:3 on my personal info bit in green on the left which everyone sees?

Thanks!

Hi again @floo76

Feeling motivated certainly makes a big difference - I guess that is stating the obvious... May your motivation remain high! There are certainly lots of great success stories - and valuable learnings from those who have not had so much success.

Tummies are sensitive things at times, hope yours doesn't continue to give you trouble. Were you drinking a lot of coffee to get you through the day, that could be the culprit. You may have read in another thread that I am trying a FODMAP diet to identify foods that upset my tummy. I know that too much fat also upsets me - unlikely to be a problem on a fast day tho.

The forum has active participants from Australia, UK, US and Europe, and occasionally from other parts of the world - which is great! I am English born and have visited Glasgow a couple of times as a friend used to live there. Was last there in 2005. Goodness, that is now a while ago!

Re your query, I don't think we can influence what is in the green box, but you can edit your signature, which appears below your posts, in the User Control Panel.

We look forward to continuing to hear from you. Many people start here but "disappear" after a few posts (sometimes only one!).

All the best.

[Tracieknits]

Hello and welcome!!

The green bit to the left is not editable -- it's information pulled directly off your tracker. the "5:2 for life" bit is poster status -- post enough (500 posts, I think) to get that one.

Oh Scotland is indeed bonny!! We visited two years ago and fell in love with the country. My son is considering college in Edinburgh.

In any case, welcome! I'm glad it's working out for you this time around. It's so funny, how sometimes something will work for us and other times it won't.

Hey @Sassy1
That's cool you've visited Glasgow, things probably changed a bit in last 12 years but you know what a lot will still be exactly the same. I went to uni and studied in Edinburgh from 1995-1999 and went back to visit recently and it was kind of fascinating to see what had changed and yet how much was still exactly as I remembered it.

I do love Scotland and Glasgow in particular - never been to Aus yet but maybe one day, so many places I want to visit (oh for the funds to make it happen tho lol)!

Aye my tum doesn't do too well with a lot of fatty foods, especially as had my gallbladder removed in an operation late last year, so my digestion in general is still taking a while to get back to what I would call normal since then. Am hoping that IF lifestyle benefits my health overall though

Hiya @Tracieknits - and thanks for the warm welcome!

Another Scotland fan wohooo, well I studied at Edinburgh Uni so I'm a bit biased lol, but it is a GORGEOUS historic city and he would have a ball. Just tell him to wrap up warm, that wind off Leith goes right through you

I know what you mean about needing head in right place - if the head's not into it, I find I can't get on board at all, so hoping I can keep up the motivation! So far so good this week. On my third fast day today, and looking forward to nice lunch out tomorrow with a family member

[Tracieknits]

Even though we are south of you, we get some brutally cold winters in upstate New York, including strong winds and snowfall can sometimes be 36" (a full METER) at once. So I don't think he's intimidated in the least by the weather. And he doesn't have the grades for University of Edinburgh, but he's got his eyes on Napier. He might apply to both, if he brings his grades up this year, but it would be a longshot.

Oooof, I've had my gallbladder out too. I have to agree, fasting seemed to really help my health and my digestive issues. I can even digest fat now!

I agree there are so many places in the world that would be great to visit! I have been to Edinburgh a few times, including during a trip to locate the former residences and graves of my ancestors (from Dundee and surrounds). Edinburgh is a fascinating city. I love all the Rebus novels and TV series - I think Ken Stott is a perfect Rebus.

Australia is a long way away from the UK and the US and, like the US, you have to travel huge distances to see different parts of the country. The beauty of England, and Western Europe, is its compactness. I am very envious of my UK relatives who have such ready access to so many other countries. I love exploring Australia (we recently took our caravan on a quick trip to Central Oz and had a marvellous time) but I too would like to see more of the rest of the world. Almost all my overseas trips have focussed on the UK, because friends and relatives are there.

And to completely change the topic... Presumably not having a gall bladder doesn't have a major impact on your lives and what you can eat?? Happy fasting!

@Tracieknits I didn't have the grades for Edinburgh Uni initially either as I thought I wanted to do straight English Lit, but discovered if I opted for a joint degree course (English &a Scottish Lit) I could get a lower grade offer and drop the Scot Lit part after a year if I chose. Well that was my favourite part in the end so it was a win-win

Napier would be a great place to study also, either way it's Edinburgh so can't go wrong - but don't forget Glasgow, also has awesome study options and a beautiful city - am now sounding like I'm from the tourist board

@Sassy1 Am a big reader but you know I have never read (or watched) Rebus, cannae believe it ha ha!

Luckily not having gallbladder doesn't seem to have had too much impact but I think my digestion is still acclimatising a bit. You just go from having a bile storage facility which supplies bile more on a 'on demand' basis, to having none, which means bile is sort of constantly dripping into the digestive system. Keeping mine wasn't an option in the end with the complications I was having, and am very grateful to my amazing doctors for getting it out!

Well ladies I succeeded with my third fasting day yesterday,, but have to admit I got extremely hungry by late afternoon so decided by time got home from work to have a small evening 'meal' of hearty steel cut oats (very filling!) and that did the job. Think I might need to rethink my zero calorie strategy for fast days in the long term!

Hope your weekends are jolly

Hello, @Floo76. Well done with your successful fasts but you should not hesitate to have your 400 - 500 calorie allowance on your fast day, if you feel you want/need it.

I lost my weight doing 'straight' 5:2 ie. five hundred (approximately) calories for my fast day evening meal and nothing else all day - except for a lot of black, sugarless tea. I'm not sure that I would have coped with nothing except liquids until the next day. I needed my evening meal to look forward to!

Good luck for your future fasts!

[Tracieknits]

Oooh that's cool Floo I was going to say I may let him apply after all then, until I remembered their tuition for international students is 25,000 GBP, whereas Napier is only 14,000. And that doesn't include living expenses! We will be stressed enough to afford Napier.

I definitely agree that there's no harm in eating your allotted calories for dinner on a fast day. I'm glad the porridge worked for you! I usually aim for protein, a bit of fat and some veggies as a fast day meal.

I am without a gallbladder as well. I found that over time, the disgestive reactions calmed down and I rarely notice complications. For the first year or two there were more profound side effects. But the human body is great at adapting

Oooh that's cool Floo I was going to say I may let him apply after all then, until I remembered their tuition for international students is 25,000 GBP, whereas Napier is only 14,000. And that doesn't include living expenses! We will be stressed enough to afford Napier.

Oh ouch, jeezo Tracie that's a lot of money! I was lucky enough to be studying at Uni a time when our fees were basically paid for us and the only cost parents had to worry about was helping out with rent and living expenses if they could. So I feel your pain!

Yeah I think I'll definitely keep that evening meal as an option. I think my first couple fasts I'd almost got past feeling hungry by home time and didn't really see the point but now I see that could trip me up on days if I do get hungry and might be safest to plan to eat something. Will need to have think about what to stock up on for small evening meals. I don't mind cooking, especially in winter, so might make up some stews and soups to have ready in the freezer

Hi @floo76

I see you are online at the moment! It's almost the first time I have noticed someone else on when I am!

I agree with our colleagues re eating on fast days. Sounds like a good plan to have some soups and stews ready in the freezer. As inferred, it is worth having a reasonable amount of protein in the mix.

I actually started 5:2 with 3 small meals a day, and that worked fine for me. I ended up moving to one meal a day, and that was fine too. Like Stowie, I lost easily and regularly on the basic 5:2. I found it was important to keep the cals to around 500 though.

Best wishes for your fasting!

PS We were the lucky generation to get basically free Uni education. In Australia, most children go to local universities, if they can, so often can still live at home, but the tuition costs are now becoming astronomical. People can spend their whole lives paying back the debt. So wrong in my opinion.

@Stowgateresident

Hi Stowie! Thanks for the tips.

I've taken all your advice today and eaten a delicious evening meal, so now think this is definitely the way to go. Think I was just worried I might not be able to stop once I started but I now feel more confident about that.

Wasn't sure what to cook so ended up getting a ready meal of haddock mornay I think it's called with mashed potatoes which came in at around 450 cals and some steamed veggies on the side (carrots). Enjoyed every morsel! Now need to russle up some 500 cal recipes, think I will set aside this weekend to stock the freezer.

Well done, @Floo76! You made it through your fast day and I bet you enjoyed every mouthful of your meal. I think that your idea of spending time preparing some fast day dinners is an excellent one. Fast days need to be as simple as possible, it's N0T the time to start fancy, time-consuming preparation.
Good luck for the forthcoming fast days! Onwards and downwards with that weight!