Eat, Fast and live longer

Sorry edited to add, I am a married, shift working mother of three.

This is what I am about to embark on. I am 257lbs would like to be 140lbs so i am giving this a go. I am currently on a fast day, which means I can have 500 calories, I am having 2 weetabix and ssmilk for breakfast, Slimfast shake for dinner and tea, plenty of water and no tea or coffee.

Normal day tomorrow.

I guess we will see if it works.

Replies

  • jonibc
    jonibc Posts: 104 Member
    I can't live like that. I joined MFP to learn to eat in a healthy way that I can live with for the rest of my life. My goal is to lose 50 to 60 lbs. I've been here 3 months and I'm down 20. I haven't been hungry and I haven't deprived myself. I log everything I eat and drink. That helps me control myself and make healthy choices. After I reach my goal, I plan on still using MFP to maintain my weight. I've lost weight before on diets and gained it right back when I went off of them. I'm not on a diet now. I'm learning to eat for life. I encourage you to forget fasting and 500 calorie days and starving yourself and, instead, use this site to teach yourself and find the support you need. Best of luck in your journey!
  • gc72
    gc72 Posts: 5 Member
    Whippetkd
    Sounds like you've got a lot of determination, but why not take the easier and healthier route? :-)
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    Some people on this site advocate fasting and intermittent fasting. I think you should do what works for you. However, I agree that this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. If you are serious, eat clean (no processed foods, no soda, lots of veggies, fruit, and lean protein.), get moving, and drink lots of water and green tea.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I'm with jonibc, every word.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    You should go to the intermittent fasting group boards. People in the main forums think us IFers are crazy. I do a 14-16 hour fast daily, and love the lifestyle, I've tried day long fasts and didn't like that as much. I don't fast for weight loss per se though, but because that is what allows me the most satiety and fits my hunger patterns. If you think not eating for a day gives you license to not change your habits the rest of the time, you are prob set up for failure.
  • jemimasmum
    jemimasmum Posts: 249 Member
    Hi,
    I watched that Horizon programme too. I have a "fast" day which is fruit and veg only to a max of 750 cals on a Sunday and sometimes one other day - work permitting. I eat a net intake of up to 1400 on other days. Husband (who doesn't need to lose weight) does the fruity days for the health benefits suggested by the programme and eats like a horse the rest of the time.
    It doesn't seem to hurt and we try to make it more of a treat by making veg soup and buying nice fruit to eat throughout the day. Good luck with it.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Sorry edited to add, I am a married, shift working mother of three.

    This is what I am about to embark on. I am 257lbs would like to be 140lbs so i am giving this a go. I am currently on a fast day, which means I can have 500 calories, I am having 2 weetabix and ssmilk for breakfast, Slimfast shake for dinner and tea, plenty of water and no tea or coffee.

    Normal day tomorrow.

    I guess we will see if it works.

    People have been fasting since the beginning of time, as hunter gatherers and almost all religions for spiritual reasons. So far all the people I've seen who fast at churches look perfectly healthy.

    It really is just a break from eating (like when you go to bed at night and have breakfast and break the fast). It's been proven that it's good for you to take a break once in a while, like once or twice a week. Most of the programs out there don't tell you to starve yourself, just take a break and eat normal, eat normal, eat normal, eat normal, take a break, eat normal, eat normal. Not starve, binge, starve, binge.

    It worked well for me and according to my DXA scan I did not lose lean body mass! I followed Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat (24 hour fast), so only ate one normal meal a day, once or twice a week, and ate normal every other day. That is not starving yourself, just a flexible way to manage calories in a weekly calorie budget.

    A doctor just wrote about it: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html#disqus_thread
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I've been doing the 5:2 diet since August. Have a look for the threads and groups to support this way of eating. Alternate Day Fasting and the Johnson Up Day Down Day are also similar. The mainstreamers who eat 6 small meals a day think we're bonkers, don't worry about it. Different things suit different people. If you find the eat, fast, live longer (5:2) way suits you, you can keep it up as long as you wish.

    I find it very flexible as it accommodates eating more if you have a family event or party occasionally. I've lost about 1.5 lbs per week on it, having plateaued with conventional calorie counting. And of course, it's better for your general health, not just weight loss.

    Anyone who immediately dismisses it hasn't read up about it or watched the documentary that brought it to public attention in the UK. "Eat, Fast, Live Longer" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM
  • Are you doing 5:2? That just sounds hard to me. I do 20/4 IF every day and it becomes very manageable. I know I will definitely eat like this forever. After the first week or so I was never hungry until my feeding window. Your body adjusts to the new schedule and it gets much easier. Once I lose this last bit and I start eating maintenance I might do 16/8 since I'll be bulking and I hate cramming over 100g of protein in a 4 hour window. It makes me feel nauseous.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    You should go to the intermittent fasting group boards. People in the main forums think us IFers are crazy. I do a 14-16 hour fast daily, and love the lifestyle, I've tried day long fasts and didn't like that as much. I don't fast for weight loss per se though, but because that is what allows me the most satiety and fits my hunger patterns. If you think not eating for a day gives you license to not change your habits the rest of the time, you are prob set up for failure.

    Agree
  • Thank you for the info, I will have a look on the other intermittent fasting boards. I dont want to make the 'normal' dieters feel uncomfortable :-)
  • Hummm cant seem to find them where am I going wrong. Can someone psot a link please x :smile:
  • Yes Bettie I have :happy:
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Sorry edited to add, I am a married, shift working mother of three.

    This is what I am about to embark on. I am 257lbs would like to be 140lbs so i am giving this a go. I am currently on a fast day, which means I can have 500 calories, I am having 2 weetabix and ssmilk for breakfast, Slimfast shake for dinner and tea, plenty of water and no tea or coffee.

    Normal day tomorrow.

    I guess we will see if it works.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Sorry edited to add, I am a married, shift working mother of three.

    This is what I am about to embark on. I am 257lbs would like to be 140lbs so i am giving this a go. I am currently on a fast day, which means I can have 500 calories, I am having 2 weetabix and ssmilk for breakfast, Slimfast shake for dinner and tea, plenty of water and no tea or coffee.

    Normal day tomorrow.

    I guess we will see if it works.
    Not sure if your bolding indicates confusion about the contradictory "tea" & "no tea", but in parts of the UK, "tea" refers to one's evening meal, as well as the beverage.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    There's a group forum for all things Intermittent Fasting here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/66-intermittent-fasting
  • I believe those slimfast shakes may make you feel hungrier. They have artificial sweeetners. I have found fasting to be a good way to "reset". But I have never been able to fast more than 18 hours.
  • This is my first post on this forum and I am doing it just to bookmark an interesting thread. I am thinking about restricting calories to 500 on fast days and don't really know how much food that is.
    I am really frustrated by the advert on my screen now that seems to say I should never eat bananas. I wish I could block it!