This topic contains 1,453 replies, has 173 voices, and was last updated by fasting_me 6 months ago.
Hello All,
I have had a terrific week. I record my one week results tomorrow morning. It’s been amazing so far.
Dr. Fung’s videos are fascinating, I have watched about three and am learning so much. Very funny LUCY that you developed a bit of a thing for him. I can see that 🙂 .
I woke up with my husband’s dreadful cold this morning and after considering my options I am thinking I will finish my fast today and then possibly do TDEE for a couple days until I feel better. I may change my mind and go back to ADF again, but I don’t want to prolong my illness. I am not finding any research that says fasting helps a cold. I really don’t want to stall my progress though so I am hoping to at the very least maintain my loss this week.
Best of success on all your goals for this weekend.
I like to remind myself that hunger does indeed come in waves and that helps to get past some temptations.
Cheers!
I had blood drawn today for my annual physical. I needed to fast and luckily Thursday is a 0 calorie day for me so that was no problem, but I couldn’t have any coffee or green tea this morning and so I was just drinking hot water. I developed an intense headache today, ugh. Glad it’s over and I can now eat again and take some aspirin!
Bronx
Okay, so I’m technically in Bangkok, but can an American girl from NYC join too? 🙂
I’m just starting 4:3 after various fasting experiments over the years. I’m currently 62 kgs (136 lbs) and have a goal 120 lbs (my college weight). I have a strength and conditioning coach 2 hours per week and try to do HIIT (burpees and other bodyweight training) in small sets on my off days.
My biggest struggles: Not overeating the delicious Thai food on every street corner and drinking enough water.
One week on ADF and I am down 6 lbs.
A very encouraging start to a long road ahead – I am soooo excited.
This week I am going to nurse my cold but stay on TDEE and see when I feel well enough to fast.
My hands and feet have been a bit cold so I will follow Dr. Fung’s advice to up my calories a bit on eating days. (I was 300 under on my last eating day).
Hope everyone has a fun and successful weekend. Sticking to this is so empowering.
Cheers
Gonna jump on this threat although I’m currently living in Europe. I started on 5:2 about 2 weeks ago and so far I’m very happy with a) how easy I find the fasting days (I only eat one meal around 7pm or skip food entirely), and b) how great I’m feeling, especially on fasting days.
I’ve lost 6lbs in 2 weeks, which is more than I expected (but only a fraction of what I want to lose). Having said that, I’ve actually changed my lifestyle mostly for the health benefits, so while I’d LOVE to shed weight, I’d be happy if this WOE helped me stay healthy. 🙂
Hi abs and welcome:
Sounds like you are off to a good start. Here are the basics of 5:2, including what to expect going forward: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Looks like a great group here. Reading diet reviews on Amazon and have friends who have done their own form of fast dieting over the years. Intrigued by this program and planning to order the Fast Beach Diet to have it by the end of the week. We have plans with grandkids next week, so not a good time to try a new eating program, but will take the time to read the book and make some plans before starting a more regimented program in a couple of weeks.
Keep up the good work, all. I hope to have progress updates soon. In the meantime, I’ll be reading of your updates and cheering you on.
abs52, you’re describing what my experience has been too. Immediately I felt so much better it was hard to think it only took 2 days of fasting to achieve such a result. It was powerful motivation to continue.
Then, over time, I found that all the “healthy”, “moderate”, “sensible” things that everyone had always recommended for losing weight or simply for better health became not only do-able for me for the fist time in my nearly 7 decades but things I actually *preferred*.
The change in my basic metabolism has been powerful and productive so that the few sacrifices or the pieces of time I have to discipline myself are manageable and well worthwhile. It feels like a miracle!
@simcoe: Thank you – I read that newbie post just yesterday and found it very helpful. 🙂
@la: I think becoming more food conscious is a wonderful side-effect of this way of eating/way of life. I’m already becoming much more aware of what I’m putting into my body – or not. 😉
Hi all, happy Monday to everyone. Had a great weekend, lots of time with family, grandkids, friends. The time flew by. I did pretty good sticking to my plan for eating mindfully this weekend. I didn’t do as much walking as I had intended but I did spend a lot of time outdoors playing. We went snow tubing on Saturday. What a blast that was! There’s a ski resort near here and they make snow. It’s been a dry winter for the most part and it was good to be out in the snow for a change. The hills were pretty long and steep and I must admit I was scared at first but I did it. Several times in fact. I was expecting this old granny to be sore in the morning but I wasn’t.
Today’s a fast day and I’m looking forward to it. I’m planning on a very low-key kind of day today. Just getting things done around the house after a trip to the Y for a workout.
It’s good to see all the newcomers on the thread, welcome to all of you. I like reading the inspiring posts. Have a great week everyone. Patty
Hi all,
So I didn’t have a bad weekend in terms of my pledge to do 20K steps, drink more water, limit alcohol and coke, and mindfully eat, however the scales are way up this morning … like 6 pounds :(. I’m sure I’m just retaining a little water, or it’s the result of food still in my digestive track … but boy that number on the scale this morning suxs.
I was planning on doing fast today, but I’m starving today, so I will just eat within my TDEE and do fast tomorrow.
Have a good week.
Hi Jay,
Perhaps its the types of food that you are eating? Try and sub out foods that are heavy on the carbs like bread, pasta, rice and sugary drinks (yes alcohol is a sugary drink). Substitute in foods high in protein and fat. Also include lots of fibrous vegetables. A big bowl of salad with some tuna, a splash of olive oil and vinegar. Yum. Some high fat low sugar yogurt with blueberries and almonds. Yum.
I’d like to join, it is nice to have people in your same time zone :).
I’ve been doing 5:2 off and on for a few years. I have a hard time staying on the diet, although I know it works for me better than anything else.
I’m from the Midwest and don’t have too much weight to lose, but I don’t want the scale to continuously go up. I do enjoy exercising and have a hard time balancing it with fasting (I like intense workouts).
I’m planning on fasting Tuesdays and Thursdays and hope to get it down to once a week once I meet my goal. I can’t wait until I get to the point where I’m looking forward to my fast days, right now I’m pretty cranky…
Good luck to everyone!
Well, first of all, don’t be nervous. You don’t have to eat anything that you don’t like. You get to decide what you’ll eat — tho good quality veggies, protein and fresh fruit will be choices that set you up for success. You don’t have to be rigorous about avoiding fats. Just work them into your allowance for food. You can even decide whether you start with a food day or a fast day to suit your comfort level.
So my tips would be get in a good frame of mind by setting the date for your first fast day and give yourself some time to get ready for it.
Whether it’s a food day or a fast day choose high quality nutrition. Whole foods rather than processed foods. Provide enough protein especially on your fast days.
Drink plenty of water.
Even though you are allowed treats I’d avoid them on fast days. Skipping the sugar and starchy carbs is important for me.
Get enough sleep.
Increase your activity level. You don’t have to become a marathoner but do something. I started with 5 minute intervals on a treadmill several times a day.
Distract yourself when you need to. I go shopping or run errands. It involves a lot of walking and there’s lots to see.
Remember that hunger doesn’t get more and more intense indefinitely. It comes and goes. Even if you don’t eat at all. So if you’re having hunger get active at something and see if you still are in 30 minutes or so. And also remember that you’re going to eat again on your food day. I thoroughly enjoy my food after a fast even if it’s a humble salad.
Mostly, just remember that this is what you want to do and give it your best shot. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Hi caramel,
Are you wanting to do a complete fast or just back off to 1/4 of what your TDEE is? Drink more water than you have ever drunk before. Have a drink bottle with a splash of lemon juice in it handy. If you choose to eat, avoid anything with sugar in it. Avoid anything with carbohydrates, like bread, rice, pasta. Go for something with high protein or high fat with lots of fibrous vegetable matter. It will satiate you a lot better than carbs!! 30 minutes after eating carbs you’ll be hungry again. Try a big bowl of tuna salad. 100g tuna, as much lettuce as you want, cucumber, mushrooms, one sliced tomato, olives if you like them, add olive oil to taste and pure vinegar (you’ll be amazed to know that some brands of vinegar have up to 25% sugar in them!!! Crazy!!).
The first month will be the hardest as you may tend to get headaches. Your body will be screaming for sugar (glucose). Don’t give in!! After about a month your liver really starts to work better and is able to convert fats into ketone bodies a lot better. Ketone bodies or strictly speaking beta hydroxy butyrate is the other food source cells use instead of glucose.
Hi cara and welcome:
Here are the basics: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Hi USA!
I have an adult child living in USA, but I’m Australian. Just dropping in to say hi and cheer you all on. It would be great for evryone if 5:2 became mainstream in America. I have visited a little, hope to again, and find the US food and drink serving sizes so large. Like Australia and UK the US has way too many obese and overweight people. We’ve all been doing food and drink wrong for decades. I love how 5:2 seems to re-educate us about our food choices, cravings, interpreting hunger and thirst, and individual differences. The forum is a great tool to motivate and learn. i also enjoy it’s international nature.
I’ve been on 5:2 for 16months now and lost 16kgs(35.2lbs) in the first 11months. Since then I’ve maintained that weight through a time of travelling and several months of big L Life stresses. Before 5:2 I would have put on weight with travelling and through the Life stresses. Here’s a summary of my way of life on 5:2:
*FDs Monday and Thursday, started with 2 meals and a snack, all very small, now do 1 meal of 400-500cals at 6pm.
* NonFDs I eat in a time restricted pattern of 16:8, i.e. I don’t eat till after 12noon and eat in an 8hour window, could be 12 till 8pm, 1-9pm, 2-10pm depending on what’s happening in the day.
* I don’t drink calories, drink water, sparkling water when out for special meal, peppermint tea, weak Earl Grey tea, black coffee with a little milk. 1 milk coffee made on skim milk per week.
* i discovered I am 1 of a group of people on 5:2 who can’t lose weight if I eat starchy carbohydrates i.e. Any grains or processed grain foods, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, sugar. Initially I lost weight then at 1st plateau found I couldn’t lose weight till I gave up my gluten free starchy carbs, regardless of having the right no. Of calories. Tested it several times.
*I am largely sedentary from a chronic health problem and unable to exercise, though I am mobile.
Very happy on 5:2 and now have decided to stay on it for life.
Good luck everyone, and remember if you fall off the horse, just get back on.
Onwards and downwards,
Merry
Did you all see that the New York Times had an article on IF yesterday? Lots of comments and discussion. Maybe IF will become more popular on this side of the pond.
I started using an app to count calories on non-fast days, and that has kept me honest. I must say I’m a little grouchy that for my middle aged self I must keep my non-fast day calories to 1500 plus fast two days a week to lose weight, but it is what it is. I just don’t need as much energy as my mouth would like to eat.
But that said…I have lost a pound and a half this week after being stuck for a few weeks, so something is working! That feels nice.
Hi All,
Glad to see all the new posts and love to read what is working for everyone else.
I am loving the results but still finding fasting days quite challenging. I am just a week and a half into this though so I am hoping it gets easier as others have found to be the case.
I am now down 10 since starting ADF and emphasizing high fat and low carbs. (I have at least 50 more to go so that’s why it’s coming off so fast at first).
Amazing. Not easy, but very rewarding and I am hopeful to eventually get closer to my goal and be able to start 5:2.
Cheers…
HI, Mary- Thanks for your perspectives on this.
I am another person who simply can’t eat the starchy carbs. I LOVE them but even the “healthy” grains start an addictive response that triggers compulsive eating. Since I’ve been doing intermittent fasting and eliminating the “bad” carbs (we do all know that all fruits and veggies are also carbs, right?) I have been liberated from so much negativity — weight being just a *part* of that.
It’s nice to read everyone’s stories!
I had a good fasting day yesterday until bedtime (around 11:00 pm) and then I couldn’t sleep and was obsessing about food. I finally gave in and ate 100 calories of crackers. I felt a little like a failure, but had convinced myself I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until I had some carbs… Not a total loss, but I know it’s better to be in a complete fasting state at bedtime.
Does anyone have advice on sleepless nights / hunger pains at bedtime? I’m aiming for another fast day tomorrow.
Thanks! Have a great day 🙂
Hunger that interferes with me relaxing into sleep has occasionally happened to me. I, personally, wouldn’t have a starchy carb. They trigger my compulsive eating.
I have made a “soup” out of chicken broth, a splash of tomato juice and a generous sprinkle of celery salt. I microwave about 2 cups of that brew. It’s warm and tasty and it makes my belly happy so that I can sleep.
I’m an American grandma (74) on first fast day. I have to take a pill with food in the morning, so I ate 1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt. Then I weighed and cooked a head of cauliflower, other assorted vegetables, including a can of tomatoes and seasoning and ended up with 8 cups of pureed soup worth 50 calories per cup. For lunch I blended 2 cups soup with a very small, cooked sweet potato and some chicken broth to thin it a bit. I’m quite satisfied, and plan for supper to blend 2 cups soup with 1/2 cup beans, or chop a boiled egg into it. That totals 470 calories for the day. I love my digital scale. It’s so much easier to get accurate calorie counts for a certain number of grams or ounces of a certain food, than other ways I’ve found.
Hi all, it was the New York Times article that got me into this. Today is my first fast. Breakfast was a hard boiled egg. I had a small plain yogurt and 2 pickles for lunch. Off to get some more water. I am 60 years old, 5′ 1″ and have about 10 -13 to lose. At my height, that’s two sizes. I broke my foot in November and my activity level plummeted. I am officially back in heels TODAY!
Wish me luck!
Hi K-Lo and welcome:
Here are the basics: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Anyone in the U.S. fasting today??
Today went better than I thought. I remember the 2nd fast day of the week being the hardest. I’m a little worried about getting to sleep tonight, but I’m a little more prepared tonight and will have some broth before bed.
Looking forward to the weekend & day after fast high!! I love that I’m starting to feel less addicted to food, fasting is so good for me in so many ways!!
Good night.
Hi again,
Hope everyone is hanging in there!
I am fasting today and it is much easier now that my head cold is finally gone. I don’t recommend fasting when sick – I won’t be doing that again. Way too hard.
Just passed the 2 week mark and I am thrilled with this WOE. No more guilt and I love the indulgence of eating my TDEE on eating days. I won’t say it’s easy – but having the effort pay off in the way my clothes fit and the number on the scale is so stinking fun. I spent so many years on programs that made me feel like such a failure – I wish I had this information years ago.
BangkokExpat, I personally like working out on an empty stomach so I do some tough workouts on fast days. I have a hard time doing a liquid only fast so after a workout I will get something to eat, a salad or soup. I keep my fast day intake below 500 calories. I walk 3 miles everyday, whether it’s a fast day or not. I work out 3 or 4 days a week, generally as early in the morning as possible.
MelindaShay, I feel the same. I wish I’d had this information a long time ago. It makes so much sense. I feel great, have much more energy, and am losing weight and inches. Bought a smaller size in pants 👖 the other day and it was definitely fun! On my non-fast days I feel much more in control of what I eat and much more satisfied.
Melinda, so happy to hear it’s working for you! I look forward to hearing when and if you’re ready to bake again how that goes. Don’t rush yourself! Don’t do anything to undermine your success! But I have a feeling you’re going to be able to, metaphorically, have your cake and bake it too. 😉 And I’ll be cheering for you!
Hi everybody,
I am fasting in Texas today. Started 7:30 pm yesterday. Usually I fast on water + coffee and tea (no sugar and milk) for 36 hour, but read that some of you fast for 2+ days. Can you share how many hours and how you break your 2+ days fast?
I started in January and lost 10 lb so far. Goal to lose total of 45 lb (5 lb per month). Good luck to everybody.
started sunday 11 pm.(pacific time) Decided to do 1 day (36 hrs) and friday as the 2nd day. i think for beginners its better to do 1 day at the time. Later maybe 2 consecutive days. Makes no difference in weight loss.
I do not snack as that will only make things worse. I had (real) chicken broth for lunch. Just filtered broth, no fat or anything. Miso soup for dinner. and if I get a bit gaga, a hard boiled egg for late night. Drink lots of tea and water. not hungry at all, but tonight is going to be tough.
Hi, coldpizza, and welcome! Great name, BTW!
I do back-to-back fasts. I also restrict myself to water and tea without sugar or milk. I’ve been doing it since the week before Christmas and I don’t even weigh myself even though I have *plenty* of weight to lose. I just know I feel better and I’m sure I’m getting healthier.
As for my fast days, I just make up my mind that’s what’s happening and white knuckle my way through my first skipped lunch. After that, it’s easier. I guess it’s about 64 hours total from my last dinner to my first lunch. I don’t eat breakfast. Never did. When my fasts are over I feel excellent and I really enjoy a large salad for lunch.
I find fast days and then food days and then fast days has a rhythm that helps me along. I actually look forward to my fasts and when I’ve gone really off the rails they help me get “clean” and go back to sensible food days again.
If you’re of a mind to, I’d encourage you to try it out.
Hi, La Chubster.
Thank you for support. I am still “on” almost 38 hours now. Feeling good and comfortably empty. Had a headache yesterday and went to bed very early. It helped me to stay away from kitchen and food. Today feel so much better. I will try at least 48 hours. I heard that after 60 hours metabolism will slow down. Is it true? How many hours is safe to fast on water without messing with metabolism process?
Hi all! I seem to be firmly back on track with weight loss after starting to track my calories so I stick to TDEE on non-fast days. Another pound gone this week after a fast day yesterday.
Coldpizza, I got headaches for my first four or so fast days and then started having a cup of chicken broth (the tablet/powdered kind) during the day and that stopped them – must be the combo of water and the salt that made me feel better. I now feel pretty good on fast days, though I have no desire to do back to back fast days or long fasts like some of you!
I hope spring is coming to all of you! I spend the weekend hauling brush and planting peas and hunting for flowers in the fallen leaves. So looking forward to warmth!
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