My first week doing the 5:2 fast has gone extremely well. I have actually found it quite easy to ignore food on the two days of the fast. I had a couple hunger pangs but nothing to cry about to ruin the day. This seems to be more of a mental challenge rather than a physical one. I am amazed that I find it easier to abstain from food on fasting days than on days where I am allowed to eat. I thought I would be crying inside (like I usually do..I’m a drama queen..I know!) wanting to eat because my stomach hurt or I saw something tasty. But, nothing. What I actually found very interesting was the reaction people had when I said I was fasting. They immediately brought up the word starvation.
I’m sorry, but us westerners don’t know the meaning of the word starvation. We use it so loosely now it’s ridiculous. We might be malnourished because we make the wrong choices but the way we react to food is sometimes so over the top. We go without it for 4 hours and the world is collapsing because we are starving! I’m guilty of that too and I was being very silly.
I think that one of the biggest misconceptions about fasting, is that you won’t be able to survive it. People immediately assume the worst and fly off the wall. In the end for me, it turned out to be mind over matter. I kept myself busy and hydrated and I barely felt a peep. I fasted from supper to supper. So let’s say I had my dinner at 7pm. The fast technically would begin after that and I would go through part of it as I sleep (yay!) after which I would have a high protein breakfast (250 cals) and then fast until dinner which was chicken and veggies (250 cals). In between I would have loads of teas and mineral water. So my next feed day would begin the following day at breakfast.
I weighed myself this morning and it says I lost about a kilo since last week. But I’m not taking that to heart since weighing in after a fast day is not very accurate to actual fat lost. So I will wait till next Monday when it’s my official weigh in.
I also did my cardio workout already!
- X-TRAIN FIT CARDIO – Level 1-3
- Time: 54 mins
- Calories Burned: 596
Now it’s time for a delicious lunch! Hope you all have a lovely start to your week! 
I agree, a lot of it is mental. Another important thing to remember is to not over eat on the day after which I think you are following your plan. Many people over compensate the day after thinking they can have a little more since they didn’t eat prior. I am not sure if there are lasting benefits of doing this forever but its fun experimenting.
Yeah, last Thursday I think I went a little over my cals after fasting on Wednesday. But from what I read and led to believe is that this stabilizes over time. You just need to find your balance and get used to it. I’ve done great so far today. Still trying to stick to my 1500 calorie (give or take a couple hundred if I work out) allowance on non fast days. You are encouraged to not feel deprived at least but I don’t buy naughty stuff anyway. Well not all the time! The current medical trials do tend to side with a lot of health benefits-specially against cancer, heart disease and dementia in old age. It’s supposed to help you live longer too..well if we go by the studies done on mice..lol People can do this once a week or month just to get those benefits from giving your body a rest. We shall see!
Congrats! I don’t know if I could actually fast and not be a complete terror to be around. I am usually cranky if I go more than 6 hours without food!
you never know until you try I think..fasting is supposed to elevate your mood. Perhaps at the beginning it might be hard to cope..once you get into the habit perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. I can also get really cranky without food but I’ve found I haven’t been..and this is my time of the month too!..usually when I’m more moody than usual. I am having two small meals though (500 cals per fast day) so it doesn’t feel like the end with just water. I have a small meal to look forward to for breakfast and dinner..and there is always tomorrow!
Sounds like you are doing a great job following your plan! How long are you fasting for?
I’m fasting twice a week..for as long as it feels right
I have no set point to stop really..this is supposed to also be part of maintaining if your goal is weight loss-once a week to reap the benefits. I’m down with that!