Atlas- you can have 500 calories (women) 600 calories (men) on your fast day. So if you’ve been fasting all day, and haven’t eaten since yesterday evening, now’s the time to eat!!

hello,
i was very hungry on my fast days when i first started this plan, it was such a shock to my tummy, i had headaches and hunger prangs, it does get better as you keep at it, i never eat breakfast so just had a light lunch and evening meal, i still have mine at about 4.30 pm and that sees me through to the next day.
keeping busy has been the key for me. xx

Sometimes hunger pangs come when you are actually thirsty so I always have some water when I feel hungry. I have a flat white coffee for breakfast on my fast days – 86 calories and the remainder of my 500 calories I have in the evening with the family.

Altoids!!! When I feel so empty that I can’t get it off my mind I suck on an Altoid and just having a flavor in my mouth helps. At 10 calories for 3 I don’t worry about the few calories involved. I also tell myself the hunger pang will pass and it does and then I remind myself that this is for my own good and that I won’t feel this way tomorrow.

Hi Atlas, I have 200ml of high juice diluted with tap water in a litre bottle that I sip throughout the day as well as water so every now and then I get a little bit of sugar, it’s only 68 cals and keeps me going until my evening meal, but don’t eat so late if your that hungry eat about 6pm.
Good Luck and remember it is what works for you you can always do all day fasting like some people on the forum when you have been doing it for a while.
Pally

I am amazed at how much you can eat with 500 calories, however I do get hungry still too some days, this after 12+ weeks. I have found for me, splitting up the 500 calories in 3 meals works best, because it feels more like a normal eating day that way. I’ve tried to wait and eat all 500 at dinner, but, boy, howdy….just have a harder time not overeating.

I know diet soda is not the best thing for you, so I have it as a treat on fast days (instead of every day). That way, after the 500 calories are gone, I still feel like I have something to look forward to. Sometimes herb tea with Stevia. Maybe I’ll try the diet lemonade idea. And if someone has any other suggestions……

@anniew7
“On fast days I find a small glass of diet lemonade helps me through ”

I drink water with a splash of concentrated lemon juice, whether fasting or not. At restaurants, I’ll have a slice of lemon with my water. I enjoy it.

I’ll also have mints & gum to chew on, especially on fast days.

Works for me.

Hunger is just toxins leaving the body – this thought confuses others.

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Mmm, I do wonder about weaning off – as a concept if you get me. For me the moment I start I am lost – even a little bit. I used to know a recovering alcoholic who told me that even the tiny amount of alcohol in a homoeopathic tablet could send him off on a bender – and I do wonder if its not that different for me. If you are going to wean off sweeteners you could possibly try honey, which is at least not artificial.

Do you know, when they launched aspartame they were in such a panic over the fact that cyclamates were carcinogenic that they were allowed to bring it to market before all the testing had been done. When the final research came through it showed that it caused ‘brain disturbance’ in rats. And its been known, but ignored, for years that it can cause symptoms that look very much like MS. I read about it at the time, and won’t touch any artificial sweetener if I know its there. And then I had a colleague who had been diagnosed with MS. He was on crutches, had terrible pains, and was generally a wreck. His wife couldn’t stand it and left him. The he changed doctors and was told to kick his diet cola habit. Guess what? His wife didn’t come back though.

Have you come across Kathleen Desmaisons – author of Potatoes not Prozac? Her work predates the idea of intermittent fasting, but she has a programme for sugar addicts. For me there were two stumbling blocks – she expects you to eat rather a lot of so-called ‘complex’ carbs. Potatoes, even with their jackets, and wholegrain cereals are still too dense a carb for it to work for me. And I could never do her journal. But it certainly works for some sugar addicts. The book is worth reading just for the explanation of the brain chemistry of sugar, though.

@ruthi
“The he changed doctors and was told to kick his diet cola habit. Guess what? His wife didn’t come back though.”

I remember drinking 6 packs of soda, and later beer, on a given day, when in my 20’s. I had no physical problems from that, as I remember.

I did have emotional issues.

As a fun experiment, I thought that I would switch from drinking alcohol to just wine & beer consumption for one year. The next year, I switched to just drinking wine for a year. The next year, I switched to just drinking red wine for a year. That lasted 6 months, and havent drank wine since then. The next year, I switched to just drinking coffee for a year. The next year, I switched to just drinking iced coffee for a year. Then just tea.

Now, I just enjoy my water with lemon. I also enjoy daily fruit juicing on feed days.

It started as an interesting experiment and it served me well. Along, the way, I stopped eating animal foods also.

The fasting is a continuum with so many benefits, including delayed gratification.

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Okay I just went and vented to my work mates I think I feel a little better I may even go to the gym still:-) I just need to keep thinking tomorrow

I think it’s the “newness”. I was SOOOOOOOOOOO hungry the first few weeks on 5:2 and then over several weeks later, I don’t seem to feel as bad as I did at the beginning. I’ve noticed that my headaches have gotten better, and I am less irritable (although, I am still more “on edge” when on my ‘fast’ days). I’ve lost 10 pounds (about a pound a week), and I’m loving the results. The reward helps me get through and realizing how temporary it is. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who have these “hunger pains” on a regular basis because they can’t afford food, so I remember just how privileged I am at these times.

I believe part of the problem is your choices on your fast days. The key is choosing food that are high in fiber (bulk) but lower in calories. In fact Mimi says in the Cookbook that you can eat as many green leafy vegetables as you like on a fast day.

My favorite is collard greens,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collard_greens

my wife makes them with smoked meats to add to the rich flavor of the leaves. I count the protein in the meats as most of my 600 calories on a fast day and load up, trust me you will feel full and you will be regular if you know what I mean, and don’t be alarmed that what you see in the bowl is similar in color to what you ate, it will clean out everything in a much healthier way than those terrible cleanses that people attempt.

The other problem you may have is lack of hydration, people often confuse the feeling of being thirsty with being hungry, the trigger to your brain that you are full is the volume in your stomach. Keeping track of how much you drink is also paramount, you are probably not drinking as much as you think you are.

If you have a an iPhone, here is an free app to help you track your hydration

http://iphone.metricscat.com/get-hydrated/

Charles

Hi srohman, what time do you eat your dinner maybe you should eat a bit later or have more protein, I always try to have fish on a fast day and I don’t eat until at least 19:30 that way I am going to bed within a couple of hrs of eating and I try to drink lots of fluid before my meal but not much after otherwise I have to get up lots in the night for the loo.

I don’t know how well it fits into the “black drinks only” pattern, but for those moments when your mind doesn’t want to be distracted, I can heartily recommend Genmaicha (Japanese green tea with toasted rice, a.k.a. “popcorn tea”).

I started drinking Genmaicha when I started eating to a 5:2 pattern, as a matter of pure serendipity (I’d bought some teabags from Whittard because I was fascinated by the name, and they were the only green tea I had in the cupboard). I promptly discovered for myself something that, I now know, fasting Buddhist monks have known for centuries – namely that it is *excellent* at taking the edge off an appetite. And if people will forgive a plug, I can heartily recommend the Genmaicha from “Char” in Winchester (tea no. 82 – as opposed to their “Char Matcha Genmaicha”, no. 17, which has a powdered leaf, and of which I’m not at all fond. Loose-leaf, so an infuser is most definitely recommended (it doesn’t seem to diffuse well from “fill them yourself” bags, for some reason). Or Whittards also do one (loose leaf only, last time I checked) – I haven’t tried it, but their tea-bag version was quite drinkable as well (if not in quite the same league).

NB! You’ll find any number of recipes on the net for making Genmaicha at home. I really, *really* don’t suggest you try that until you’ve actually tasted a good quality sample of the real thing, and know what it *ought* to be like – because I haven’t yet found a recipe that is even remotely any good.

Hi,

I’m new to this site. I started the Fast Diet 7 months ago and after spending my whole life dealing with weight issues, I feel like I’ve found a miracle. I have tried every diet under the sun and this is the only thing that has worked for me.

I just want to add my two cents about diet sodas. I know I’ll get a lot of flack for saying this, but I love diet sodas! It’s the only thing I drink. I don’t drink water, juice, tea, coffee, nothing. But I love my Diet Pepsi. 😉

Speaking from personal experience, it’s never been an issue for me. A lot of people seem to look at diet sodas as being really bad for you, but I’ve never really been able to understand what exactly is wrong with it. It has no sugar or calories, and it’s my only “vice” in life (I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke, I don’t take drugs). It doesn’t make me crave fast food, or sweets. I enjoy it, and feel not guilt about it.

On my fast days, I only eat eggs. I’ve tried different things, but I hate counting calories, and it just makes things easier for me to stick to the same diet on all my fast days. Eggs are also very filling, so that has been very helpful too.

Whenever I feel hunger pangs, I drink diet sodas and I try to think about how wonderful tomorrow will be, because I’ll get to eat whatever I want. They say you should take things one day at a time, well it makes it a lot easier when you literally only have to worry about dieting for only ONE day, tomorrow will come soon enough, and then you won’t be feeling hungry anymore. “Dieting” twice a week sounds too good to be true, but it works. I’ve lost 50 pounds so far.

I also like to think of those times when I’m feeling hungry as the exact moment I’m actually losing weight. It may not be a fact, but hey, whatever helps me get through it! 🙂

Here comes the “avalanche” of flack I was afraid of. 😉

As I mentioned, I can speak from experience that drinking diet sodas doesn’t increase my appetite. If they did, my fast days spent drinking them would be unbearable.

I hate water, I don’t even use water when I have to swallow a pill. 🙁

Coincidentally, I just went to the dentist today and got a clean bill of health. I haven’t had a cavity in 20 years. 😀

It’s interesting because I remember getting criticized a LOT when I first started on the Fast Diet. Now that I’ve lost a bunch of weight, some of those same people are telling me they want to try it too.

I think it’s important to know what works for you. As I said, I don’t smoke, or drink, and now I’m losing weight… I think I’m doing pretty good. I drink diet sodas, I’m not perfect. But then again, who is? 🙂

Cherubs, I don’t think too many people will bother to talk to you about your diet soda, but we do tend to feel that we should warn everyone else. If we say nothing and then someone turns up who IS suffering, I for one would feel a little guilty for not sharing my knowledge.

Just because you feel you have no problem with the stuff, does not mean that its harmless. Its a bit like a smoker saying, ‘I’ve been smoking man and boy and it never did me any harm’ but the statistics say different, and the harm tends to be hidden for a long time(and often is irreversible).

I hope you are lucky, and this one vice doesn’t come back to bite you on the bum. Personally I try to avoid as much of the stuff that is known to be harmful as I can.

Well, in sufficient excess it probably will kill you, but one or two a week probably won’t. However, if you are overweight then you are probably insulin resistant to some extent, and artificial sweeteners will add to that. Type 2 diabetes most certainly CAN kill. And having witnessed the destruction aspartame wrought on my friend I personally don’t go anywhere near the stuff.

My question is why are you SO very determined to hang on to it?

@chuckscherubs. Good on you for sticking to up for what you believe in! Just goes to show that there are exceptions. We can make informed choices that work for our own individual circumstances.

I agree with you Chucks! We are all different and if your Diet Pepsi keeps you going, good for you!!! I also love my DP!! I allow myself one per day on my fasting days. I also do lots of water, tea and coffee! I look at my DP as a treat during the fast. It settles my stomach and satisfies me! I feel less hungry after a DP. If you have lost weight doing this, I would keep doing it! We diet soda lovers will be criticized right and left, but do what works for you!!! The weight loss proves it’s working!!!

@chuckscherubs You drink exactly what you like, if it makes you feel satiated then good, some people really are far too opinionated.

I’m Vegan and personally wouldn’t drink Diet sodas, but that’s me, if it floats your boat, great!

As we are discussing hunger pangs, have any of you tried Glucomannan powder, simply add to water with lemon juice to taste to make those hunger pangs disappear ? try it! It works, keeps the pangs at bay and at only 5 calories per teaspoon, it’s great, totally natural too; it’s also used to make skinny noodles (Shirataki).

Basically its the composite of Slim sip but half the price, it thickens when added to water, soup anything! and continues to expand in your stomach, thus creating fullness. Buy it here

http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/glucomannan-konjac-powder.html

or here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xglucomannan+powder.TRS0&_nkw=glucomannan+powder&_sacat=0

I’m in the middle of my 8th (non-consecutive) day of fasting and really hit a wall at about 16 hours. So last ate a little before 8 PM last night. Started a very important 7 AM meeting that lasted 3 hours and required a great deal of mental energy. I got back to the office about 11:30 and went totally fuzzy headed. I ate one hard-boiled egg and was able to lay down for about 20 minutes. Then my brain kicked back into gear, but my feet are very cold.

I was planning to go out snowshoeing the afternoon, which is quite strenuous, but the temperature with the wind is 2 F which is about -16 C. I simply can’t face it!

I almost threw in the towel (a boxing metaphor) and grabbed that bar of dark chocolate on my desk. On my previous days I’ve been able to get through 16 hours without any side effects, but not today. It could be that I hadn’t had my normal dose of caffeine. I’m 100% Swede so caffeine is an essential nutrient!

In any case, this forum is where I come for motivation, inspiration and whining (or whingeing as some of us say.) I think I’m through my little “crisis” but I still won’t go snowshoeing.

Two weeks in and I find using my warning mantra helpful in overcoming hunger pangs. It’s “1743” which is the place I don’t want to be ie 17 stone and 43 inch waist. Eventually I expect to change this to where I want to be and “1435” is looking good but it’s early days yet and I want to see how things pan out. By the way and this may not be new, but I call my approach the “Fast Med” diet based on the book recommendations ie 5:2 and Mediterranean style.

Hi
I find that on Fast days I eat three meals spread through the day. I eat mainly low fat protein food like skinned chicken, white fish and boiled eggs. I make a salad and I also often eat berries. Some mornings I have oats with water for breakfast. I eat 500 cals of great food twice a week. Each fast lasts 36 hours. I drink hot water with a splash of milk or excellent black coffee or water.I avoid anything with carbs or sugar because they make me feel hungry and want to eat more.I don’t find fasting too hard and I also find black coffee reduces physical hunger pains. I have been on 5:2 for 6 months, lost 15 kilos and think it is amazing.