Hi Nadia and welcome! Lunchtime try a packet of chicken noodle soup. It does fill you up. If you need something sweet a teaspoon of peanut butter generally does the trick for me, or a diet coke ( not very healthy!) But perhaps the best thing to do is say 'I can have that tomorrow'. Good luck - it really does work.

Lunchtime - it's hard to beat salad / vegetables if you are used to high volumes of food.

Evening - Ii you like "something sweet" on a fast day then berries can be remarkably low calorie while still giving you the taste.

Planning makes a huge difference so think about taste and volume as well as calories and nutrition. Also try and make your meals something you concentrate on rather than just grazing.

I have a small amount of sushi sometimes on a fast day and concentrating on the food, appreciating the intense flavours (wasabi, soy, ginger) is far more "filling" than just mindlessly stuffing down a sandwich while working or watching TV.

Welcome Nadia, Yes 'You can have it tomorrow' is phsycologically very powerful, for me it is the element that sets the 5:2 lifestyle apart from every other, and yes! after a while amazingly to paraphrase 'Monty Python' most find out that they do not actually want whatever it was that they wanted just the day before but put off until today lol

today is my first fast day, I had planned to not eat anything until tonight, but as I am usually a big eater, am beginning to struggle. Not much in the fridge, but have thrown together a carrot soup... as all I had was a carrot and onion that is low calorie... hope it tastes nice, chucked a load of herbs and spices in.
I think my worry is that I will end up bingeing later on as I will be so hungry!!
any tips people have for taking their mind off the hunger?

ELMcGutters wrote: »

today is my first fast day, I had planned to not eat anything until tonight, but as I am usually a big eater, am beginning to struggle. Not much in the fridge, but have thrown together a carrot soup... as all I had was a carrot and onion that is low calorie... hope it tastes nice, chucked a load of herbs and spices in.
I think my worry is that I will end up bingeing later on as I will be so hungry!!
any tips people have for taking their mind off the hunger?

try chewing gum too....it does help

I've been successful so far 3 weeks into the 5:2 and lost weight and sometimes inches every week. I have a routine cup of tea with milk and no sugar in the morning, but then drink water all day until a 500 cals or less meal in the evening.
If I *really, really* crave something that I haven't counted, I hide it away at the back of my fridge or cupboard and think "I can eat that tomorrow, just be good for the rest of today and you know you have earned it". A lot of the time, the next day comes and I've completely forgotten about my hidden stash! There has been just 1 day of the last 20 odd that I just couldn't contain my fat mouth and overate by about 400 cals (just over 900 for the day), so I made that week a 4:3 - stuck to the 500 fast the next day, then went back to my normal fast days without a pang of guilt.
I found a half eaten packet of biscuits last night that I bought over a month ago - it wouldn't have been unusual for me to demolish those in one sitting (I live alone, so the option is there) but just don't do it now.
The 5:2 doesn't work for everyone, but all the time it's working for me, I'm sticking to it

I vary the numbers, and try to be guided by appetite, often the day after a fast I'm not that hungry and get to 1500 but the more consecutive food days the higher the cals get higher up to 2300 and then a fast is a relief. I try not to eat back exercise calories but they are there if I have a chocolate attack

Lol yep smaller plates make a massive difference. I eat off a bread and butter plate now. I finish my plate off too. I wonder if our parents all went to the same parent school lol

I have discovered 8cal Werther sugar free sweets. I have one of these if I'm real desperate and it really helps.