Bit confused re when the 24 hours fasting begins/ends

This topic contains 16 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by Grumnut 8 years, 9 months ago.

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Lulu01

5:39 pm
28 Jan 14
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Hi all

I’ve been on the 5:2 FD since April 2013 with very mixed results and I’m reviewing the whole thing in terms of what I eat, when etc and because I’m thinking about it too much, I’ve got myself into a pickle and need your help!!

Are you supposed to fast just for 24 hours at a time, or does it stretch to 38 hours naturally. For example, I’m fasting today (28 Jan). My last ‘normal’ meal was yesterday (27 Jan) at 6.30pm. Today, so far, I’ve had around 150 cals at 1.00pm. I’m planning on having the remaining 350 cals tonight around 6.30pm. I’ll then eat nothing until 8.30am-ish tomorrow (29 Jan) when I have my breakfast. This means I’ve eaten 500 calls in 38 hours. Am I doing this right?!

Angie090465

5:42 pm
28 Jan 14
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Yes you are Lulu!!

I am fasting today too and like you i am wating for my dinner now, and wont eat again till tomorrow around 8 or 8.30, good luck and stick with it 🙂

Lulu01

5:48 pm
28 Jan 14
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Thanks, Angie090465. I’m sort of glad I’m not the only one fasting (sort of)! I was thinking (read ‘hoping’) I was doing it wrong and I could have a proper meal at 6.30pm this evening 🙁

Angie090465

6:12 pm
28 Jan 14
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Aww never mind Lulu, just think tomorrow you can have what you fancy, happy days!! 🙂

Lizamor

12:00 pm
6 Feb 14
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Hi, this is where I am confused also. The FAQ states that a fast day is actually 36 hours.

I have read quite a bit about this diet now, and thought I had it down; a fast day means having max 500 calories within an 8 ours “eating window”. As for the fast, you should not eat for 16 ours prior to and after neither fast nor eat day.

16 + 8 + 16 is 40 hours! So when I schedule this into my week it means stop eating at 16:00 for 4 whole afternoons a week…. Which makes me believe there is something wrong.

Example: Fast on mondays and thursdays.
This means stop eating at 1800 calories at 16:00 on sundays in order to get 16 hours of full fast before I can eat my 500 calories between 08:00 and 16:00 mondays. Then 16 hours of fast again until tuesday 08:00, when I eat normally (1800 calories) all day. Wednesday I eat 1800 calories until 16:00 and fast for 16 hours…… and so on.

Am I totally out in space?
(My native language is not English, sorry if I write nonsense 🙂

sylvestra

12:16 pm
6 Feb 14
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Hi @lizamor I don’t know where you got the information that you should ‘not eat for 16 hours either side of an 8 hour eating window’ This is not the case.

If you have dinner on your non fast day (not necessarily at 4pm – why would you?) then between then and breakfast on the next non fast day you consume 500 calories with 36 hours

How you do this is entirely up to you.

You can have breakfast next day (which would be approx a 12 hour fast) and then have lunch and dinner that day then have breakfast on the next day making 36 hours in all.

OR you can go from dinner on the non fast day until lunch on the fast day (making an 18 hour fast), then have dinner and breakfast on the non fast day – total 36 hours.

OR you can go from dinner on the non fast day until dinner on the fast day ( a 24 hour fast) then breakfast on the non fast day – a total of 36 hours.

With all of these methods you are consuming 500 cals from after non fast day dinner until next non fast day breakfast. i.e. within 36 hours. All of these are correct – there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way. You do what fits with you and your lifestyle best.

xx

JFitzy

12:19 pm
6 Feb 14
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I am not sure what anybody is talking about – I am totally lost!! 🙂

For example this week I ate normally on Sunday, Monday was my first fast day of the week and ate at 7pm that evening (so a 24hr fast)then Tuesday was my next fast day so again I ate at 7pm (so anther 24hrs fast). So on both days I saved my 500 for my evening meal. However today is my 3rd fast day this week and I am going to have 150 calories for lunch and the remaining 350 for dinner. This means I will have only fasted for 17hrs but I am assured by others who have had great success with the 5:2 that this doesn’t matter. I know one person who has lost over 3 stone and always spread her 500 calories over the day so never fasted for more than 12hrs at any time.

Now you know when I am totally lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sylvestra

12:22 pm
6 Feb 14
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@jfitzy that is what I said …you are having 500 cals in a 36 hour period. How you do it – and the length of time you have no food – is up to you.

xx

JFitzy

12:27 pm
6 Feb 14
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Thanks Sylvestra – glad I am not going totally mad 🙂

Notascoobie

3:52 pm
9 Feb 14
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For what its worth, I only ever fast for 24hrs at a time – the method is outlined in the “Eat, stop. Eat” book by Brad Pilon (Very good read by the way).

I stop eating after my dinner on a Monday night – around 6pm, and thats me till dinner time on Tuesday night around 6 pm.

I dont take the 500/600 cals on fasting days. I thought this was the same protocol as for the 5:2, but it appears not. Anyway it seems to work for me, so hey ho.

Lulu01

7:40 am
10 Feb 14
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I must admit (sheepish grin!), I hadn’t thought to look in the FAQ’s when I asked my original question re timings … oops! I’ll have a read of the Eat, stop. Eat book, Notascoobie. When you say it seems to work for you – can you tell us more like how long you’ve been doing it for, what sort of weight you’ve lost etc. I’m wondering if it would work better for me as I’m on yet another plateau and don’t want to move to 3 days a week.

Notascoobie

10:49 am
10 Feb 14
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Hi Lulu
I’ve not been doing this system for very long – started on the 1st Jan this year and at that point I was 13st 1lb. On weighing myself on Saturday morning (8th feb) I was 12st 6lb, so 9lb loss over about 5 weeks. I also exercise 3 times a week, doing FAST sprints on my eliptical cross trainer. Its not a massive weight loss compared to what some others are losing, but it is steady, and I find it easy to stick to. Like yourself, I have now read the FAQs, and I think I prefer my method of no calories over a 24hr period over having 500/600 cals over 36hrs. It really means I am only skipping breakfast and lunch on my 2 fasting days, and eating normally the rest of the time. Hope this helps.

Notascoobie.

sylvestra

11:53 am
10 Feb 14
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@notascoobie if you see my above post, you’ll see that what you are doing is ONE of the ways I mentioned.

You say dinner on NFD to dinner on FD – how many calories do you have for dinner on your FD – 500/600? And do you eat from that dinner until breakfast on your next NFD? If the answer to these questions is YES and NO respectively, then you are only eating 500/600 calories in 36 hours!

xx

Notascoobie

8:24 pm
10 Feb 14
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Hi sylvestra
Yes I see what you are saying now. However the meal that I break the fast with ie dinner tonight, was quite a bit more than 600cals – probably nearer to 900-1000
(soup(75cals) smoked cod loin, boiled potatoes and broccoli(650cals). Then fresh fruit salad consisting of a banana, 12 grapes, and a satsuma, so probably another 250cals oh! not forgetting a bit of elmlea, so nearer 300cals for a total of 1025cals. So like I say – all I’ve really done is miss breakfast and lunch today.
Actually feeling quite guilty now when I see what I had for dinner tonight! Had I only eaten 600cals for dinner tonight, then yes I would agree that it would fit the 5:2 profile for the 36hr period.
Best regards
Notascoobie.

Lulu01

7:51 am
11 Feb 14
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Thanks for the info Notascoobie and sylvestra, and well done on the weight loss Notascoobie. Sounds like whatever you are doing is working!

tlafonta

7:24 pm
17 Mar 14
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Is this tight cause im confused .on Mondays I have 2 eggs for breakfast .Then sometimes ill have a carrot or nuts at 3 if im starving and then rest of my 500 at dinner .so does it matter if eat during the day ? If im still only eating 500 but spread out is that still fasting ???

Grumnut

5:52 am
6 Aug 15
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Hi,
I’ve been going from dinner to dinner for 5 weeks now. I consume about 2100 KJoules during the day. This means rolled oats for breakfast (half cup) and 2 lady finger bananas spaced throughout the day. I’ve gone up 2 notches on my belt and my shirts are definitely bigger on me. I’ve lost close on 5 KG and am VERY hungry by the next dinner time.
I seem to be having smaller meals on the “on” days as well.Basically 24 hours is working for me.