The FastDay Forum

Hello,

I've been using the 5:2 diet since august, all going well.

This week is the first time I've been ill since I started. It's a seasonal cold / flu / man flu!

Is there any advice on what I should do about my fast days when ill? - should I still fast, move them, or skip them?

Hopefully it won't happen often, but I don't want to fast if that would then mean it takes longer to get over the cold (for example).

Thanks,

Val.

[carorees]

Because fasting can affect your immune system (which is good when you have inflammatory diseases like asthma etc), it is probably best not to fast when you are ill. However, best of all is to listen to your body. Sometimes when ill we want to fast naturally, other times we want comfort food. Personally, I would follow my instincts (except perhaps if the instinct is to eat vast quantities of chocolate !) until I was feeling better.

One thing you could do if you are not sure is to try to keep some good long periods between meals but when you do eat, don't worry about the calories. It might give you a middle ground...flexibility is the key to this diet!

I'm annoyed at myself for giving up on a fast day today - but I began to feel really odd and just wanted to eat. I still feel a little queasy. I am just reassuring myself that I will get back into it. This is a long term plan. A little blip is allowed.

Carorees,

In what way does fasting affect the immune system? I've had 2 colds in the past month and prior to this went almost a whole year with nothing - wondering if it's linked to the fasting (even though I still take my daily berocca.)

I stumbled across this thread as am also suffering with a cold, runny nose today but it's a fast day. Should I fast or not? Shouldn't the theory be that fasting means the body can invest more energy into ridding the body of the cold?

[carorees]

Well, as fasting has shown to be antiinflammatory as evidenced by improvements in asthma symptoms, allergies and other inflammatory conditions, we can infer that it affects the immune system, particularly elements of the cell mediated immune system which is called into play to deal with virus infections. I don't think there have been detailed studies, so its just guesswork. I would just go with how you feel regarding whether to fast while you have a cold. Unless you feel like bingeing you are hardly likely to put weight on, just delay the next decrease.

I too have a colds just now, I haven't had breakfast but I'll probably have a little lunch and dinner so it'll probably be a lowish calorie day.

I've been suffering with a cold this week and was debating the same thing... Tried to fast on Tuesday but felt hungry the moment I woke up (which is very unusual for me!) so I listened to my body and ate breakfast. It naturally ended up being a low calorie day for me anyway so I didn't stress about it and instead fasted yesterday which wasn't a problem at all. Woke up today feeling fantastic and no sign of the cold - phew!

I completely agree with Caroline and would suggest just listening to your body.

E

I can't listen to my body, my body lies to me, my body always wants sandwiches and crisps and chocolate and today is no different, tee hee!

I guess I'll just try and carry on with the fasting as it's 3pm now and that chicken salad is not far away!