Drink plenty – water, black coffee or tea (although I must admit I always have a splash of milk in mine) herbal teas etc. I particullarly like Lemon and Ginger its very warming and fools my taste buds into thinking I have eaten something!
I always try to keep busy on a fast day and usually end up on the forum reading posts and making comments which passes ah hour or so.
I find now that it is easier for me to eat once on a fast day, usually in the evening although when I first started I had porridge for breakfast then salad leaves and chicken or salmon in the evening.
Have an early night to bed and remember you can eat normally (NOT feast) tomorrow 😀
Good luck 🙂

I felt light headed on my first fasting day and did drink loads I also had a bad headache (which, for me usually is a sign of dehydration but it couldn’t have been that)

The second fasting day was fine and I didn’t have any of the symptoms of my first one.

Feeling hungry will pass with either flavoured drinks (tea etc as already said), I also find that sugar free gum helps – but that isn’t the case for everyone.

Keep going and if you feel that you really must eat something otherwise you’re going to pass out – then do it…..whilst it’s not going to help with the whole concept, you don’t want to pass out…..but that’s my opinion 🙂

There are loads of people and tips on here to help

Good morning 🙂
Thanks for your reply on my post, and well done for getting through day one!…for me that was the absolute worst, and i thought i would never be able to stick with it. I came on here and found inspiration and the courage to carry on. Lot’s of people had felt the same as i had at first, and were able to reassure me that it would get better…..and they were right. Here i am four weeks down the line encouraging you to believe the same.
I have never had a fast day as bad as the first one…i wouldn’t have been able to stick with it if i thought i had to go through that twice per week.
I have lost 5lbs over first 3 weeks, and i have a long way to go, but i see this as a marathon race rather than a sprint.
If you are struggling, come on here and post, people are very supportive, and reading other peoples stories helped me, plus it passes time.
What sort of exercise are you doing?.
Well, i’m off to get ready for work now, but if i can be of any help, or you just want a little support, then please just get in touch….but remember, it DOES get easier!. lol
I hope you have a lovely day,
Catrina x

Good evening Courtney,
Well done for getting through the first day! 🙂 That’s probably the worst over. Some people do comment on having a burst of energy the day after a fast, for me i think it’s just a mixture of relief and excitement at being able to eat normally, lol
Any exercise you do will be beneficial of course, but i try to walk on fasting days, to take up time, and to keep other days relatively normal for me.
How is today going?, well, i hope. Just tell yourself, that after today, that is your fasting over for the first week!. Before you know it, it will be week two, and so on.
I am fasting today also, my days are mon/thurs. Will have dinner later this evening, x2 chicken breasts with spinach and ricotta and some tiny new potatoes from M&S…comes in at just about 500 cals. Tomorrow marks the end of my first week in my new job, so really looking forward to some wine and something delicious to eat tomorrow night 🙂 🙂 Happy days, lol
I didn’t measure myself tbh, just going by how clothes feel on me, and being weighed every Sunday along with my friend.
Keep going Courtney, if i can do it, then so can you.
Let us know how it went.
Have a great evening,
Catrina.

Hi Cornish maid,
Welcome and thanks for your message.
Day one can be tough, i still vividly remember it, but it does get better, honestly.
I am fasting today also, and have just had dinner, so that’s me until tomoro now, other than green tea, which is supposed to speed up the metabolism.
I have 4 stone to lose, so a while to go, but i am just taking it a day at a time, and as long as i’m losing, i will be happy.
Keep up the good work, you CAN do this, and it really does get easier.
Keep in touch,
Catrina.

Oh meant to ask how long have you been doing this and how much have you lost so far 🙂

Many thanks to everyone who has posted here.
Tomorrow is my very first fast day and I am very nervous about it.
Hope it goes well. Will keep you posted.

I never had a problem with being dizzy not my concentration going. You are lucky to be busy!

Be sure to drink lots of water and perhaps a cup of chicken bouillon for the salt.

I know this post was a year ago, but I was just introduced to this and today was my first fast and I can’t believe how well it went! I woke up, had a cup of coffee and had extra time to get ready since I wasn’t making/eating a big breakfast and packing a lunch. I worked until 4:30 and kept myself busy all day and just kept drinking water. I didn’t eat until 6:00 and I had a 240 kcal dinner (of a veggie burger and broc, onions, tomato), did some house chores and work from home and cleaned a bit and now having a small glass of wine and heading to bed! 440 kcal and I can’t believe how much I didn’t struggle! I have to admit, I kept coming onto this one post and reading suggestions and it really motivated me to keep pushing throughout the day. I know that I should split my calories throughout the day but typically for me when I eat breakfast, I keep eating all day so in my head if I didn’t eat until “I had time” then I would be fine. It really worked for me. I’ll be fasting Tuesday’s and Thursday’s pending conflicts then I’ll switch to other days, but I’m so excited!

Hi Bubblez

Stay focused, the first week can be the hardest. If you read the forum, you will see that, once into it, it will get easier, most of the time.

Drink a glass of water and do something to take your mind off it.

Many 5:2ers dont eat until lunchtime, or later, the day AFTER a fast. Some, myself included, do fasting days where we dont eat anything – and dont even think about eating until lunchtime the next day.

It still amazes me, pre 5:2, I used to have to have a midmorning snack to bridge the chasm between breakfast and lunch.

Ok, there are days I could eat have eaten a scabby horse for breakfast, with chips, but that was only in the first couple of weeks.

Its only one day, play with your calories, work out if you are a one, two or three meal person. Eat an apple, or an olive, or all your calories for lunch.

You aren’t starving and you won’t starve, even though at the moment your stomach feels as if your throat has been cut.

How have you planned your fast day? Only asking as it took me a fortnight to got my head around planning, and three weeks before I lost any weight, and Im sure the two things are connected.

Good luck, and drink the water!!!

thanks Randi

I find the forum amazing – full of the most wonderful kind, generous and helpful people. We are all on the same road, all on the same journey.

Something quite awesome is happening here – in the true sense of the word.

Makes me feel a little like a mother hen, making sure the stragglers aren’t forgotten, and everyone is helped to give this WOL a chance.

Overweight people are often disregarded, or forgotten, even pitied, sometimes self-worth diminishes. To have a place where there is only support and kindness, where we can discuss our weight our accomplishments, our achievements, our joy, wonderful. But where we can tell it like it is – the disasters, the cake we just couldn’t say no to – the sore arses, when we fall off the wagon, and the hands which shove us all back on, with laughter and good sense, without disgust or critism.

I think its important to know the support is here, as much or as little as you wsnt, or need, from the first day on tbe forum.

Doesn’t matter if its 10lb, or 100lbs, were here because we want to be less than we are, and often more than we are.

Isn’t this a fabulous place , and its mere words which bring us here!

“To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive and the true success is to labour”

Hi emma and welcome:

Here are some tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Hi I am on my first fast day and thankfully not long to go till dinner time. I had banana for breakfast, 1 scrambled egg with spinach for lunch, have had a snack of a celery stick and an apple and will have a chicken fillet for dinner with courgette. How many cals do people eat on there normal days?

No I haven’t calculated it I will have a look now. Thanks. How long have you been doing this diet for?

I failed my first day, then started over the next day and was successful. I drank my coffee with cream and sugar as usual, one cup, then sipped on tomato juice in a sippy cup the rest of the day. It made it way easier. I think I had a hard boiled egg before bed. I only felt ill the first day when i went till 3pm and then blew it. The second attempt i did not feel bad at all. I am looking forward to my next.fast day.

Nearing the end of my first fast day. Wasn’t too bad considering. Seem to be more hungry immediately after eating and then have to make myself busy to stop day dreaming of food!

I found it a little easier as I helped out on the UCL study before and completed a food/mood diary as well as had to rate 0-10 how hungry I was. I was amazed how I found out that often I’m not that hungry and during that week stopped nearly all my snacks and as well as my habit of a bar of chocolate every afternoon. This really helped me get through today as I was already able to recognise that an empty stomach doesn’t actually mean you are hungry. I never thought I’d ever think that!

I bought the 3 week fast food trial box, I may not use them every fast day but at least I have no excuse I have nothing tasty within my 500 calorie allowance to hand. (An excuse I’ve used when on other diets). I did have their soup at lunchtime and it was good but didn’t want something similar in the evening. I’ve kept back 90cals in case I ‘needed’ a biscuit in the evening, I’ve managed not to eat it and still don’t know whether I will succumb or not!

I’m feeling positive and hopeful.

When I start flagging in the afternoon, I have a miso soup. It’s only 30 calories. Since we get most of our salt from food, we’re not probably getting enough on fast days. It really perks me up.

Hi I am starting my first fast day tomorrow – can anybody give me any advice to keep the hunger pangs at bay during the day please?

Today was my first fasting day, I normally work from home and my biggest problem is going to the fridge when I am bored, so chose a day when I had to go out all day in the car, made sure I didn’t need to stop for petrol and had plenty of water, just got home and had one of the fast diet ready meals and has really filled me up. Felt very hungry 4-5pm so just drank loads of water. The great thing is I know tomorrow I can eat “normally” although already thinking about the better choices I am (hopefully) going to make. I have 2 stone to lose, have tried all sorts of plans but really hope that I can stick with this one!

Morning after – interesting. I thought I would wake up starving, but I’m not. Another thing I don’t feel is bloated. I guess you could say I feel much better than I thought I would. Waiting for my favourite cafe to open for some avocado on sourdough and a proper coffee (I missed that like crazy yesterday). I’d planned have my fasting days Tuesday and Thursday, but I might stretch them out from next week to Monday and Thursday. I’m worried having them too close together might be too tough, at the start at least.

Hey Chicko – everything you need to know is here:
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/
– For five days a week, you eat up to your TDEE (you can work this out on the calculator on the page I just listed).
– For two other, non-consecutive days, you eat a total of 500 / 600 kcals per day (500 kcals for women, 600 kcals for men).
You can eat the 500 / 600 kcals any way you want to on a Fast Day; split into three meals, two meals, or just one. There are lots of ideas for Fast Days in the books.
Good luck!