I do the 36hrs one, but sometimes when I’m pressed for time or scheduling (or delicious outings with my friends) I’ve done 24 hrs as well. Usually from noon til noon or 3pm till 3pm or sth.

I feel a lot cleaner (if that makes sense?) and a lot more like I fasted when I do my regular 36hrs. But the 24hrs one makes me feel like I didn’t fast at all, even though I did. The disadvantage is that I do’nt feel as fresh and detoxed but the advantage is it flies by wiothout even nticing it’s happening (for me at least). I also didn’t see less weight loss on weeks with 24hrs fasts so that’s a plus.

So I would suggest to just try it out, and if it works for you, it’s definitely a way to do it. I’ve become too accustomed to my post FD high to give upb the 36 hrsn they make me feel fresh and energised and disciplined. But the 24hrs also has its advantages.

I don’t know if any of this is helpful. Good luck and just try it out!

I saw the FAQ too. In the book they reference supper to supper and 2pm to 2 pm though.

Any thoughts?

I agree. That’s the beat thing bout this approach – th flexibility.

I am going to try the 36. Otherwise just do several 24 hour fasts. 3 or 4 a week.

Tim

Good advice tagnorge. I’m in the middle of my first 36 hour fast. I can’t say it really agrees with me. : )

16 hours to go!

Hello everybody,
Thanks for the informative posts, but I just need to get something clear. Is it confirmed that the fast day is the interval you spend between waking up in the morning and going to bed at night? I am confused due to the 24 and 36-hour calculations. Today is my fast day, and the last thing I ate was a 130 calorie ice-cream at 11 pm last night, then slept right after and woke up today around 8:30 am. I won’t be eating anything until supper at 7 pm tonight. So, should the calories from the ice-cream I ate last night count into my daily intake of 500 calories? Or am I allowed to consume all 500 calories at supper? Thanks in advance for the much-needed help!

Nouran, for most people that is the case: you get up in the morning and you fast until you go to bed at night. Due to he nature of sleep – i.e. you are in bed in sleep state and do not eat – one fasting day amounts to a somewhere between 24 and 36 hours with only 500 kcals.

Michael describes a pure 24 hour period for fasting, for example 2 pm to 2 pm as an alternative. If you look at the calorie deficit for this approach the weight loss will be a lot slower this way.

However, there are other 25 hour approaches, for example Eat Stop Eat. Brad Pillon advocates a 24 hour period with zero calorie intake, and then normal eating resumes. When you compare this with 5:2 fasting, there is not much difference.

5:2 = dinner – sleep – eat 500 kcal – sleep – eat normal
Eat Stop Eat = dinner – fast – normal dinner (300 to 500 kcal on average) – sleep – eat normal

In your case you started your fast after the ice cream in the evening. That’s fine.
You can have all your calories for dinner tonight. In fact, for the health benefits it might be better to have a long period (up to 24 hours) without calorie intake. Don’t get hung up on the ice cream in the evening, there are still plenty of hours fasting from then on until dinner time on the fast day.
Since I started fasting to improve my diabetes and not to lose weight, that’s pretty much what I do and it serves me well; I have two mugs of coffee with milk in the morning of my fast, all the other calories are saved for dinner. But I am working on my morning coffee routine as we speak.

Hi Ejay:

Rather than look at the time on the clock, think of when you sleep.

The way it works is you go to bed, get up, eat 500/600 calories during your waking hours, go to bed, get up and eat to your TDEE or less.

Hope this helps.

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

Good Luck!