The FastDay Forum

Hello there,

Another newbie! Did my first fast day yesterday and it went fine. Amazing! Why have I avoided being even a bit hungry, all my life?! It didn't kill me and today is a brand new day

Yesterday I had porridge for breakfast around 9:30am (200kcal), then soup for dinner at 7:30pm (300kcal). Nothing in between but loads of water, black tea, black coffee, and green tea. (Surprised to find black tea and black coffee are both perfectly fine).

I'm planning my next fast day is Thursday - I'll try having porridge as 'brunch' later, around 11:30am and see how I get on with that. From reading the boards, I also see a lot of others just keep the whole 500kcal for a single meal in the evening, so I might try that too.

I'm interested in others' experience of exercise on fast and non-fasting days as I'll be experimenting with this as well. I'm very fit (despite my current BMI of 28.5!), work out with a trainer twice a week, go running and horse-riding. Yesterday on my fast day I did a tough workout with my trainer at 7:30am before breakfast (same as I'd usually do) and that didn't seem to give me any problem fasting. Today no exercise due to my work schedule so I can't get test how it feels to exercise the day after a fast.

Anyone else tried out exercising on fast days and day-afters and found any interesting results?

[Tracieknits]

My husband runs on fast days or feast days and says it's really no different for him.

Fit and fat are very different things. I'm fitter at 35+ BMI than I've ever been.

I've been doing Crossfit the last couple of week and it seems to make not a lot of difference, it being a fast day or not.

Though I would say eat smart, avoid empty calories and if you are "really" hungry eat as your calorie deficit is likely to be more anyway so you can be a little more generous. However, try to stick to the fasting as much as possible as it does take time to get used to it (switch to fat burning) and the faster you can get through the adjustment phase the better...

If I am not at work I go to the gym at around 11 on an empty stomach. I do a 5km run on the treadmill and some weights and come back home not feeling hungry at all. So, in my experience, doing some exercise actually helps!

Thanks for the replies, chap(esse)s!

Good point about 'fit' and 'fat' being completely different things. I'm currently at not-quite (but nearly!) the max weight I've ever been and far from happy with my physical appearance, BUT at the same time my cardiovascular fitness and strength is probably at it's peak and I'm very happy with my performance in the gym.

Food is definitely the problem for me, not exercise!

I have also found in the past that exercise has an appetite supressing effect for me, at least temporarily: I can't be hungry whilst I'm exercising, and I tend not to feel like eating anything for at least an hour after an intense exercise session. So getting my exercise in on fast days will hopefully not be a problem (which was my only real reservation when I first hear about this diet!)

Welcome I find that I can do an exersise DVD on a fast day and that helps suppress hunger but I can't swim as I'm always starving after. Now I swim the day after a fast in the morning and come home to breakfast at ten am. That works great for me and doesn't affect my swim at all.

I run and on a fast day no problem. When I run the day after a fast day (and before eating anything) I find it harder than usual.

Hi,
I totally agree with you re feeling hungry again! I couldn't remember the last time I felt hungry before fasting. I was always nibbling at some snack or another, generally over eating.
I am interested in how you get on with the exercise and fasting. I am a tennis coach and so am very active playing an average of about 10 hours a week at this time of year. As I started this diet in January I feel I am in a good routine. I had a few stomach pains to begin with but they have subsided.
I run 5k about 4 or 5 times a week and then do a 5 k dog walk straight afterwards a few times a week. On a fast day I now have all my calories in the evening or half at 3.30ish then the other half with the rest of the family in the evening. I tend to have fruit for first half then a salmon fillet with Sainsburys Mediterranean vegetables. I feel very fit all day and keep busy doing house work jobs in between work. The next day when I run I do feel slightly slower than after a feast day. At first I was surprised to hear that people actually went all day without food; I didn't think I would be able to do this. Now it's really easy. If I have 3 hours tennis in a row then by the 3rd hour (on a fast day) I begin to feel a bit pooped. So now I pick a fast day when I have a gap between sessions. I have definitely got a lot more energy in the long run after starting this diet.
Anyway enough of me rambling on! Let me know how you get on

Well, I'm brand new to these forums and to the 5/2 Diet. Officially started it this morning! But I've always exercised in a fasted state ie first thing in the morning on waking, only intake a glass of water with a Berocca B tablet in it. After a long exercise break due to ill health and various back disasters, I'm back to it. Right now I've worked up to 2 hours mixed steady state cardio, with some weights thrown in 3 x week. And I can say I'm not struggling (beyond the whole crap, I'm so unfit again thang). The only proviso I'd make is to say make sure you've got a good electrolyte balance happening - double check you've got enough sodium on board, and magnesium and potassium. Because if those are out of whack the whole exercise process is compromised.

Very glad to be here, looking forward to dealing with my weight issues once and for all.