Alternate Day Fasting Tips from An Old Pro...

1. Don't think of ADF or any form of intermittent fasting as a diet, regard it as a lifestyle because you WILL need to follow some form of fasting for the rest of your life. Thinking you'll need to be on a 'diet' forever is downright depressing.

2.Don't hate your fasting days, try to enjoy them as much as possible

3. Nothing is written in stone, if you want or need to swap days then do it. Don't have an extra fast day by way of 'punishment', only do it because you want to

4. If you don't want to eat anything because once started, you can't stop. Then don't ... because this is right for YOU ... added benefits to make this idea easier ... you're likely to lose weight faster.

5. Find something you really like to eat on your fasting days. There's no reason at all - other than hoping it tastes so bad you don't want it - for not enjoying these meals ... you'll be following this lifestyle for a l-o-n-g time.

6. Experiment. If you really can't cope with 500 cals or less try daily eating windows, or ... have more calories. There's no real reason to stick with 500 cals, especially in the early days when it's tough and you've got a lot of weight to lose.

800 cals of something you enjoy - and are likely to repeat - is far better than 400 cals of something that tastes like ... umm, shite - been there, done that - because this is likely to put you off the whole idea of fasting and you'll likely feel deprived.

7. Have mini goals with treats to look forward to ... if you want a ginormous pizza for your treat, have it ... but if you do, you may have to reach the same goal again a week later ... so this time have diamonds ... or is that just me?

8. Have planned holidays/vacations, if you want to minimise damage, use eating windows ... ie 16-18 hour daily fasts. Otherwise enjoy your holiday and come back happy to do a fasting day ... I'm always sooooooo relieved to get back to fasting after a week of munchy days

9. Don't feel guilty about holidays, you'll lose any gained weight in no time ... quick on, quick off.

10. If ever you find yourself eating out of control or binging, remember most of this lifestyle is a mind game. Do not punish yourself!! Forget self loathing - been there, done that, totally not worth it - just carry on eating and tell yourself you're on holiday and you'll get right back to it ASAP ... and mean it.

Any feelings of guilt at this point can make you throw in the towel permanently ... and that's not fair to you after you've already done so well ... if it makes you feel better and easier to get back into a fasting routine, treat yourself to something nice - like diamonds ... er, that's just me again isn't it? - because you're worth it.

And finally ... don't get caught up with the idea that 'fasting' 3 or 4 days a week is good so 5 or 6 must be better. It may well be in the short term, but that's when our bodies panic and hang on to every calorie for dear life ... because it needs to. It has no idea that your brain knows what it's doing - also been there and done that - and assumes you're starving. This buggers up your metabolism.

If you do find it's happened to you - because your brain thinks it's smarter than your body - then expect to gain weight when you get back to your regular routine. It isn't permanent, so don't panic and start eating less again, just ride it out...