The FastDay Forum

Please tell me that it get's easier.....
After years of being overweight, I have decided to give the 5:2 diet ago. Well needless to say, I have had my allowance of calories for the day and I'm still really hungry. I have ordered the 5:2 book from amazon for my kindle and I think that I will have another cup of peppermint tea, read my book and dream about tea tomorrow. (chicken curry - yum!!!!!)

A bit about me - My name is Pauline and I have just turned 40! I have no idea how much I weigh (don't weigh myself) but I am roughly a size 20! I would like to be around a size 16 for Christmas, so here's hoping.....

[Moogie]

Hi Pauline & welcome
It does indeed get easier as you learn to ignore the hunger and drink plenty of water to stave it off. I seldom feel hungry on a fast these days, except getting towards dinnertime when I know I'm going to eat!

How did you split your cals today? Many of us ladies find it's actually easier to go without food all day and then have a nice big 500 cal dinner with plenty of filling veggies! Otherwise if we eat something during the day it seems to kick-start the appetite and only make us hungrier.

I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised in the morning and find you wake up not especially hungry - seems to be the case for most of us! The only times I wake up hungry is if I've had a 250 cal salad for my fast day dinner, which is well within the 500 cals but so big I can't manage more than that!

Hi Pauline, I'm relatively new too, today is my 7th fasting day. It will definately get better.My worst days were the first two, by the third I was surprised to be feeling hungry but not overwhelmingly and not shaky at all. I thought I had low blood sugar because I used to get shaky and have headaches as soon as I was hungry before starting this diet.That has stopped altogether now on fasting and feasting days.
Keep going : )

[carorees]

Hi Pauline

Take heart...the first day is the worst, it gets better really quickly!

hi there - i've been fasting for over a month now, you have to play around a bit to find out what works for you. when hunger pangs strike, i tend to go for a walk or drink a glass of fizzy water (i can imagine its champagne). what activities do you do that you lose yrself in? like watching a film or reading a book, gardening, talking to a friend (not about hunger pangs)? the less attention you give yr hunger pangs, the less they will be able to disrupt you. the other thing i find very useful is to have planned my fasting day food the day before, so i don't have to think about food, only eat and enjoy it. i find that some fasting days, i eat only twice, others, i'm grazing off 400g strawberries (around 112 cals) or raw carrots (33 cals each). i admire those who go the whole hog, and eat nothing on a fasting day, but that ain't me. why not give this diet a month to see if you can settle into it? good luck.

It does get easier! I used to get headaches and have a very rumbly tum! I found that skipping breakfast and lunch (as others have found) and sticking to a black coffee, water and a diet coke during the day was actually easier than having a lunch! I also used to imagine what I would eat tomorrow and this too has decreased (although sometimes I still overeat on normal days), I'm a size 20 and although still a size 20 I can fit jeans that didn't fit before and have lost 15lbs, try taking a waist measurement as I wished I had, although I've moved in 4 notches on my belt so I have a rough idea of how my body has changed! Things get easier quickly, I made a goal to stick with it religiously for 6 weeks and after that it's become normal! Keep going!

Today is my first day too! I am also struggling. Right now I'm feeling a bit dizzy, so I had 12 almonds - putting me over my intended 500 cal mark. Which brings me to my first question: Since I am about 60 pounds overweight, don't I need more calories?

I think day 1 is always the hardest for everyone, but it does get easier. I myself, prefer to have breakfast, soup for lunch then an evening meal, with plenty of green tea or water. Keep at it, you will succeed.

It does get easier! Day one (and two) are relatively easy though as its something new and you're probably feeling excited and positive about it - so dont be surprised if next week still feels tough!
After my first day I woke up feeling sick and dizzy and was desperate to eat. However, six weeks in and fast days are now really enjoyable and I dont need to rush to the fridge the morning after.
Ive only lost about 4lbs in six weeks but Ive gone from a size 14 to 10 so try not to get fixated on the scales.
Stick with it - its worth it.

My first day too. It's going on nine pm here and i am thinking of just going to bed soon to end this. It really has not been all THAT bad. Had two HB eggs for breakfast and six oz salmon and twenty asparagas spears spears for dinner. I just have eight pounds to lose, maybe ten. I really need to get my cholesterol down though and diabetes runs in my family so i have high hopes for this plan.

[janeg]

Well done everyone for embarking on your first fasts- hopefully of many. This is a new way of life/eating and it takes a bit to get used to. Physically, our bodies are going to rebel and we can over ride that with planning and determination. Psychologically is, I think, harder! Generally, the third time we do something different is the hardest, so the third fast and also the third week could be tough. I think, knowing that can help with planning and may be useful.
Dragonheart, if you check your TDEE (look in the resources section) you will be able to work out a rough guide to your calories for feed days. A quarter of that is what you have for your fast days.
Again, well done everyone. Keep checking in to the board for support, questions and a good way to distract yourselves:)

It definitely gets easier. I am not losing much now but with increased exercise I am maintaining and my shape is improving. Had to buy new work trousers today as things are slipping off! So stick with it for at least 6 weeks. I am sure once you do that it will become second nature

Welcome to 5:2 - I agree with all the others on here who've commented that this gets easier - it definitely did for me too - I almost look forward to a fast day now (and I'm a girl that LOVES to eat!) Initially I struggled with headaches, but I've now overcome them/my body's adjusted and this fasting lark is now second nature. Do stick with it for a fair period of time (4/6 weeks I think others have suggested in other threads). This WOL is working for so many of us and hopefully it will for you too. Good luck

I have just finished reading the book and decided to sign up for the forums and get cracking so this is my first day also.

I had two eggs, scambled, for breakfast which was nice but the tummy rumbles have just started so I am filling up on water and hoping I can just ignore it...finger crossed!

While reading the book I realised I used to fast naturally when I was younger and often only ate about 500-600 cals on some days and more on others. I never really thought of it as fasting it was just how I was, I was also very slim with a lovely flat stomach which I would love to get back. While I haven't piled on loads of weight as I have gotten older I do now have some small muffin tops and a bigger stomach than I am happy with so I am hoping this will help me beat that as none of the other diets I have tried have.

I work shifts and this week I'm up at 4.30am so by 11am it's my dinner time and I'm starving!!! So by 11am I have eaten most of my calories!!!!! I am allergic to eggs so can't have a low cal omelette which would work a treat I'm sure!