Painted Butterfly - (love your name, by the way) Bear in mind that with ESE, you will lose a couple and then gain some back as your system is empty right after the fast. It is not a quick weight loss plan, although some do lose quite a bit at first. If you stay the course, it will become easier, and you will see results. Don't forget you're creating a weekly calorie deficit.

Right now I'm finding that Fast - 5 is better for me. Works better into my lifestyle.

Having said that, ESE was perfect for the holidays, as I used the fasting days as "bookends" to the holiday weekends. It was a way to maintain, or even lose a bit, enjoy my hoildays and stay on a program. I really don't think I would have been able to hold on during the holidays without ESE, as I needed a larger window on those weekends. I also found that I felt great on those fasting days after a little over indulgence.

So.... play with it, mix it up, and find what works for you. Remember, it doesn't have to be one or the other, the program should fit your life, you shouldn't fit your life around the program. The plan that you can sustain is the one you need to be on.

I do want to restate that neither ESE or Fast-5 are quick weight loss programs. They are eating plans that help you to create a consistent calorie deficit, allow you to eat real foods (what you want), and give you added health benefits. -- Enough of my preaching.

Good luck and keep us up to date.

Thank you Italianne!

I was having a minor panic over a scale flucuation I think (which is bad of me!) and now I'm down to 146.6 which is 4.4lbs lost since Dec 29th! So I'm back on board with this.
I totally agree- fast weight loss is never sustainable or healthy.. I guess I just felt like I wasn't getting any results cos it looked like I put it all back on that day so had a panic/sulk!

I think I'm going to look into fast-5 and read the E-book though. Also going to make sure I only do 2 24 hour fasts a week as 3 is too many and is why I think I've been feeling out of it and unable to concentrate.. also going to make sure there's at least two days normal eating inbetween the fasts.

Thank you for the support! I did a fast today and broke it with a whole grain cheese and lettuce sandwich so that was good and didn't leave me feeling sluggish. Planning to do my next one on Tuesday (it's now 2am on Sunday so that'll be two full normal eating days later).

You're welcome, Painted Butterfly.
I certainly am not an expert, and I'm still working it out myself. I think it's good to know that we all have similar struggles, and if we can just develop the skill of hunger knowledge and finding a plan that works for us as individuals, we will be well on our way to meeting our health/weight goals.

Had a "girls night out" last night. Didn't really over eat too much, stayed in my window, but there were salty foods. I'll be pumping water today, just to get rid of some of the bloat.

How is everyone else doing? What challenges are you facing? Any way anyone else can encourage you?

Sophie, You've been doing this for a while. Any tips that helped you get through the tough times?

Hey Everyone
I started IF about a month ago however I just use an eating window of 12pm-8pm. I don't think I could handle the 24 hour fast! Anyone else doing something like this?

Hi LisaTcan, I go between ESE and Fast -5 which gives me a 5 hour eating window each day. I'm thinking of starting a Fast-5 thread, as I feel bad that I may be adding other things to this thread that the ESE people may not find of interest.

I do 16-20 hours of fasting daily, mostly around 16-18 hours. Have found this to be the sweet spot for me. Usually have my first meal at 4 pm. For females it seems to be more favorable to do a little bit shorter fasts, don't remember the reasons really, read this at leangains.com. In conclusion I much prefer to fast daily for a little shorter time than doing all out 24-hours fasts. This setup is the best way of eating I've ever tried.

Thanks a lot, Italiannie !!!
I found Brad Pilon's blog - he is funny and yes, he just re-assured that there are no miracles in weight loss... Only hard every day work...

Hi there Im new in here but I have done fast before and they work, I am starting one today from 6am to 6pm I let you know how it went!

Actually last time I ate was yesterday at 8 pm and I am planning to eat after 6pm so that will be a 22 hrs fast!

Hi Everyone!
Well I finished my most recent week of Fast-5. I'm down 2.2lbs this week. Having done a couple of weeks each of Fast-5 and ESE, F5 is clearly the winner for me for weight loss right now. I'm going to stick with it for another week and get the real scoop.

F5 also seems more natural to me than ESE, as I was never an early day eater, and with a 5 hour eating window 4-9pm, or similar, I haven't really had a problem.

I do think the 24 hour fast has some additional benefits, but don't know if they outweigh the difficulty I had going from eating normally to a 24 hr fast. I did ESE successfully for the holiday weeks, and it wasn't too difficult, it's just that F5 seems so easy.

Anyone else out there comparing the two? Your thoughts?

wow... Congratulations.
I started IF yesterday. SO, I will finish 1 pm today (another 2 hours to go)

Italiannie, i will try FAST-5. I think I'll use a combination of two. One day a week - ESE and all others FAST-5.

I tried not eating after 6 pm for a month or so. And I hope switching to FAST-5 will be easy . I only wonder if I can move this 5 hours zone. Let say - one day it will be 12pm to 5pm and another day 3 pm to 8 pm.

Did it. Completed first ESE. I dont feel too hungry. Will try to eat less than usual.

Well I did another fast today and tbh it was easy!
Gotta admit I've got a **** load of stress going on atm in my life I won't bore you with but that helps tbh... also the not having to eat helps to be able to do all the things that need doing atm
Broke my fast today with a large bowl of salad, then some pizza (but it was very thin crust, lean pizza.. 180 calories a slice and I ate two slices so although it wasn't exactly low GI it's okay!) Thanks for the tip of eating something like salad or fruit when breaking the fast before eating a meal Italianne! That really does work and stops me having the energy crash after eating the meal.
Feeling good right now. I think I'm getting into the swing of ESE.. plus can't argue with the results! Lost 6.4lbs so far in 12 days which might not be fast for a lot of people but I'm happy with that

Painted Butterfly - That is fabulous!!!!! Glad it got easier. I do think that IF is pretty stress-free and easy, so when you have other things going on in your life, like you do right now, it is one less thing to worry about. Sounds like you ate very reasonably and responsibly after your fast, which is exactly what you should be doing. Keep going! We're all in it together.