The FastDay Forum

Hi to everyone,
I am brand new, just joined this. I have been trying the 5:2 thing for a while now (2 months ish) , and I do really really well during the day, but as soon as I go home, I wind up eating all the calories I didn't eat during the day. I figured I needed some outside help, and found this website.
I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting or not, but since I am very wobbly on the will power side of things I thought 'why not!?'
Wondering if anyone can give any advice?
I am 9 stone 9 pounds and I only want to lost 15 pounds (1stone 1 lb) to get back to the weight I was for a good 15 years until I turned 36.

dorabora wrote: Hi to everyone,
I am brand new, just joined this. I have been trying the 5:2 thing for a while now (2 months ish) , and I do really really well during the day, but as soon as I go home, I wind up eating all the calories I didn't eat during the day. I figured I needed some outside help, and found this website.
I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting or not, but since I am very wobbly on the will power side of things I thought 'why not!?'
Wondering if anyone can give any advice?
I am 9 stone 9 pounds and I only want to lost 15 pounds (1stone 1 lb) to get back to the weight I was for a good 15 years until I turned 36.

Welcome to the forums!

What exactly do you eat when you break your fast? I find I do a lot better on fast days if I stick to low carb. Now I hate low carb diets, and I think a life without bread is a sad life. But on fast days, I find that eating fat, protein and some non-starchy veggies is the best way to stay in control.

Hey there dorabora,

dorabora wrote: Hi to everyone,
I am brand new, just joined this. I have been trying the 5:2 thing for a while now (2 months ish) , and I do really really well during the day, but as soon as I go home, I wind up eating all the calories I didn't eat during the day. I figured I needed some outside help, and found this website.
I'm not sure if this is where I should be posting or not, but since I am very wobbly on the will power side of things I thought 'why not!?'
Wondering if anyone can give any advice?
I am 9 stone 9 pounds and I only want to lost 15 pounds (1stone 1 lb) to get back to the weight I was for a good 15 years until I turned 36.

I am not really experienced enough to give advice but can tell you what I am trying to do since I have the same problem. On fast days, when I break my fast around 5 or 6 pm I cannot get control of my eating again after that. Turns out to be a pretty frightening mess! So I'm trying a 16:8, doing all my eating up until 2 or 3 pm and then stopping for the day. This has been working so far for me, since my willpower seems to be pretty good earlier in the day. It just gets lost in the evenings. Easier for me to say "kitchen is closed" and eat nothing at all in the evening.

Just an idea!
Dee

Hasn't been hampering my sleep as some report needing a nighttime snack to sleep.

Dear @heucherella

I think many of us might have missed seeing your post - apologies!

Sorry to hear about your horses - very sad, and then frustrating for you. Will you try again to find a suitable horse?

And lots of sympathy re your parents and son. How are they all now? I guess it's almost inevitable with parents that at some time they will face serious illness. Do they live far away, do you have other siblings to help out?

Lovely news about your daughter though - you must all be very excited! How long until the wedding?

So how is the fasting going, second time around? Sounds like it has started well. Do join us in the "fasting today" threads. These aren't as popular as they used to be, but I still find it helps stick to the fast to hear how others are going and to share experiences.

Food certainly is one of life's pleasures and it is therefore so easy to use it for comfort. I guess most of us in this forum have done - and often still do - that.

Somehow we have to train ourselves that we eat when we are hungry, and for no other reason (as far as possible!). Easier said than done, I know.

So when we want to eat for other reasons, we need to have a list of alternative behaviors. Sounds like planning the next meal(s) is one strategy that is working for you. Perhaps it is worth preparing a list of as many alternatives as you can think of. Things like:
- going for a walk
- having a luxurious bath
- reading, knitting
- catching up on emails
And so on. I realize these may not sound as inviting as food...

At meal times, fill up with as many whole foods as possible, a variety of veggies, as well as proteins and good fats - you may be doing this already of course.

When you do feel inclined to eat at other times, ask yourself:
1 Will this food feel good when I am eating it?
2 Will this food feel good once it is in my stomach?
3 Will this food feel good 1-2 hours after I have eaten it?
- a la the Don't Go Hungry (DGH) diet.

I now believe that eating for emotional reasons MAY decrease if you can focus on your actual hunger, and eat mainly whole foods until you are satisfied.

But when you do indulge in other foods, measure out a small amount to start with - eg put a few crips in a bowl. Try to make yourself eat them slowly and concentrate on how the food is making you feel. Don't do anything else at the same time. Try not to get a second helping for 20 mins then see if you really do want it. Hopefully this will help stop you eating too much.

I am sure I am not saying anything you have not thought of yourself. Please do keep us posted on how you are going.

Best wishes and good luck.

Thanks for your responses @drdee and @tracieknits!
What i usually (attempt) to do is eat 1/2 of my calories at around 1:00 then the other half when I get home around 6ish.
On fast days I usually have some kind of curry or frittata - this week it was butternut squash and prawn curry with basmati. yum... so I would have my lunch at 1, then my dinner at 6 then and a grilled cheese sandwich, then some doritos, then a glass of wine... you see where this is going. Anyway, i have seen that some people here think its easier to fast for the day then eat only at supper time. Maybe I'll try that first and then if that doesn't work give the low carbs and/or eating window a try.
Thanks again for helping out a newbie!!

@dorabora - sorry to hear you are struggling.
I think Sassy's post above is also helpful - mindfully focusing on food and on real hunger.
How did I 'find my fasting feet' in those early days?
Visited the forum daily - still do. Made my tracker public - made myself accountable. 500 cals at 7pm - no carbs apart from veg, sparkling water and tea throughout the day and evening. Some people feel the benefit of oxo / miso mid afternoon.
After dinner the 'kitchen door is closed' was always forefront in my mind, that was an indicator of success and made me feel I was always winning, as I was winning. After a few weeks it became second nature not to eat after dinner. I hope that helps and you find a way that works for you. The knowledge on the forums is rich - I certainly wouldn't have achieved without the support of everyone, so do stick around

Hi @Heucherella - sorry to hear you have had such a tough time. I think that is a good strategy, I do it myself - focus on planning delicious, healthy food to look forward to and enjoy, rather than what I think are my immediate needs. How have the last few weeks been for you?

Thanks, @Lizbean and @Sassy1 for replying. My family are all better now, thanks. After two weeks of successful fasts I have since been away for two weeks, and have only put on a few pounds. For me that is OK, and next week I will be back to fasting, so hopefully they will disappear quickly.

Hi @Heucherella that's great news. Stress and worry can really take over and be difficult to manage and I have to remind myself I will come through the other end in a better place. Good luck with your fasts and I hope you see some action

One thing I have found helps a lot with fasting is to only eat one meal a day, but to make it a very complicated meal with 3 different "courses" which takes some effort to prepare. Courses can be things like a green salad, a soup, a half sandwich, and Greek yogurt with a bit of fruit or a little granola mixed in for "dessert." It takes me about 45 minutes to get through the whole process which is a lot more time than I devote to meals on non fast days when I can easily eat a whole meal in 15 minutes.

Eating only one thing or eating something with enough carbs to spike blood sugar will result in hunger for reasons that go beyond calories. So perhaps you can try experimenting with different kinds of foods when you eat.

peebles wrote: One thing I have found helps a lot with fasting is to only eat one meal a day, but to make it a very complicated meal with 3 different "courses" which takes some effort to prepare. Courses can be things like a green salad, a soup, a half sandwich, and Greek yogurt with a bit of fruit or a little granola mixed in for "dessert." It takes me about 45 minutes to get through the whole process which is a lot more time than I devote to meals on non fast days when I can easily eat a whole meal in 15 minutes.

Eating only one thing or eating something with enough carbs to spike blood sugar will result in hunger for reasons that go beyond calories. So perhaps you can try experimenting with different kinds of foods when you eat.

For anyone finding 5:2 days hard going, I second both of @peebles' suggestions here. Eating a meal (especially an evening one) which is quite fiddly to prepare and eat has the advantage of keeping you busy for a bit and also seems to make it more satisfying, despite the low number of calories. Perhaps try and have dinner a bit later, makes the evening less long when you've no cals left!

Also definitely play around with what and when you are eating if you are struggling - currently I have 100 cals at lunch and 400 at dinner and at the moment I'm keeping it very low carb (though my OH eats bread on fast days and does just fine...). Reading around the site I've always found it fascinating that so many people seem to get on well with keeping all their cals till dinner, as that doesn't go at all well for me! I like that there is enough flexibility in 5:2 to customise it to yourself and your body/mind.

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that i made it through a fast day without eating the contents of the fridge!
Saving my calories for dinner, Knitting (occupying my hands) and drinking ice water with lemon seemed to help!
thanks so much for all your kind words, fingers crossed for tomorrow!

@dorabora, Great news! It does get easier once you find a style that works for you.

@dorabora,
I find that when I start feeling "nibbly" in the evening, I tell myself, Do you want all those hours (you already "went hungry") to go to waste/be for nothing? (have to "do over") Helps me with the motivation. Also, PLANNING AHEAD is key; making sure you can't fudge on portions or ingredients; either something premade or something YOU made ahead of time. As @Tracieknits says, I also find that limiting carbs on LIGHT DAYS helps a lot; note that I am firmly NOT low carb on normal days, could never sustain this otherwise. It's just that low cal dense fiber veggies and fruits are low in carbs, and protein and fat are much more satiating; I love eggs on a light day, usually hardboiled or poached (I'm vegetarian, so meat is out).