The FastDay Forum

My story.
My goal is 130lbs. Fasting start weight 149lbs. Present weight 144.5lbs! I think that's just phenomenal. I've never, ever, ever had a such easy weight loss. And I've tried many diets, even the grapefruit and toast diet. Seriously, yuck.

So two years ago, I began reading Good Calories, Bad Calories. I saw Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Then read Atkins and tried to go low carb. That got me a nice 15 pound weight loss. I started at 175lbs post baby number #2.

So then I plateaued and thought I just needed to go back to induction and really restrict the carbs again and watch my protein and fats. I started a strenuous exercise regime and saw a small move on the needle but my hunger was off the charts. It made for some pretty depressing days. I exercised hard and all I could think about were carbs, cookies, cake, fresh fruit and my achilles heel, chocolate. You name it, I wanted it. It had been a long time since I had eaten anything sweet and yummy and I was cracking. Yes, I've read the scientific journal articles and load of materials about the connection between sugars, insulin and western disease. I have close family members with all of these diseases, high blood cholesterol, cancer, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, hight blood pressure and Alzheimer's. And yet I still want, even today, that cookie.

Which brought me back to 155 lbs. I had gained back about 7 lbs from my lowest on Atkins. I started to feel really deprived and it made living low carb increasingly difficult.

Then I heard about 5:2 and started to read and read and read about intermittent fasting. Which then brought me to this lovely forum.

My first fast was on 5/11/14. I'm totally new at this and still trying to work out how the fast will work for me.

One thing that I'm really curious about is that recently, as in the last three fasts, it's been getting increasingly easier. I've found that I can skip breakfast naturally and yet still prepare my kids with bacon, eggs and toast without wanting a nibble.

Also, which is a big surprise to me after the last two fasts, the following morning I was 100% not hungry. Not at all, not even a little bit. I felt light and empty but with no desire to eat. So, I ate a small amount of food. One egg and one piece of toast with my usual coffee. Then at lunch, again not really hungry. So I ate about 1/3 of a normal portion and felt very full. I'm really curious, has anyone else experienced this? Is it that my stomach is shrinking or that I've started to constantly burn my own fat for fuel? I'm also down another 1.5lbs this week!

This great Rae. Yes the 5:2 is that easy and that's why we are all cheering about it. In my opinion Dr MM should be nominated for a noble prize. He has made so many desperate people achieve their goal weight is such a short time. Your feeling of ease with the fast days is normal and the fact that you can eat the sweets you like is the best prize. I am exactly the same. Experienced Atkins and other diets but I do not want to cut anything I like from my diet permanently. So keep at it and soon you will get to your target weight.
Best of luck

[janeg]

Hello @Rae and welcome. Thanks you for sharing your story. You'll find many of us have tried everything and failed- that's why we're here. Fortunately we seem to be doing rather well in the success stakes. Quite a number of one year 'fastiversaries' and rather a lot of 'maintaineers'.
Have a browse about the forum and you'll come across many familiar stories.
There are a lot who find that appetite diminishes quite quickly, especially for breakfast following a fast. Many follow a 16:8 eating window on non fast days because it feels 'right'.
Not me! I'm ravenous for my breakfast the day after a fast but don't eat as much and also find that I don't need lunch so have a broken window
Hope it stays easy for you and becomes a way of eating/way of life (WoE/WoL) rather than 'just another diet'.
And @Pariah there are quite a few MM worshippers on the forum @Ballerina and @carorees come to mind...

[carieoates]

Hello Rae, and welcome from me too. We are here to help you along the way. Use that progress tracker, it amazingly helpful. Keep
Us up to date with how you are getting on. And good luck.

So pleased for you @rae. I think those who find they are not hungry the morning after a fast day find fasting easier.

So today was a fast day for me. It started out pretty good. I wait to eat about 200 calories for lunch, 50 calorie or less snack if I'm feeling tired and another 250 calories at dinner.

Then 4pm arrived and I got bad news at work. So, I've just figured out, CLEARLY, that I'm a stress/emotional eater. Like I didn't really know that before.

I ignored all day my work colleague's chip bowl that's outside my office, jelly beans, and, my personal downfall, chocolate almond m&ms. Then I found out that my lovely weekend with my girls has been cancelled. DH is having a boys weekend and isn't home and I'm on-call at my job this weekend. I was really hopeful that I wouldn't get the call, but I did. Now my babysitter will be having the joy of my kids this weekend. And then I ate dinner.

Dinner was not what I had planned of a salad and chicken, but chips and hummus, chicken fingers and fries. Frankly, my stomach hurts from eating that stuff.

Well not my proudest moment. In all honesty, I will beat myself up, but just a little bit. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Will I give it my best go, again, on Sunday? Absolutely. Did my fast day, turn into more of a 16:8, yep, that's pretty much what happened. So, I'm getting some benefits and, well, the rest is water under the bridge.

So, what can I learn from today.
First thing, have my fast day "meals" ready to go. Then it's really not hard to fix food for my DH and kids and know that my meal is ready and waiting for me.
Second thing, if stress and feeling really disappointed about not seeing my kids has got me down, I'm going to set aside serious quality time with them and set it in stone on a non-on-call weekend.
Third thing, I know I'm not alone with a day like today. Many of you out there have those days too.
Fourth, now it's time to move on. Tomorrow is a new day, the little time I have with my kids this weekend, will be good time and that's that.

So that's my fast day today. Not the best, not the worst, just mine. Please share your "not the best, not the worst."

Hi Rae,really enjoyed reading your story..and not just coz its half past three in the morning, i can't sleep and i' m sitting here twiddling my thumbs!
No its coz you write well and emtertainingly and i can relate to everything you say.
Its good that you ve learnt from yr ' not great' fast day and have made plans for yr next ones..in other words, made a success out of what could have been - not failure coz we dont use that word here - what could have been a bit of a negative day shall we say!
We all know those negative days! Several of my fasts have been not my best,not my worst..life just gets in the way sometimes, but onwards and downwards we go!
Sorry about yr spoilt weekend with your girls xx how old are they? Hope there will be lots more precious times with them to come xx
Ps chocolate almond M n Ms?? Who Knew? I want some!never seen them in the UK !X

[janeg]

Loving your attitude to this @Rae
Accentuating the positive, eliminating the negative (feel a wee song coming on- need the red spotty dress from @MaryAnn ) Sorry, I digress.
You're right though, the lobger you go without eating the better the health benefits, so a'failed' fast (HATE that term) becomes a semi fast or light day or wind (16:8 or whatever)- the benefits are still there.
And tomorrow is another day and doesn't have to wait until midnight to start.
I think that the 'diet' mentality/attitude goes for all or nothing andthus is you've 'blown it' it encourages us to make a damn good job of it. Damage limitation of reining in 'now' rather than tomorrow is more positive and more along the line of moderation.
Hope you manage to keep it up and keep posting your strategies. They are very helpful and very readable.
ETA PS @CandiceMarie peanut butter, mint, plain chocolate- all M&Ms available here in the sandpit. Fortunately they do nowt for me, but nonliving daughter is very partial to the peanut butter ones and I have been know to stockpile them for her.
Sorry to hijack @Rae

@janeg and @CandiceMarie.

Thank you both for your very kind words. My not the worst day did have carry-over benefits. I'm down half a pound this morning!

@CandiceMarie you may not have chocolate almond m&ms but you do have real fish and chips. With a little malt vinegar, ah, serious heaven. You know that's why I like this, 5:2. One, when I used to have these thoughts, well, there was the good Rae on my shoulder, hand on hip with a raised eyebrow starring me down. And two, my internal monologue said "Really? You should know better." Well, now good Rae and naughty Rae are on the same team. It's just awesome. If I really want those subpar American fish and chips well, if it's a fast day, I can have them tomorrow and if it's not a fast day, instant gratification wins.

But the two best parts, well three. The fish and chips get to be one of those best parts. But the other two best parts are, there's no quilt or feeling let down or that it's off limits, as it really should be. That breeds obsession and I'm sure you can tell that I've never had that about food before... The other best part is the natural moderation that @janeg mentioned. I just don't really think about it and when I feel full I've eaten at least 3/4 to 1/2 of what a pre-5:2 meal would have been.

Now off to make some cinnamon buns as a breakfast treat for the girls, 5 and 3. It's only 5:26am on a Sunday, but that's how we roll here.

i love that..good Rae and bad Rae now on the same team!
With that combo,you can't fail!
I hate vinegar so you're welcome to half my fish n chips ..you can have a vinegary half and i' ll have the salty half..half the cals for both of us! X