First day went great! Question for others?

This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Jetsman21 9 years, 11 months ago.

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Jetsman21

3:02 pm
9 Jan 15
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Hello everyone! Yesterday I had my first full fast day and wanted to share my results. First I should mention, I am a 6’ 35 year old male that weighed 231.5 lbs. when I started working out and eating right again on January 2nd 2015. To give you a little background about myself, in 2007 I weighed 172lbs and have gained 60lbs over seven years! I knew it was time for a change! I found the FastDiet online earlier this week and immediately went to pick up the book.
For me, I really wanted to understand the science behind intermittent fasting and how it would benefit me rather than just starving myself. I was impressed by what I found in the book (especially the health benefits aside from weight loss) and decided to being immediately.
As I mentioned, yesterday was my first fast day and I have to say it went really well. I did not work out in the morning but instead had my first 300 calorie meal at 7:30am prior to going into the office. During the day I drank a lot of coffee- probably 6 cups and also slugged water. Although I was expecting to be starving all day I really wasn’t. I had some minor discomfort mid-afternoon but I just focused on something else and it went away completely. When it came time to eat at 7:30pm I found myself to be a little hungry buy my meal of 300 calories was more than enough to satisfy me. I didn’t sleep the best last night but I think that was more from caffeine overload than anything else.
I work up this morning at early (5:30am) and went to the gym. I worked out for an hour doing upper body lifting and ended with a 20 minute run. It felt great! I did not experience any lack of energy and my workout was very effective. At 7:30 this morning I had a protein shake blended with a banana and didn’t feel the need to eat anything else.
Overall I feel like my first day went great. I believe this is a program I can live with and make it a lifestyle change rather than another diet fad. My only concern is that I don’t want to overdo it. I already find myself thinking I might want to have another normal lunch today then see if I can push myself for a full 24 hour fast through tomorrow at noon! Has anyone else tried to cut calories completely for 24 hours on their fast day? The book says that after 12 hours your body really starts to burn fat as fuel and longer fast’s can be more effective. I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on if they’ve tried this and their experiences. Thanks!

simcoeluv

5:45 pm
9 Jan 15
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Hi Jetsman and welcome:

This will answer many of your questions: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/. Number six addresses part of your question.

I recommend you complete two successful months of 5:2 first. Once you have, you can reevaluate and try something else if you want. If you can’t complete two successful months of 5:2, then trying anything more difficult would just cause you to quit more quickly and go back to where you were.

As far as ‘longer fasts’ go, current research shows that you need to water fast (no food, just water) for at least 72-96 hours to start getting serious benefits from fasting. There is no clinical proof that fasting for less time offers greater ‘other health’ benefits. I believe the original Eat, Fast and Live Longer documentary indicated the same thing, with Dr. Longo discussing the benefits of periodic four day fasts (not just one four day fast, but ongoing four day fasts).

However, from a weight loss point of view, many people do not eat any food on their two diet days. That means they do not eat any food for about 32-36 hours. If you think that would help, it has the added benefit of eliminating another 1000/1200 calories from your diet each week (and means you don’t have to count calories on your diet days). I wouldn’t try this, either, until you have successfully completed two or three weeks of 5:2 and started to see how your body is reacting to severe caloric restriction twice a week. As they say, however, it is up to you.

Good Luck!

Jetsman21

9:07 pm
9 Jan 15
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Hi- thank you for the info, it is very helpful. I need to remind myself to not to do to much too fast. I’m going to take your advice and try the normal 5:2 for 4-6 weeks to determine my comfort level. Eventually I would love to try to not eat at all for 24 hours- but again, don’t want to push too hard!