The FastDay Forum

I'm quite a busy person - work Monday to friday 9-5 and almost every evening I have a physical activity eg salsa, running etc. I just can't work out when to organise a fast day. Would I be able to fast and then go out dancing at 8.30 to 11pm for example or will I feel awful and want to go to bed at 7pm after I have eaten? Advice and experiences welcome, thank you!

[janeg]

Hello annie51 and welcome
you are a busy person! To be honest, nobody can really say how you will be wen you fast as the experiences vary so much from person to person. That's not very helpful though!
I know that I could do nothing on my first fast days but now can do 18 hour physical days with no ill effects. Other people are salsa-ing, HITTing, kickboxing, running etc on from their first fast days with no ill effects.
I think you could do this in two ways.
The first is to try a fast at the weekend when you're maybe not so busy and see how you get on.
The second way is to ease yourself in gently by maybe doing an 800cal fast first day splitting the calories into 2 or 3 meals. see how you do on that then the next one do 6-700, in 2-3 meals again or however it suits from experience of the first fast and work it down to 500cals.
This way of eating has to suit the individual or else it won;t be sustainable. Playing about with the guidelines is making it work for many of us.
Hope this helps and you find a way to join us.
God luck and let us know how you get on.

Just jump in and try The first few fasts will probably be the hardest, but maybe approach them with a "if this doesn't work out today, I'll try again in a couple of days". You're not going to know until you fast though.

I find I go to bed early on fast days - but then, I'm an early riser/early to bed type anyway, so it's probably only slightly earlier than usual. I do all my usual exercise - bush walks, HIIT, skating - and it really doesn't make any difference.

Yup, no-body here can tell you how you're going to feel.

But here's what I do. My favourite fast days are Mondays and Thursdays, as they are nice and far apart, and if one of those days doesn't suit I can do a different pair quite easily. On Monday nights I go Scottish Country Dancing for 2 hours. On Thursdays I run for at least 30 minutes. I haven't found that doing these activities on a fast day has any impact.

But some people do feel very washed out on their fast days, particularly to start off with.

I did my second fast day yesterday, and had no problems doing everything I normally do, including physical activity, so I think it really depends on the person.

In your case I would probably split the calories on a fast day over 2 meals because if you eat nothing all day then a big meal at 7 I would imagine that you would be tired in the general tired after a big meal way, so I would go for 2 light meals rather than one big one.

Otherwise Janeg's idea of gradual calorie cutting seems like a good idea!

Good luck!

You are really not going to know until you try. I have found on the forum that people respond to fasts in different ways so just give it a go -knowing that you will find plenty of support here.

Really helpful to hear all your experiences and advice. I've had a much lighter day today calorie wise ( it just worked out that way today) and then ran 7 miles this evening. I usually feel panicky and think I'm going to pass out with hunger as I do usually feel shaky but tonight although I was hungry at times and a bit more tired at the end than usual I felt surprisingly good. Came home and had a glass of water, a glass of milk and a few nibbles but didn't feel like eating much at all. Interesting how much mind over matter influences our responses as well...still working out when to do the first fast but am feeling encouraged to just jump in and see what happens - if I feel awful and its an exercise night then maybe I'll just stoke up and try a different day. Thanks everyone.