Eat Stop Eat..how it's worked for me.

Stewie316

Ok, I'm fasting from 7pm tonight to 7pm tomorrow. I hope I can stick with this. I'm debating on working out before bed and if it'll make me more hungry tomorrow.

nikki_zav

Sounds interesting and a decently healthy way to fast and really kickstart some good weight loss. I have quite a few lbs I'd like to loose before a wedding in September.

Stewie316

Can I think tea with cream and/or splenda during the fast? Splenda has calories.

lulabellewoowoo

Ok, I'm fasting from 7pm tonight to 7pm tomorrow. I hope I can stick with this. I'm debating on working out before bed and if it'll make me more hungry tomorrow.

I wish you all the success and will be interested to see how you do. I've decided to work out just so that I can eat up the time since I stopped eating last night at 8 p.m., but had to get up at 2 a.m., which means I have a total of 18 hours ahead of me to fill with something OTHER than food.

My downfall will be having to remember not to "pick" while I'm fixing my kids their snacks or lunches. I CAN DO THIS!!!! (I hope)

estelle74uk

Can I think tea with cream and/or splenda during the fast? Splenda has calories.

You cant eat/drink anything with any calories to it. All drinks ie tea and coffee should be without milk or sugar/splenda. Herbal teas are totally fine as well.

I also find it easiest to fast between 2pm and 2pm.

Stewie316

Can I think tea with cream and/or splenda during the fast? Splenda has calories.

You cant eat/drink anything with any calories to it. All drinks ie tea and coffee should be without milk or sugar/splenda. Herbal teas are totally fine as well.

I also find it easiest to fast between 2pm and 2pm.

Well, I recently got up and have 11.5 hours to go. I'm rarely hungry in the morning, the hard part is going to be the afternoon. At least it's a busy day at work today, so if won't be as hard as normal.

I meant to eat dinner last night at 5/6 pm, but I was busy watching True Blood and my husband made dinner late.

lulabellewoowoo

Well, I have a little over 9 hours to go. I went to the gym this morning. I felt like I was dragging, but still burned a little over 500 calories, which is the norm. I'm not actually feeling hungry. But I think I have a better idea why I haven't been losing weight. It's amazing how much mindless eating I must do. Everytime I went into the frig to get water, I found myself starting to pick at something, just a bite. Or making my son a peanut butter and banana sandwich, I had to keep remind myself not to take a nibble. I usually don't count those calories, but my almost picking alone would have probably added up to an additional 200 calories easy.

To get through the rest of the day, I am going to the library with my kids, then probably napping (as I have been up since 2 - that should kill about two hours), and then hitting the gym again with hubby for support at 6. By the time I'm done there and get home and shower, 8 p.m. should be here and my 24 hours should be up.

So what is the theory behind doing it twice a week? I'm assuming 3 days is excessive. But does one day a week have any benefit? Does two days have TWICE the benefit? Couldn't find any information on the internet about those particular questions, so any advice would be helpful. I'm going to try it for a month without mentioning it to anybody and see how I feel. If I find benefits, I might try and get my hubby to do it with me for him to drop those stubborn 10 lb.

Hope everyone is having a happy, active day!

imagymrat

Way to go! You have to find a 24 hour period that you can stick to. I initially tried 3pm-3pm...didn't work too well for me, I didn't make it :laugh: , 6:30 to 6:30 seems to work best for me..play around with it. and you have to take in NO calories..nothing, not even splenda! sorry ...I'm fasting once per week, that's it, just maintaining now!

Stewie316

I fell off 4 hours short. 7pm last night til 3pm today. I was fine up into 11am - 1pm. 1pm was the worst. The afternoon is the worst for me, because I'm sitting at a desk all day long, with nothing to do, but think about food. I believe I can do this and I'm going to try a different time frame; I was so close. I'm going to try again Wednesday 2-3pm til Thursday 2-3 pm. It'll be easier not eating at home, compared to not eating in the afternoon at work. At home, I can do things, like work out, take the dogs out, take a nap, etc. I'll be back in a few days, to let everyone know how it went again.

chrisdavey

doing 7pm tonight to 7pm tomorrow. Will be doing chest and triceps resistance training tomorrow at 5pm so will be interesting without having any food in me for the day.

Hardest bit for me is that I work in an office and sometimes just snack (albeit generally healthy things) when I'm bored.

See how I go

lulabellewoowoo

Well, I did it!!! 24 hours. Of course, it would have been easier if I hadn't had to feed my kids. We went to Panera. They got soups, I got non-sweetened iced tea. But I brought a book with me to occupy my time while they ate and we talked. It will be easier to do this once they are in school. My hardest time was around 2 p.m. That is the only time during the day that I know I had TRUE hunger, not just boredom hunger. But I was also very tired from having only slept 4 hours the night before, so taking a nap took away 3 hours of time. When I finally did eat, I was surprised that I actually didn't have a ravenous appetite. Had half a veggie sandwich, cup of maryland crab soup. Hubby even stopped and got a brownie to split with me, and I could only take 3 bites because my belly was uncomfortably full. Very weird for me. But I learned alot about my eating habits yesterday and so today am truly going to LISTEN to my hunger rather than just eat to eat. A lot easier than I thought. So one down, 8 more to go for this month. I think Sunday evening and Wednesday evenings are going to work best for me.

Something else it did for me? This past weekend I overate on a lot of junk. A day of fasting actually helped me to "reset" my body and thinking and stop the binging process so that I could make better choices even when faced with bad ones.

I explained it to my hubby and he was impressed, but said he could never do it. But it was easier than I thought. So I'm going to do my second one on Wednesday from about 5:30 to 5:30. That way I can eat dinner with my family.

Stewie, 20 hours is still very awesome. I agree with imagymrat. It takes playing around with. I'll be interested to see the weight benefits next week (if any)

imagymrat - thanks for posting this. and for your encouragement. it makes a huge difference.

pfenixa

Something else it did for me? This past weekend I overate on a lot of junk. A day of fasting actually helped me to "reset" my body and thinking and stop the binging process so that I could make better choices even when faced with bad ones.

I was reading this thread yesterday and I'm really intrigued by the whole thing. This past weekend my husband and I went to the beach for the weekend and I ate terribly, but figured I'd just get back on it yesterday. Mondays are my off days and then when I got home the in-laws decided to get pizza...usually I can hold back well enough to still to well for the day, but it feels like after a weekend of terrible eating I just couldn't hold back from eating terrible some more. I was thinking the fast could be a "reset" like you mentioned.

I'll admit though, I'm extremely intimidated at the thought of not eating for that long. My job I sit in a room all day and only leave to do two mail runs or go to the bathroom. My snacks and lunch are something I look forward to. :ohwell:

I was thinking I could try it Friday night to Saturday night and then maybe I could just exercise Saturday afternoon/night and then eat afterward. Does the exercise need to be resistance training? All my exercise has consisted lately of running or doing 30 Day Shred, and to be honest I'd have to check what all is resistance training. :blushing: Oh, and since I'm still working on losing weight and doing 1200 calories per day, if I do the fast do I try to squeeze as much of that in before and after for the day, or do I just finish off the day like I usually would? Then I'd be eating way under 1200, I'm sure.

imagymrat

Something else it did for me? This past weekend I overate on a lot of junk. A day of fasting actually helped me to "reset" my body and thinking and stop the binging process so that I could make better choices even when faced with bad ones.

I was reading this thread yesterday and I'm really intrigued by the whole thing. This past weekend my husband and I went to the beach for the weekend and I ate terribly, but figured I'd just get back on it yesterday. Mondays are my off days and then when I got home the in-laws decided to get pizza...usually I can hold back well enough to still to well for the day, but it feels like after a weekend of terrible eating I just couldn't hold back from eating terrible some more. I was thinking the fast could be a "reset" like you mentioned.

I'll admit though, I'm extremely intimidated at the thought of not eating for that long. My job I sit in a room all day and only leave to do two mail runs or go to the bathroom. My snacks and lunch are something I look forward to. :ohwell:

I was thinking I could try it Friday night to Saturday night and then maybe I could just exercise Saturday afternoon/night and then eat afterward. Does the exercise need to be resistance training? All my exercise has consisted lately of running or doing 30 Day Shred, and to be honest I'd have to check what all is resistance training. :blushing: Oh, and since I'm still working on losing weight and doing 1200 calories per day, if I do the fast do I try to squeeze as much of that in before and after for the day, or do I just finish off the day like I usually would? Then I'd be eating way under 1200, I'm sure.

Resistance training in a nutshell can be using dumbbells, rubber exercise tubing, your own body weight, bricks, bottles of water, or any other object that causes the muscles to contract, Some of your DVD's that you do may have resistance incorporated right into the program. The benefits, for me with fasting for the one day, is that it makes it easy for me to meet my calorie deficit without having to be too strict with counting my calories on my non fasting days. Congrats lulabelle! the first is ALWAYS the hardest, I caved the first day, but the second attempt, like mentioned before I tweaked my timing to better suit my body, and voila! 24hour no problem, and I didn't even feel the need to eat right away, more like a few hours afterwards.

lulabellewoowoo

imagymrat - Here is another quick question. You said you are doing it once a week to just maintain. Is twice a week for weight loss and once a week for maintenance? What are other benefits to fasting other than weight loss?

Thank you for all your posts and information and personal experiences. It is extremely helpful and motivating.

Stewie316

I'm starting again today at 2pm til 2pm tomorrow. Getting through tonight shouldn't be hard, hopefully I won't be hungry in the morning.

chrisdavey

lulabellewoowoo: That would be case dependent because of each person's diet and exercise habits. No one person all fits answer I wouldn't think.

I did it yesterday. 7:30pm to 7:30pm. Just had my regular Wed night dinner (which is a big one as it's a workout day :P) but didn't really over indulge I don't think.

My workout was ok. I think I was at about 90-95% of a regular fuelled workout.

I survived the day with ****loads of water, green tea and sugar free chewing gum.

lulabellewoowoo

Well, as of 6:30 I have started my second fast of the week (and in general). I have a pretty packed evening tonight right up until bedtime and then all day tomorrow, ending my fast with a workout at the gym ending at 6 p.m. I should be good and hungry. My only issue will be preparing lunches for the kids, but I might have hubby do that in the morning before he leaves so that I won't be tempted to "nibble".

Great job jzpowahz. I wish you all the success.

Stewie, you can do it! Earlier in the day is probably better. That means when you wake up (as long as you are not waking up at 2 a.m. like I have to), then you close to being there.

Thank God for water and diet soda!

lulabellewoowoo

Okay, 12.5 hours down, 11.5 hours to go. I am actually feeling hungry earlier today, but I realize that I probably didn't eat enough calories yesterday. But I will persevere. I'm going to love my Mediterranean veggie sandwich and cup of chocolate milk come 6:30 tonight.


How is everyone else doing?

AwMyLoLo

I've been reading through this since you started the thread and toying around with the idea. I've had to fast a lot recently for the testing I've been going through trying to figure out what is wrong with my stomach. I absolutely HATE fasting all day...... but...... I just decided I am going to do it today. I haven't been able to work out this week (other than 20 minutes AM Yoga and 3 mile dog walks) because my stomach is so uncomfortable. Yesterday I was swelled up to where I looked 7 months pregnant. Yesterday my attitude toward eating healthy and exercising was "F it" -- because I didn't feel like complete dog crap when I ate whatever I wanted and considered 30 minutes on the elliptical to be a kick *kitten* workout. It wasn't until I started P90X and being a freak about what I ate that I started having problems. So, anyway, enough about that. Last night we had homemade pizza for dinner at 7pm. So tonight I will eat dinner of pork chops and rice at 7 again... If I feel up to working out I will do P90X Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X.

rcatr

This sounds really interesting and something worth considering. I've done detox cleanses before that included fasts. My body felt very peaceful afterwards. Thanks for posting this!

lulabellewoowoo

AwMyLoLo - I'm sorry you are so uncomfortable. And feeling bloated is never any fun. I went through several tests and a few years of it. Even had my gallbladder removed, but it ended up causing more problems than good, plus 10+ lb weight gain. The fasting is more a mental thing for me today. I am truly hungry, although surprisingly not tired, even though I got up at 3 a.m. So it has that benefit. But I sure am looking forward to dinner. You'll do great!

AwMyLoLo

AwMyLoLo - I'm sorry you are so uncomfortable. And feeling bloated is never any fun. I went through several tests and a few years of it. Even had my gallbladder removed, but it ended up causing more problems than good, plus 10+ lb weight gain. The fasting is more a mental thing for me today. I am truly hungry, although surprisingly not tired, even though I got up at 3 a.m. So it has that benefit. But I sure am looking forward to dinner. You'll do great!

I had my gallbladder removed in late 2007.

AwMyLoLo

I'll admit though, I'm extremely intimidated at the thought of not eating for that long. My job I sit in a room all day and only leave to do two mail runs or go to the bathroom. My snacks and lunch are something I look forward to. :ohwell:

[/quote]

This is the same situation I am in...

reesegirl521

Maybe someone asked this ( and I apologize if it has been asked, I didn't see it but...) this is a 'lifestyle' change for you then? Like you plan on doing Eat Stop Eat from now on? Or are you supposed to do it for a while and then go back to regular eating?

rcatr

i'm supposed to have a night in on Friday and working from home on saturday so i'm going to try it out Friday PM to Sat PM. Will report back.

kdiamond

This is also known as The Warrior Diet, as another poster added. I do this at least once a week, usually Friday evening through Saturday evening. Sometimes I also do it mid-week.

I find I also feel amazing all day long, and it makes for a guilt free dinner that night!

I have found NO negative effects on muscle loss, infact I've never been in such great shape and have terrific workouts (carb load) the day after!

I really recommend this as a way of changing things up, especially for someone who maybe has hit a plateau or something.

mrsyatesy

Hmm - I think this is my plan for next week - thank you for posting this and for all the information everyone has added in!

Stewie316

Whewwwww, I got through it. It was not easy at all, but hopefully it'll get easier. I ate right away. I'm going to try to do this every monday, to restart after the weekends. I think, I'm going to do noon to noon, next time. Hopefully, it'll get easier.

lulabellewoowoo

Great job Stewie.

Well, I succeeded. Last night, went on a special dinner with family and again found I wasn't overly hungry. Now the day after last time, I found that I ate a lot more, and the second day not so much. We will see how I do. What I have learned on non-fast days? I have started cutting out mindless munching. If I want a bite of what the kids have, I make my own portion so I can be aware of what I am eating and how much. Let's see if I can keep this up. I think Sunday evenings to Monday evenings and Wednesday evenings to Thursday evenings are going to work for me. Did not get fuzzy mentally. Even did a kickboxing class and although I felt like I was "swimming" through the class (I felt like I was moving through water), I ended up burning the same amount of calories.

I definitely recommend to everyone to at least giving it two tries before deciding.

reesegirl521

So I started last night at 630pm. This morning has been fine but I've only been up since 5am so we'll see how the rest of the day goes. I packed a bag full of water and tea to get me through the day at work!!