Hi Celmotte,

I am by no means experienced but am new enough to also struggle on FDs at times. Things that have helped me:
– remember that hunger comes in cycles, it doesn’t just keep intensifying, so I just need to ride it out for 20mins or so before the pangs subside
– drink lots of water!
– distract myself (I skip dinner, so on FDs I go to hot yoga in the evening, take a long bath, have an early night, go for a long walk with my dog etc – basically do things that either put me out of the vicinity of the kitchen or kill my appetite (like a bath).

Other than that I think just trust that you will get used to it over time! Also many people here find that not eating until dinner is easiest – that way they don’t “wake up” their hunger early on in the day.

Hello again, Celmotte.
I think I know what the problem was with viewing my response to you: I got an email from the tech admin for this [thefastdiet] site, saying that they removed some of my posts. I was unaware [my error] of the fact that I couldn’t mention any other website [I guess my blog qualifies as such ??] on this website.
Not saying this to complain about it, just letting you know why you couldn’t find the message.
Sounds as if MJ0911 has similar tricks for beating the Big H.

Good luck to both of you. Hope your next Fast Day will be a successful one. I lost 1.2 pounds yesterday, so today and tomorrow I can relax and do some splurging.

Hi Celmotte1984
I started last week, first fast day was the hardest, then day 2 wasn’t as bad. It might not be the right way of doing it but, during the day if I feel hungry I either have a massive glass of water or a black coffee.
I realised how much snacking I do.
I have 3 small meals, there is no way I can sit through lunch with everyone else eating.
Cereal in the morning with coconut milk because less calories than normal milk.
Salad for lunch and tea I have stir fry.
Keep going, it will be worth I’m sure (and hoping) 😀

Celine, don’t worry too much about the additional exercise, all of my initial weight loss (around 2 stone) was down to diet change, it is only the last few weeks I’ve increased my exercise levels and am finding I enjoy it much more than I used to. Most of the calories that you burn on a daily basis come from your resting metabolism.

I have found that I need to avoid breakfast on a fast day as once I start eating I feel more hunger, and I have almost completely stopped eating cereal as the sugar content in most cereals is surprisingly high. To feel full for longer try to replace processed carbs with protein – my go to breakfast is now usually defrosted frozen berries with thick natural yoghurt (greek or icelandic which have more protein, less sugar, and tend to be thicker and set). It’s surprising given their sweetness how much less sugar (and hence calories) there are in berries than in some other fruits. Other than that, hydration is key. As soon as you feel hungry, drink something and see if the feeling passes.

I now find fast days easier to manage than none fast days.

I don’t know about others, but after doing 5:2 for a while I’ve gotten to the point where sugary things are way too sweet for my taste. There are times where I’ll reach for a piece of chocolate or a granola bar but then put it back because I think of how sickeningly sweet it is and that I’ll physically feel awful after eating it.

Even things like peanut butter (which I used to love) are too sweet for me. Now if I have a taste for peanut butter I’ll mix some peanut flour with water, add a tiny bit of table salt and eat that. Not quite peanut butter but close enough for me.

Bronx

@celmotte1984 Have a look through some of the threads, everyone does this their own way as they experiment to find what works. The general consensus seems to be that keeping your eating to the smallest window you can on a fast day works best, but everyone does it different. I find that if I skip breakfast I can go longer without being hungry and sometimes only have an evening meal on a fast day. Some people have more than 500 calories as they can’t manage on that. I’ve found some nice flavoured teas and coffees which help make the day more interesting than just water.

As for none fast days – have you calculated your TDEE on the BMI calculator page? If you regularly exceed that significantly then you will struggle to lose weight. The idea is that if you stick to TDEE as an upper limit then you have a constant calorie deficit and your body will have to burn it’s fat stores.

If you have an overindulgent meal / day then just make sure you reset and take a little more care the next few days. I do find it’s more difficult to eat less after over indulging, but also that I feel bloated and uncomfortable and I have to be mindful of not falling into old habits and comfort eating through that and making myself feel worse.

I’m now 3.5 months in and my appetite has reduced massively. I calorie count every day, but just because that works for me, my brain loves numbers. Find some way of monitoring your portion control so you know what a healthy portion looks like as that is the easiest way for the calories to mount up.

Also, some veggies are worse than others for calorie count – incorporating lots of leafy greens gets you a lot of food for very few calories and they can be very filling. Root veg have a high sugar / carb content and quickly rack up.