Can’t sleep though :/

Fireflylady I also find I’m on the loo loads on fast days – a bit inconvenient in the middle of my lessons I must say, but when you gotta go, you gotta go! A bit more than normal on normal days as well since starting fasting. By this time tomorrow night I’ll have a banging headache, I always seems to get one after a fast. I also find sleeping difficult on my Thursday fast, but not my Monday one – not sure why.
Well done on getting your first one completed.

Mossend good luck tomorrow, just drink plenty, zero calorie drinks, I’m a lover of Pepsi max ( bad i know) and do 2 litres plus water on a fast day ( maybe that’s why I can’t sleep lol!) and I save my calories for my evening meal, or ‘TRee Fu stir fry’ as me and my 4yo son call it (it turns the magic on Tree FU Tom Style – a kids programme my son used to love). But do whatever works for you. People will always have advice for you on here anyway.

Good luck guys, keep us all posted on how you get on. The support on here is brilliant.

Sam x

Gracie, my friends also think they’ll faint. (Read your other post) Or the body goes into starvation mode! Had a right to do with my family at the weekend over it. They are now educated about 5/2! Having said that, it was nice to be able to say I’d lost a couple of lbs after the first week 🙂 which made them a bit more receptive to it.

As for the insomnia, I’m more of night owl anyway, but its a pain when I need to get up early for work. I don’t function well on no sleep. It’s a small price to pay and I’m hoping it settles down as my body adjusts. I try my ‘I can have it tomorrow’ if I’m getting stressed about not getting to sleep. I’ve also tried relaxation exercises, or trance type exercises to help me relax, which sometimes work. I did a hypno gastric band last year, it didn’t really work for me as i stopped listening to the CDs from the therapist when my dad died from cancer last February, but getting myself into a trance state sends me to sleep I found!

I’m also trying out something called health kinesiology at the moment, which is highly amusing and I’m not entirely sure if its having any effect, but its supposed to sort out your bodies energy so its more balanced. It gives me a couple of hours of ‘me’ time, which is probably the best benefit I’m getting from that! Insomnia was one of the things I wanted to correct, as its something I’ve always suffered from periodically, but the insomnia is more regular now I fast. I worry about it as I’ve read that you need to sleep to lose weight.

Anyway, off to get some sleep now, and bank a couple of extra hours before tomorrow ‘no sleep’ night lol! Hopefully hubby isn’t snoring………..

Hi mossend, firstly well done on the 1lb lost 🙂

I have about 40lb more I would like to lose, which is probably why I had a bigger loss in my first week. The best thing to do, I think, is to track what you eat and check you are consuming between your BMR and TDEE allowances on normal days,which can be worked out easily in the how section at the top. I personally, am not going mad tracking normal days, but I’m more conscious of what I’m eating. How I work my fast is that I have all my calorie allowance in the evening and then eat again around mid morning/ lunchtime the following day. So far I’ve only had chicken stir fry, on fast days, plus 2 litres,at least, of fluid, which is usually fizzy pop, not ideal I know but it’s my preferred way and it does help me. I avoid fizzy pop on normal days! We are supposed to only lose 1lb a week anyway with 5/2. Mine was all water in first week I suppose, so fat yet to go. I’ve been ‘dieting’ for what feels like a lifetime and have a good awareness of calorie values, but I still work them out to help me make better choices about what I’m eating. I’m not perfect though 😉 and chocolate will always be my downfall. I don’t deny myself what i want on normal days, I compensate and moderate, if you know what I mean. Fasting is definitely teaching me self control with eating.

You could measure, as its not always the scales that change. I didn’t though, as I’m using my clothes as a guide. You could try 4/3 ( that doesn’t appeal to me at all I must say!).

It really has to be what works for you though, but ultimately, less calories and move more will mean loss in most people. I haven’t really been moving as much as I should, I definitely overeat still but am in the early days, so still have a lot of changes to make. One day at a time though.

I expect you’ve looked at other posts on here, and people have some really good tips. I’ve decided to commit for 3 months to see if it works for me.

Anyway, have a lovely weekend. My next fast is Monday, its getting easier and more habitual, the more of them I’m doing. I try to focus on the other benefits and see weight loss as a bonus (the reality is its my motivation though).

Sam x