The FastDay Forum

I haven't seen anything else about this particular problem recently so please add in you experiences here.

A quick resume of my operation. I have had a chunk of bone taken from my pelvis to make into a graft for my neck vertebra for a spinal fusion. Therefore I have bone building and rebuilding issues, plus muscle damage from where they had to go through the top of the thigh for the donator bone and damage to my throat where everything was shoved out of the way.

I stopped fasting about 10 days before my operation as I was too stressed to keep to it. I am now 4 weeks post op and have only managed 1 proper fast since then. I just can't seem to control my eating, its worse than prior to starting 5:2 in that I am even starting to eat breakfast again.

Could it just be that my body is saying to take it easy a bit longer or am I being a scaredy cat again?

Have you had an operation since being on 5:2? Did you manage to slide back into fasting easily? If so what do you think helped with that transition? Any hints and tips?

No i havent experienced this Julie but could it be your body has been through enough trauma for now..Caro tells us that fasting IS a little stressful to the body ..
Maybe replenish your body by just eating mindfully and nourishingly for now..avoid the junk,have a nutritious brekkyif you want it,ditto lunch and dinner
My thoughts for what they're worth..you are healing so need to be gentle and kind to yourself x

[carieoates]

Julie, I did 16.8 for about 4-6 weeks post op. Plus I was very very sick after I came round so given your stronger constitution I'd say try one a week and see how you feel. Also recently I haven't fasted all day and had my one meal in the evening, I've been having a very low cal lunch of lettuce and Tuna or cheese and ham.
Can't believe it's 20 weeks since all that malarky.

I think you just have to be really sensible and listen to your body. I spent most of last year and the start of this in and out of hospital and anaemic from my stomach bleeds and it took a long time to feel ready to face anything other than coping with each day. I personally think it takes six weeks to fully get over a general anaesthetic let alone what you were given it for.

You will know when you're ready, be nice to yourself too.

Thank you all. I forgot to consider the General Anesthetic as I recovered from that amazingly well supposedly all down to the new anesthetics that are being developed all the time and the ways of administering it. Less needed so less recovery time needed. Plus I do believe that getting fitter prior to the operation helped a lot. It meant that even though I am still borderline morbidly obese, my blood pressure etc were in the very good range.

Julie I had 2 anaesthetics last year, they alone need recovery from. Also the knitting bone is extremely important especially as we age. 6 weeks used to be stock standard post op recovery. With the wisdom of hindsight I would develop a very healthy and nourishing menu, but you could manage that in 16:8 time frame and do at least 2 free days and eat nourishingly and what your body craves. There is also Julianna's soup idea which she wrote about on her fastversary thread. It is a slow cooker 24.hour chicken broth which is supposed to give you the minerals from the bones. You can google re bone stock and Mark's daily apple has a good blurb on it. I will add the link here if I can find it

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/homemade ... z30jT1vB4q

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cooking-with-bones/

I think give yourself enough pampering as well. We can rush back too soon and do ourselves no favours. You amaze me @julieathome I often wonder how you are going

I would not try to lose weight after a operation, instead eat healthy and make sure that your body has enough energy and nutrition to heal. I think that you can put fasting on hold for another month and feel good about that decision, you're not a scaredy cat.

I was obese and interested in fasting when I was about to have an operation involving bones last year, but I didn't start with the weight loss and fasting until 10 weeks after. (Not saying that exactly 10 weeks is the right amount of time to wait, it was just convenient for me to start then.)

If the doctor doesn't object, I'd suggest getting right back to it (with whatever gender discounting is necessary since I'm a guy, of course).

Certainly a cautious day-at-a-time at first, but after a week without issues? Back to steepening the slope on the Progress Tracker.

I could never consider you a scaredy cat.

It is interesting how our views are totally opposite @ADFnFuel but what is the rush I would say. The body is designed to heal, reknit but at times we need to be gentle with it as well and respect it's rhythms and signals it gives us to support it to do this. That's my penny's worth

BTW you have an impressive tracker, great results you have there

I am sure @Julieathome will tackle fasting head on when it feels right to do so. Craving might just be body seeking what it needs to heal

It is interesting how our views are totally opposite @ADFnFuel but what is the rush I would say....

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I am sure @Julieathome will tackle fasting head on when it feels right to do so. Craving might just be body seeking what it needs to heal

Not as opposite as you might think. (The idea of neck surgery scares the hell out of me. I'd be moving very cautiously after that too.)

Part of the benefit of intermittent fasting is that it puts the body into repair mode throughout. My thought process was/is that getting into and staying in repair mode (or getting back to it) extends that benefit. Contrast this with returning to pre-5:2 habits which by extension can't be good.

Disclosure: Two operations for me last year maintaining ADF throughout both, with at least one being back-to-back (IIRC) to their usual no-eating after midnight caveat. Post op recovery room time was far less than typical. Was back to runs/walks/weight lifting within 4 weeks the first time, even quicker the second. (I could even detect the results of swelling on my tracker during those periods.)

In my view Julieathome is one of the most admirable people here and I wish her only the very best.

Thank you all for your input and the praise. I am still doing a 16:8 most days as I normally don't eat till after midday (sometimes 2 or 3pm)and try to stop by 9pm. I'm not always successful but it is my regular routine. As I am heading back down to my pre op weight I would say its working. I put on 8lb post op with the swelling, I could even measure a 6inch increase in my hip measurements, its nearly back to normal so the 16:8 is helping.

I bought some Moser Roth dark chocolate today (from Aldi) and am finding that its hitting the spot where chocolate cravings are concerned. Now to cut the sugar habit and I'm sorted. Well I would be if my eldest son, the chef, would stop making so much delicious food. I am over the moon that he has his cooking mojo back, but I wish he would stop using me as a guinea pig as he tends to like his food rich.

I got right back to fasting after my surgery (to put pins in my radius), but I didn't have a general anesthetic, only a nerve block. I asked the doctor about it, and he said it was fine. I asked him about getting extra calcium, and he said it wasn't necessary.

@Julieathome I've often wished there was a chain of restaurants that did superb food but super healthy and kind in the calories. Perhaps you could challenge your son to make meals under a certain amount of calories but still be just as wonderful as those with all the normal fats and sugar associated with 'big' cooking.

I just love experimenting on how my body can be in the best place to heal itself so always have an eye on novel ideas about nutrition. The soups deliberately made to get the most nutrients from the bone are so lovely and comforting, interest alchemy in the making and hit the spot. That's lovely that your son is finding cooking interesting. I agree with Milly there are some wonderful recipes on here to practice on, which would be great for you. Can you put in your order @Julieathome to DS chef

We had a lovely pea and ham soup yesterday may from the hock bones cooked overnight in the slow cooker. I don't actually like the taste of homemade chicken bone stock, I think I may be doing it wrong somehow.