The FastDay Forum

Hi Fasters,
I am new here and arrive having spent several weeks struggling with a 6:1 weekly fast to improve my health. I am 58 and at my best weight of 8.5 stones but have been upset to see both my parents with dementia and other health problems. The fasting program seemed to offer a way to go into old age with more control and a better prospects so I started fasting. So far the fasts have been ok, no real hunger but very bad headaches and the last fast gave me a bad migraine. I see this is fairly normal and is called low carb flu but I would love to know how to avoid it. I intend to drink more fluids this week to see if that is the problem.
Any other skinnies out there on 6:1 ?
love Bonepin x

Hi @Bonepin, I am maintaining at BMI 21-22 ish. I generally do one proper fast per week and also miss a breakfast or lunch if not particularly hungry. When I first started in 2013 I did have some headaches but after reading through lots of other people's posts tried drinking veg stock soup (I like Marigold) or miso or an Oxo cube in hot water - any clear salty soup really, I think you might need some salt as well as fluid to rehydrate if you are not eating. Sorry if you're already doing this. ...If you have only been going several weeks you might still need to get used to it. What do you eat on fast days?

Fanx JLmid, I am planning to fast tomorrow so I will try hot savory drinks...I have the very same Marigold veg stock you suggest. In the past I have had either nothing but herb teas or lately I added a few rice cakes to stave off the headaches but these didnt help much. I am semi-retired and work at home. Heaven knows how some of you fast and go out to work. Until I sort out these headaches I just feel too crap to do much on fast days except go for a stroll and read. I really hope I can make fast days a bit more normal. I will let you know how it goes X

Seems rather obvious...but just in case you didn't think of it, do you usually consume caffeine? Because a caffeine withdrawal headache is pretty awful; in fact, the first thing I checked when I first heard about 5.2 was that I could have my coffee on fast days (fortunately, I like it black).

Yuz thought about that and had a nice strong cup of black tea this morning. I love coffee but I can get shaky with it... too much of a high and then a low with it to drink on fast days, but the caffeine in tea has kept withdrawal headache at bay. In fact today has been the best fast ive done (done about 6) having made more effort to drink water, and the salty veg stock was a very welcome addition.