Fasting

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?

Don't do it! Try eating 5 small meals a day with the protein high. This will keep your cravings down.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

It may sound silly but I give myself positive "punishments" (lack of a better word) for any binging. If I am going to eat a cookie and not log it I must drop and do 20 military style (which I can barely do) before I eat it....it might not matter for one cookie but being sore n tired keeps me from going back for cookie #3 or #4! And it really works when in public....co-workers look at u funny when u drop n do 20 before reaching for a doughnut hole in the break room! Lol! Often times I think twice because of the company I am in...or I don't want to have to explain it to someone. Sometimes at night I will force myself to drink a big bottle of water before I do any snacking....after the water bloat I tend to not want to stuff anything else into my stomach....n sometimes my desire to snack was more out of dehydration and the feeling passes. I think the most important thing is to listen to your body....eating 1200 calories worked for you before but u may need to change things up n your body is pushing u towards it....mayb upping your cals by 100 or 200 on the right stuff is what u need right now....esp if you are working out everyday. Mayb giv it a try for a week or so. With that said I fast reglarly....1 to 2 times a week and love it! I have just started drinking water with lemon n cayenne as a cleanse during my fast n crave it when I am not (tought it sounded gross before I tried it). Going into a fast I try to eat high protien and lower carbs (right carbs from fruit n veg is preferrable) and I find I do not get hungry dUring the fast because I don't have the low blood sugar feelings. Good luck! If you have any more questions send me a mssg and I will help if I can!

Buy some delicious, fragrant herbal or green tea. Have good water around if your tap water isn't good; cut up some lemons, etc. if you want to flavor the water. After you eat dinner, don't eat again for 12 to 14 hours. Have some coffee with a little bit of dairy if you need it. At the end, have a healthy, pleasant meal within your calorie limit.

Reset accomplished.

Very helpful...Thank you so much! Do you mind me asking if you have tried this and if you weighed if there was a postive or negative result because of the fast? I plan on weighing tomorrow and feel it will be counterproductive to my reset if I see a positive number tomm when I weigh in. :-) Thanks

I've been easing into it, just doing a 14-hour fast several times a week. My weight has gone up and down, but when it went up I think it was because I ate too many calories. I'm in a place right now (slow metabolism, little weight to lose, recovering from an injury) that provides me with very little wiggle room and I think that MFP's 1,200 calories recommendation is too high for me.

The fact that some people do gain weight for a bit but continue shows that they're not doing IF just as a quick-loss method. It's an approach that they like.

Do you have a way of measuring your body fat %? That can help.

I'm certain I could do a 24-hour fast, but I'm taking the unusual approach of trying this out in a gradual manner. Usually I like the intensity of doing something more extreme, but I have enough stressors now.

I heard of a book called "eat stop eat" it is all about fasting 1 or 2 days a week. I haven't read it, am interested to see if anyone else has?

I've never heard of fasting just 1 or 2 days before. I will look up the Fast 5 book. Thanks!