The FastDay Forum

In a bid to learn a bit more about our community's fasting habits, motivations and other interesting foody/fasting stuff we're going to be running a poll each week and would appreciate it if you could take a moment to cast your vote on the matter!

For our fourth poll, we are asking:

How many of your 'real life' friends fast?
That is to say, not counting people you know primarily online, how many of your real life friends, family, workmates etc fast? I don't mean to imply that online friends are not real life friends, our friendships here are very real indeed! I only mean to differentiate between the people with whom you have regular non-digital face to face interactions

Feel free to reply to explain your answer further, especially if how you found it isn't listed!

Over to you!

Only BruceE fasts with me. I have two friends attempt it, because they're impressed with my results, but neither one stuck with it. I'm really not sure why

No friends are on it tho none of them have been negative about me doing it
My daughter doesn't do 5:2 or 4:3 but she 's been doing 19:5 or 20:4 for about 8 weeks now,asshe thinks its easier than 5:2 x

I have 1 sister that gave it a brief try but did not stick with it. My family knows about my 5:2 lifestyle and initially thought I was going a little too far flung but no longer feel that way as they have seen the results and know I no longer need meds for for BP and Cholesterol. I no longer talk about it much unless asked.

The person who loaned me the book lost 30 pounds in 3 months doing ADF. She has since regained 15 pounds. She's from the Netherlands, living here in the US, but returning home a few times a year. She says her relatives there regale her with so much food that she's gained 5 pounds on each visit. I don't like to be intrusive, so I haven't spoken with her about it lately. She still looks a lot slimmer than when she started.

I've given the information to a few people who were interested, but I haven't inquired further. I just printed up some info and gave it to a member of my strength class yesterday, with her permission, because her doctor has told her she must lose 30 pounds. I told her I wouldn't nag her about it, but I hope she tries it and tells me about it.

My SIL does 5:2 and my MIL and FIL do eat stop eat. They have a light brunch around 11ish and then dinner at around 8pm.
I also found out one of my eldest son's friends mum and dad are 5:2 ers as well.

My brother is going with a version of 16:8, though he's in another state, so we don't get to chat much about it. Others in my work place are interested when they ask about my weight loss, and apparently there are a couple others in the school who have done/are doing 5:2, though it's a big school, and I've not chatted with them directly. Pretty much I feel like I've been going it solo in my RL group of friends.

My hubby does what we call a half-arsed fast twice a week! He has no need to lose weight but he is interested in the health benefits and has embraced missing meals and eating mindfully; never thought I'd see him miss a meal!!!!!
I have a friend here at camp who has just started too and has joined this forum, and I gather there are a couple of others in her office which is amazing as it is really tough fasting here.

My book has made the rounds, but if anyone has started, they didn't tell me. My secretary is trying it, but she got information on her own (after I mentioned it to her). She doesn't seem to have lost much, but then it's hard to tell because she didn't have much to lose.

Hubby fasts with me. Another couple we are very close to fast as well. My SIL did but has stopped for a while. Last year I gave my father the book and a link to the documentary (he really needs to do something). Well he ignored it all until last week when he started telling me about a tv show where they looked at fasting (was that like the non eating thing I did) and its health benefits and how he needed to try something.(yes it was the michael Mosely one) So I tried very hard not to seem to excited and over enthusiastic. I gave him a few pointers on getting through a fast day and crossed my fingers that he might make a go of it.

My IRL friends are mostly a mix of scientists, food people (writers, chefs, proprietors), keen triathletes/paddlers and a lot of them use IF.
The scientists because the science appealed to them, more so after MM's programme (I'd been ADF before then and altho' some of them knew, it wasn't an impetus for them to follow up on the research for themselves until after they'd seen MM).
The food people because they need something that allows them to eat, wholeheartedly, when they need to, whilst making some effort to control their weight and health.
The sports people are always tinkering with macro composition but are mostly interested in IF for reducing inflammation and to tweak their body compositions.

Let's see, there's my best friend @nikipins, her husband, my niece, three, no four other good friends, and my neighbour. So that's 8

But should I also add the people from the forum that I've met and are real life friends now? Maybe that would be cheating?

I picked "None, but some are interested" as I first heard about 5:2 through my husband's aunt. She and her husband had been doing it last year and lost a good amount of weight and said they actually enjoyed it. They don't do it now but have been thinking about doing it again.

Encountered 2 more colleagues last week who are fasting, so that's more than five people altogether over the 16 months I 've been fasting. Of those I've met at work, most haven't stuck to it (but then, most of them are not on this forum ...)