hi Ellay,
i am just finishing my 4th fast in 2 weeks. I also was quite dubious about fasting on work days, but have been pleasantly surprised. I am a nurse, though only part of my time is clinical now. 2 of my fasts have been on 14 hour work days ( 7am - 9pm) and have gone really well.
each time i ate a normal evening meal, then the following day ate a good breakfast then started my fast before i went to work. I had a sports drink bottle which i kept topped up with water and sipped on it all day. plus a couple of cups of weak black tea ( i am very caffeine sensitive so never drink coffee) i did get a grum:)bly tummy towards the evening, but have not experienced any light headedness or loss of concentration. in fact i feel particularly focused- possibly because my mindset is to ignore all hunger. i dont have to make any decisions on what or when im going to eat. i ended the fast each time at 1200 the following day, with lunch.
before i started the fast i had already said to myself that if it was affecting my work, then i would stop the fast- o that if i had too, i would not get upset with myself.

anyway, thats how i did it, and have decided i will continue to fast on one work day and one off day each week.
good luck if you try it- just be realistic and if it doesnt work, just think of it as learning, not failing.

Thanks guys. I don't know if you know the answer, but I was wondering...can you do three fasts a week? I had WLS (band) in 2004 and though it's not really working all that much right now, I notice if I don't eat much throughout the day, that I have a really hard time eating dinner. You'd think I'd be losing weight! So, I was wondering since I know the fasting for 24 hours is going to cause me to struggle the meal I do finally eat, not all that much will be changing, do you think I could do 3 fasts a week, like MWF and still have the same results?

Can I ask how much you all have lost let's say in a 6 week period or so? I know initially it may be quite a bit but after your body gets used to it, how much are you still losing after a few months?

Thanks for helping :)

I've done three fasts in a week but I find I do better keeping it to two fasts a week.

I've lost a little over 15 pounds in the six weeks of doing ESE. I haven't hit a plateau yet and I'm hoping I can meet my third goal before one happens.

Except for one fasting day, I've had no trouble making it through a 24 hour fast. I love this plan and it's working for me because I never feel like I'm denying myself anything or that "so and so" foods are off limits. It's all about creating a weekly calorie deficit.

I hope this helps and good luck!

1st weigh in
 

Hi All,
have now completed my first 2 weeks of IF and have weighed my self this morning. I was hoping for a couple of pounds, but nearly fell off the scales- Ive lost 7lbs!! yippee. :carrot:

I am so encouraged by this, especially as this weigh in was after 2 days of normal eating.I haven't lost that much at the beginning of a diet since i was in my twenties.

Ellay, i have only been doing 2 fasts a week. Each one lasts for about 26-28 hours, and i miss a whole days worth of food- ie if i have breakfast on day 1, then i start eating at lunch on day 2. not sure if that's what most people do, as it seems from posts that many restart with the meal they last had .ie, they would have started with breakfast the following day.

Anyway, my point is this has worked for me, and if I'm honest I dont really want to fast anymore often, as like sapphiregirl am finding it really easy to fit into my life. I have had meals out- January is usually a terrible month for me as far as dieting is concerned, as me and my 2 sisters have birthdays, and we always celebrate together. so Ive had an all you can eat buffet, a big Pub meal and have a Thai meal next week for my birthday. But ive been able to plan my fasts around these occasions and then because i haven't felt like I'm cheating, I haven't gone mad whilst not depriving myself either.
I love this IF!!!
NO
I really Love IF
:)

Congrats on the weight loss, Moozie!

Day one of ESE for me. I'm sure I'll have no problems doing it. I'm really hoping for at least a little bit of weight loss to encourage me. I've made a commitment to myself to not weigh myself for 2 weeks. So, I plan to weigh myself on 2/6/12. I started eating dinner at 6 last night, which was later than I wanted or should have but I still am going to do the fast and not eat till tonight around 6. Next time (On Wed night of this week) I'll make sure to have already eaten by 5:00. Right now I'm a little hungry but I'm going to drink some coffee (without creamer!!! :'() So I should be alright. Wish me luck everyone! I'm excited!

Hi Everyone!
My computer crashed on Thursday and just got it back. Thank Goodness!
Everyone is doing so well.
Moozie - Congrats on a huge loss.
Sapphiregirle - You're burning up the place as well.
Ellay42 - Welcome aboard!
Paintedbutterfly - Hang in there. We'll be thinking of you.

I've had a great week of Fast-5 with one 24 hour fast during it. I'm guessing that I'm older than most of you, so my weight isn't pouring off, but I'm very pleased, as I do feel that I will be doing this for the long haul, and generally, I find it pretty easy.
I'm consistently losing 1-2lbs per week, so that's great.

Keep going, everyone!

Hi all,
good luck Ellay. hope the first fast goes well. Welcome the tummy grumbles like a new friend!

Itallienne, I am not expecting to continue with such a fast weight loss. I will be very happy with a lb a week, if its constant. im not so young either!! i will be 47 on Sunday, and def find it harder to shift the pounds now. which is why I was so delighted with my first weigh in.

though its hard to wait 2 weeks to weigh myself- the temptation being to jump on every day, I know how easily i would become disillusioned with the constant weight flux- which im guessing is quite dramatic as we are eating some days and not on others.
good luck with mixing up fast 5 and IF- i will be looking out to see how you get on. :)

Good luck, Ellay!

Italiannie, I was wondering where you'd gone. I'm glad your comp is up and running again. Congrats to you on your success as well.

I'm on day 3 of my diet with my 2nd fast tomorrow. My first fast (Monday) was okay. I got pretty hungry right before dinner and I got a headache because I didn't eat, but it wasn't that bad. Yesterday I limited myself to 1700 calories and today so far I've only had 360 calories, so I should be way under that by the end of the day. Then I fast again after dinner. I'm working out tonight and then again first thing in the morning. I'm also curious to see how I feel about working out on a fast day...I was going to but I had unexpected company.

Still not going to weigh myself until Feb 6th because I know I'll get discouraged. I just hope what weight I do lose by then is enough to keep me motivated on this diet. If ESE along with a 1700/day diet and gong to the gym 4 times a week doesn't make me lose weight...I don't know what I'll do!

Hi Everyone! Seems quiet here lately. Although I do see lots of success!

Painted Butterfly - glad you're back. Hope things are improving for you.

Now, I have finally lost 10 lbs (started IF Dec 13). I think that's great because if I'm honest with myself, I did enjoy the holidays, and we've eaten out a few times. Having said that, there is absolutely no other plan that would have enabled me to enjoy my real life and lose 10 lbs in about 6 weeks - ON PLAN! So...... IF is the way to go.

Because IF has so many health benefits (weight loss being just one - although in the fore front of our minds); I was wondering what do all of you eat when you break your fast? I still keep my eating very healthy. I've always been a healthy eater, just ate too much.

Do you find that you are leaning toward better choices, have you found that foods taste better?

I think it would be good for us to spend a little time talking about how we can maximize our IF for our health and healthy choices.

Also, are you struggling with anything? Have you found IF more difficult or easier than you thought it would be?

Let's bounce some stuff around.

hi ladies, Italianne
well done on your 10 lbs lost,
as to your questions-

i must admit that although i am not consciously counting calories or restricting my intake on my eating days, I have to say that I am picking more healthy options and not eating so much between meals.

I dont know if its because i dont want to undo the good work ive done or that im not quite so hungry. have also noticed that if i eat too quickly it feels like a wasted meal. But if im really craving a piece of chocolate or an ice cream, then i will have it.

my difficult time is when i end a fast. When i came off my first couple of fasts i wolfed my first meal down and felt like i could eat and never stop. the last 2 times instead of having a meal, I have had a box of fruit ready- all cut up (some cherries, grapes, clementines, pineapple) and then grazed on them over about half an hour. that seems to have the effect of slowly releasing some sugar into my system and then allowing me to eat my meal slowly and enjoy it.

most times i have come off the fast at work, which has been easier because i dont have a kitchen to go to! so i only have the food i have prepared. I'm going to try taking some soup tomorrow- i make a lovely sweet potato soup.

the fasting itself has been so much easier than i thought. the mind set of not eating is such that when my tummy grumbles, i think, oh good ill be burning off some fat- i grab another glass of water and forget about it. im sure the day will come that its not so easy, but i love that the program gives me the opportunity to eat out and not feel guilty, so the short time of going without is so worth it.

I have eaten badly for so many years, that I want more than just weight loss from this. I'm hoping to learn how to eat properly- choose right, have the right size portions. and i think that my eat days are the time to learn it- without feeling worried that I've undone anything.
i love all food! the good and the bad. Vegetables are my favorite, but i also love fries and burgers, chocolate and ice cream! I've just never learnt properly how to treat food as fuel. its always been reward.
ive lost weight before, but never maintained it- thats the really tough bit- but im no where near there yet, so not going to worry about it now!

onwards and downwards!
:)

hi Ellay,
hang in there. I will also be weighing in on 6th feb, so will be checking out how you do. it sounds like you are doing all the right things-can you keep up all that exercise?
i am doing a Zumba class once a week- not a pretty sight!!
dont try to restrict your calories too much on your eating days, or you wont be able to keep it up. 1700 sounds good to me.
im not counting calories at all- though as a professional dieter im quite aware of which foods are high. but im just eating normally with the family, probably not snacking as much, and making healthier choices.

good luck- let us know how the exercise :) goes on a fast.

Ese
 

:carrot:

Thankyou for pointing me in the direction of this thread!

I am a 34 year old stay at home mummy with 2 young kids.

I really struggled to loose the baby weight from both pregnancies and was fed up yo-yo dieting for years and about 200lb at my heaviest I decided I needed a radical change!

I lost a bit of the baby weight and from April last year I have been IF'ing, although I didnt know I was doing a fast.

I just chose not to eat anything after 6pm, so my feeding window was 8am-6pm. I cut down on calories and cut out sugar/processed food, got some protein into my diet (which was nearly 100% carbs) and the fat started to melt away!

My problem was over-eating - natually I am a 'binge' type of eater. If you set a plate infront of me I have to eat everything on it, then I feel full and depressed so I want to eat dessert to comfort eat! This was the yo-yo dieting for me! I felt greedy and out of control!

Then I discovered the way to work with my food binge mentality was to create a window where I could eat and feel full, and not feel like I had totally blown the diet for that day and 'to **** with it, i might as well just finish the rest of the multi-pack of crisps', nuts and the whole bottle of red wine and cheese'!!!

I did a bit of research on leangains.com and read Eat Stop Eat and now I feel like I have finally got a plan, one which i can stick to forever!

Don't get me wrong, there is times when I automatically go to:

1. Finish my kids breakfast in the morning.
2. Eat the remaining packed lunches at 2.30pm when they bring them home
3. snack whilst making dinner for the family.

But now with IF, if I fast from 6pm to 6pm the next day, I get an amazing reward..... to sit down with my family and enjoy a huge plate of healthy food all together!

Now this week I did my first 6pm-6pm ese fasts. One on Monday and one on Wednesday and I will do one tomorrow!

I thought it would be hard, but it really wasn't at all, I felt great! Infact I am even looking forward to tomorrows fast, cause come 6pm Friday night I will have a healthy dinner, followed by my usual bottle of red wine and cheese and onion crisps! This is my Friday treat for the last year.....and if it fits in with your calorie deficit I say 'why not'!!!!

Fasting was a dirty word to me before, but it really works for me!

Can I do a weigh in with you gals on 6 Feb too! I have been stuck at the same weight for ages now (been naughty of late), but hopefully ese will do the trick!!!!???