The FastDay Forum

Hello,

Well.Today was my first day of not only a proper 16:8 but also my first day like this at work and it went better than expected
Was good getting a longer lie as I didnt have to have breakfast.The last hour between 10-11 were stangly the hardest but I lasted and had a cereal bar then lunch at half 12,followed by some nuts at 3 then dinner about 6.I have to admit I also had a small bit cake and some prawn crackers and few chips when out with my service user for dinner.

Im proud of myself that I did it and only had those few things as I could have had more and overeaten by loads.

Shall def be continuing doing these.

Weigh in at end of month so well see if its having any effect.

Karen

It gets easier as you get used to it. I realised this morning that I had gone through to 2pm with no thought of eating at all. I read that you use fat better at the end of the fast so I have coffee to get me going and then crack on with the busy stuff like hoovering and doing my weights. Its time to eat before you know it.

Don't worry about the few extras. I think if you get it right 80% of the time you'll be OK. You're allowed to be human!

Hi Ya'll! (yes, I am a Yank )
I am a long-time dieter who subsequently developed eating disorders. I still want to be healthy (at 48) but have to be careful about plans that could trigger my ED. I was so excited to see Dr. M's BBC special here in the US in March & my Mom (Mum?) & I jumped right in. Even though the book warned against trying 5:2 if one has an ED history, I thought I could handle it. I was wrong. Soon I wanted to do 4:3 and then the binging started up again.

Previously I'd spent about a week doing 16:8 after reading The 8-Hour Diet and found that it totally annihilated my evening-binge urges (even though my window was quite early at 8 am to 4 pm). I quit b/c I thought I was losing too slowly.

Yesterday I stumbled back into 16:8 after overeating at breakfast and lunch. In a panic, I counted from my 9 am eat-starting time and decided to cut off at 5 pm. Guess what? I had ZERO desire to binge last night and even lost half a pound this morning (shocking, given how much I ate yesterday...had to be over 3000 calories).

So, though its far to late to make a long story short, I am sticking with the 8-hour window in the hopes that it will help me control my ED while (whilst?) still allowing me to be healthy and slim. I am sick of fighting this demon.

I'm so happy that this forum is ok with other forms of IF being discussed and explored. And I'm so happy to be amongst all of you!

hi Ursula and welcome

That's very interesting that the full fast triggered the ED and even more interesting that the 16:8 approach does not.

Hi, Caroline. Thanks for the welcome!

I think the 16:8 approach works on my broken brain b/c I go into the evening on a full stomach. I made it beautifully through a few 500 calorie days doing the 5:2. It turns out that the "fast" days weren't the problem (that's why I wanted to add more); instead, on the "free" days it's as if my brain panics and wants to make up for (or prepare for) the low-low-cal day. At least that's how past therapists have explained it to me. The bottom line: caloric restriction for someone with a history of anorexia & bulimia rarely goes well.

I just hope 16:8 is the answer.

Welcome to the forum Ursula! Lots of support to be had here. The forum wiki viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1133 and in Caroline's signature will help for words and terms that are unfamiliar to us americans. It's ok to type in american we are all doing a fine job of communicating with our respective versions of 'english'. If you don't understand a term feel free to ask, there were quite a few words I was either asking my english BF about or googling when I first joined the forum. Let's hope that 16:8 is the version that works for you without letting the demons out of the closet. Keep us posted of your progress.

I did my first 16/8 today from 12pm - 8pm had a sarnie at 12 and then chip, fishcake and mushy peas from chippie and then a solero ice cream totalling 1400 cals. I am combining this with fasting on Mondays and Thursday to boost weight loss so fingers crossed!

Hi, Betsy! Thanks for the warm welcome.

Actually, my little parenthetical asides were my sad attempt at humor.

I am actually a huge Anglophile (all I watch on Netflix are British mysteries; making my way through "Wire in the Blood" right now) so I am extra happy that this forum is UK-based.

16:8 day #2 just about over and demons still firmly in the closet (he, he, I like the way you put that ).

Onward!

Hi Ursula
I can understand how the 16:8 would help. I found I was overeating on my feed days but I'm much more relaxed with the 16:8. You do still have to be selective about what you eat as you can pack a lot of calories into 8hrs if you really go for it but it makes me feel more in control.

Amen to that, Miffy. It's like I'm more grounded, yes, relaxed. I am working on a plant-based (vegan) way of eating after seeing "Forks Over Knives", which puts another lock on that demon closet since I hardly ever get the urge to binge from (or on) broccoli. It also nicely keeps the calories within a acceptable range without me having to actually count them. Yay!