UK Programme on fasting

essemmgee369

There is a good downloadable booklet on the subject here which covers many of the different approaches and a lot of the questions that you might like answered before you start
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

natajane

That's a great link essemmgee369, thanks for sharing.

essemmgee369

Also... another good page for fasting info can be found here - in six parts

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-fast-part-six-choosing-a-method/#axzz23bXjQ6BQ

The author likes to take his shirt off a lot (with good reason), but if you ignore the fact that he occasionally tries to flog you things there is loads and loads of contemporary health and fitness advice on this site. The comments and forum are pretty interesting too

TaylorsGranddad

A guy at work is on his 2nd week, he's lost 4lbs

saddie24

Hi all

After piling on over a stone since turning 40 I have been losing a few pounds here and there and then piling them back on. I have had to give up the gym as I have young kids and my husband now works away most of the time so I never got to go anymore. This has just made my weight fluctuate even more (and not in a good way). I need an easy diet which allows a reasonable amount of flexability so really like the idea of the 5:2 diet.

I started on Monday with a fast day and today is my second. I am however off on my holidays on saturday and will struggle to do proper fast days, so will ook to mayeb only eat fruit and then one main meal (its the wine thats the problem with me).

Look forward to reading all of your posts!!

avocado12

What was the programme called?

leytherlad25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9MmjbTwS58&feature=related

avocado12

Thanks found it

lilsaph

bump!

mandyw30

Wow! Great to see this still being discussed and debated!!

I tried one fast day last week, I actually managed to divide my 500 calories into 3 small meals - some fruit for breakfast, salad and a slice of ham for lunch and turkey stir fry (no noodles!) for tea. I struggled with this fast day and felt hungry, but didn't have any headaches or anything. I tried another fast day yesterday and this time had 2 meals, having a slice of ham and some cherry tomatoes and cucumber around 2pm and then some lean meat and veg for tea. I found yesterday much easier and didn't feel hunger during the day and only felt slightly hungry in the evening. So think I'm better not having any breakfast.

A question about the 16:8 fasting regime, is it as simple as say if I eat my evening meal at 6pm, then fast starts at 7pm until 11am then next morning so just have a late breakfast/early lunch? So basically you are asleep during most of the fast? Do you guys do this everyday?

locotoro

I saw that documentary and found it quite interesting.

Partly because, being Muslim I was already fasting for the Islamic month of Ramadan. But also because on this was the first time (ever) I had fasted and was lowering my body fat levels. When I had fasted in the past I always put on weight and that was partly to do with overeating and to compound things I was eating heavy carbs and sugary foods.

Naively I had always put this down to my metabolism slowing down because on a normal day I tend to have regular small meals but I am understanding the benefit of a "real" calorific diet. I have so far lost about 7kg in total but I still have a further 5 kg to my target and I have hit a plateau. My weight has hung around 85kg and despite trying to make my running a bit more intensity to my training I'm struggling.

I'm not looking forward to the end of Ramadan as I don't want to start putting the weight back on with more regular eating

Any help?

Agator82

Naively I had always put this down...

I'm not looking forward to the end of Ramadan as I don't want to start putting the weight back on with more regular eating

Well, if the fasting you are doing for Ramadan works for you then just tweak the schedule a little bit and see what happens (maybe restrict to certain times a day). The only problem trying to apply a Ramadan style fast during the rest of the year is that it is hard to maintain. That is why MFP really seems to drive people towards simple caloric restriction instead of being a 'diet' in the traditional sense of the word. As others have said, different strokes for different folks, you might have found something that can work for you that certainly would not work for me.

On a different note, I actually did my first official 'fast' day yesterday (I am going to call it VLC day in the future). I broke it into two meals:

Breakfast:
Two Eggs (70 cal each) 140 Cal
2.5 Cups frozen mix berries 175 Cal


Dinner
3 oz Salmon 105 Cal (Seems low and I will confirm)
Fat Free Italian Salad Dressing 53 Cal (5 Tbsp)
Tangelo 50 Cal
Salad 60 Cal
Hebrew Natl 98% Fat Free Dog 40 Cal (My wife made it for my daughter and I could not resist)

Add on some sugar free gum (5 Cals/piece) and Lemon-Ginger Tea I wrapped up the day just below 640. A little bit higher than I expected, but I did have the hot dog so I am not surprised. I am going to try again on Thursday with a similar menu and we will see what happens. All in all I have already lost 45 lbs (3 stone 3 lbs for you UK people) from simple diet and exercise and I am curious to see if this has an effect on how I feel.

As an aside, I also did 30 minutes on the Elliptical yesterday for a very low net calories. Very easy, but admittedly I come from a tradition where fast means no food and no water for 24 hours so 600 calories with all you can drink seems very easy. Time will tell.

locotoro

Naively I had always put this down...

I'm not looking forward to the end of Ramadan as I don't want to start putting the weight back on with more regular eating

Well, if the fasting you are doing for Ramadan works for you then just tweak the schedule a little bit and see what happens (maybe restrict to certain times a day). The only problem trying to apply a Ramadan style fast during the rest of the year is that it is hard to maintain. That is why MFP really seems to drive people towards simple caloric restriction instead of being a 'diet' in the traditional sense of the word. As others have said, different strokes for different folks, you might have found something that can work for you that certainly would not work for me.

On a different note, I actually did my first official 'fast' day yesterday (I am going to call it VLC day in the future). I broke it into two meals:

Breakfast:
Two Eggs (70 cal each) 140 Cal
2.5 Cups frozen mix berries 175 Cal


Dinner
3 oz Salmon 105 Cal (Seems low and I will confirm)
Fat Free Italian Salad Dressing 53 Cal (5 Tbsp)
Tangelo 50 Cal
Salad 60 Cal
Hebrew Natl 98% Fat Free Dog 40 Cal (My wife made it for my daughter and I could not resist)

Add on some sugar free gum (5 Cals/piece) and Lemon-Ginger Tea I wrapped up the day just below 640. A little bit higher than I expected, but I did have the hot dog so I am not surprised. I am going to try again on Thursday with a similar menu and we will see what happens. All in all I have already lost 45 lbs (3 stone 3 lbs for you UK people) from simple diet and exercise and I am curious to see if this has an effect on how I feel.

As an aside, I also did 30 minutes on the Elliptical yesterday for a very low net calories. Very easy, but admittedly I come from a tradition where fast means no food and no water for 24 hours so 600 calories with all you can drink seems very easy. Time will tell.

Yeah, I might go for the 5/2 or day split and try and increase my work out intensity as I will obviously have more energy on the feast days. But I guess I've done a month of it so if I start putting the weight back on i can lose it again.

Rather than having 2 eggs, you're probably better off having 4 egg whites as im sure the cals will be lower and the nutritional value is greater?

PS: thats the first time i've heard of a tangelo so thanks for enlightening me

yarwell

Rather than having 2 eggs, you're probably better off having 4 egg whites as im sure the cals will be lower and the nutritional value is greater?

There's more nutrition in a yolk than the white.

suziecue66

Wow! Great to see this still being discussed and debated!!

I tried one fast day last week, I actually managed to divide my 500 calories into 3 small meals - some fruit for breakfast, salad and a slice of ham for lunch and turkey stir fry (no noodles!) for tea. I struggled with this fast day and felt hungry, but didn't have any headaches or anything. I tried another fast day yesterday and this time had 2 meals, having a slice of ham and some cherry tomatoes and cucumber around 2pm and then some lean meat and veg for tea. I found yesterday much easier and didn't feel hunger during the day and only felt slightly hungry in the evening. So think I'm better not having any breakfast.

A question about the 16:8 fasting regime, is it as simple as say if I eat my evening meal at 6pm, then fast starts at 7pm until 11am then next morning so just have a late breakfast/early lunch? So basically you are asleep during most of the fast? Do you guys do this everyday?

Yes it's usually a daily thing.

essemmgee369

Wow! Great to see this still being discussed and debated!!

I tried one fast day last week, I actually managed to divide my 500 calories into 3 small meals - some fruit for breakfast, salad and a slice of ham for lunch and turkey stir fry (no noodles!) for tea. I struggled with this fast day and felt hungry, but didn't have any headaches or anything. I tried another fast day yesterday and this time had 2 meals, having a slice of ham and some cherry tomatoes and cucumber around 2pm and then some lean meat and veg for tea. I found yesterday much easier and didn't feel hunger during the day and only felt slightly hungry in the evening. So think I'm better not having any breakfast.

A question about the 16:8 fasting regime, is it as simple as say if I eat my evening meal at 6pm, then fast starts at 7pm until 11am then next morning so just have a late breakfast/early lunch? So basically you are asleep during most of the fast? Do you guys do this everyday?

HI. I have been following the Fast-5 version of the 16:8 and it's really easy. Basically you eat nothing til 5pm and then for the next 5 hours you can eat as much as you need (though possibly not everything you want LOL). You can transfer the 5 hours of eating to another time if you want, but I believe that 5pm to 10pm is considered the best period for the average daytime worker. As long as I keep busy I have not found the fasting to be a problem. Here is the link to the site where you can get a free book explaining the whole caboodle... http://www.fast-5.com

acidosaur

I found the programme really interesting. I had previously fasted a few years ago and found it helped my energy levels, although I didn't lose a huge amount of weight. I have read recently though that women shouldn't fast, as in here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/#more-29763

So as of now I am wondering if I should fast at all....

If anyone has any comment on this that would be helpful

AlabasterVerve

I found the programme really interesting. I had previously fasted a few years ago and found it helped my energy levels, although I didn't lose a huge amount of weight. I have read recently though that women shouldn't fast, as in here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/#more-29763

So as of now I am wondering if I should fast at all....

If anyone has any comment on this that would be helpful

It's only been a couple weeks but so far I've responded favorably to fasting and I know other women have had a good response as well. It's probably also worth mentioning that the article doesn't actually say that women shouldn't fast ever, just that our experiences with fasting might be different or less beneficial under certain circumstances.

As it stands right now, I’d be inclined to agree that pre-menopausal (and perhaps peri-menopausal) women are more likely to have poor – or at least different – experiences with intermittent fasting, at least as a weight loss tool. That said, it appears to be a potentially gender-neutral therapeutic tool for chemotherapy, cancer, and age-related neurodegeneration patients.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/women-and-intermittent-fasting/#ixzz23vdPJ7oC

I think the Paleo For Women article is valuable but it also states that perhaps weight plays an important role in fasting for women so in the end I just think it's like everything else -- find what works for you and don't be so married to an approach you're not willing to make changes if it doesn't work for you or stops working for you at some later date.

It’s not definitive, since the literature is so sparse, and it necessarily differs for women who are overweight versus normal weight (and who have different genetic makeups regardless), but when it comes to hormones, women of reproductive age may do well to err on the side of caution with fasting.

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/

The comment sections on both of the blogs linked to above have lots of women sharing their experiences with fasting (both positive and negative) and myself and some others shared our experience with fasting in this thread that you might be interested in:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/697735-alternative-day-fasting

Agator82

There's more nutrition in a yolk than the white.

Egg whites have fewer calories and more volume, but eggs have more nutrition which is why I enjoy the whole egg. So I'll ditto this poster.

Please note I do not think there is anything wrong with egg whites it is just not my cup of tea.

carld256

BBC Horizon 2012: Eat, Fast and Live Longer, on YouTube. Is this the program?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM