Fasting against fear of hunger

This topic contains 6 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by simcoeluv 9 years, 1 month ago.

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Cybelee

11:09 am
29 Sep 15
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Hi there! I’ve started fasting recently. I was always SCARED of hunger. Like properly scared! I always got really annoyed and even anxious if hungry and with no prospect of eating very soon. Although I always eat slowly, I can eat much at a time, asthough making sure I’m prepared for the possible danger ahead (of not being able to eat if hungry). When I read that fasting can help one reconnect with the body’s innate wisdom regarding hunger and portions, I felt a sparkle of joy going off!

Has anyone with similar attitudes towards hunger seen improvements doing this regime and how long did it take to become second nature? (I’m almost 30 years old and I’d like to become a mum in the next year or so. Hence this would be a great way of ensuring I’ll give a good, healthy example!)

Thank you for your kindness 🙂

Cinque

10:38 pm
29 Sep 15
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Hi Cybelee, welcome here.
I don’t think my fear was as great as yours, but I know most of us were pretty scared for our first Fast Day.
What I held onto was that it is only one day, and you can do just about anything for only one day.
Remember Planning, Preparation, Patience and Persistence.
The idea is to make it a longterm way of life.
I am certainly experiencing hunger in a different way, and I am tuned into my body signals better, they seem to have simplified.
How is it going for you?

Cybelee

10:39 am
30 Sep 15
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Thanks for your reply. What got me into fasting was how easy it was for me to fast on Yom Kippur, where you don’t even have water for a day. However, I didn’t event got a headache and I believe it was because I was so determined that I will complete the fast, that I didn’t allow the doubts to sneak in. It’s much easier when I don’t waste my energy trying to argue pros and cons 🙂
However, the first time I fasted the 5:2 way, with 500cals a day, I felt dreadful. Headache, feeling sick, dizzy… etc. Today I am determined to try it the old way, with no food at all. Maybe it’s easier ?

I do have a question, as it’s a subject that interest me greatly. Do you feel that your psychological hunger has also recalibrated itself in the process of IF? i.e. Is it easier to postpone a meal during non fasting days, if need be? And are the portions smaller you find?

Thank you

Cinque

9:40 pm
30 Sep 15
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Hi again Cy, I really hope your fast has been going well. My worst one was a couple of days ago when I was very hungry and cold and distracted. But even then it wasn’t very bad.
I haven’t tried one with no food, so I am keen to hear how it goes.

The best thing I have got out of doing the 5:2 is how it seems to be re figuring my brain, and those inappropriate ‘ I need to eat something’ signals are fading away. I feel like my hunger signals are normalising, and it is easier and easier to eat just as much as I need and no more. So wonderful!

I understand it is something to do with the hormonal signals our brain gets.

So even if I have some difficult fast days coming up, the long term benefits will keep me going.

ellaroo

10:53 pm
30 Sep 15
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This is a really good thread! I can’t do 16:8 time restricted fasting (The 8 Hour Diet where you fast for 16 hours with an 8 hour eating window), because I found I was so fearful of hunger, I just ate way too much as I neared the end of my eating window. I think this is because I’ve suffered the deprivation of dieting for most of my adult life, and this form of fasting only brought to the surface all those feelings of deprivation.

I really like 5:2. It is more suited to me. On my five “eating” days, I eat what I like, only avoiding gluten because of health reasons. But what I do now is I eat slowly and mindfully – no more gulping down food. That alone causes me to eat less.

Cybelee

6:52 pm
2 Oct 15
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Hello! I am pleased to report that the total fast was much easier than the 500cal one. I’ve also used EFT Tapping to calm down during some of the most challenging moments. But basically when my body understood that I will not eat anything for that day (at 7pm or so), it began to release so much heat! I mean, it was unbelievable. My ears and face was burning. Even my eyes felt hot. And I felt no more hunger at all. I’ve even watched an episode of the Great British Bake Off before going to bed 🙂
And the day after was easier as well, in terms of portion control. I really hope it’s a trend and it won’t fade away, because I’m very optimistic that this will help normalise portions and food attitude in general.
The other great lesson for me was that the latest on in the day I eat, the easier it is to eat less
I always believed firmly in the importance of breakfast, but I’m starting to doubt it now
I feel in today’s society, we are not used to delaying pretty much anything, especially meals. Same goes for putting up with a bit of discomfort. This diet is teaching me a lot! 🙂

simcoeluv

8:02 pm
2 Oct 15
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Hi Cybelee and welcome:

I believe you have hit on an important ‘secret’ that only some discover.

I have long recommended that newbies focus on doing their two diet days correctly before they worry about anything else. Doing them correctly means eating 5/600 cal. per day – or less. I have also suggested to those who have asked me that their second 5:2 goal should be to be able to do two non consecutive day water fasts each week.

I make this suggestion for several reasons, but the main one is that to maintain a successfully achieved weight loss, a person has to realize they cannot go back to eating the same amount of calories that they used to eat. Not eating for a couple of days a week teaches a person that they can survive and prosper, not die, if they miss a meal or two. This can open up a whole new understanding of eating patterns and teach us that how much we have been eating, and when we have been eating, are not cast in stone. That what we have been taught, experienced and believed about the necessity of eating the way we were may have been wrong, and can be changed for the better.

Overweight people on diets are obsessed with food. If you look around this site you will see people striving for ways to eat as much as possible and still stay within the diet’s guidelines. Many come here, only to leave, when they realize how little food they must eat to lose weight. But it is when they finally realize how little food they will have to eat for the rest of their lives to maintain their hard earned weight loss that it really hits home. A look at the maintenance thread on this site will illustrate what the successful maintainers must do to enjoy their previous diet successes.

While I do not deny that people have and will continue to be successful on 5:2 without doing any water fasts, I believe that learning how not to eat (to fast in the traditional definition) helps people not only to get through the weight loss process, but also maintain the losses after they decide they have reached an acceptable weight for them.

Here are some tips concerning 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!