Fasting

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beckywilkeherbst
beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking of fasting today and not sure the do's and don't and if it wil yield negative/positive results tomorrow.
I had a horrible week food wise. To the point I consumed roughly 600 calories after 8:30 p.m. last night and that was only last night's negatives.
I have been struggling the last few weeks/month with poor losses and am beginning to feel very defeated. Yet, every time I tell myself the next week is going to be different, it is not. I am giving in to temptation left and right and allowing myself to take bites of peanut butter from the jar and not logging it, etc, etc. You get the point.
If I see a gain tomorrow, I know this will throw me further into a tailspin. I am grasping at straws here. I am not delusianal, i know this isn't a cure all. I just feel like i need a reset and this could be it. I don't plan on doing it more than 24 hours, or regularly, or anythign like that...just today.
Thanks in advance for your help.
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Replies

  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Why not try a day of normal healthy eating instead? And skip your weigh-in tomorrow if you know it's going to cause a problem for you. I think it would be much healthier for you to use today as a day to get back into your healthy routine.
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
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    I tried that yesterday and it only caused me to binge eat like crazy last night.
  • migoi357
    migoi357 Posts: 173 Member
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    I'm not a big fan of fasting. I am a big fan of movement. My thoughts would be use a fun, non-food type of activity to help with your reset. Get out of the house, get out of your normal routine, go do something. It's spring, go find a public garden to walk around in. Plan a healthy meal for when you get finished and make it inconvenient for you to eat more than your planned meals.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Oh... kay. So eating normally causes you to binge? Wouldn't a fast make it 10 times worse?

    Honestly, if a normal day of eating causes you to binge, I think there's a big problem. Especially if your immediate reaction is to stop eating completely. Do you have a history of eating disorders?
  • lifeskittles
    lifeskittles Posts: 438 Member
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    I did a one day fast before to show my body that its priorities were ****ed up. I didn't do it for weight loss, but I was obsessing about food.. Its all I thought about. I fasted and I got so much done...All the stuff done that I wanted to do but didn't because I was too busy thinking about delicious food! hehe. I wouldn't do it often, but mentally I think a fast can be good if food is consuming your life more than it should.
  • jefflturn
    jefflturn Posts: 41
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    Don't do it! Try eating 5 small meals a day with the protein high. This will keep your cravings down.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking of fasting today and not sure the do's and don't and if it wil yield negative/positive results tomorrow.
    I had a horrible week food wise. To the point I consumed roughly 600 calories after 8:30 p.m. last night and that was only last night's negatives.
    I have been struggling the last few weeks/month with poor losses and am beginning to feel very defeated. Yet, every time I tell myself the next week is going to be different, it is not. I am giving in to temptation left and right and allowing myself to take bites of peanut butter from the jar and not logging it, etc, etc. You get the point.
    If I see a gain tomorrow, I know this will throw me further into a tailspin. I am grasping at straws here. I am not delusianal, i know this isn't a cure all. I just feel like i need a reset and this could be it. I don't plan on doing it more than 24 hours, or regularly, or anythign like that...just today.
    Thanks in advance for your help.
    Look into intermittent fasting. Check out Eat, Stop, Eat and leangains.com. If your problem is when you eat, maybe you need to adjust your eating schedule.
  • Aerohead21
    Aerohead21 Posts: 333 Member
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    How long have you been dieting in general? What are your height/weight stats? It could be that you are putting too much pressure on yourself and need to maintain for a little bit.
  • LeggyKettleBabe
    LeggyKettleBabe Posts: 300 Member
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    I find if your diet is too restrictive you feel like youre being punished and you binge. I build in a "cheat" daily, in a smaller portion so I dont feel punished. I have lost almost 40 lbs since January. I rarely binge :)
  • duetwithjosh
    duetwithjosh Posts: 121
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    I currently practice IF with a once a week 24 hour fast. I'll eat a normal dinner on Wednesday night, and not eat again until dinner on Thursday night. (Sometimes I'll do breakfast-to-breakfast instead, but I've found that I prefer dinner-to-dinner.) I've noticed positive effects on my cravings, body composition, weight-loss, and (a surprise for me) faster muscle repair after intensive workouts.

    It's important that you remain active on your fast days. It feels weird at first, but you'd be surprised how much energy you still have. I make sure to get at least 30-45 minutes of moderate to intensive cardio in on my fast days.
  • sdm329
    sdm329 Posts: 57
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    Here is a link to the Binge Eating Group where you can find lots of support instead of fasting. I believe fasting should only be used for religious reasons because fasting isn't about eating.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
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    Ok people...thank you..i am not whacked, i promise. nor do i have or have ever had an eating disorder but thank you for the concern.

    I lost 59 pounds since october eating what i call "normal." I ate what i want but stayed within 1200 calories. I excercised every single day to the point I burnt myself out. So the last month has been a obstacle of trying to stop letting myself snack and not log (not keeping myself accountable). I dip into the kids easter candy, i grab a beef stick at the gas station because it looks good...you name it, i am really struggling with the self control.

    FAST FORWARD to yesterday, I starated the day with the mindset that today was going to be different and I was going to do better...just like every day for the last month....i did great until about 6, at which point I just started shoveling it in. Ice crea, chocolate, two or three 90 calorie bars, spoonfuls of peanut butter, the list goes on.

    So today I woke up and decided that I need to see a change tomorrow, it is important for me to see a change on the scale when I weigh in or risk continuing down this path I am on. I know that I should use a postiive number as motivation to do better but that hasn't worked so far so IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME that I need to do something else to get that motivation. Hence, a fast, a reset, a start over.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
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    I find if your diet is too restrictive you feel like youre being punished and you binge. I build in a "cheat" daily, in a smaller portion so I dont feel punished. I have lost almost 40 lbs since January. I rarely binge :)


    ^^^ THIS ^^^

    I highly recommend a cheat meal for cravings. I don't know you at all, but if you have in the past ate +600 cals after 8:30, sounds like that you would have the propensity to binge eat after a day of fasting..
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    Fasting, although not for everyone, works for some people. Even the people who like it have had to experiment with different approaches. There is a group on MFP dedicated to Intermittent Fasting or ("IF"):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/49-intermittent-fasting

    After reading about IF for a few years I've been trying it out. I've been using the method where you eat every day, but you give yourself a shorter eating window. Some people start by having breakfast an hour later every day. Fasting, if you are trying to lose weight, is not a license to binge during your eating window.

    I would join the group. In addition, I would Google the following:

    Intermittent Fasting 101
    Mark's Daily Apple Intermittent Fasting
    Lean Gains
    Fast 5
    Eat Stop Eat
  • clover5
    clover5 Posts: 1,643 Member
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    I looked into fruit fasting last week. Reading several articles, etc. I just can't go without eating anything at all. The fibre from all the fruit really cleans out your system.
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
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    Does anyone have any experience with this? I am thinking of fasting today and not sure the do's and don't and if it wil yield negative/positive results tomorrow.
    I had a horrible week food wise. To the point I consumed roughly 600 calories after 8:30 p.m. last night and that was only last night's negatives.
    I have been struggling the last few weeks/month with poor losses and am beginning to feel very defeated. Yet, every time I tell myself the next week is going to be different, it is not. I am giving in to temptation left and right and allowing myself to take bites of peanut butter from the jar and not logging it, etc, etc. You get the point.
    If I see a gain tomorrow, I know this will throw me further into a tailspin. I am grasping at straws here. I am not delusianal, i know this isn't a cure all. I just feel like i need a reset and this could be it. I don't plan on doing it more than 24 hours, or regularly, or anythign like that...just today.
    Thanks in advance for your help.
    Look into intermittent fasting. Check out Eat, Stop, Eat and leangains.com. If your problem is when you eat, maybe you need to adjust your eating schedule.

    yep, THIS^. personally, i fast for 18 hrs a couple of times a week... feels invigorating and motivating. can get more done. know *its* not constantly all about food. there is a group called Intermittant Fasting here on MFP as well.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    I see two things in your last post that maybe you should reassess. First, you exercised everyday. Your body needs a rest day at least once a week to recover so I'm not surprised that your body burnt out on you. Figure out a good plan that is more doable for the long term, 5 days a week instead of every day.

    Second, for someone that works out and is active, I think 1200 calories a day might be a bit too low. Figure out how much you can eat to maintain and sit there for a bit so you can find a new groove.

    Congrats on your current weight loss, you should be proud!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Options
    Ok people...thank you..i am not whacked, i promise. nor do i have or have ever had an eating disorder but thank you for the concern.

    I lost 59 pounds since october eating what i call "normal." I ate what i want but stayed within 1200 calories. I excercised every single day to the point I burnt myself out. So the last month has been a obstacle of trying to stop letting myself snack and not log (not keeping myself accountable). I dip into the kids easter candy, i grab a beef stick at the gas station because it looks good...you name it, i am really struggling with the self control.

    FAST FORWARD to yesterday, I starated the day with the mindset that today was going to be different and I was going to do better...just like every day for the last month....i did great until about 6, at which point I just started shoveling it in. Ice crea, chocolate, two or three 90 calorie bars, spoonfuls of peanut butter, the list goes on.

    So today I woke up and decided that I need to see a change tomorrow, it is important for me to see a change on the scale when I weigh in or risk continuing down this path I am on. I know that I should use a postiive number as motivation to do better but that hasn't worked so far so IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME that I need to do something else to get that motivation. Hence, a fast, a reset, a start over.

    I think that using a fast as a way of resetting your goals and appestat (Does that concept still exist?) is a good idea. Know, however, that people don't always immediately lose weight on a fast. Use the fast as a chance to distance yourself from food, and since you haven't been feeling well, keep it to 12, 14 hours maximum.

    Drink water, black tea, coffee (if you can't take it black, use a tiny amount of dairy.), sugarless drinks (I don't like artificial sweeteners, but people do drink beverages with them.)

    Read some of the introductory sections on the IF websites. Although some people who fast do vigorous workouts, don't do anything strenuous as you don't know how you're going to react.

    Most days during the week I and sometimes others post a short note about our progress in the IF Group.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/565327-easing-into-if-today-s-check-in
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
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    I was exercsing every day...the past several months, i am lucky if i do it 3-4 days a week.

    1200 cals is when i was strict with myself and THAT is when i lost the weight...since not holding myself accountable i see a very minimal loss or no loss at all. And NOW it has resorted to the binge eating at night.

    I have just let myself go...I am not being strict, i am not holding myself accountable AND no matter how much I say the next day is going to be different it hasn't been. AGAIN, I say that I was hoping to use this as a reset, a do over, a start fresh.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    I believe fasting should only be used for religious reasons because fasting isn't about eating.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/726-binge-eating-support-group

    That's not true. People do it for many reasons, but one benefit of fasting is gaining more control over one's relationship with food. Some people eat because they have a deep-seated fear that somehow food will disappear. Some people have no sense of what they're eating. Going through a cycle of not eating and understanding it won't kill you -- that even hunger pangs can be endured -- is very empowering for many people.

    For others, it's easier not to have to think about eating choices all day long. They consume their calories during a set window during the day or fast for 24 hours once or twice a week.

    No one doing IF is trying to starve himself or herself.

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