To encourage you to fast?

[surveythebest]

If you want to lose weight and keep it off.

I fast from 8pm to 12 pm. Usually have my first something around 1pm

I haven't actually changed what I eat. I make sure I have some nutrient rich food in me but generally my diet is a bit shit

Anyway, I've gone from a size 16 to a size 10. This happened within 3 months. It's been 9 months now and I've kept it all off! Remaining at a size 10

I don't eat breakfast, ever.

When I was in my teens, I almost skipped breakfast because I genuinely forgot to eat. The same happened early twenties but then after I had my son, I started eating breakfast!

Since that time I went from a size 10 to a size 16.

So yeah, for 9 months now, I just haven't eaten breakfast but haven't restricted myself really and still don't have a perfect diet by any means

I am remaining a size 10 and it's working. I suppose I'm an 'all or nothing' person. And I find the fast easy to stick to because I can eat 0! Sticking to 0 is easier than sticking to 3 sensible meals a day, for me

Now I just have lunch, snack a bit tbh, and then dinner, also snack a bit but not loads as find I don't want to

When I ate breakfast, I found I was hungry all the time!

So glad I did this and took the plunge. Just thought I'd share

Everyone is different. I can eat about 1600 calories and have lost a stone in 8 weeks. 170cm and bmi currently of about 36.

I don’t eat what most people consider breakfast. I eat 9 or 10 am.

Breakfast Lunch and dinner examples. I eat 3 meals, one lighter.

Proper meals

• Roasted mixed veg in oil including a little sweet potato. Lightly breaded chicken or a piece of salmon cooked in lemon juice.
• 2 egg omelette with some grated cheese, lots of lettuce and some tomatoes, big glug olive oil and some balsamic
• salad (lots of lettuce), tomatoes, with about 30g of cheese, 30g chicken, half an avocado or about 10 olives - I find both too much, big glug olive oil and some balsamic
• homemade burger and green beans / tender stem broccoli
• a small amount of risotto with fried or roasted chicken
• etc

Lighter meals

• 6 oatcakes with a chunk of Brie and some grapes
• Tesco smoked German sausage and cheese pack - 6 slices of salami, 3 of cheese and a couple of raw carrots.
• If I’m extra hungry in the morning, I will eat a smaller portion of oatcakes, Brie and grapes at the end of the meal then will only eat at the end of the 8 hour window with a graze bar as a snack as this keeps me full all day.

Snacks/pudding - a teaspoon of coconut oil with 1/2 to one chunk of olive oil twice a day, a graze bar once a day. I haven’t kicked the craving for sugar yet. I have chronic fatigue and it’s especially hard on days when I feel sick and ill so if I’m going mad for sugar, I eat a couple of jelly babies.

I am not afraid to eat the oils and fats. These represent easily 300 calories a day. I did work it out in the beginning to gauge how much I’m eating but haven’t checked since as I’m eating the same.

I also hardly ever eat pasta or potatoes anymore as they don’t agree with me, rice sometimes. Gluten free, no soy, again due to gut issues. Ideally I’d be cutting the sugar out completely but I’m not well enough to do this.

This is what I do. I actually buy all my Thyroxine in Spain where you just get it over the counter. I can't remember the last time I saw my GP about it, they seemed to know nothing and be very behind on the 'normal' levels. The last time I saw an endo was maybe 15 years ago and that was similar. I now get a blood test every now and then and adjust my meds according - usually between 125mcg and 150mcg. I feel very sorry for people who don't have this info or are unable to access their own thyroxine and are struggling with doctors saying they are normal when they feel terrible. That happened to me for the first few years too.

Basically just lunch and dinner with fruit as snacks.

High protein, low carb and making sure to get some fibre - plenty of water.

At least 8k steps

According to experts on sleep and circadian rhythms, what you do throughout the day, including the morning, affects your sleep pattern. Evidence on the relationship between sleep patterns and breakfast eating are trickier, but you can read things like this, if you're interested https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6579371/

To be fair it was a nutritionalist that advised me to fast, alongside some other tips. The other tips are about eating far more protein and more variety of veg. I have therefore stopped eating so much carbs

I've lost a stone in about two months (11 to 10 stone) and feel so much better (menopause and fibromyalgia a heady mix of fun).

Why would the billion dollar weight loss industry want to encourage fasting? It’s free! You don’t need to join a club, buy an app, pay an advisor, take meds or even buy any special food. Trust me, no company likes the idea of something you can’t monetise.

Because that worked for YOU.

As we can now see through the comments section, it wouldnt work for others for a myriad of reasons.

Therefore, telling complete strangers to fast is bollocks as well as dangerous.

Of course fasting can be monetised, anything in the wellness industry can be.

Books, youtube channels, apps, "special" food for when you break the fast, "special" supplements to make it easier, blood tests to show when your ideal fasting window is.

If you don't care that you're pushing crap, all these things can be monetised

They make tons on their sites via ads and books, and newspaper articles, via advising, many things. The fact that they don't sell you ovepricwd blended food doesn't mean there are no money in it. Faating is usually also advertised with some diet alongside.

This is really interesting! I lost weight a few years ago from around 14st to 10st and found my ideal weight to be between 10.7-11.7. Since lockdown and after having a baby and breastfeeding made me soooo hungry I’m now at my heaviest of 15st 6! I haven’t got the patience to calorie count (what worked last time!) whilst also looking after my 9 month old so I’m going to give this a go! I’m an awful snacker especially in the morning! Thanks for posting.