The FastDay Forum

I have never really been a fan of breakfast, preferring a coffee to wake me up. I was always told breakfast is the most important meal of the day so made myself eat something for years.

Now some days I have breakfast and some days I don't! I never have breakfast on a fast day, saving all my calories for dinner usually, on other days it depends how hungry I am when I wake up and how much time I have!

Yesterday was a fast day and despite feeling very hungry when I went to bed I wasn't when I woke up this morning (how does that work?) so didn't have anything until I started to feel peckish around 11am.

At weekends breakfast with my partner can be more of an occasion and often I will tuck in whether I am really hungry or not!

I do eat breakfast, including on fast days. I like my high fiber cereal and I feel I need some blood sugar to get going and it's easier to eat fewer calories and feel like you've still had a meal with breakfast food. I also eat at least a snack for lunch--lunch as a break from work was always my favorite part of the work day. I could go without dinner more easily--finding time to cook dinner is a big pain, especially now that it is spring and there is so much to do outside. I easily lost weight (16 lbs in 12 weeks, most of that in the first 8 weeks, maintaining now) by eating a little something 3 times a day on fast days. I've seen comments here from people assuming there are more health benefits by going a longer number of hours without any food, but I think if you are only putting 500-600 calories in your body over a 36 hour period, most of that time your gut is empty and you are in true fasting mode, whether it is spread out or all at once.

I fell for the "you must have breakfast" mantra, so have always had a small something in the morning. I realised last week when I started 5:2, skipped breakfast on my fast day and had lunch as my first meal, that I don't really need or want breakfast. I do just fine until lunch. In fact, I'm now transitioning to eating breakfast on only two days a week, Monday and Friday, as they are the days after my fast days, though with the option to include it on another day if I feel I really need it.

I love big breakfasts, but only for lunch or dinner.

Over the last few weeks since I started the 5:2 WOE I've pretty much ditched breakfast, on fast days I leave food alone for as long as possible, just liquids until late lunch.

Saturdays bacon butty is mid morning and not much for lunch, however ....

I'm going away for a few days and staying with friends who do the biggest cooked breakfast on the planet and I love it so it's going to be interesting to see how I go this coming week ... and if there's any increase in weight

Well, totting up all the answers I'm going to try doing fast days with only a snack and an evening meal! Thanks guys Wish me luck for a test day tomorrow....

Old Nog brings up another thing about eating - it does have a social aspect! I sometimes stay with family who, at the weekend, all have a lie in and a monster brunch about 11 am. Then nothing else until evening.So I join in. I wouldn't do a fast day at the weekend because too much is focussed round visitors, making something special to eat that we will all enjoy, hopefully low cal!

I already find that as a vegetarian I'm having to explain to people I stay with ("Don't worry - I'll just have the veggies") so I do tend to try and fit in with their plans - and that often seems to include different meal times. So I go with the flow when it comes to breakfast. Just try and avoid too many carbs at that time of day.

I suppose what I'm saying is that sometimes 5:2 calls for compromises!

Old Nog brings up another thing about eating - it does have a social aspect! I sometimes stay with family who, at the weekend, all have a lie in and a monster brunch about 11 am. Then nothing else until evening.So I join in. I wouldn't do a fast day at the weekend because too much is focussed round visitors, making something special to eat that we will all enjoy, hopefully low cal!

That's the one thing I hate about having visitors or visiting, why on earth do we have to feed (or be fed) like there's no tomorrow I know it is nice to give your guests a nice meal, but for goodness sake when we have visitors it's a wonder our fridge doesn't get stomach ache the number of times I've asked "what time is the next coachload arriving?"
I often reckon I could live for 2 weeks on the food that's consumed in one day when we have visitors

But... why not?
Why not eat like there's no tomorrow once in a while? It's not a daily, sometimes not even a weekly habit so why not?
Good food is an enjoyment, seeing people we love is an enjoyment, combining them both and adding alcohol comes to a fun result. Personally, I am a meze lover, I love to eat variety and those big family/friends dinners are the best way to enjoy a meze feast because I never cook like that just for meself.

But... why not?
Why not eat like there's no tomorrow once in a while?

An odd meal maybe, but when a visit starts on Friday evening with a huge feast and gallons of alcohol, Saturday starts with full (and I mean full) fry up, lunchtime pasta or similar, then dinner washed down with loads of wine.
Sunday, brunch, basically a massive breakfast again, then evening is a full Sunday roast, again with more wine etc ...... Just don't get me started on the excesses of Christmas, which last for several days

Just don't get me started on the excesses of Christmas, which last for several days

Please don't, I am doing Dukan attack today and tomorrow and then I'm fasting on Wednesday.