My Fast800 then 5:2 Journey

[silvershell]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for everyone who has shared their journeys on the WOE, it has helped give me the confidence to get back into it after a year of not caring much (thanks SSRIs).
I had posted on another thread, but I think it would be better if I made my own for this journey. I'll repost what I posted for Day 1.

I did well on 5:2 a couple of years ago, but I had an episode of depression which led to medication that made me care less about what I was eating. I gained 1.5 stone in 2 years. I am 5'75 and at the higher end of healthy BMI for my height, but my body fat is 31.5%!!! Never in my life has it been that high. But I know its what I was shovelling in my mouth and possibly also a minor effect of the medication messing with insulin. I am now 3 weeks off the medication, so I'm ready to sort myself out!

I started Fast 800 today, and would love to be around others also in this WOE. I am doing the 16:8/800 calories for 2 weeks. Then dependant on weight loss, continue F800 or move to 5:2. Clean fasting with electrolytes. Oh, and I'm ovolacto-pescetarian (is that even a term??) - basically I am vegetarian, but eat eggs and fish :)

Day 1 (yesterday)

Food
250ml soya milk
Bowl of homemade lentil soup
250g salad
2 boiled eggs
1/2 an avocado
200g Soya yogurt with small amount of crushed walnuts
1 Cadburys highlights
= 808 cals
= 81.8g carbs

Fast window opened at 9pm-1pm.

Feelings
Even though my carbs were higher than recommended, I didn't actually feel hungry which is always nice. I need to have a look at reducing carbs though, as it may get harder when at work (yesterday was my day off).

Not sure when I will weight yet. I'd love to not weight for the 2 weeks, but I doubt I will manage that, I tend to weight daily or every few days.

I'm looking at this and struggling to see where all those carbs come from? Is it the lentil soup?

@juicyjan Yes, it's the lentils in the soup. I use Cronometer to track macros etc. And it's gonna be this way for the next 3 days as I made a big pot!

Weight

So I weighed myself (waiting lasted long, didn't it?!)

My last weight was on the 8th August, so I've lost a wee 1lb since the 8th. I'll take it :)

My body fat on the 8th was 31.8% and today it is 31.6%, so it's heading in the right direction!

Thinking of starting fast 800. I have really let myself go in the last six months. What does WOE mean?

I don't know where I got BF 31.5% from. Post is also full of typos: weigh, not weight!!

I shouldn't post at 0530am!

Way of eating ?

"Way of Eating" :)

Well that's day 2 done and dusted, just got my evening soya yogurt with walnuts to have before bed. I feel fine, I managed to eat more protein today (hard for a veggie who hates tofu) and added a vitamin C gummy to my morning. I get vitamin C in my multivitamin, but I don't take it until after I've eaten as it has iron in it, so the vit C in the morning should be good for energy. Carbs are still a bit high but they will be high until I have finished the pot of soup I made yesterday!

Day 2
200ml soya milk
125g salad with 1/2 avocado
Bowl lentil soup
12 broccoli flowers with 100g tuna, soy sauce, honey and thyme
200g soya yogurt with a sprinkling of crushed walnuts

= 828 Calories / 59.3g Protein / 79.5g Carbs / 35.3g Fat

Fasting window opens at 9pm.

Good morning from Day 3!

I never mentioned sleep in previous posts but I am sleeping very well, from around 9-10pm to 5-6am.

I have decided on a minor change. I have now had a fast day at home and one at work. And I miss having milk in my coffee in the morning at work, but for some reason doesn't bother me as much at home. My 16:8 window doesn't allow this, and MM done just fine on a 12:12 at this stage, so I'll do 14:10, meaning I can have milk on tea break.

When I move to 5:2 I'll do a smaller window to get the most out of those two days, but for now, tea break is on :)

Day 3 Weigh-in: another 0.4lbs down / BF% no change

Total loss: 1.4lbs / 0.2% BF

Still heading in the right direction :)

Day 3 Stats

BMI: 24.1
BF%: 31.6
Muscle Mass: 101.2lb
BMR: 1424 kcal

* almost out of the BMI 24s!

Day 3 - Food

I went a little bit over today as I was super busy at work and a bit hungrier when I got home. I'm not stressing about it, it was all good stuff!

200ml soya milk
Bowl of homemade lentil soup
4x celery stalks with 1.5 tablespoon of peanut butter
Salad: smashed avocado and lime, 110g of baby spinach and 1x grated carrot
200ml soya yogurt
8x strawberries
10g crushed walnuts

= 903 kcal

Feelings
Other than being a little hungrier, I felt pretty energetic most of the time. My stomach bloat has definitely reduced and I'm tolerating heat a bit better. Looking forward to another great sleep tonight :)

I have decided to include my prior 3 weeks of 16:8 / 18.6 + 1400 kcals from 15th July in total losses, as it will be easier to post due to my app tracking from that date meaning I don't have to do maths at 0530 every morning!

Day 4 of Fast 800 Stats

Weight: = loss of 1.4lbs since yesterday / overall loss = 5.2lbs

BMI: 23.9 (yay!! I am out of the 24s!) / overall loss = 0.8

BF%: 31.3% = loss of 0.3% since yesterday / overall loss = 0.6%

Muscle Mass: 100.8lbs (this is still classed as high, which is good, but its a drop overall. I will be incorporating my resistance bands soon to address this)

BMR: 1419 kcal

Things are dropping surprisingly quickly! And I can be fairly confident it is not just water, as I was already losing very slowly for 3 weeks prior to starting Fast800 through a mixture of 16:8 and 18.6 clean fasting, and eating my BMR 1400 kcal. Plus I am tracking body water level, body fat, muscle mass, bone mass and visceral fat with my Renpho.

Other Stats
Overall visceral fat has dropped from 7.0 to 6.0 which I am really happy about, as this is the dangerous fat for health.
Overall body water has increased to from 46.8% to 47.2%.
Overall skeletal muscle has increased from 39.7% to 40.1%.

Feelings
Well, I'm pretty chuffed. I have energy, I am sleeping well, have much less bloating/gastro symptoms (diagnosed IBS 20 years ago). I am also enjoying eating a high % of raw food again, it always makes me feel better physically and my body seems to "process" ;) raw food with more ease than cooked.

I'm not sure what my goal is yet. When eating normally, my weight range is about 10-15lbs lower than I am just now, but I would like my body fat in the lower twenties, so the goal is open for now.

Day 4 Food

250ml soya milk
Bowl of lentil soup
Salad: 125g baby spinach + smashed avocado with chili + 1x whole avocado + carrot
100g soya yogurt + 8x strawberries + 15g sunflower seeds + 15g raisins and cranberries

= 945 kcal

Feelings
As you can see I was a bit hungrier again today, and I am slightly disappointed that I was closer to 1000kcal than 800, but it shouldn't make a huge difference I suppose. Otherwise I've been dying in the heat, and spent 9 hours working on an application, so I'm pretty drained. Week 1 was a bit up and down on the 5:2 also, so I should get onto a more even keel next week. Having an early night.

Day 5 Stats

Weight = loss of 0.4lb from yesterday / total loss = 5.6lb

BMI: 23.8 / overall loss = 0.9

BF%: 31.2% = loss of 0.1% since yesterday / overall loss = 0.7% (the 30%'s are nearly here! :)

Muscle Mass: 100.6lb (another drop here, which is not desirable as I want to stay in the "high" zone for this which begins at 93.6lb)

BMR: 1416 kcal

Hopefully I'll get to my goal weight (whatever that is) before my muscle mass drops into the "normal" category. No way am I exercising in this heat, but once the temperature comes down a bit I'll do resistance a few times a week, maybe daily as it doesn't take long.

Well done Op you’re doing great and have inspired me to have a healthy day!

Thank you for your positive vibes! Are you following a plan, or just eating the good stuff? :)

No plan really, just trying to eat really nutritiously and no mindless snacking on ultra processed junk. I don’t really have weight to lose although 2-3lbs would make my clothes comfier!

Sounds great, happy healthy eating! :)

Day 5 Food

250ml soya milk
Cheese salad (no non-dairy options that were within my calorie range where I was working)
Gosh veggie cocktail sausages with smashed avocado and lime spinach salad
Greek style yogurt (couldn't get soya) with 12x strawberries and 7.5g chia seeds

= 934

Feelings
I was at a team meeting all day so it was hard to source what I would usually eat - my lunch wasn't substantial enough and left me quite hungry. I also ate dairy because I had little choice to get some protein (would rather dairy than meat). So not a great day food wise, but back in the driving seat today! Started fasting at 9pm.

Day 6 Stats

Weight: 0.4lb loss since yesterday / total loss = 6lb
BF%: no change at 31.2%
BMI: no change at 23.8
BMR: 1415 kcal

I am still fasting from 9pm last night, might break it with a coffee with milk around 10-11 = 13/14 hr fast. I'm trying to not be too extreme with my fasting window while I am eating 800 calories, as I intend to stretch it quite substantially when I move to the new 5:2 to compensate for the 5 "normal" (TDEE) eating days.

I just realised that I have been losing almost 1lb per day on the 1st phase of Fast 800. I think that's pretty good considering I am medically a "normal" weight for my height. Just proves this is both a sustainable and effective method, at least in the short term. And it isn't water as per my Renpho scale which is showing loss of body fat and increase of body water. Some muscle mass loss, but only a small amount and I am in the high range anyway, so it's not a huge concern. I think I'll start resistance today.

I started yesterday. I’ve been comfort eating and stress eating but have so little time as work is beyond mad. I work ft have 3dc and life has been getting in the way. I’ve put on 2 stone in 2 years - the last stone in just the last 3 months! My kitchen is being done and I’ve discovered M&S count on us meals. Having one for lunch and one for dinner. Going forward I’ll have one at lunch rather than bread then home made in the evening but this week, with no kitchen, the microwave meals are filling me up and helping me calorie count easily.
14 August 2022
11st 13lbs (I will not go over 12st - time for action)

16 August
11st 11lbs

@NeedAHoliday2021 Welcome to the journey - nice to have you aboard!

You are losing at a similar rate to me, we also started at a similar weight (11st 5) :) I don't know about you, but the rate of weight loss really surprised me. 2lbs a week is a drag, and the idea that the quicker you lose the quicker you gain, is not backed up by any science. In fact, the opposite is true. The motivation that comes from quick weight loss is a good predictor of future weight loss.

Are you doing the full Fast 800, with the TRE?
My fasting window is fairly loose (between 12 and 16) at the moment as long as I am only eating 800-900 calories a day. When I move to the 5/2 phase I'll tighten it up, probably to 18/6.

Perfect timing for seeing this thread, I started reading fast 800 book on Sunday and started following plan since Monday. TRE is 16/ 8 from 12noon to 8pm eating 800 cal in this window high protein low carb. Starting weight is 137lb and 5foot.Hope to keep this up for 12weeks with two pauses as I have family commitments in Sept. Really hope this WOE suits me.

I’m eating between 12pm and 8pm but that’s my normal eating pattern as I’m not a morning person when it comes to food. I didn’t eat lunch until 1.30pm today due to work meetings.

i usually lose a lot week one on any plan. I find that as long as I follow the plan I lose but my issue is finding one that works for me. Calorie counting becomes so all consuming for me so using microwave meals is giving me a kick start and more satisfying that shakes. I snacked on raw yellow pepper and spicy cheddar cheese this evening. I’d normally have a herbal tea to but my kitchen is total chaos so I can’t face going in there.