The FastDay Forum

I know its just as important to eat healthily on your feed days to aid fast days so I'm trying, hard in work though haha

But I've gone from chips, chicken in bread crumbs and salt....to a granary sandwich with chicken and bacon mayo with lettuce. Ok so its heavy on the mayo, but with extra salad AND the fact its a smaller portion then the chicken and chips has got to be better right? And granary instead of white....in my head it works! Haha

What does everyone else do on feed days to make a concious effort to eat healthier?

I do not keep unhealthy foods in my home. I do not buy chocolate chip cookies, because I cannot have just one. I would eat them all. I do not buy potato chips or any other type of chip to have lying around the house. I would be eating them at midnight. I never buy bacon, because it is one of the worst things you can eat. The worst thing I have at home now are dark chocolate covered almonds and some dates.

Hi Pink Lady. I am exactly the same. I am fine on my fasting days but I feel I am eating too much on my non fasting days, which I feel could be ruining the plan for me. Today I could eat everything in sight. Please help anyone?xxx

Cut out the snacking, have only three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and then you can eat normal food like everyone else. I've also given up eating products containing refined sugar for Lent* and I'm pretty sure I'm going to continue to do so after Easter.

* I'm not religious though.

I'm not asking for help by the way, just wondering what people do in that bid to be heslthier

Hi Pink Lady. I am exactly the same. I am fine on my fasting days but I feel I am eating too much on my non fasting days, which I feel could be ruining the plan for me. Today I could eat everything in sight. Please help anyone?xxx

That will soon normalise and you won't feel so ravenous on non-fast days. Keep track of your weight and your measurements and if it's working you don't need to change anything.

Please don't feel the need to over-restrict calories on non-fast days. The diet is supposed to be easy and it is if you just monitor the (usually positive) effects.

Like many others, I cannot eat what I like on feast days, I'd happily get through a dozen Large McDonoald meals. I'm trying using a calorie-counting app on my phone from today, and not eating any snacks at all.

Also like others, I find the fast days fairly straight forward.

The things I've changed in the last few weeks are ; no chocolate or crisps in the house, avoiding bread/pasta/rice most of the time and having at least 2 veg with my dinner.

I have at least one night a week booze-free, (as well as fast days).

And really really enjoying eating "proper" meals every feed day, and a weekly blow-out meal.

OMG Minumonline I am so impressed no choc or crisps in the house. You are doing really well. I would love to give up crisps. I have tried but not yet successful.

Crisps are my biggest weakness, I find the only option is to not keep them in the hpuse. Well, I can't keep them in the house, I've always binged on them if I've tried. I've only ever started to gain some control over eating crisps once I stopped thinking about giving them up. I try now to choose slightly smaller, low-cal packs throughout thee week on non-fasting days - the 'light versions' or wotsits, quavers, kids crisps like space raiders etc and only one at a time, then I indulge on a Sunday with 2 packs of McCoys which are bigger and are my favourites. This is a LOT less than I was eating when I was trying to give them up entirely.

I've decided to try and cut out bread completely during the week.

Hi Pink Lady
I don't know if this will help or not, but today (being my first feed day), I plan on just eating three meals, with maybe a healthy snack mixed in. After fasting yesterday, it feels like a luxury to eat 3 normal meals today. I'm hoping that the intermittent fasting will help curb my cravings for eating "all the time", which is what I used to do.
By the way, Brits, what exactly is a "crisp"? Is it like a potato chip or similar snack food?
Curious American just wonderin'...

Like some others who've posted above, I'm basically avoiding snacks on most (if not all) non-fasting days, and instead sticking with three good meals. Those meals don't have to be stingey 'diet' meals, just balanced and healthy, and it's pretty easy to keep within my TDEE <=2200kcal. I make sure each meal has good nutritional content and is satisfying enough that I don't need any snacks.

My downfall over the past six months or so (and the reason I'm now at least a stone overweight!) has been the biscuit tin at work. I never have one, always two. And if I have two I'll easily have... well, ten, to be honest over the course of a day!

So now I'm just being firm with myself and saying 'No Snacks' (especially, 'No Biscuits!')

A couple of days a week (at the weekend mainly) I'll have a few glasses of wine and some additional 'treats' (like a dessert or some chocolate). I don't keep treat/ snack food in the house as a rule - I never have really; as I say it's the office biscuit tin that's been the most trouble!

It helps that I honestly prefer healthier meals with plenty of vegetables and salads. (I don't feel like I've eaten a proper dinner if there wasn't anything green in it!) Sure, I like chocolate and cake as well, but I don't find it hard to make good choices for my actual meals.

I've only been doing 5:2 for a week and a half mind you, so this is as much a Plan/Manifesto as it is a proven formula!

I have simply cut out snacks mid morning and mid afternoon; a hangover from the 'must eat every 3 hours' doctrine.

Otherwise, I eat reasonably healthily and follow a gluten-free, dairy free regime with lots of fruit and vegetables. I gave up alcohol several years ago when suddenly a glass if wine made me feel quite ill. I put this down to the perimenopause; my hormones seem to be all over the place. But my one vice is 70% dark chocolate, and I have 2 or 3 small squares on feed days.
Diana
Cerise

Last night, I was on my own (as normal on a Tuesday night) and had allocated calories for a bag of crisps, as I always munch when I'm alone. It got to about 8pm, and I deleted it out of MFP, as I just didn't need them, the feeling of achievement gained by chosing not to have something 'bad' due to not wanting it rather than not feeling I could have it is amazing