The FastDay Forum

I'm sure there have been many previous topics on this - but here goes.

On your non-fast days, do you count calories at all?

Massively struggling with how much/little to eat on a non-fast day, do I skip breakfast (16:8) do I eat healthily, do I eat what I like?

Want to keep losing weight but there are too many things to think about!

Any help appreciated!

Hi Becks,

Take a deep breath lol. Some may suggest to eat 'sensibly' during your feed days and others may tell you to eat up to you TDEE (you can find that on your profile i think). However what I suggest is take it by strides, there's no stress with this WOE. If you're new to dieting I would start off with getting a hold of eating right, introducing healthier alternatives to your otherwise processed foods and cut back your treats to a few times a week. Moderate exercise may also help keep hunger at bay and your metabolism up.

If you feel that after a few weeks you haven't lost weight ( or as much as you like), i'd start calorie- counting. It takes roughly 4-6 weeks before eating this way before such habits become normalized. Hopefully your cravings will subside on feed days making it easier in the long term to establish a better eating pattern.

Overall stick to what your comfortable with, personally i find calorie counting a bit daunting lol. It's your choice after all, good luck!

Cheers!

[Betsysgr8]

Are you achieving your goals with what you are doing now? Is what you are doing sustainable? It's up to you to find the balance that will work for you. It is recommended that you eat up to your TDEE on normal days but it is entirely up to you as to how you do it and with what food groups.

I don't count calories at all any more, not on fast or normal days. I know what works and what doesn't for me.

I'd start out not counting on nonfast days. You can always start counting if you need to. I've never counted on non-fast days, but I kept a food diary at first to notice if I was overeating.

For me the whole beauty of this WOE is NOT counting, weighing, measuring, points, calories, fat , carb, on my non fast days.

I'm fairly new into this but for now, and as long as my overall trend is down, I'll be exact on fast days, and not think about it on non fast days

I've lost about 10 pounds after 7 fasts, and loving this WOE.

I agree with MaryAnn that keeping a food diary is a good idea. It makes you more mindful of what you eat and can help you not to overeat. Logging all that I ate helped me realise how much mindless snacking I was doing for example.

I don't count calories at all, not even on fast days (I just have 1 x 2,000kJ ready meal and nothing else except for water, diet soda and stevia sweetened teas, it's so close to 0kJ that I don't bother counting, would have to drink over 20 litres to reach the 2,500kJ).

However, on feed days, I am still mindful of calories and have been switching to lower calorie options. For example, I love potato chips, but now I get popcorners instead (large bag is 3,780kJ vs 2,389kJ). I've been dying to try kale chips, I'd make some of my own but have never got around to it.

TedE

I count calories on feast days, but I am on a pretty hard-core weight loss plan right now, aiming to lose at least 2 pounds per week. My hope is that I can use simple 5:2 for maintenance at my goal weight.

You need to figure out what works best for you. Remember, no matter what, weight loss boils down to basic math. Calories in vs. calories out. If fasting twice a week gives you enough of a calorie deficit to allow you to lose weight at a rate you are happy with, then that's what you should do! If you want to lose weight more quickly, then you'll have to make some adjustments on non-fast days.