There will not be cake !Good luck! If you fancy a ride over to Waddington some time (or anywhere else from Hebden Bridge) just let me know.
Fasting
- Thread starter Yellow Fang
- Start date
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I assume any significant rides would take place on non-fasting days!There will not be cake !
I'm not sure what my longest ride on a fasting day has been - definitely over 20 hilly miles but probably under 30. That's about the limit of what I like to do on a normal day without taking on extra fuel. I wouldn't fancy burning more than 1,200 calories on the bike when I was already about 2,000 short of what I needed for the day ...
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
I assume any significant rides would take place on non-fasting days!
I'm not sure what my longest ride on a fasting day has been - definitely over 20 hilly miles but probably under 30. That's about the limit of what I like to do on a normal day without taking on extra fuel. I wouldn't fancy burning more than 1,200 calories on the bike when I was already about 2,000 short of what I needed for the day ...
I ride fasted just about every day; 50+ miles, and at a good speed most days without any ill effects.
- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
I tried the 5:2 diet some time ago, having read Michael Mosley's book. I failed because I could not resist the late-night attack of the munchies. 
So today, I thought I would start another attempt. I always thought that having breakfast was important. Today, however, I thought I would avoid breakfast, and see how it goes. To my great surprise I have not been hungry all day, I have just had a very light supper.
Is this just "luck" because it is so warm? It was much hotter last week, and that did not stop me eating.
If missing breakfast two days a week is what helps me to consume very few calories, will the long-term benefits outweigh any short-term disadvantages of not eating breakfast? I have been drinking plenty of fluids.
So today, I thought I would start another attempt. I always thought that having breakfast was important. Today, however, I thought I would avoid breakfast, and see how it goes. To my great surprise I have not been hungry all day, I have just had a very light supper.
Is this just "luck" because it is so warm? It was much hotter last week, and that did not stop me eating.
If missing breakfast two days a week is what helps me to consume very few calories, will the long-term benefits outweigh any short-term disadvantages of not eating breakfast? I have been drinking plenty of fluids.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
18,000+ miles a year ... Impressive!
I'm not quite sure though how it is possible to fast every day, do lots of exercise, and not fade away ... You must be getting your energy from somewhere, unless you have reinvented the laws of physics!
uclown2002
Guru
- Location
- Harrogate
I start eating when I get back from my ride and I pretty much don't stop until bedtime18,000+ miles a year ... Impressive!
I'm not quite sure though how it is possible to fast every day, do lots of exercise, and not fade away ... You must be getting your energy from somewhere, unless you have reinvented the laws of physics!
I have no trouble getting my calories in!
I usually eat in an 8 hr window (leangains.com), hours varying depending on my work schedule.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
My grandad used to eat a good breakfast before work at 7, have his dinner in the canteen at 12 and have his tea at 5, then nothing but cups of tea til bedtime. He was 12 stone [6 foot] all his adult life and died at 89, still keeping to the same routine. He was a happy man.
Joshua Plumtree
Approaching perfection from a distance.
I start eating when I get back from my ride and I pretty much don't stop until bedtime
I have no trouble getting my calories in!
I usually eat in an 8 hr window (leangains.com), hours varying depending on my work schedule.
Ok - so you haven't really fasted then!
You're still pretty much stuffed full of all the carbohydrates you're ever gonna need from the night before! 
AngieR
Regular
- Location
- Sandwich, Kent
I have just read this thread from start to finish and I must say there are some pretty amazing success stories! Well done! I have been contemplating this for quite some time now. So ......, I am going to take the plunge and start on Monday - just need to research some meal plans. What I do already know about myself is that if I have breakfast, I eat more the rest of the day, and if I skip, I can last till mid afternoon... xx
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Go for it!
I might not have had the motivation to stick at it, but getting very ill twice in 2 years finally convinced me that I needed to look after myself or I would not make it to 60 ...
I have not really bothered to find lots of interesting meals for my fasting days. I nearly always start them with fruit and natural yoghurt. In the evenings it is usually either a salad or steamed veg with tuna, cottage cheese or hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes I do some cous cous and add chopped spring onions, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, mushrooms etc. I have also made vegetable soup a few times, which I enjoyed, so I must do that again.
I have managed to get through to gone midnight and am only just starting to notice a few pangs of hunger after today's 'fast'. I'll drink some chilled water now to distract me while I watch a late film, and look forward to a big bowl of porridge in the morning!
I assume any significant rides would take place on non-fasting days!
I'm not sure what my longest ride on a fasting day has been - definitely over 20 hilly miles but probably under 30. That's about the limit of what I like to do on a normal day without taking on extra fuel. I wouldn't fancy burning more than 1,200 calories on the bike when I was already about 2,000 short of what I needed for the day ...
There are two strands of thought tangled in the 5:2
- Fasting - ie long periods without eating - with a range of claimed health benefits
- Calorie deficit to promote weight loss
One the second of these, I would see no problem with eating meals as per diet day, and topping up with carbohydrate gels/bars to feed the ride?
AngieR
Regular
- Location
- Sandwich, Kent
Hi Colin - yes, I have been following your story through this thread - you have been going through some real tough times to say the least! And to read how far have come is an inspiration!
I have already shifted 30 lbs this last 10 months - logging my food (weighing and counting) and exercise (walking mostly). I always tried to make sure my net calories never went below my BMR. I have hit a plateau since the end of January!! Looking to shift the last 7lbs. I am tired of logging and the 5:2 looks the way to go - health benefits and a bit of weight loss to boot possible. Once I get to my target weight range I would like to use this way of eating to maintain, without the chore of logging everything 24/7! I have now learned the caloric value of food so aim to keep a mental check on non fast days, but not so strict as long as I am not over by more than say 200 cals of my TDEE on the non fast days.
I have already shifted 30 lbs this last 10 months - logging my food (weighing and counting) and exercise (walking mostly). I always tried to make sure my net calories never went below my BMR. I have hit a plateau since the end of January!! Looking to shift the last 7lbs. I am tired of logging and the 5:2 looks the way to go - health benefits and a bit of weight loss to boot possible. Once I get to my target weight range I would like to use this way of eating to maintain, without the chore of logging everything 24/7! I have now learned the caloric value of food so aim to keep a mental check on non fast days, but not so strict as long as I am not over by more than say 200 cals of my TDEE on the non fast days.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
If I were doing a longer ride, > 50 miles (say), I would just eat and drink what I felt I needed. The benefits of doing the ride are probably at least as important as those of a fasting day. Sometimes I just move a fast to the day after a ride instead.
I never eat/drink enough calories on a long ride to match or exceed those burned. On a 100 mile ride day, I would lose about a pound in weight despite what I consume to keep me going.
For rides under 30 miles I would just add some OJ to the water in my bottle(s). Over 30-ish miles, I would add 40g of maltodextrin (carbo powder) per 500 ml of drink. Over 50 miles, I would have the DIY energy drinks, and eat something as well. All my rides are hilly, so they are harder than they might sound. Even my easiest loop, a 19-miler, has 1,500 ft of climbing!
- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
Today is the start of my second week of the 5:2 diet.
Last week I think I lost three or four pounds. I forgot to weigh myself last Monday morning. I guess this would be a higher than normal weight loss, and that the average loss could be about two pounds a week. What was other people's average weight loss?
@MikeG - I like your graph of weight loss, BMI etc. Did you do that from Excel? My computer skills need updating, so I could try a simple version of that. Seeing the progress in that format might reinforce my determination to succeed.
Yes, only a few sunflower seeds.
Last week I think I lost three or four pounds. I forgot to weigh myself last Monday morning. I guess this would be a higher than normal weight loss, and that the average loss could be about two pounds a week. What was other people's average weight loss?
@MikeG - I like your graph of weight loss, BMI etc. Did you do that from Excel? My computer skills need updating, so I could try a simple version of that. Seeing the progress in that format might reinforce my determination to succeed.
Yes, only a few sunflower seeds.
Last edited:
potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
Did my first 'at work' fast day on Friday which went surprisingly well, working a 12 hour day which has 3 breaks/meals meant I had to be careful.
Break 1 - A pear and a plum (100 cals)
Break 2 - Bowl of homemade soup (should have checked the menu plan as it was chicken & mushroom and I don't like mushrooms) from the canteen and an un-buttered roll (400 cals)
Break 3 - Another pear and plum (100 cals)
Only water or water with a zero cal tab in for drinks.
Today is my first 'at home' fast which is probably more difficult unless I keep busy and keep my mind off eating.
Breakfast - White coffee, no sugar (15 cals)
Dinner - Tin of soup (180 cals)
Evening meal TBC
So far so good, will weigh in once I've done 3 or 4 weeks for an idea of how it's going.
Break 1 - A pear and a plum (100 cals)
Break 2 - Bowl of homemade soup (should have checked the menu plan as it was chicken & mushroom and I don't like mushrooms) from the canteen and an un-buttered roll (400 cals)
Break 3 - Another pear and plum (100 cals)
Only water or water with a zero cal tab in for drinks.
Today is my first 'at home' fast which is probably more difficult unless I keep busy and keep my mind off eating.
Breakfast - White coffee, no sugar (15 cals)
Dinner - Tin of soup (180 cals)
Evening meal TBC
So far so good, will weigh in once I've done 3 or 4 weeks for an idea of how it's going.
