I dont think i can live on 800 calories a day...fast 800...how?

[malificent7]

I know its only for a minimum of 2 weeks but i just think i will develop serious food issues if i follow this. I tried today..started with mushroom and poached egg.Veghie Chilli no rice for lunch...squate dark chocolate and chicken tikka kebab and salad for tea. Still over 800. Even the recipies in the book are quite high calorie...at least 300 for most.

I don't think it would be easy to go straight to 800 from eating normally, but could you try working your way down to it?

I am not doing that particular plan and haven't gone that low but I think I could from the way I have approached things. when I first started cutting down on food, I started off with eating about 1800 per day but only ever 200 calories at a time spaced evenly throughout the day. this being to train my stomach to expect less at each sitting. after just a couple of days at 1800 I was able to go down to 1600 and a few days later 1400 gradually stretching the gaps. I reckon you could do a similar plan and get down to 800 - by sidling up to it like this. I have done 1000 occasionally.

I know I could manage 800cal with a 200cal breakfast at 9ish, lunch at 12:30, a mid afternoon 200cal at 16:00 and supper 200cal at 19:30 - but that would be very tough to jump straight to if your stomach is expecting 600-800 calories in a single meal.

If you follow the recipes for the diet they are very very low carb. The diet is designed to put you into ketosis so you start using your stored fat for energy. This is obviously great for weight loss, but what it also does is renew your appetite hormones. You very quickly (3-4 days) get much reduced hunger.

So follow the recipes! Don’t use your calories on bread or big carb meals

It was absolutely fine, if you’re eating the right things it’s not a problem, though I actually did a longer period on about 900 a day and found that slightly easier. Lost a stone in a month and it wasn’t hard at all. Generally you wouldn’t eat 3 meals though, I mostly had a sort of brunch, a snack and dinner and that was it. I found I didn’t need as much food quite quickly.

Have you had an eating disorder in past that makes you think you’ll develop issues? Fasting diets aren’t recommended for people with previous ED.

Yes i had eating issues but i need sonething healty and sustainable as overweight.

When I did fast 800 I did no breakfast and no snacks. Then the Lunch/dinner calories were pretty easy to follow, but I eat quite low carb most of the time.

Couldn’t do it in lockdown though as I’m cooking for everyone all the time and I’m too bored to not snack!

Hi all,
I'm planning this as my next stage. I've been doing 16:8 for about a month now, noticed shape change most of all. I was fasting between 7pm and 11am but have changed it and widened the gap quite a bit - now doing 3pm until when I feel like it after 7am. This morning I ate at 12 noon.

Sorry to waffle on. The plan is to start following 800 calories now that I'm happy and comfortable with fasting. It's quite difficult to stuff myself with the volume of food I was eating, between such a restricted window.

Today I ate:
Greek yoghurt with blueberries, strawberries and about 7 walnut halves - dash of coffee syrup (honeycomb)
&
Green salad with tomatoes and cucumber - plus half a box of M&S cod bites - with a spoon of tartare sauce and some sour cream and chive (about a spoon).

That's it.

I have an eating plan for when I do 800 calories - some of it will be ready meal (Japanese terryaki chicken from Costco, fabulous, 321 cals) and some will be Exante shakes to make sure I get enough nutrients.

I don't know about anybody else but I have a really horrible relationship with food, have yo-yoed all my life and whilst not excessively heavy, it's taken too much of my happiness.

So, 800 calories a day is phase 2 which I'll start next week.

Fasting will carry on for now but I could be quite comfortable with it as a way of life because of the relief that I feel when I hit 'start fasting'. I no longer have to think about food for a good long while and can focus on my bike, listening to music, housework, playing with kids, whatever.

I will happily cook for my family, I'm the only one who does - I'm used to doing different things for me anyway.

I'm going to read back through the thread now to see what you're all doing and get useful nuggets. Good luck to everyone.