Fast-5 Diet and Lifestyle: Re: [fast5] Complete newbie here with a few questions about Fast-5 v EatStopEat

I think if you have medical issues, think of those first, before the weight. When your body is not happy, it can get too fat or too skinny, but it's hard to do much about either when you are exhausted and house-bound.

That said ... Fast-5 is a good way to help your health, in many cases. For me, it's helped to pinpoint foods that were problematic for me, and get my blood sugar regulated.

Barnaby is right in that grains are often the problem. From someone else with ME:

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cjbears79, I had the exact same symptoms as you for over 8 years and like you felt awkward about going to my GP, for fear of being labelled a time waster.

However, it all came to a head about a year ago when my body "crashed". My GP finally diagnosed me with CFS, but rather than follow the NHS route, I underwent some private tests. I was almost immediately diagnosed with gluten intolerance. And within days of coming off gluten the "fog I had lived under for years lifted. Furthermore the aching joints and headaches went and the lifelong IBS that I had also suffered from disappeared almost straight away.

Interestingly my brother in law who has also experienced similar symptoms for sometime, was recently diagnosed as gluten intolerant. This time through his GP, who was very supportive. And like me the transformation in his symptoms was miraculous.

I would really recommend that you ask your GP for a gluten intolerance/vceliac test, as it sounds so similar. But remember to keep eating gluten until the test to ensure a relaible result.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Chronic-fatigue-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx

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Given that you have IBS also, gluten intolerance or celiac is THE major cause of these issues. And in that case, it's more about which food you eat, not how often. However, I had probably 30 years of undiagnosed celiac. Going gluten-free lifted the "brain fog" and kept me from feeling totally wasted all the time. But when I went on Fast-5, I went to another level of "being cured" and my gut got even happier.

However, I had migraines for 30 years too, and they did not stop when I stopped gluten. They stopped when I dropped dairy, which at the time seemed just too cruel and I had no idea what to eat. Again, Fast-5 helps with that: only one meal to plan!

My one meal is really wonderful though, and I'm getting a reputation as a "gourmet cook". When you only have to cook once a day, it can be well-prepared, not some garbagy fast food. Today I had Tom Yum soup, with tamarind paste, coconut milk, boiled peanuts, vegies, a variety of seafood, and a bowl of really good rice.

For people with health problems, I would suggest eating a diet of vegies (as in: vegies you buy whole, not in cans), steamed rice, fish, and eggs (unless you are allergic to the latter two). Then add in foods one at a time. In my experience and listening to other people, fish and eggs are the best appetite regulators, and wheat/rye/barley and maybe corn are the worst for setting the appetite to being too hungry.

I haven't found that coffee or tea have any great effect one way or the other. I drink coffee during my fasting period. Or herb tea. "Real" tea gives me a stomach ache on an empty stomach, for some reason. I also drink something I call "Poor man's soda" which is a mix of vinegar, water, and a bit of baking soda, and maybe a slice of lime, to make a fizzy drink which sets very well with me.

As for getting used to Fast-5 ... I did it cold turkey, on a similar diet, before Fast-5 book got written. It was harsh. I don't recommend it. But before that, I was eating every 2-3 hours, as long as I was awake. Otherwise I'd feel faint, get headaches, get crabby, not think straight. Doing IF seemed insane, but it worked. After a couple of weeks I just didn't care to eat during the day, and I had more energy (and lost 35 lbs, eventually).

I think Fast-5 works better than eat-stop-eat in that it becomes a daily habit. My family is used to only me making one meal a day too, and our dinner time has become more of an event than it was previously. When you are starting out, thinking of it as "an experiment" is exactly the right thing to think, in my opinion. You might be surprised to find it's a nice habit though, and that you feel a lot better when you eat less often.

Fast-5 type eating does NOT "slow down" your metabolism, and I don't immediately gain weight going off it. I've been on plenty of low-cal diets that make me cold all the time, my breath go bad, and all that. This way of eating just has not done that to me, for whatever reason. There are a number of body-builder types using it too, and athletes, and it doesn't interfere with muscle building. However, if you have an issue with "feeling cold" the best thing I've found is coconut oil, or MCT (a purified fraction of coconut oil), which revs up your metabolism. Eating more protein helps too. Also getting your thyroid checked, and hemoglobin.

Going into winter, when it gets cold and dark ... it is tempting to snack all day! Comforting. Hot liquids help. Big hot soups for dinner too.

On Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 2:47 PM, pinkpuffin00 <janmickleburgh@btinternet.com> wrote:

Hello
I hope I am posting this in the right place! Just stumbled upon Fast-5 a couple of days ago and found it fascinating. I printed off the e-book and read it in one sitting! I have been trying a similar approach to losing weight with the EatStopEat 24 hour fast, twice a week but I have not lost ANY weight or inches. That is a total of SIX days of fasting in the last 3 weeks, so I am a bit gutted. I haven't been calorie-counting inbetween fasts...have just been eating my normal diet which does include some "naughty" foods as well....but that was stated in the EatStopEat e-book...that you fast for 2 days a week and then are able to eat your normal diet.

Could you please tell me if the 3-week adjustment period that Dr Herring speaks about, would also be relevant for a 2 x 24 hour fast per week? ie. am I likely to start losing weight now, or do you think it's a lost cause?

I felt that the 2 days fasting per week suited my lifestyle and although I am now tempted to try the Fast-5 idea, I am not sure if I would have the willpower to do it every single day, particularly as I feel the cold very badly, and it's getting really cold in Scotland!!!!! I am disabled with M.E and severe migraines so am virtually housebound, so am therefore around the kitchen all day. I also live a life of virtual solitary confinement, so dieting is pretty hard! I am virtually unable to exercise...my "exercise" is a wee bit or gardening, housework, shopping etc with a very occasional short walk, which I always have to pay for afterwards. I don't have a very big appetite, but I do tend to graze during the day, especially when the fatigue is at it's worst and I am in a lot of pain. I am not able to do a calorie-controlled normal diet. I tried my first one in the Spring and all the way through the 7 weeks of the diet I suffered the worst IBS I've ever had!!! It was the increase in fruits, vegetables and salads that was doing it. I was in so much pain, I had to give it up! I lost 7lb in 7 weeks but have put 5.5lbs back on...just through comfort eating over the past few months, just cause life has got harder during that period.

I am NOT overweight, but would like to lose 1 stone if possible just to feel more comfortable, and feel better about myself.

I would love to hear from anyone who has done the EatStopEat method too, to hear their experiences, and/or why they may have changed to Fast-5

I did post on the official Fast-5 forum but it seems to be a bit of a ghost-town on there, and I am afraid that my post won't get answered. You know how it is...when you are dying to get some answers, and nobody is around for weeks or months!!! ha ha

I was also wondering about drinking black coffee and tea during the fast. EatStopEat says you can do this because the calories are neglegable. I really enjoy having my 1-2 mugs of coffee each morning, although I am still learning to try and like it "black" (as it has to be black on my fast days).

I have another concern about Fast-5 regarding the daily ketosis stage that you go through. When people talk about very low calorie diets, the popular belief is that you lose weight very quickly, but then put it all back on, and then some, when you start eating normally again. I am really not sure that I would be able to do Fast-5 as a total lifestyle forever, so would treat it as a period of time for losing a wee bit of weight and also possibly gaining some health benefits. I have looked all over the internet, but I haven't found anyone who seems to have used this method for a few months and then gone back to a regular eating routine... I am concerned that I would very quickly put on the weight I had lost on Fast-5, and it would have all been a waste of time. I am a member of a diet website, and looking around the posts there, it does seem to be the pattern with the low calorie diets...whether this has something to do with ketosis, or whether it is simply that people have gone on a mad binge after finishing the Cambridge Diet etc, I don't know.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou
Jan :O)