Curious to see what will happen?

This topic contains 23 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by Emilyashen 10 years ago.

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Runt0thehills

8:31 pm
21 Oct 14
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I am going to try this IF. I am no ‘dieter’ however I am intrigued by the bio-medical effects…and could do with shifting 10kgs!!

My challenges to the success of this are simple. I run (trail run) and all the time. my body gets rather stressed when it feels it needs fuel and my appetite defense mechanism is very powerful. This is slightly complicated by the fact I get vasovagal syncope and one of my many triggers is low blood sugars however drinking water every hour will help to nudge my blood pressure up.

I am going to try this nevertheless and give it a good go. If it is too challenging for my blood pressure to deal with then of course I will not pursue it…but not before a good try.

So Thursday will be my first day…fingers crossed!!

Emilyashen

8:54 pm
21 Oct 14
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Good luck! I’ll be with you Thursday too! Monday was my first fast and it was tough (very) at times. However, I would crash and then be able to feel normal about 20 minutes after. It does help to know that the feeling doesn’t last… I know the first week’s the worst, so I want to get through it and see what next week feels like.

I love to run too. I’m not ready to exercise on a fast day yet, but I’m hoping to be able to do it at some point. Also, water with electrolytes helped me out during my fast as well as hot water with lemon. It was a little hard to fall asleep, but I was able to do it. I feel so good today that I want to continue until I reach my goal weight. I’ve been craving more healthy foods today…

Runt0thehills

10:11 pm
21 Oct 14
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Hey Emily! Thank you for your lovely post. You sound very positive which is encouraging and definitely will try electrolytes and lemon water. I will feedback after Thursday…or maybe during Thursday to distract me!!

Emilyashen

2:44 am
22 Oct 14
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Yes, we’ll do a check in on Thursday 🙂

Runt0thehills

6:51 pm
23 Oct 14
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So first go…made it to 23 hours!! Light-headed and BP dropped as the day went on but I think I will adapt. Had a couple of hungry potential sabotage moments but got distracted and forgot and then it passed!!

Very happy 🙂

Barniesmum

8:54 pm
23 Oct 14
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Well done. First fast for me too today. Didn’t eat from 9pm last night till 6pm tonight. Had intended to have soup at lunch time when I got home from work, but found I wasn’t too hungry so took the dog out instead.

However, I found out that Fanta Zero should be renamed Fanta 10, it has just over 10 calories. I’d drunk 2 before I realised. Con! Will have to be more vigilant with labels.

Emilyashen

12:48 am
24 Oct 14
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Great job today you two!

I’m nearing the end of my fast day and it’s going to be a success! I definitely had some brain fog today, but the day was overall easier than my first fast. I was very surprised that I had maintained my 3 pound loss (from my first fast) this morning. This is with no calorie counting or exercise. I will be exercising this weekend + going to a Halloween party, so next Monday’s weigh-in should be interesting.

Let me know if you both plan on fasting next week! I am excited to keep it going and see what happens!

clnowlin

1:21 am
24 Oct 14
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Wait a minute…you know you can have 500 calories during a fast, right? I see people saying they ate nothing in 24 hours. Am I totally wrong? Haven’t read the book, just following what I have heard and seen in videos and online. Just started yesterday at 1pm and “fasted” (meaning I only ate 500 calories in a 24 hour period) to 1pm today. Not too difficult since I slept through a portion of the hours. My friend did it this way and had a lot of success!

simcoeluv

5:26 am
24 Oct 14
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Hi and welcome:

If you don’t know how to do 5:2, this will explain: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Runt0thehills

10:28 am
24 Oct 14
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Hey there!! Well done Emily and Barniesmum!! clnowlin, yes there is an ‘allowance’as it were of 500 healthy calories on the “Fast” day but I have chosen not to use them.

Essentially the existence of the 500 calorie allowance is to make the Fast Day achievable however one of the key objectives is to try and achieve the longest fasted period of time that you can. For many people it just isn’t possible to completely fast initially. My understanding from reading the book and the associated research, is that, in lay terms, the greater the fasted period, the greater the potential of biomedical benefits. But in terms of marketing and promoting the practice of fasting, it needs to be achievable and sustainable therefore having a 500 calories allowance can help with that. An example in the book given is that whilst for some, an early breakfast, then late supper would work, for others a need for a midday snack would be necessary. The 5:2 as a branded package is a nice, realistic, sustainable version of the practice of fasting,intermittent fasting. Ultimately the psychology of dieting is such that for many people, over restriction will lead to over eating.

My decision not to eat at all for a 24 hour period is based on the fact that if I eat dinner in the early evening (I rarely make it past 6pm without my meal) and miss the breakfast of the following morning, I will become busy the second I wake up (I wake up and trail run the dog for a few miles out of bed anyway) then drop into working and I will forget about it. This was my theory until yesterday and then I tested in and fundamentally this happened in practice. I had two natural hunger points where my appetite defense mechanism was poking me for fuel but I just ignored it and it passed!

So in short, yes there is a 500 calorie allowance for a fast day but as the book suggests, you have to find out what is right for you. Horses for courses. It is far easier for me not to think about eating at all in that 24 hours then to try and eat a really low calorie meal which will just temporarily raise my blood sugar some (even if it is low GI) and then bring my attention back to thoughts of food. I suspected that would be the case for me and it was.

Didn’t mean to cause any confusion. I assumed everyone had read the book and research so would just kind of figure it out from there!!

Namaste
E 🙂

Runt0thehills

10:40 am
24 Oct 14
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Emilyashen,

Looking at my diary for next week, plans are to go for Monday and Thursday.

You?

hopefulslimmer

10:43 am
24 Oct 14
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Hi, I’m new to 5:2 as of today. I’m hoping that joining the site will give me some extra motivation and support. My big problem is snacking in the evening in front of the TV, I’m quite good in the day but after dinner I seem to want to eat everything!
This being my 1st day, any tips?
You guys seem to have done a good first few days, well done!

Runt0thehills

12:04 pm
24 Oct 14
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Hey there!! Well I have just done the one test day but the others have done more I think. I was just testing out my own formula!

Erm, tips…well is it possible to go out and do something else? Do you have a dog to walk? Or jobs to do? I think that as the television is a partner to the snacking then maybe binning the watching of television for your fast evenings.

Also and by all means I am no expert on this and there will be very different versions of what people do but if you are okay apart from the evenings, could you start your fast from the evening before (so starting after a hearty and filling dinner on one evening)and then your fast period would take you to the following evening and if you are eating your 500 calorie allowance, then you could use that for an evening meal on your fast day? That way you would have fasted for most of your 24 hours (23), and then you have all of your 500 calories for a meal so you would get to eat a fairly substantial meal if you have saved your full calorie allowance…just a thought?

That’smy twopenn’th anyway 🙂 Hope you find your solution 🙂 See what others say for different ideas too

Ejay

12:58 pm
24 Oct 14
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Do you do any handcrafts ?
I find knitting, crochet, tatting, or cross stitch help keep both the mind and the hands busy and reduce snacking. All can be done while watching tv too.

Emilyashen

1:16 pm
24 Oct 14
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Good tip Ejay! I may have to get out my crochet hooks again.

Run, I’ll be fasting Monday and Thursday next week too. I do eat 500 calories during the day, I need them!! I give you loads of credit for getting out there and running on a fast day, that’s awesome! I’m playing tennis this morning and I’m curious to see if my energy will be affected from yesterday’s fast.

Welcome hopeful! Good luck today! You can do it!! I re-read parts of the book last night that explained the benefits of IF on your health. It helped get me through the last few hours. I curled up with a soft comfy blanket and read for an hour before bed last night. I actually didn’t have any hunger pains and felt really good.

Some of my tips are: water with electrolytes, hot lemon water, lots of protein in the 500 calorie allowance, warm clothes (I get cold on the fast days). I’ve also found that I like sipping seltzer (0 calorie sparkling water) right before bed. It feels like a little treat.

Barniesmum

6:04 pm
24 Oct 14
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I’m going to fast Mondays and Thursdays as well. I plan to do the only one meal at 6pm again if possible, but if I feel really hungry during the day will split the calories.

Curiously, after yesterday’s fast day and having one meal only, I slept really soundly last night and woke up feeling energised this morning.

I think I’m going to love this diet and I’m hoping to be a Christmas cracker, not a Christmas pudding.

Runt0thehills

11:57 am
27 Oct 14
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Morning (just)!! all

So it is Monday and for those of you on Monday fast, hope it is going well.

All good here at the moment and I haven’t really given food any thought.

Feeling the love for warm, no added sugar blackcurrant squash. It’s all warm and snuggly and keeping the inside of my tummy warm and snuggly.

Like Barniesmum, I am going to hold out until dinner this evening and enjoy it!! haven’t had any difficult moments yet but there is time yet 🙂 🙂

Hope all well for everyone else?? How are you getting on?

E x

Emilyashen

12:44 pm
27 Oct 14
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Good Morning!

I’m ready to start the fast day :). Not sure if anyone else is watching the scale,
but I had lost 3 lbs. after the first fast and 1.5 lbs. after the second. I had
maintained a 3 lb. loss at weigh in this morning (1 week after). This is very exciting to
me, taking into account I am not counting calories and have been enjoying plenty
of carbs, alcohol (everything!!). More exciting is how happyI felt on the day after
fasting. I truly felt so much better overall.

This will be my motivation today! I hope to complete both fasts this week & exercise
every non fast day.

Good luck everyone! I’ll check back later.

Emmy

Runt0thehills

6:16 pm
27 Oct 14
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Hey Emmy! Did you see a loss of 3lbs from just one fast day? That is a lot 🙂

In terms of weight, I am trying to lose 10 kgs over a steady period of time. So in that sense I am keeping track of weight but not weighing before and after a fast because there are natural fluctuations in weight anyway so measuring me before and after a 24 hour period wouldn’t be too meaningful. I am therefore taking a measure once a week and usually on a Monday, although I did it at the weekend this week.

So from the point that I decided to knuckle down on my food and drink which is now about a fortnight ago, I have gone from a starting weight of 67 kg and now am 65.1 kg (so a total loss of 1.9 kg). This is kind of the right pace for me I think as it is just short of a kg per week.

What I am getting from it overall however is something that you touched on Emmy, which is the sense of success and feeling good afterwards. I think for me, developing the practice of intermittent fasting is about more than a weight thing, it is a whole health (physical and psychological) thing.

So I did 6pm to 6pm and ate snuggly homemade soup (2 bowls) and a yoghurt for dinner. Now warm inside and happy.

How is it going all?

Emilyashen

12:51 am
28 Oct 14
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Hey Run! Technically, I lost 4.5 lbs., but was able to maintain the 3 lb. loss after my gluttonous weekend ;). You had a great week too! I don’t like to weigh myself too much, but I want to find out if there’s a pattern with losing weight with 5:2.

Sounds like you did amazing last week. I also love your whole health idea. Although the weight loss is a bonus, this feels like much more than losing weight.

Overall, my 3rd fast day was easier as a whole. Seeing others eat / pictures of food didn’t bother me at all today. I think I’ll be ready to go again on Thurs.

What was in your soup? Sounds perfect for a fast day! We had a warm day here in the midwest today, but cold days are right around the corner. Where do you live?

Runt0thehills

6:34 pm
30 Oct 14
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I made pumpkin and sweetcorn soup…so simple. Recipe from Mumsnet but I added a chilli to warm it up. Worked it out (nutrition) as I made it and based on my bowls (not full) I got it as about and it came in at about 140 cals per bowl!!

This week I swapped a Wednesday in instead of today for various practical reasons (going to lunch with my daughter reasons) and twas an easier day on Wednesday.

Next week I am going to go for a Monday and Wednesday again. Although my preferred second day is a Thursday, next week I am busy all Wednesday and in an environment that I won’t be able to eat in anyway (a lab) so I thought it lent itself to being the ideal fast day. As I also cannot run on that day either, that works even better so for next week I am Monday and Wednesday.

You Emily????

Emilyashen

9:34 pm
30 Oct 14
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Hey Run,

Today’s a fasting day for me. I still can’t seem to make it through the lunch hour without my protein bar on fast days. I’m sure it’s psychological, but it’s working for me as of now. It is so nice that you can pick and choose your fast days. I did have a very tempting day today. I am a teacher and every month we use the school’s kitchen to bake with our students. We had a pumpkin baking day, but I did not sample anything:).

I have been exercising this week, but still can’t seem to do anything extra on fast days. I’m using them as my days off for now.

This is my tough time of the day now (3-5), but have to look forward to a low calorie dinner. Then after dinner, I tell myself to wait for tomorrow. I’m not expecting the same weight loss as last week, but I’ve worn two pairs of pants this week that I haven’t worn in 3 years :). I’m also going to try to have a better weekend…

Runt0thehills

12:39 pm
10 Nov 14
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Hey all, sorry for the silence! I have been busy and am now poorly.

I had two successful fast days last week and felt really good for both. I was more hungry for day one and almost forgot about food on day 2 because I was so busy (had work at the uni all day and then some pc stuff to sort out).

I am totally and utterly loving the plan. I feel better (generally, will come to that in a moment!) and am definitely thinking that this may be for me into the future as a lifestyle thing. It is so simple and it makes me feel better.

I am NOT, that said, fasting this week at all. I have a chest infection and on Friday it triggered a bit reaction in my fragile blood pressure so my BP was too low to sit up. I am now on antibiotics and need to eat with them, not to mention recover fully so sensibly I am not taking part this week.

Assuming I have recovered fully, I am planning to start again next Monday as Day 1 and the Day 2 will be Wednesday again as will be busy and in a work situation where I cannot eat anyway so it is helpful.

How are you getting on Emily?

Emilyashen

5:51 pm
10 Nov 14
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Hey Run, good to hear from you!

I am still going forward too :). I have been steadily losing weight and this is the first diet / way of eating that I can stick to. My fast last Monday was relatively easy, but last Thursday and today seem a little harder. I may keep a food diary to see if what I eat the night before affects the next day’s fast. I’m also blaming the temperature drop here in the midwest. I have a tough time during our harsh winters, but my goal is to not dwell on it this year…

I do need to work on my overindulgent weekends. I think I could be losing a little more each week if I had more discipline. However, my waistline has dramatically improved and I don’t feel bloated like before. I have also noticed a reduction in cellulite – a huge reason to keep on :).

I’m sorry you aren’t feeling the best, don’t worry about missing a week. I may have to miss a day next week, or change it from Monday to Tuesday. I am a little worried about having only one day between fasts. Do you notice a difference when you fast Monday / Wednesday? I’ve been really strong on my fast days, so I’m worried about anything that may throw them off…

I’ll check back with you next week!