Hi Everybody. So, this is my first post on the forum, but I’ve been secretly trawling through the rest over the past couple of weeks! Your success stories and glowing reviews have been a real incentive to give this a go.

I started my new lifestyle 1 week ago, and have experienced 3 fast days so far. The first day was hard, and I think this may be because I tried to stretch my 500 calories too far across the day (I’m a grazer by nature). I had a banana for breakfast…. then I just wanted more! It didn’t fill me up, didn’t make me feel satisfied, and made me really hungry by early afternoon!

The next 2 fast days were a breeze. I finished my last meal at about 7pm the day before, then drank only black decaf coffee, peppermint tea and water until ‘breaking my fast’ with a healthy evening meal at around 6pm. I felt hungry at times, but never to the point where I felt like I just HAD to eat something.
I also left myself just enough calories for a 9pm pre-bedtime drink of warm milk – I find this really knocked any niggling hunger gremlins on the head so I could get a good nights sleep!

I allowed myself a weight-in session this morning, and was thrilled to find that I had dropped 6.2lb! I know that a fair chunk of this will be water weight, but it’s still a really good motivational figure to see! I can already feel that my clothes are looser, which is a great boost to me.

My next weigh in will be in 3 weeks time. I have a habit of weighing myself each week, then getting defeated when I put on a couple of pounds at ‘certain times of the month’. So I’m hiding the scales until next month!

I understand how easy it could be to treat ‘non-fast’ days as an excuse to go crazy, but so far I’m being pretty sensible. I track my calories on My Fitness Pal, and find that planning my meals in advance helps me to stay focused. I set my calorie allowance under my TDEE, therefore allowing myself a little bit of leeway if I do get offered an extra biscuit at work!

What’s important to understand is that this diet is a lifestyle change, not a temporary quick fix, and therefore you should adapt it and work it to fit your own personal circumstances. The fast days should be rigidly adhered to as much as possible, and the non-fast days should see you eating a sensible yet flexible diet.
I’m having a meal out with my friend tomorrow night, and I’m going to enjoy it! If I want a pudding, I’m going to have a pudding (if I can fit it in!).

I’ve only been following the plan for a week, and already I am reaping the benefits. I feel calmer, more refreshed and with a positive outlook. I am also developing a much healthier relationship with food in general.

I look forward to my yummy breakfast the day after a fast, and I really savour each bite. And that’s the beauty of this plan – however hungry you feel towards the end of a fast day, you know that it’s just for one day, then you can have whatever you like (within moderation) the very next day.

Knowing that I can survive without constantly grazing has been a revelation! I’ve been mindlessly eating without stopping to consider my hunger levels, and now I feel like I’m back in control. My food consumption on non-fast days has naturally decreased, and I find myself really enjoying my meals rather than simply troughing them down!

I know there will be ups and downs, and life may sometimes get in the way of fast days on occasion, but I feel confident and positive about this way of eating. I look forward to posting an update after my weigh in next month!

Thanks for the reply Galexinda.

I must admit, I do feel the cold a little more on my fasting days! (A common problem I believe…) But I make up for this by upping my hot drink intake and sitting at my desk with a microwaved wheat bag!

I’d love to weigh once a week, but I know that my weight has a habit of fluctuating from one day to the next at certain times of the month. I might find myself a little disheartened if the weight suddenly shoots up without warning!

Best of luck to you on your new healthier lifestyle!

It amazes me how much the body can do on so few calories.

Yesterday was a fast day for me. I finished eating at 7pm on Sunday night, and drank only black decaf coffee and water throughout Monday daytime.
I also went for a walk across the Humber Bridge and back, a total distance of 4.2 miles covered at a reasonable pace (took me 1 hour 12 minutes in total).

I then had to rush straight to a meeting that evening, without having time for tea, and officially broke my fast at 10pm.
I felt a little hungry at certain points during the day (especially when eyeing up my sister’s massive birthday cake!), but at no point did I feel faint or shaky or unable to carry on.
In fact, I felt energised!

My body has adapted so quickly to this new regime. The very first fast day I did resulted in a bout of the shakes in the early evening, followed by a stinking headache the morning after.

I’m still in the very early stages of this new way of life, but I feel really positive.

And I’m still not going to weigh myself again until 6th February!

Thought it was about time for an update! So it’s almost 4 weeks since my first fasting day and I’m still loving this way of living.

I’ve been very restrained and have managed to stick to my ‘no scales until February’ plan (I weighed myself after the first week to give myself a boost)! I’m due to have my second weigh-in on Friday and I’m feeling pretty confident.

I’ve had a few revelations/ noticed positive changes over the past week.

1. I have one pair of jeans that I can comfortably wear without feeling too squeezed – they’re now getting really baggy round the bum and I’m having to pull my belt really tight to keep them from falling down!

2. I took my bra off a few days ago and realised that there were no ugly red strap marks on my shoulders!

3. I went food shopping at the end of a fast day, having eaten nothing all day, and stuck to my list. No cakes, no biscuits, no mini eggs! My biggest indulgence was a box of chocolate tea!

4. I finished drying my hair yesterday, went to put my face powder on, and realised that I hadn’t applied any moisturiser. A month ago I needed to apply moisturiser within 2 minutes of washing my face otherwise it would be painful, dry and cracking.

This last point is obviously a by-product of good eating and massively increased fluid intake. My skin is much clearer and smoother – a bonus of this eating plan!

I’m really looking forward to the weigh-in on Friday, but even if there are no changes, I know my body is changing.

Oooo freshly baked bread! I’m not sure I could resist! I try to limit my bread baking, as I struggle to restrain myself when those hot buns come out of the oven!

Shopping on an empty stomach during previous ‘dieting episodes’ was always a recipe for disaster. But for some reason I just didn’t feel that overwhelming pull towards naughty things this time round! A great little victory, and it just goes to show that this way of eating helps to retrain your attitude towards food.

The chocolate tea is very nice, but more vanilla-y rather than chocolate. I’ve heard good things about the Hotel Chocolat tea, so I may have to treat myself to some when I’m in London next week.

Well, yesterday was a tough fasting day after my weekend of indulgence…. I did it, I stuck to under 500 calories, but it was difficult.

Today was going well, but I’ve just had a mad ‘post-lunch’ snack attack! I ate my lunch, then spotted a packet of Ginger Nuts on top of the fridge (I’m at work). I snaffled down four of those, followed by a Mars Bar! Oh dear…

I think the problem is that I decided to have a sandwich for lunch today. I usually have something hot and substantial, but because I’ll be eating pancakes for tea, I wanted to make sure I was good during the day – that’s out the window!

I’m tracking everything on MyFitnessPal, and I will be over my calorie allowance by the end of the day.

Thank goodness I’m doing 4:3 this week…..