Today is the end of my wk 6. For the last 9 days I have been almost constantly hungry. At first I attributed it to the sub-zero temperatures locally and my pms but it’s still not improving and it’s driving me slightly potty. It’s like having an itch I can never scratch. I fear I won’t last the final 2 weeks.

Yes, I’m generally keeping up with my water, certainly better hydrated than I was in the first couple of weeks.

I had a little light bulb moment earlier. Might I be deficient in something? I realise over the weeks I’ve become reliant on the same food stuffs to make all my meals: eggs, blue cheese, yogurt, fish, salad and other veg. Perhaps there’s something I’m not getting that my body is trying tell me about???

Other than that, I’m considering switching to 5:2 before my 8 weeks are up because I’m becoming pretty miserable.

Any advice, oh learned ones?

Thanks in advance.

Nothing you mention there is rich in salt so it may be as easy as a sodium deficiency. Try adding a miso soup or a salty snack to your day to see if that helps. Failing that I would get some mineral/vitamin supplements and start having one every couple of days to see if that helps. With the cheese and yoghurt it shouldn’t be iodine, but could be another trace mineral.

The salt suggestion is a good one, as MnM says, there is nothing you mentioned that has any significant salt element Was wondering if tweaking your meals might be a good idea, adding in some nuts, seeds, avocado, for instance.

Hope you manage to find a solution, but there’s not point feeling miserable, so switch out to 5:2 if you need to. You can always swap back later if you decide to give the Fast 800 a go again.

I came back on to add that I have been taking a multi-vitamin every day since I started, but I know RDAs can be minimal levels for some individuals.

Thanks MnM. I was excited at the idea of sodium and then remembered what a salty tooth I have. I’m eating a lot of olives, smoked salmon and anchovies, as well as adding salt to season any eggs and veg plus a lot of my dishes of choice, include soy sauce. I’m probably eating proportionally more salt than I should now as I think about it!!!

Perhaps I should try doubling my multi-Vit for a few days and see if that helps.

I was wondering about iron. I’m hardly touching red meat, and I don’t eat spinach or stuff like that.

I’m not aware that iron deficiency causes hunger – fatigue, tiredness, shortness of breath yes. However, I’m not a medic and if you suspect you may be anaemic, maybe it would be worth asking you doctor to do a blood test. Perhaps increasing the multi-vits for a few days will give a positive result, so I guess you could give it a go in the short term, to see if it does help. Let us know how you get on.

Hi, Alibobs! I don’t think vitamin/mineral deficiencies manifest themselves in as few as
6 weeks. I’m wondering if you are developing a condition unrelated to the BSD? If I may
ask, how many grams of protein are you eating each day? If you suspect an iron deficiency,
you can google “best sources of iron” to learn which foods are the highest, and recalibrate
your diet to include more of them. My husband was diagnosed with anemia last year,
and his symptoms were much the same as yours. Investigative studies confirmed a
medical condition that had nothing to do with diet. Keep us posted on how you’re
feeling.
Best wishes,

Allie

If you are taking a multivitamin supplement that has 100% of your daily allowance of vitamins, then I don’t think doubling the dose is a good idea as some vitamins can be toxic in overdose, especially the fat soluble, A, D, E and K . Also iron, if your supplement is a multivitamin plus iron, can be toxic and/or can cause side effects in high doses.
Be cautious!
Best wishes.

Sorry for the delay in replying. I’ve just lost two days to a migraine.

I had a much better day on Thursday with just the occasional hunger pangs – pretty much what had become normal on the diet in earlier weeks. Then the migraine took over so nausea ruled. So I’m not sure where I stand now, I’ll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully it was only a freaky spell. Only 10 days left of my 8 weeks so hopefully I can grit my teeth through that if it comes to it.

Allie, I haven’t been tracking my food group consumptions I’m afraid, so not sure how much protein I’m taking in. I’d guess it’s quite high though.

Also, I’m storing the idea of there being something else ‘wrong’ in the back of my mind for future reference. Don’t want to seriously consider that if I can avoid it.

I was aware of the toxic risk from excess vitamins, but I think it’s rare to manifest and I wouldn’t do it for long. But thank you for the concern Pancita, and I will be cautious.

Cheers guys

So sorry about the migraine, Alibobs. Take good care of yourself! There is always someone
out and about who has the wisdom and knowledge to help, so call upon us if you need us 🙂

Allie

Alibobs, I originally tried the 5:2 diet but had similar hungry and abondoned it about 3 years ago.

Fast forward to Fall of 2017 and started the BSD with very low (under 20 g) carbs per day.

It sounds counter intuitive but I am MUCH LESS HUNGRY on very low carb along with the 800 cal than on other variations. It may not be the same with everybody, but for me I find I am very sensitive to even moderate carbs and if I start feeling hungry, it is usually because my carbs have drifted about the 20.

Give super low carbs a try for a couple of days and see if it helps. Make sure your fats are at a reasonable (as in generous) level to help with satiety, and that protien meets but does not exceed about 50-60 grams a day. And of course, more fiber will help with satiety as well.

I truley believe that hunger management is perhaps the biggest benefit of low carb. The low calories drop the weight, the low carb manages the insulin and hunger levels.

Good luck….hope this is of some help.

My experience, too, Luvtcook! Exactly why I’m not suited to the 5:2. After 10 months of
maintenance, even a glass of wine can fuel morning hunger! Are you home now? AND
how is your brother?

Ok Luvtcook, I’ll take a look at those carbs tomorrow. There have been days when I’ve felt like crawling out of my skin from the constant nag of hunger and I’ve prayed for bedtime to escape it in sleep.

I may as well put the effort in on the protein too Alliecat. What was your train of thought when you asked me how much of them I was eating?

Thanks

Alibobs, what I was considering was how your macro distribution might be contributing to
your nagging hunger. The premise of this extraordinary way of eating is that it is based
on low carb, moderate protein and relatively high healthy fats. However, over consumption
of protein results in fat storage. Many of use have set our levels based on this formula:
1 gm protein for every kg of IDEAL body weight. Pushing your carbs low, for some of us
that means 20g or less, is the committment we have to aim for. Within the context of
800 cal., counting protein gm and carb gm, and allocating the remainder of your macros
to healthy fats seems to consistently be the formula for max. weight loss and minimal
hunger. Lots and lots of water, too. Let us know how it goes when you start weighing
and measuring. I hope this will be the solution forward for you.
Best of luck,

Allie

Just to update you guys who have helped with advice, my persistent hunger hasn’t reoccurred since my day in bed with a migraine last Friday. Whether that’s coincidence or not IDK. Either way, it’s meant I haven’t had to go to the trouble of looking at my macro distribution and I quickly went back to 1 multi-vitamin a day. I’m grateful the crisis is over and with only 1 week to go I should be ok. And then it’s time to try 5:2 for the months ahead.

Thanks everyone x