24 hours vs 36 hours approach

This topic contains 14 replies, has 11 voices, and was last updated by  Ejay 10 years, 1 month ago.

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  • I have just started the 5:2 diet. My initial approach has been to go 24 hours e.g from dinner on Sunday fasting from 7pm to 7pm on Monday and then have dinner. Having 0 calories in the 24 hour period. Mimi acknowledges in her part of the book that this is an acceptable approach. Whereas most people seem to go 36 hours from going to bed and then going a whole day on 500/600 calories, eating again at breakfast the following day. Anyone have any further thoughts on the merits of either approach? Thanks in advance.

    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!

    Thank you for sharing your experiences. The issue is covered in the FAQs which I saw a few seconds after posting. I will look to try the 36 hour fast this week.

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

    Any thoughts?

    Supper to supper and 2 pm to 2 pm would result in lower weight loss, but it is better than not fasting at all.

    They try to offer lots of suggestions on implementing this way of eating – or way of not eating.

    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

    I have just started myself and feel the 24-hour method (2pm to 2pm) is the most reasonable for me personally, at least for getting started. There are two reasons for this.

    First, it doesn’t take a lot to disturb my sleep, and being hungry is something I know can keep me up at night. Fasting AND poor sleep would surely not be a recipe for success!

    Second, I want to be able to maintain a good exercise routine (jogging, spinning, tennis) while doing this, and I think that would ve a bit hard with a 36 fast period. Since I have an early lunch (11:30am) and exercise late afternoon/early evening – before supper – I usually have an afternoon snack – mostly healthy, but sometimes not. (I feel afternoon coffee and cake a couple of times a week is part of a civilized lifestyle!) Ending the fast at 2pm allows me to have a good snack at 3 or 4pm, so I can manage exercise with some intensity. Similarly, if I want to exercise on the first day of the 24-hour period, I figure I should be able to manage ok without the snack that day and then just follow up with a small supper after exercise.

    I can’t see that the 24-hour method leads to lesser calorie reduction as long as I don’t try to sneak in an extra lunch at 2pm the second day.

    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!

    I started today and I’m in my 24th hour with just drinking water and I’ve just had an apple,planning on having my 500 calories before bed, I’m not hungry but found I wouldn’t be able to go to the gym today so I’m planning to have 2 days off gym a week on my fast days.

    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!

    I had my last meal on Sunday at 6pm and fasted until 6pm Wednesday. I only had black tea, water and cup of soup for dinner. I couldn’t believe how good I felt doing that. Wasn’t hungry slept well. When I had my meal on Wednesday night I used a bread and butter plate instead of large one and had 100g meat, 100g mashed potato, 100g mashed sweet potato and 1/2 cup of steamed beans and felt full and satisfied. I’m choosing to fast on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. Will see how I go. Drinking plenty of water really helps and stay busy.

    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.

    I’m confused with the 36 hour fast.
    I feed overnight. If I finish at 6 am and then start again at 6 pm the following day, that is 36 hours.
    Do I consume the quarter portion of calories during that 36 hour period or consume the small portion at the end that is 6pm ? If the latter when should I consume the normal calorie intake ?

    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!

    Just difficult figuring it out as I consume my calories while sleeping.

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