The FastDay Forum

Hello!
Has anyone read this book or tried out this way of fasting? Of course I saw Dr. Varady in the original horizon show when I started 5:2. But I never read her book or tried alternate day fasting. I am scared of fasting on the weekends and missing out on socializing. But I've put some weight back on so I'm thinking maybe that stricter regime would help me get headed in the right direction. I tried to search the topic - but couldn't figure out how. Anyway, what have your experiences been with alternate day fasting?
Thanks!

Hello!
Has anyone read this book or tried out this way of fasting? ...

I bought the book and read it back in February. At the time it seemed a reasonable obligation to contribute to one of the founding researchers mentioned in DrMM's book and video.

Overall, the book was too late on scene and disappointing in its blatant formulatic style. As in, fill-in-the-blank: "insert catchy phrase here...and here..." to dazzle the reader. Obvously it was ghost written by the second author with the result blessed by the first. A transition-to-maintenance strategy of going to 1,000 calories instead of the usual fastday 500-600 is really the only useful takeaway - and with that phrase, you just read all there is to know about that.

ADF is the most aggressive (too strong a word really) form of intermittent fasting with 4:3 being the middle and 5:2 being the least intrusive. It's very easy to transition from one to the other at any time if your schedule and other life demands permit it.

HTH

@nycnyc2013 ..you need to hear from @nursebean..she isnt doing it right now but she's the queen of ADF..
Try anything and everything..some things will work for you ,some wont
To my great surprise i found that Back2 Back fasting ( two consecutive days fasting) works quite well for me..
Altho i tried ADF for a few weeks,,i found it overwhelming! it was a fast too far! xx

In general, I do 4:3, but when I want to lose a bit more quickly or if my non-fast days are out of control, I will do a few weeks of ADF/EOD. It tends to start feeling a bit relentless, but it works.

Like ADFnFuel, I love that she did a study and included a chapter on maintenance. This is what people really have trouble with (in general): keeping the weight off after they lose it. It's ridiculous that most diet books ignore it.

I wouldn't mind fasting every other day, but I can't due to fixed training days. So 4:3 suits me better. I also like the two days of "normal" eating in a row once a week. Three days would be too much for me, that's why I don't do 5:2.

My first experience with fasting some years ago was ADF. It was called JUDDD then based on some other doctor's book, but was the same thing. I don't think I made it through 2 weeks. Far too stressful. It was such a surprise then to find that 5:2 was so easy for me.

I did ADF this past week in preparation for a trip the rest of the week with lots of dining, but again it feels like too much and I worry it will set me up for overeating.

The nice thing about all these plans is that you can try them out and see what works for you. No orthodoxies!

@GMH, I'm tagging you, because you recommended this book. I did DODO earlier in the year and found it too relentless for me, but I must admit, it was happening with a lot of other stresses in my life so maybe it wasn't a fair trail. I wonder how the maintenance would go, with 1000 calories, but I doubt that I'll ever get to maintenance. I am maintaining pretty well on 5:2 at this point.

@Sallyo great to catch up in Sydney Yes I found this book good, but always did 4:3 as having consistent fast days is good for me. I also found if I do 700/800 cals 3 days a week I lose weight, logical really, eat minus 3x1300 cals = 3900, or 2x 1500 cals less, same difference only easier for me. Agree with @MaryAnn maintenance is the issue for me. I will post my musings elsewhere, however I have gained 6kg after falling off the wagon and into bowls of food and wine! If I get busy/stressed/exhausted I am hopeless at life...work and sleep, eat what's easy and drink too much wine to destress enough to fall asleep. Anyway work has slowed to almost normal, so back on the wagon and experimenting. I will now try to go back to more of my way of eating b4 fasting, which was low carb, healthy food with 1 sweet thing per day, then I will do my 3 days of lower cals until the weight falls off.