Fasting for 2 days - I need some support plse !

[Skybird90]

What can I do to stop the craving to eat. I eat out of habit and I'm desperately trying to break it

Wouldn't you be better off eating normal healthy meals at mealtimes, and creating new habits to replace eating at other times? Have a glass of water or go for a walk or something every time you want to eat outside of a mealtime.

Fasting for 2 days is just unnecessary and isn't teaching you anything new. It won't break a habit as it's not a long enough period to form new ones! And it's not sustainable long term.

I agree with pp, you're just going from one extreme to another neither of which is healthy long term.
Craving to eat may be because you're not getting enough nutrients from the food you are eating, not getting enough sleep, too stressed etc so look at all round health improvements.
Just replace any crap you snack on with non processed healthy stuff and bulk up meals with lots of vegetables. Cut processed sugar out almost completely as that is extremely addictive - just don't buy stuff with it in. Buy wholemeal bread, rice, pasta as it's more filling and white is just converted to sugar once you've eaten it.
Eating is really important - why would you not do it for 2 days?

I understand the desperation but restriction leads to binging. They are 2 sides of the same coin.

Eating enough to nourish your body and look after yourself with kindness is a much healthier approach.

Op you're going to feel like shit if you do that, is there no other way?

Is it for a medical reason, OP?

There is nothing wrong or unhealthy about fasting unless you have a history of ED.
OP you can have anything calorie free. Black coffee/tea, fizzy water, diet drinks (avoid these as much as possible as evidence suggests they act on insulin similar to sugar) but they are good in a pinch. If you have fruit tea bags steep one in a small bottle of fizzy water for a healthy alternative to a sugar free flavoured water.

Fasting doesn't make you feel like shit.

I find that a hot savoury drink helps a lot. Something like Marmite, Bovril or stock cube. I discovered this through something a friend said:

If you're hungry between meals, have a drink.
If you're still hungry, have a snack.
If you're still hungry, then you weren't hungry for food. It's an emotional hunger - you're bored/anxious/want attention. So feed that hunger instead.

I Fast every day but I’d struggle with a 2 day fast.

It’s not your first one is it?!

A bit of salt under the tongue can help along with black coffee and water.

There’s a Fasting group in weighloss topic btw

OP, WHY are you fasting for two days?

Go and have a bowl of cereal.

You can do this op! Can you go for a nice long and gentle stroll to get you out of the house!? Or distract yourself with something, like painting or a jigsaw puzzle! 🙌🏼🩷

Fasting is good for you.
2 days is hardcore though, I wouldn't do that.

There is a lot of evidence that fasting is good for you but, if you don't normally do it, then I agree that 2 days is just another disordered eating pattern - one extreme to another.

This is not ‘good for’ the OP.

Well done for getting started. You are doing the right thing trying to get on top of the cravings and getting started on it.

I've just done 3 months of healthy eating after a lifetime of biscuits and chocolate and crisp grazing. I used to constantly crave food but particularly when stressed. The biscuits would just call to me.

After a health scare, I've cut out all processed sugar.

If it helps you to know, I have oats and nice fruit for breakfast, with milk (other cereals can have lots of sugar), brown bread sandwich and a banana for lunch, usual good dinner though using as much protein n veg as I can and potatoes or rice rather than pasta, then fruit afterwards.
And water, lots of water plus walks in-between.

And the cravings have stopped! But it has taken me years to really see that I needed to do this, and that I could do this, so you are ahead of me. I kinda knew before but really never believed I could.

Best of luck to you. (I also find it helpful to calorie count. Makes me feel in control. I have 1500 a day, every day and have a great spreadsheet, which gives me a sense of achievement as I can tick each day off. (Also helped me to discover that quiche is much higher calorie than I ever would have guessed. Oops)

Intermittent fasting has proven health benefits but 2 whole days fasting isn’t necessary. One day max like the 5:2 would be best.

Are you fasting for a medical reason?

If not then don't do it. Fasting is likely to just make you binge eat once you allow yourself to eat.
If you want to cut out boredom snacking then the best thing is to just have 3 filling meals a day and have a piece of fruit between each meal, and drink plenty.

What's with all the posts suggesting disordered eating lately?

I'm doing IF and this is my kick start. I will then eat between 12 & 8pm every day. I eat anything and everything. I eat when I'm bored/sad/stressed. I like the hand to mouth. I could eat a hell of a lot. This has got to stop. Eating has become my habit. I pick from the kids plates, Dh plate, the cupboard, dinner when it's cooking, I hoover up crumbs and leftovers. I'm unhappy being overweight. This has to stop

The problem with food is you can’t go cold Turkey. It’s not like smoking or alcohol which you don’t need to live- you have to learn to live with your demons. It’s very hard. But I’m not sure fasting is the way forward if you “crave” food. You need to deal with why you crave it. What feelings trigger the need. What can you do instead when that happens. You’re asking yourself to deal with a lifelong problem without proper tools. I highly recommend counselling with someone who has experience with food issues like binge eating disorder.

I agree with pretty much everyone else: this is not going to help you. Until you address the root cause of your compulsive eating, nothing will change. If you are really serious about losing weight, consult with a professional to unpick this from a psychological standpoint. Even IF, and it's a big if, you manage to sustain this for a short time, sooner or later you'll crack and go back to how you were before as you haven't addressed the root cause.

I have lost 3 stone and have kept it off. I did so slowly, under the care of a professional and without making any changes I wasn't prepared to stick to indefinitely. It can be done but this is 100% not the way.

You are going to get into a binge starve cycle. This is deeply disordered. Starving yourself for two days is a terrible idea. Where as fasting can have its benefits, as can intermittent fasting, not eating for two days is just an eating disorder.

I’m 26 hours into a 48 hour fast. I do a 24 hour fast quite regularly and a 48 hour one about every 2 months or so. I like the energy I feel but I’m also looking forward to a big breakfast tomorrow!

I generally eat within an 8 hour window, so I’m used to slight hunger pangs in the evening but they go away after what used to be my evening meal time (around 7:30pm). It always reveals to me how much of a habit eating is and what time is freed up by eating in different patterns.

I don’t like feeling hungry and I know that I’ll be sorely tempted by about 2pm today & a black coffee won’t help - but the energy I get from giving my digestion a rest is worth it!

This sounds like emotional eating.

Eating within an 8 hour window can be very good for you but you need to eat the right kind of foods.

The usual English diet doesn’t have enough vegetables or protein and relies on a lot of “white” carbs. These won’t help you in an intermittent fasting way of eating.

You need to review your sources of protein and ensure that you eat a LOT of vegetables in every meal. Chuck out ideas about what’s “breakfast” food for a start. You need eggs/protein and vegetables. Even raw oats will cause the insulin surge that mimics hunger.

But as an emotional eater myself, I’ve had to adopt the Alcoholics Anonymous dictum of “think the drink through”. If I find I’m craving chocolate or cake or whatever, I stop myself and think through what’s really going on. And then hold myself responsible for making a better choice - usually a chunk of cheese! So I get nutritionally dense food for my calories. Far better value!