Thanks for all the great responses here!
I really am glad to see people posting here; I knew about the FB groups and had joined them but never felt the same level of familiarity as I did with this group. Hope we'll do more of this.
I started Fast-5 again on Easter Sunday and have not fallen off since. I've done it before and found that once I got into the routine, my weight dropped FAST (I know that's not the meaning of Fast-5, but it was something I noticed--I could drop 20 pounds in a few weeks and feel terrific). I also knew my hunger levels were always down and my energy levels were up; all positive.
Getting back to it this time, after having fallen off, was really hard for me, though I knew how well it worked. In fact, I'd say that's the only downside to this lifestyle. Once you're on it, you cruise. But if you go off--and whenever I did, it was consciously, but thinking I could just 'hop back on'--it was almost impossible for me to get back on. This time, I'm just staying on. Period.
I've noticed two things this time around that I don't remember thinking much about in previous Fast-5 times:
1) I'm eating a LOT of junk food, as in, "How fast can I stuff it in now that my window has opened?" Knowing I can have it NOW but not LATER seems to stimulate me to eat all this garbage I know isn't good for me, just because I know I'm allowed.
2) I think my body actually needs less food than I'm giving it during that five-hour window, but somehow my mind is telling me that food will not be available for another 24 hours, so get it in now! I know when my window closes, I'm definitely feeling over-fed and it doesn't feel good. I don't quite know how to bring down these levels yet. I've been eating a lot of fresh strawberries, which I know are good for me, but even tend to overeat those. I want to eat 'enough' without eating 'too much'.
I realize this is probably purely psychological. I know that Fast-5 works for me, I know that I always have plenty to eat and that I can bring my portion levels way down, but I'm not doing it yet. I wonder if anyone else has encountered this issue in the early stages and if so, how you managed it, or how long it took before you relaxed and realized you had plenty and didn't need more than you ate during your window?
I'm feeling REALLY happy that I've gotten back to fasting 19 hours/day. Right now my window is 4 - 9 pm, which is quite late, and I'll probably adjust it (years ago when I did this, it was 3 - 8 pm). I'd rather eat earlier, but work doesn't usually end till 6 pm, and I like not having to rush meals during the day; would rather have a long relaxed time to eat and unwind. But still really prefer to eat earlier. (I realize this sounds a little schizophrenic; I'm just noticing a lot this time around that wasn't part of the equation in previous times. Or maybe I'm just over-complicating things.)
I know eventually I'll adjust, but my weight is very high now (almost 196 pounds) and I'd really like to adjust my eating so I'm eating enough but not too much and the weight can begin to come off. Each time I've done this before, I've always dropped at least 20 pounds and then something would come up and I'd tell myself, "Well, it's okay to go off Fast-5 this once." And then I'd be doomed.
Don't plan to make that mistake again, but would love to know how other Fast-5ers handled the same issues.
Thanks!
Susan
