Anyone want to join me trying Every Other Day fasting

[Duh]

Just that really. Rather than the 5:2 I am going to do every other day. I need to shift quite a bit of weight quickly and I find the 5.2 too easy to put the fasting day off, I kept saying… oh I’ll do it tomorrow and then not! Having a fast every other day will hopefully work better for me, I tend to only follow rules when I know I can’t wriggle out of them as when there is the potential for a loophole I’m all over it and then I fall off the wagon.

I plan on consuming 500 calories on a fasting day and then eating and drinking normally every other day. I am on day 4 so am eating normally today. I weighed 80.5 kg before I started and I am 78.5 kg today

I don’t plan on doing this forever but I am going to aim for a month or two and then depending on how it’s gone hope reduce to a normal 5.2 in the hope that I will have developed some good habits/tolerance.

Is anyone with me?

just rereading @Duh message and agree. Tbh I probably have disordered eating to some extent in as much as I am a yo yo dieter, I do think fasting helps in some ways with resetting appetite, but I also have days where I think fasting has led me to over eat. In the fast feast repeat book I mentioned gin seems to credit fasting with improving her relationship with food. Hard to know for sure honestly.

btw @Duh well done on your breakfast success! I think I might pre plan my next update a bit as we don’t have great options in the house.

@Clearingaspace how are you getting on? I think my fast will be hard today as my husband- who is fasting as well- is away for work for a couple of days so I’m fasting solo for the first time. We both work from home so being on my own is weird anyway and I usually gorge myself on all the food he hates when he’s away so this will be a change!

Oh yes @Duh I would be the same! stay strong and plan some nice treats for tomorrow’s meals!

I am doing ok but have already had half my cals. Will delay lunch as long as possible but might make it tough! I have cod planned for my 2nd meal - can’t say I am looking forward to it but it is amazing how much i can fit in with 500 healthy planned cals compared to the carbs calorie bombs I like to eat.

went back and calculated my cals for yesterday (so more than likely underestimated!) and apparently that surplus every day would be enough for almost 1lb a week gain. I would class that as normal eating rather than a full on treat day so that explains a lot!

@Clearingaspace I think you’re doing really well, especially planning all the meals. That’s still beyond my willpower at the moment so having shakes again.

My normal calorie intake is on the high side too, it’s mainly wine and crisps related so cutting those down will do me the world of good!

i am impressed that you have got so many of these fasts under your belt @Duh
I am really hungry, it is weird as it’s only been a few hours since lunch. Think I need to have my calories in one go and later in the day for my next fast. Oh and also make sure i go to bed earlier the night before.

@Clearingaspace Im finding it harder today, probably because I am on my own! Good luck for getting through the evening. One thing I like about this diet is as much as I’m feeling a little hungry now I know I can pretty much have what I like tomorrow. If I was restricting what I eat everyday I’d have given up already!

Brilliant that you can eat freely in between fasts @Duh , definitely makes it worthwhile!

Did you do a fast day today? I think I have a touch of a virus and it was also a stressful day at work so I have done a mini fast. Not exactly sure but probably under 900, and should be 18hrs.

have to say I have found the 500 days a lot harder than expected, will be interesting to see if I have lost anything overall tomorrow!

Hi @Clearingaspace I hope you are ok, I think if you’re feeling under the weather get the calories in to keep your strength up! I do wonder if the fast day needs to be 500, 800 seems more manageable when actually eating food. I think I am only managing 500 because I am on shakes and I certainly don’t want to be on them forever.

I weighed myself today (I’m going to weigh myself on Fridays/Saturdays -depending on the fast day) and I am 76.6kg so I’ve lost 3.9kg in ten days. I’m over the moon with that!

Wow that is a fantastic loss ⭐️

I am down 1lb from this time last week which is great. Yeah I think it’s too hard for me right now. I might try alternating 800 next week or 1 or 2 800 back to backs 🤔

Well done @Clearingaspace ! That’s brilliant.

I think adding an extra 300 calories to the fast day is unlikely to impact weight loss by much, if anything, and if it’s a lot easier to do it’s going to be more manageable longer term.

I think when I switch to solids on a fast day I’ll certainly be doing 800 calories over 500.

Hope the bank holiday weekend went well and you are feeling better @Clearingaspace.

My DH weighed himself this weekend and he has lost 5kgs since 24 April. Both of us carry our weight on our bellies and we are noticeably smaller there and our clothes are looser. My DH’s shirts in particular aren’t straining on any buttons and fit him nicely now.

That’s a great result for your dh. Pretty sure I have read that adf is good at reducing belly fat.

no fasting for me / think I have flu and still don’t feel great.

@Clearingaspace sorry to hear that and I hope you get well soon. I am going to keep posting here for self accountability but don’t feel under any pressure to respond xx

Feeling so much better today! I had a steak for dinner yesterday, maybe it gave me a boost!

I was aiming to water fast this evening but my cals will be around 1200 after lunch so I may be better eating a small dinner and calling it an up day. Tomorrow I will try again for 800 and hopefully see how I feel and if I lose anything as we are practically at Friday again!

Pleased you are feeling better @Clearingaspace! 😊

Can I join you?

Been feeling my clothes getting tighter and confidence low so hoping to lose some lbs in time for heading abroad next month. Just ordered a meal replacement shake for tomorrow so I'll not be tempted to increase portion sizes.

Only thing that I've found that works for my weight loss is extreme anxiety so at this point I'll try any alternative 😅 I've tried intermittent fasting but I get so hungry by dinner I'm miserable, hoping shakes for a fast day with some fruit and a strict 3 healthy filling meals day after will be just what I need. I fall down mostly on evening snacks and wine!

@Duh that weight loss for both of you is amazing well done!

@Clearingaspace glad you're feeling better. I'm the same with the overeating after fasting, if I don't plan every meal I tend to indulge into the evening.

Welcome @NoDramaLlamas - love your name 😁. which shakes did you get. I am kicking myself as delayed getting fast800 shakes that were on offer and the price is back up.

@NoDramaLlamas welcome! I hope this works for you, I am really pleased with the progress so far and I am terrible at diets. I am out to a restaurant tomorrow night so have juggled my diet days to accommodate that so today is a diet day but I know I’ll get through it because I’m going to have a steak and some wine tomorrow!

Which shakes have you gone for? I bought some from Superdrug yesterday called Slender Plan. They were on offer (2 packs for £9 so 45p a shake) and having looked at the packaging I think they might be exactly the same as the Tescos own brand which I like and have used so far.

@Duh enjoy your steak and wine tonight, sounds perfect!

I have managed to lose 1lb or so this week which isn’t too bad considering.

have a lovely weekend

Can I ask about the shakes please? Are they around 200 calories? What is the purpose of having these over a 200 calorie meal/snack meal with lots of fruit veg or salad?

Are they filling?

I feel like if I had it my mind would think I'd had a drink and would still want a meal so genuinely intrigued.

@hollyblueivy you can do either, I am using food but found it too hard so have upped calories! The payoff is I also have to be calorie counting on up days though. The fast800 diet was based on research which I think had the participants using shakes. The advantage of shakes on super low calorie days is that you can know how many calories you are having - if you are using real food it is easy to go over calories really easily. You really need food planned the day before.

One of the best I have felt when dieting was when I was having beachbody vegan chocolate shakes (I got a complimentary pack when signing up to the online exercise classes). I think the vitamins in the shake must have been helping with a deficiency I didn’t know about because meal replacement shakes are fortified. It is also delicious which made it taste like a treat so I didn’t feel deprived, but unfortunately it is way way too expensive and other shakes I have tried are not the same.

Actually beachbody shakes aren’t a meal replacement so they are probably not the best example ..

Hi @hollyblueivy yes like @Clearingaspace says you can opt for meals or shakes the only rule is that on a fast day you are restricted to 500 calories.

I am a really keen cook but I find shakes easier as I don’t have to be around or even think about food on the diet day because if I was I would probably fail! I just can’t eat a salad and be done. Chewing makes me want to eat carbs!

I found the shakes exactly as you describe- just like having a drink - on the first day and it was hard. However I can feel them filling me up when I have one now and I am sated by them.

I think two other perks of the shakes are that you know exactly how many calories you are consuming and you get so much extra time in a day not cooking or washing up!

I forgot to add my weight over the weekend. I am 74.5 kgs so that’s a 2.1 kg loss last week and 6kg in total in just under 3 weeks. I am really happy with that!

That’s a fantastic loss!

I am going down so slowly and a bit 1 step forward 2 steps back at the moment- think I might need to try shakes! To be honest it is the high days that are the problem for me.