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Commercial fasting diets
The Two Day Diet is a method of intermittent semi-fasting whereby you eat a very low carbohydrate diet for two days each week and a Mediterranean diet for the next five days.
What is The Every Other Day Diet?
The Every Other Day Diet is the title of a book published by Dr Krista Varady based on her research studies using ADF in overweight subjects.
What is the Eat Stop Eat method of intermittent fasting?
Eat Stop Eat is a method of intermittent fasting, created by Brad Pilon, whereby you eat nothing for just 24 hours on one or two days a week and eat normally the other days.
Different ways of fasting
Is is true the 5:2 diet now allows 800 calories on a fast day?
In recent months it has been reported that Dr Michael Mosley, author of the original The Fast Diet book, has 'relaxed the rules of 5:2' by increasing the fast day calorie allowance to 800 calories.
Combining Fasting with Low carb and Paleo
Here at FastDay, we have a lot of respect for people following low carb or Paleo Ways of Eating. We share a similar philosophy: An emphasis on permanent, sustainable, healthy ways of eating rather than quick fixes that do not work; A belief than natural ‘real food’ is generally healthier than processed food made in …
What is the eating window method of intermittent fasting?
Restricting your eating to a 'window' of just a few hours each day is another form of intermittent fasting. It works well, and many people find it easier to do than 5:2.
Fasting For Me
Fasting for people managing medical conditions
Fasting can be beneficial for your health, but what if you have an existing medical condition such as diabetes? Learn more about fasting with medical conditions Intermittent fasting is not suitable for everyone. For example, you should not be fasting if you are underweight, or if you are pregnant, breast feeding (yes, we know those …
Fasting for people seeking long term health benefits
Fasting can help you lose weight, which for many people will improve your health. But the health benefits of fasting go further than this. The latest research suggests that fasting might prove to have additional health benefits – over and above weight loss – for diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer and many other conditions. Learn more …
Fasting for people who are sized XXL
FastDay can help you if you are XXL – what doctors call Obese or Morbidly Obese. We have great, practical and permanently sustainable ways of helping you lose weight. Here is why using FastDay, and becoming part of our community, might work better than the ‘diets’ you have tried before: 1. FastDay really works. Following …
Fasting with medical conditions
Is it safe to fast when taking prescription medicines?
Fasting should present no problems for most prescription drugs, some may require a small amount of food to be taken with them; others need your doctor’s permission before fasting can be undertaken.
Intermittent fasting for people with thyroid disorders
People with thyroid problems can struggle to lose weight; intermittent fasting can help with this although the rate of loss may be slow.
Intermittent fasting is a great strategy for managing Type 2 Diabetes. Here are some tips especially for fasters with diabetes.
Getting started
What should be my goal weight?
What is your ideal weight? Is it realistic to set it as a target? Will you be able to maintain your weight at this point? These are some questions you need to answer when setting your target weight.
When and what should I eat during intermittent fasting?
What time should you eat on a fast day? What should you eat? Does it matter what you eat on non-fast days? Learn from the experience of thousands of people who've found what works best.
What's the best way to measure success with intermittent fasting?
Jumping on the weighing scales once a week might seem like the obvious choice for monitoring your weight loss progress, but this is not the only method, nor even the best.
Health Benefits
How can fasting reduce my risks of developing Alzheimer's and other neurological conditions?
Intermittent fasting can help keep your brain and nerves in good health as you age. We find out more.
How can intermittent fasting improve my relationship with food?
Learning to cope with feelings of hunger is empowering, and helps to break unhealthy relationships with food.
How can intermittent fasting reduce my risk of cancer?
Fasting stimulates the body’s repair mechanisms making cancer cells less likely to develop. Fasting also deprives cancer cells from the glucose they need to live on.
Maintenance
Successful weight maintenance strategies
Many people successfully lose weight but few keep the weight off. Continuing with intermittent fasting and careful monitoring is the way to successful maintenance
When should I enter weight maintenance?
Phase one of your healthy weight project is over, now it’s time to start on phase two: maintenance!
Metabolism - the basics
How does exercise affect metabolism?
Exercise has many effects on the metabolism, including changing the fuel being used and altering metabolic pathways to make exercise easier on the next occasion.
Why do we eat more than we need, and gain weight?
The constant availability of high sugar, high fat food is just one of the factors driving the obesity crisis: we delve deeper.
Balancing calories used with calories eaten
Unless they are really trying, most people maintain a fairly stable weight, gaining or losing weight very gradually. How does the body regulate our weight?
Need to take a break from fasting?
Why do I feel so hungry even on non-fast days?
You have been following your intermittent fasting diet with no problems but now you feel constantly hungry – it could be a sign that you have been over-stressing your body.
Should I stop intermittent fasting?
If you are experiencing hunger problems, severe stress, or an acute illness it might be a good idea to take a break from intermittent fasting.
Should I fast when I'm stressed out?
Some stress is good for our bodies but too much is harmful. If you are very stressed, fasting might not be a good idea.
Not losing weight?
How should I eat on my non-fasting days?
If you’re not losing weight despite keeping to your fasting plans, maybe there’s a problem with your eating days.
Why the scales don't tell the truth - understanding weight fluctuations
When we say we want to lose weight, we mean we want to lose fat, but the scales don’t tell us how much fat we’ve lost.
Are you frustrated that despite your efforts you are not losing weight? We can help you understand the problem and how to fix it.
Science
The basics of nutrition and healthy eating
We are bombarded with dietary advice from all directions. At FastDay we don't tell you what to eat, instead we try to explain some nutritional principles so you can eat mindfully.
What scientific studies have been done on intermittent fasting?
Studies using animals have shown the power of intermittent fasting to extend life and health; studies in humans are only just beginning but early results are encouraging, with improvements in weight and health markers.
Science of fasting – the basics
Humans have been fasting for its spiritual benefits for centuries but it is only recently that science has begun to investigate fasting as a way to improve our health.
Side effects of fasting
Side-effects of losing a lot of weight
If you lose a lot of weight, you might experience side effects such as saggy skin. Here are some side-effects from your success and how to deal with them.
How can I improve my sleep on fast days?
Fasting tends to make your brain more alert which is great during the day but can be a problem at night when you want to sleep.
How can I prevent constipation after fast days?
Eating so much less during intermittent fasting can often result in constipation. We have some ideas on how to keep things moving after your fast days.
Switching to fasting from commercial diets
Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, New Lifestyle Diet, Slimfast Many FastDayers have used meal replacements in the past as a way of dieting. They are popular because they can help you lose weight, and they are easier than doing Weight Watchers or calorie counting. The problems with meal replacement products are: They only work for a …
A huge number of FastDay’s members have previously tried Weight Watchers as a way of losing weight. They have almost always put the weight back on again. There are four reasons why FastDay is proving to be so popular with ex-members of Weight Watchers. 1. FastDay works better. You might already know the results of …
Tips & Hints
4 easy ways to count the calories in your meals
These days most pre-packaged foods come with nutritional information printed on the packaging for your convenience – even if sometimes it can be a bit difficult to understand and lead to fasters making the mistake of miscounting their calories! But what can you do if you’re using fresh ingredients to cook from scratch? How can …
What can I do in advance to prepare my body for fasting?
Worried about how you'll cope with your first fast? Check out these three simple steps you can take to prepare your body.
You can eat whatever you want if it is homemade...
This video was shared with me and I thought it was so good I just had to pass it on to my fellow fasters.
Troubleshooting & myth busting
Is is true the 5:2 diet now allows 800 calories on a fast day?
In recent months it has been reported that Dr Michael Mosley, author of the original The Fast Diet book, has 'relaxed the rules of 5:2' by increasing the fast day calorie allowance to 800 calories.
Side-effects of losing a lot of weight
If you lose a lot of weight, you might experience side effects such as saggy skin. Here are some side-effects from your success and how to deal with them.
How can I improve my sleep on fast days?
Fasting tends to make your brain more alert which is great during the day but can be a problem at night when you want to sleep.
Useful things for fasters
Scales are all the same, right? Wrong. The technology within a simple set of bathroom scales has developed hugely, so that not only can they now weigh you more accurately, but they can also calculate your heart rate and body fat, sync with your apps and even track the air quality inside your house. Check …
Before embarking on your FastDay journey, we’d suggest that you do a ‘health audit’ through a simple blood test. These can help identify a range of different health issues, from cholesterol build-ups to key vitamin deficiencies. They can also be used to monitor your progress through fasting – as you lose weight and become healthier, …
What happens when we fast
How do the different fasting methods affect the benefits of fasting?
Investigations into how best to fast are in their infancy but there are indications that, within limits, a longer period without any calorie intake may be better than spreading your calorie allowance over the day.
Changes in our bodies when we fast
As soon as we have finished absorbing the nutrients from our last meal our body enters the fasting state during which repairs are made, we burn our fat stores and become a more efficient organism.
