The FastDay Forum

I was wonder there seem to be a lot of people like me who don't know exactly what "normal" eating looks like after years of yo-yo dieting.

Given 5:2 plan is one to freely chose what I eat I honestly really don't know how to do that without strict planning.
I'm not vego but not a big meat eater by any means( i have trouble maintaining iron levels) and don't have any allergy restrictions.
So I was hoping others could share what exactly they do on non fast days to the rough approx. 2000-2500 calorie mark.
My goal is to get to a point where I plan my fast days but non fast days are pretty well stress free.Maybe I'm being to optimistic but I have a lot to loss and would like to put 5:2 into a real way to loss and sustainable WOL
Any and all help appreciated.

Hi Tammz. I don't know the calories but on a normal day when I'm being reasonably good I eat
Breakfast
2 eggs on sourdough
Lunch
Huge salad of lots of lettuces and raw veggies fetta and ham
Dinner
A protein with steamed veggies and sweet potato
Yoghurt and fruit
Maybe a piece of fruit in the afternoon and definitely a piece of Lindt chilli chocolate
On a not reasonably good day I eat ........... Well lets just say that lately I have had a lot of not good days so the scales are not my friend at the moment!!

Tammz, all I will say is I have definitely embraced the concept of 'feast' days (waaaaaay above my TDEE) and I am still losing!

Hallo Tammz,
I know exactly what you mean. As OH was also joining me and as he isn't that adventurous with food I didn't want to have to stray too far from our normal menu variety which were fairly healthy anyway. (Never been a purchaser of snacks or soft drinks etc..)

Although I don't strictly calorie count on regular days, I did take the time to work out the calorific values of our normal meals and other things we occasionally have; to give me a better idea of whether recipes and/or portion control needed adjusting.
With only very minor adjustments (such as watching the number of slices of crispy bread from the local Patisserie with Brie which can be consumed while chatting, sitting in the sun sipping a glass of Aussie white wine .) So I can continue our normal meals as doesn't require great changes although have found some great additions/variations through the forum. What I did discover was that my daily intake prior to 5:2 usually never reached my TDEE of about 1500 but I wasn't losing weight; since starting 5:2 my two 'fast' days of Monday and Thursday have given my system a jolt and I have already lost weight.

Breakfast : Homemade yoghurt and fruit or homemade muesli.
Mid morning : Coffee and small piece homemade boiled fruit cake (no sugar)
Lunch : Soup (great soup recipes through this forum) or different variations of salad veges and Tuna/egg/cheese. A serving of bread (normally fullgrain or soughdough) or perhaps Ryvita.
Dinner: I use a fair bit of chicken.
Fish (grilled or baked in oven), or various meats (grilled/ casseroles/ meat sauces with pasta) - lots of vegetables.
Dessert: Mainly yoghurt and fruit, sometimes fruit pies or crumbles.
Any snacks would usually be fruit/sometimes nuts. Treat is chocolate - enjoy a few squares of Green and Blacks dark.

I really found the time spent working out the calories in our usual meals/recipes worthwhile as I could then see that it fitted around our TDEE. I know there has been discussion on the forum about whether to just stick to the average quarter of calorie intake on fast days with 500 for woman and 600 for men or go by individual TDEE but it seems through a little trial and error we find out what suits us best and I am sure you will too.
Good luck.

Thank you all for your input I think I'm on the right track but it is reassuring to know what is working for others.
Fingers crossed what I'm currently doing is enough (don't trust myself with scales at only 6 fasts in )Clothes are staring to fit a lot better but I don't want to get to over confident as have been disappointed in the past and am looking long term this time.

wineoclock and cmce I have very similar diet currently in a lot of ways too you both .
cmce I would love to know your recipe for a no sugar fruit cake if you have it??
sounds interesting

[carorees]

Guess my feast days are similar to cmce:

Breakfast: Yoghurt and homemade granola with half a banana or chopped apple or some blueberries
Mid morning: coffee and a small piece of cake
Lunch: home made soup or an omelette or a salad (usually aiming to use up left over veggies in the above), a piece of fruit.
Dinner: either a mince dish like spaghetti Bolognese, chilli con carne, shepherds pie, or a piece of chicken, fish, lamb. Served with mixed steamed or roasted veg and a small helping of a starch source (rice, pasta or potato). A glass of red wine to accompany it at the weekend. Dessert also only at weekends, usually stewed fruit and yoghurt.

I'm pretty much following the Med diet.
Breaky: one or two biscuits or a muesli bar
Lunch: any plate of food cooked with one TS of oil (pasta with veggies, protein with veggies, pulses, veggies with cheese)
Dinner: yoghurt with muesli and/or fruit or omelette or pitta brad with cheese or half a portion of my lunch or half a portion of anything.
If I have calories to spare I have something sweet.

I was wonder there seem to be a lot of people like me who don't know exactly what "normal" eating looks like after years of yo-yo dieting.

So I was hoping others could share what exactly they do on non fast days to the rough approx. 2000-2500 calorie mark.
My goal is to get to a point where I plan my fast days but non fast days are pretty well stress free.Maybe I'm being to optimistic but I have a lot to loss and would like to put 5:2 into a real way to loss and sustainable WOL
Any and all help appreciated.

I don't calorie count on a normal eating day. I just eat what I feel like. But, and I think this is important, I stop when I feel full. My concern with these calculations is that people calculate they should eat 2500 calories and try to eat it even though they feel full. I eat my usual meals on a feast day and if I feel hungry (and sometimes I do) eat a bit more.

A few weeks into this diet, I felt really full after my usual breakfast. It was a sensation I wasn't familiar with. I think I eat with my mind, because I know I can eat more, but my body says stop. I try to stop when I feel full.

I am living in Russia, so I can't eat what is classified as healthy, because I would be cooking for one. So I enjoy all the wrong foods. This morning cheese and sausages for breakfast, with 3 slices of sour dough bread, followed by 2 marshmallows.

Not sure what we'll have for dinner, but a couple of nights ago I had some fried fish and fried potatoes. Didn't weigh it out and I only had a plate full. We had a large slice of soul cake to follow (we have just had easter).

See my blog below for pictures of results. As far as I am concerned the food smells and flavours have been enhanced by the diet. I find fasting a pleasure. Though I always look forward to my feast day breakfast.

Happy 5:2'ing.
Peter

Well today we had a special breakfast as all of us needed a treat this morning. Sad things happening around us, although I haven't gone off the rails as a result which is good.

Anyway, we had strawberry ricotta pancakes with Greek yogurt (fat free) and salted caramel sauce, with chopped pistachios to garnish. They were scrumptious, and I had allowed four pancakes each for DH and I. In the event, I was pleasantly full after two!

Lunch is usually a bowl of home made vegetable soup, dinner something like meat/carbs and veg. We don't often do dessert but maybe some dark chocolate and as out twice a week, wine.

Hi, what I'm trying to do is keep to 1800-2000 cals on feast days, "normal" is about that
I have'nt been able to fast for 2 weeks due to illness but I'm not stressing as I know in a few days I'll be back to it.

A 'typical' day for me during the week is

Breakfast: porridge with fruit
Lunch: homemade soup, or ryvita with houmus, or a tuna/chicken salad sandwich.
Late afternoon: piece of cake or similar
Evening meal: Fish or chicken with potatoes and salad or veg, or a stir fry with rice. Maybe a glass of wine. maybe some fruit and yogurt. Maybe both. Maybe piece of dark chocolate.
Lots of tea with milk but no sugar throughout the day.

At weekends it is a similar pattern but more naughty so dinner may be eaten out or pizza or curry. Wine will be 2 or 3 glasses.

I don't count calories although I have a pretty good idea how many in most things so maybe I do subconsciously.

I am lucky to be tall so normal day should be about 2000 calories. Also exercise at least twice a week and walk when I can.

I am losing slowly but I am losing. I prefer to keep calories reasonably high so that I have somewhere to drop to if/when needed.

Interesting to see what others eat on feed days
I thought I was pretty good...cereal for breakfast,lunch salad and cottage cheese or eggs
Afternoon tea ,cracker ,dinner meat,fish ,chicken .salad, veggies,yogurt and some dark choc.
Late night snack,crackers or nuts
I think on feed days I do snack quite a lot,nuts and fruit and crackers
Might try cut back on the snacks this week

[wildmissus]

Do you really want to know?

Today
Breakfast
2 x homemade wholemeal toast with real butter and jam
Lunch
Fresh tomato & basil soup with 3 x cheese & digestives
pain au chocolat
3 x triangles of large Toblerone
Dinner
will be
Lamb, Spinach and Potato Curry from Hairy Dieters Recipe book
nan bread
Fasting starts after dinner finished.

I don't like breakfast generally so just coffee and a banana. Lunch is usually soup and toast, or a sandwich.
Evening meal could be pasta with meat/veg sauce, vegetarian curry and rice, baked fish with salad and/or veg, cottage pie, fish pie, pizza - whatever I feel like! Always a pudding on feast days, have a very sweet tooth even on a fast day I save 150 calories for a yoghurt or fruit after dinner.
Roughly 1.5 bottles red wine over the week, sometimes large bowls of Haagen Dazs ice cream.
9 weeks in I don't usually go over 2000 calories on a feast day but occasionally I do (especially if it's a wine day as I tend to snack in the evening on cheese)
I'm doing 3 fasts a week but often skip lunch on one other day - it feels like such a relief to not bother with eating at midday! But if I'm hungry I will eat- it's like learning how to listen to your body's hunger needs, fascinating.

Typically
Breakfast is shredded wheat with Oatley & an Actimel or similar or natural bio yoghurt with a banana & a teaspoon of honey & an Actimel.
Lunch Soup either a bought higher fibre one such as lentil or sweet potato or squash or homemade soup with a slice of whole meal or spelt bread & an apple.
Dinner fish or chicken with steamed vegetables & rice or new potatoes followed by bio yoghurt with a banana or a bought jelly with fruit.
Coffee throughout the day but not after 7-00pm & I don't snack between meals.
At the weekend sometimes cake or an iced bun at tea time around 4-00pm & wine & a more adventurous & calorific bought pudding. I usually fast Monday & Friday to sandwich this indulgence!!