The FastDay Forum

I suspect that people are having relatively little trouble sticking to the 25% TDEE on fast days. Was wondering if you have any good tips that help us to cut down on food consumption generally. I guess too many of us go over our TDEE on feast days and sometimes unwittingly so as we dont calorie count so anything can help

I thought of this yesterday when I couldnt find my cheese slicer so i started to cut a cheese slice with a knife. I realise that knife cutting makes it thicker and therefore you consume more so my

Tip number 1 .. to use a cheese slice so you can cut cheese thinly and thus consume less. They say it tastes better thin.

Tip number 2 .. from bobbyd98683-u9772/ - I remember he said he whips butter so you eat a lot less butter when whipped. from his post 5-2-diet-recipes-f5/borscht-recipe-113kcal-bowl-t8530.html?hilit=whipped#p103873 he says

The idea behind whipped butter is that you use less butter. It's really that simple. Since air is incorporated into the mixture, you use up to 40% less butter.

When I whip a quarter pound of butter, and add a quarter cup of canola oil, the calories work out to roughly 50 kcal per tablespoon. Regular butter contains around 100 kcal per tablespoon.

Tip number 3. And this is a well known one i think from WW but not sure. To use a smaller plate such that if you fill it you are generally eating less than a massive dinner plate.

Do you have any more tips for cutting food consumption NOT involving the use of low fat, low sugar or other food substitutes. ?

Don't eat straight out a packet. If you are having biscuits, nuts, chocolate, chips etc - dish it up into a bowl and put the packet away.

Don't do anything else while you eat. No tv, reading, computer - they all encourage mindless snacking where you don't notice how much you're eating, or even fully appreciate and enjoy what you're eating.

Don't leave a giant container of Nonna's homemade crostolis sitting on the kitchen bench. They are like eating a piece of heaven, and then another piece and another............ :

I've just had to look up crostolis, as hadn't heard of them. @wineoclock, if you don't want to leave the container on your kitchen bench, I could mind it for you...

I've just had to look up crostolis, as hadn't heard of them. @wineoclock, if you don't want to leave the container on your kitchen bench, I could mind it for you...

Fraid to say I don't suffer with this problem. Eating enough on feast days is my problem.
But I must have heard all the tips over the years.

If you are have cheese on toast, use grated cheese not sliced, or if having a snadwich use grated, it looks much more so fools you into thinking you have eaten loads.

Make a large lettuce leaf your wrap outer. My favourite is to smear cream cheese on the leaf, a big grind of black pepper and some strips of red pepper, roll the leaf up and enjoy. Yummy and about 90kcals less than using a small tortilla would be.

Always drink a glass of water before eating, just to make sure you aren't just thirsty.

A light soup before a main can actually mean less calories as you fill up on a liquid first so have less room for a heavy main.

Don't compromise on flavour. If you want butter have it, just a little bit less. If you are anticipating a particular flavour, for example butter on a jacket potato, and you get low fat spread, it ruins the whole meal and may mean you eat something else in compensation. In the same vein go for strong flavoured cheese, you will use less of it to to boost a meal.

Smaller plate if you have any. Put down your cutlery between each mouthful. I did find that having water on the table to be counter productive as it seemed to washed the food into the corners of my stomach, to make more room for more food.

If you are really craving something on a normal feed day, have it. The number of times I really, really fancied chocolate on other diets, so I would have a healthier alternative like an apple, to find I still fancied the chocolate. Then to find that I could have had 4 squares of dark chocolate for the same calories as the apple was a blow. Especially as it wouldn't stop at just the apple, it would be followed by a ryvita with cottage cheese, and a slimfast soup and other foods. Yet all i wanted was a nibble of chocolate.

I think a lot fast day tricks work on feast days as well. Like Julie mentioned, having a glass of water instead of snacking. Or having soup when you are hungry.

I think planning at least some meals on feast days is important too, at least for me. When I first started, I had a lot of healthy food around because I was planning too many fast days in advance. I.e., part of why I was eating better on non-fast days is because the healthy food was there. Now that I'm planning fast days better, I sometimes find the fridge devoid of healthy food and this is when I am most likely to eat junk.

When I first started fast days year back I got into the habit of using smaller dishes and using a measuring cup instead of a serving spoon. We do this on both feed days and fast days now. Usually it is 1/3 or 1/2 cup. Whichever it is you are more conscious of the quantity of food going on your plate.

Also, I am a counter now. If I am having anything with carbs in it, I count out the exact number of crackers, chips, nuts, candies, whatever and then put the package away after my serving is counted out. So while I tend to not total up my calories on feed days; I could add it all up if I wanted to and I eat what I want just not always however much of it I might want.

Just great ideas. I might compile a list when its all done. Im so into lists and numbers these days. Must be my obsession with the scales or something lol.

Ive heard of eating an apple just before dinner makes you eat less. you get a lot of goodness and fibre from the apple and it makes you full quicker.

Fraid to say I don't suffer with this problem. Eating enough on feast days is my problem. But I must have heard all the tips over the years.

I think youve mentioned this before Julie. Is it an appetite thing for you?

wow great tips everyone - I have found that using sparkling water fills me up better than water. I've also been drinking coconut water which is like a tasty treat and really good for you. And Quark - low cal and very dense - the golden acre variety is the best.

I try not to snack between meals - I find I am happy with 3 good-sized meals a day (non-fast days) and snacking just makes me eat more. Having said that I broke my fast this morning with a couple of homemade oaty cookies at 6am, then crumpets with lashings of butter & marmite at 8.30 - oh dear!!

I very much doubt whether I ever stick within my TDEE, but then I have been losing very slowly and I'm more or less where I want to be weight wise now so the fasting just gives me that leeway with enjoying my food. I find that I prefer to eat a smaller portion of higher calorie food (proper food, not processed junk) and then not eat for a few hours than keep grazing on low calorie things that never leave me satisfied. But it doesn't always work that way, I'm only human!

And less booze always helps too!

I think the best tip for fast days is to keep busy an anything non food related.

The thing is - I don't fancy anything on feed day (make me think of vampires - feed day) I laid in bed last night allowing myself to drive by McD to by a big latte and a Egg mc Muffin on my way to work. But they where so slow at that time of the day, that they never showed up for my order. So I ended up with a banana and two plums along with a small latte at work. Drove to a mall to check out some clothes, lots of restaurants but non tickled my fancy. So I came home, still not up for anything but knowing I had to eat something - three slices with Skogaholmslimpa and some kaviar (just the thinnest spread) a cup of tea and nibbled at a muffin and then throw it away....Well the dogs got a small piece of that bread each.
It sounds like a small thunder from inside of my stomach, but still I don't feel like eating anything...Mighty strange.