The FastDay Forum

I've been "away". I am facing facts that paying 20plus quid a month might be successfully deluding me that I am on a diet, but in reality, I am doing F all, frankly.

So. I want to come back to fasting. I may have to face facts that I am going to have to cycle through fasting, calorie counting, then fasting again and so on. WW wasn't easy, but then neither was fasting. Both have psychological costs but right now I need to break the cycle of food and sugar/carb addiction and I know from experience that fasting can help me. So. Anyone willing to tell a lapsed faster that she CAN do it?

Of course you can! Though I don't agree that you need to go back and forth to WW, or any other "plan"; I consider 5:2 my Way of Life and just the way I eat for the rest of my life. And you needn't have that tail between your legs; if WW works for some people, more power to 'em! I just can't count calories on a daily basis, it's guaranteed failure for me. I had GIVEN UP losing weight till this came along (tired of yo-yo-ing); gone from a 31 BMI to 27+, would like to get lower, but I'm doing great now, so.... it's all good! Blood pressure down, knees and feet not hurting mean I can walk and dance without being crippled for days.

Try to find "other" results from 5:2 that help keep you motivated; for me, it's the aforementioned BP and knees...also, that I can have a beer, or ice cream, on a normal day, without guilt! yeah!

Welcome back @Bluebirdie. You're right, there is not easy solution. But for me, fasting is only hard 2 days a week. Lately I've got a bit slack but I am very pleased to say that yesterday's fast was a strict 500calories so I know I can do it again. So if I can do it, you can do it. Keep posting and join us on fast days.

Of course you can !!! If I may say so, I don't think you should go back and forth between fasting and WW either. I think you need to find your balance and basically stick to it. You must be abble to see yourself doing the same way of eating in 10 years without getting bored which would lead to boredom and giving up. You're here for the long run, which is, for me, the key to make things work. Just my two cents of cour

Thank you. Yes, I do need a lifetime WoE really, I agree. I found though that I ended up cheating myself with fasting last time - overeating at the weekends etc.. I'm going to do my first fast this time round on Thursday this week. I'm hoping it will reset my head to get me back into weightloss mode and with a new sense of appetite...

Hi @Bluebirdie, welcome back! I too have just started back on 5:2 after a few months off trying a different WoE (which didn't really work!). It's funny, I know that 5:2 works for me, but I can't seem to stop my brain getting bored with it after about 6 months, then I have to try something else that doesn't work so well, just to convince my brain that actually 5:2 is the way to go! I then return to 5:2 fresh and motivated. I suspect it's a personality thing - they say the best diet is the one you can stick with, so where for some of us that might be continuous 5:2, others of us may need to mix it up a bit to keep interested!
Good luck with getting back into 5:2 - of course you can do it as you've done it before!

@fancyacuppa good to hear it isn't just me with a short attention span. I do think it is a psychological thing: after a while it feels like something external is 'telling me what to do', even though this is just stupid! So when I'm 'told what to do' I usually do the opposite. So I need to feel like I 'own' the decision again after a while, which is why I think I need to change it up somehow.

I wish I wasn't like this, ie I could just decide to do something and stick with it FOREVER, but I have never really been able to. I'm learning to think of it as a strength. So I will see how I get on this week and hopefully get motivated after my first full day of fasting on Thursday!

[carieoates]

Ha Ha this thread title did make me laugh out loud.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing more (actually less) of you.

[Debs]

I guess it's possible to get fasting fatigue as well as diet fatigue and as you say you don't want to spend money every week for the rest of your life if you don't have to.
I came to the conclusion that full fasting was tricky for me, but since switching to daily fasting of anywhere between 16:8 and 20:4 I find I can do it happily every day, it has moderated my appetite too, although I get off days of wanting to eat chair legs!!!
Good luck and yes you can do it. And of course, it's free!!!!

Hi Bluebirdie, I'm coming back too although not from WW, but definitely looking for the approach that works for me. 5:2 worked for me before so I'm hopeful that I can get in the groove again. We can do this!

I'm experimenting with a fasting window right now and did fine with it until I gave myself a day "off" -- discovered I need to do some learning about the difference between a day off and a free for all! I haven't done a regular fast day yet and I want to. Think I'll do as you did and plan it for Thursday.

In the meantime, good luck to you, hang in there!

Dee

Hi Bluebirdie, welcome back. I totally get the fasting fatigue and it has happened to me since 2012. Every year I fasted for about 6 months and then stopped in the winter to re-start in the summer. When I reached goal weight last October once again, I swore I would never stop fasting as I was tired of having to "undo the damage" Whilst I have not given up this winter, I have noticed that I got a bit slack over the past three months by doing semi fasts or giving up on fasts and making all kinds of excuses and gained about 4lb. Not the end of the world as long as I don't let it go on. So I have given myself a good talking to and got strict again this week, by doing a good fast yesterday. It was so successful that I asked myself what my problem was. But unfortunately our minds are wonderous things and the success of fasting, in my case, is 90% in the mind.

For me it is always the sugar that is the culprit. If I don't fast I fall into the sugar trap. When I fast I usually fast for 22 hrs and then have protein and vegetables and that seems to re-set /get rid of my sugar craving, which is exactly what happened after my fast yesterday. So I know I have to keep fasting for that reason - to get a grip on the sugar addiction. If I give in to my sugar addiction my body loses out on valuable nutritious food and I don't think when you are bit older your body doesn't tolerate such foolishness without health consequences.

Welcome back everyone!

I have heard that most people only manage to stick to most diets for 6 months - there are physiological as well as psychological factors for this. One suggestion is to take a break every 6 weeks or so, or whenever the weight plateaus, and just concentrate on maintaining. You will know when you are ready to start the diet again, whatever it is.

I found 5:2 wonderful for weight loss the first time, but I have had more trouble using it effectively for maintenance. I realized that if I was fasting 2 days a week but only maintaining, then I must be overeating on the other days, which I don't like the idea of. Eating windows are perhaps a better way of fasting when maintaining, but I have never liked being restricted in when I can eat every day. Therefore I have been concentrating on learning how to be more aware of my body's needs and hunger, and eating only when sufficently hungry until satisfied, and no more (well, ideally!). Eating a wide range of mainly whole foods helps with this. (This approach is from the "Don't go hungry" diet from Amanda Sainsbury-Salis. This works well for me providing I have access to a wide range of whole foods - which doesn't happen when on non self-catered holidays, as happened recently.)

I do think that whatever eating regime you are following, it is worth learning to recognize the body's hunger signals and eating according to those. Fast days do help you learn about true hunger!

Best wishes and good luck to you all. And keep us posted on your experiences, good and bad!!

Hi @Bluebird yep you CAN do it as you and others say it's a slow and steady learning journey .... we are all different, and I'm here to stay as this is where I learn to be independent and keep on track.

@Sassy1, interesting that you should mention the 'Don't Go Hungry' diet, that is what I have spent the last few months doing! The fact that I'm back on 5:2 this week might be a hint that it didn't go so well... a real shame as I found the book really interesting and was so willing it to work, but in the end it wasn't a good fit with my work pattern. I did manage to take away some good lessons from it though.
I know the DGH books get discussed in various threads, I wonder if there should be a dedicated thread somewhere on here for discussing them?

This was so helpful to read. I've been away from the forum for ages. Not sure what I've been doing, except gaining weight.

I, too, think I got bored with the fast days. First the days grew from strict adherence to 500 cal max to 700-ish to "well, under 1000 is good. " Then I played with eating windows. Then I was off the path completely!

I agree with the advice here that it's good to be aware that may happen, especially for those of us who have some significant pounds to shift. Taking a break sounds healthier to me than starting over on a new plan.

My thoughts now as I prepare to re-enter the fold: start with a month (Aug) of 4:3 to really commit and get in the groove (and plus my husband will be off for training and not grumbling, "is it a fast day??")....then I will probably go to 5:2. I enjoy the eating windows and may incorporate those for maintenance *when* (!) I get there.
Thank you all for still being here!