Is fasting sustainable?

This topic contains 3 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by BusyMummaM 9 years, 4 months ago.

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Sakina5

9:18 pm
4 Jan 15
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Hey all

So I’m starting my fasting journey tomorrow – tomorrow being day 1 and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been reading through lots of threads on this site and have noticed that so many people lose weight on the fast diet and then fall off the wagon and pile it all back on then come back saying they are taking up fasting again because they have gained all their weight by falling off the wagon etc etc.

So my questions are is fasting really a way of life? Is it a long term way of living? Is it really sustainable? Also why do people come back to fasting even after gaining all their weight they have previously lost by fasting?

I’m interested to hear everyone’s opinion on this ESP those who have been doing it a while. I am personally looking to start my fasting journey as a long term thing.

simcoeluv

9:47 pm
4 Jan 15
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Hi Sakina and welcome:

Fasting is not new – it has been done for thousands of years.

The fact that many return to fasting after leaving it, instead of looking for a new diet, shows people come to understand how effective and lasting its effects can be.

But you have to give it a chance. You can’t do it for only a month or two and understand its power. Many coming back to fasting did not give it a chance, but recognized after they stopped how powerful it could be if they just kept up with it.

It is sustainable if you think it is. It is up to you.

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

Good Luck!

HappyNow

10:25 pm
4 Jan 15
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Hi Sakina,

I maintained a healthy weight in my 20s by inadvertently intermittent fasting (not eating breakfast most days because I’m not hungry early, and sometimes skipping lunch/ evening meal if busy). Unfortunately I then got brainwashed into believing breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and that you die if you don’t eat something the minute you feel even vaguely hungry :). Fast forward to me being a bit flabby…

I’ve never been a conscious dieter, and 5:2 (intermittent fasting) is the only ‘diet’ I have ever done.

I lost roughly 30lbs (14ish kg) in early 2014 by 5:2, and have been 59ish kg now since early June. I maintain this weight because I have incorporated fasting into my life (I don’t eat until 11 or 12, very often eat low cal/ low processed carb during week days, and eat a light evening meal if my weight starts edging up again). At weekends I eat bacon sandwiches and cakes and drink wine, so I’m not ‘deprived’!

I understand now that ‘treats’ are things that you have occasionally.

Fasting has helped retrain my eating (I don’t crave high carb/sugar, and my portion sizes are no longer supersized).

And fasting makes perfect sense to me: if I overeat one day, I have to undereat the next.

I can’t see any reason why this would not be sustainable for life. You just have to commit to making changes for life.

BusyMummaM

10:16 am
19 Jan 15
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Hi Sakina5! I’ve been fasting now for 19 months and I really couldn’t imagine a life without it. I took a few weeks off to follow another strict eating and exercise plan, but I hated it so much and felt bloated. I feel so much better after going back to fasting.

You’ll get so used to it that it won’t even feel like a diet 🙂 It gets wayyyyyy easier the longer you do it, too.

Oh, the other thing is not to hide what you’re doing. Sounds weird, but I used to feel embarrassed when my co-workers asked why I was only having miso soup for lunch or not eating at all. But, now everyone knows about it and they’re always asking me for help to start!