Cold turkey or reduce carbs slowly? Fast800

[WhoAreYah]

A family member did the fast800 and quickly lost weight and kept it off. She looks amazing!

I have around a stone to lose and tried it too - but I felt SO ill giving up carbs cold turkey. I was absolutely ravenous, and felt incredibly dizzy and like I was having an out of body experience. I was scared to drive and be left alone. It took lots of toast and a full night’s rest to feel better.

I adjusted it and I tried to follow the plan on 3 meals a day, 1 of which had carbs and I didn’t lose weight. I gave up pretty quickly.

I also struggle with fasting because I suffer with acid reflux and an empty stomach makes it worse.

Shall I just give up on it?

Could I potentially go to zero carbs if I wean off slowly? Does anyone else have the same reaction as me to no carbs?! It was so awful! (I tried extra water and protein).

What you describe sounds like your bog standard keto flu. You were experiencing carb withdrawal symptoms and your body didn't like it. It is completely normal, some people have it really rough and some sail through. Your body is like a lazy teenager, it is used to burn easy glucose which it gets from all the easy carbs you eat. When these are suddenly withdrawn, your body throws a tantrum as it doesn't want to work harder to dig deep to be able to burn your own body fat. So, your brain gets a signal that you are in danger and you NEED to eat bread, chips, pasta etc asap to feel well again. It is all tosh though and you just need to ignore the signal. You will be fine and your body will adapt. I promise it's amazing once you're on the other side
Make sure to drink lots of water and also eat some sea salt as it will help you to feel better. It is just a mind game and you are in charge.

Personally I don't think gradual withdrawal will work because all those excess carbs will keep the cravings alive and you will end up going in circles.

There is no zero carb eating plan either, you can't avoid them all together. Greek yogurt, milk, tomatoes, avocado and nuts for instance all have carbs. But they are fairly minimal and not processed.

I started Fast800 in October last year and like you only had one stone to lose to get out of overweight bracket. I did 5:2 all along and maybe this is something that you could try too. 800 cal is more effective for those who are seriously overweight. I still lost rapidly, especially the fat from my middle whilst eating delicious meals.

• some nuts are fairly high in carbs and you may find you'll have to avoid them. These are cashews and pistachios for example.

I tried it and hated it. Absolutely constipated and light headed for a week, then I gave up as it felt so unhealthy to me. I prefer to take the long road and do a different diet which is not eliminating any food groups.

Cold turkey all the way for me. I’m down 15lb in 3 weeks and I feel amazing. No cravings at all for the past two weeks, but that first week is hard. First couple of days are the hardest, see if you can start on a Friday, sat and sun might be hard but then the following week will get easier and easier. I felt awesome by day 5.

It made me feel ill and have insomnia