5:2 fast days

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Becky170467
Becky170467 Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If you're female on a fast day, do you have 500 or 600 calories? I can't stand being wide awake at night with my tummy grumbling but knowing I can't eat anything else! I could easily manage 700 - is it worth trying it this way?

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  • sharonocallaghan1956
    sharonocallaghan1956 Posts: 30 Member
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    The 5.2 diet says 500 calls per day - it's tough I know. The way I do it is have just fluids during the day - water, black coffee and consume type soups - then in the evening have a big salad with an omelette (3 eggs, some wafer thin ham and a small handful of low fat grated cheese - comes to about 250 calls in total plus the salAd - so about 300 in total). Then I have as low fat yogurt and that fills me up so that I can sleep. This really works and if you choose to do this for two days a week, that's when you should see results. I try to do this and combine this with portion control and 1200 calls the other 5 days. Hopefully I will shed the 2 stone I need to before summer. Good luck to you xxxx
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I do 500 but I eat later, so my tummy's full. I think my diary is open...I logged today's food if you want to look (I also enter a bogus 950cals that I don't actually eat, because MFP will not let it post to your wall without being over 1000 cals.)

    I do maintenance cals the other days and my pig-out days are Sundays.
  • Becky170467
    Becky170467 Posts: 69 Member
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    I'm definitely going to try eating a proper meal in the evening & manage just on drinks & cup-a-soups whilst I'm at work. Sounds like a better way of organising my food so at least I'll be full when I go to bed. Thanks for your help
  • Becky170467
    Becky170467 Posts: 69 Member
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    What are the most common foods you choose to eat on a fast day? How does this sound:
    BREAKFAST:
    Tea + semi-skimmed milk 15 cals
    Special K moments 99 cals
    LUNCH:
    Chicken cup soup 99 cals
    DINNER:
    2 x Poached eggs 150 cals
    1 x slice 50/50 bread 94 cals
    2 x Tea + semi-skimmed milk 30 cals TOTAL: 487 cals
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Well, the idea behind 5:2 is to create a comfortable system of eating. Nothing is really written in stone. You could either wait until you get used to eating 500 calories (takes about 3 weeks to get used to that), or you could edit it to your liking. For example you could eat your maintenance -200 on non-fast days (example if your maintenance is 2000 you eat 1800) and 700 on fast days. This way your fasts are more comfortable, and your maintenance days are not as restrictive as a constant deficit.
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Becky170467 wrote: »
    What are the most common foods you choose to eat on a fast day? How does this sound:
    BREAKFAST:
    Tea + semi-skimmed milk 15 cals
    Special K moments 99 cals
    LUNCH:
    Chicken cup soup 99 cals
    DINNER:
    2 x Poached eggs 150 cals
    1 x slice 50/50 bread 94 cals
    2 x Tea + semi-skimmed milk 30 cals TOTAL: 487 cals
    I do IF so I only eat btwn 2:30 and 7:30pm...I like what amusedmonkey said about getting used to it...this is correct...took me a couple weeks to get used to it. Now, it's no big deal, and I don't do it for diet, I do it for neurological reasons.

    Also, I do Mondays as a fasting day, because Sunday is my carb load/big cal day so I do my training right when I wake up because I have plenty of fuel from eating the night before.
  • pangy1958
    pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
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    Like the others I drink plenty of water through the day then eat the 500 calories at night so I don't feel hungry when I want to sleep. On the other days I try to eat around 1500 calories.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    If you are new to the fast days, ease into them. Do a few at 700-800cals and then lower the cals a little from fast to fast.

    Try different approaches. 3 small meals, skipping breakfast + 2 meals, one larger meal. Whatever you think is best for you.

    Fast days do get easier, but even after 2yrs, some are easy and some are hard. The body and the mind are not always in the same state.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,078 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I've done 5:2 before but only did it for a few weeks a couple of years ago. I gave up on it because I seemed to be losing and gaining the same 2-3 lbs but I think it was because I was eating too much on non fast days. I've now re-watched the documentary and dug out my books and am starting again this week.

    Tomorrow is my first fast day and I decided to pre-log my food. I know that if I eat something every few hours I'm less likely to cheat. I also exercise daily so tomorrow morning early I'll go for a dog walk, then do some cardio on the gym machines.

    I'm going to have a breakfast of just over 100 cals (low fat yogurt and a small Apple), make lunch my biggest meal (whole grain bread with some low fat spread and Marmite plus a boiled egg) and last thing at night I'll have a protein shake made with almond milk and half a banana.

    I usually have a small breakfast, large lunch and very small dinner anyway so this will work better for me because I hate eating a lot at night.

    I'm also going to count calories on non fast days and try and stick to TDEE -500 cals which is normally around 1400-1500 in total.

  • Axel609
    Axel609 Posts: 4
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    I use all 500 at night. I found I didn't sleep as well. The days are hard, but I feel full when I go to sleep. I drink tea or water during the day. And as above, some fast days are brutal and some are not, even after 1 1/2 years.

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