The FastDay Forum

Hello all

I'm starting the 5:2 tomorrow and am just wondering (so i have some ideas) - what is your typical fast day menu? And what times?

Hoping i'll pick up some tips and ideas for both foods and also timings that work for people.


Do you think it matters to eat 'healthily' on a fast day? Less/more carbs?

It makes sense to me that if your calories are limited, then it's best to pack in as much nutrition as possible. For me, this means lots of veggies and not a lot of carbs. The veg will fill you up and sustain you for quite a while. I go for soups, stir frys, stews and salads. Tend not to have meat too often as I like as much bulk as I can get for my 600 cals.
I tend to eat at 1 pm then around 7 pm but it appears to be quite a personal thing as to when suits you best.

I usually wait to eat until my evening meal which I have somewhere between 4-7pm and I'm enjoying making soups, my brown rice salad and green salads with fish or chicken. You may prefer to spread your meals out though. If you find any good recipes, make sure you share

I eat a banana for breakfast, another banana at around 5pm and 3 or 4 cups of broccoli spread out throughout the day. Lots of coffee and tea with no cal sweetener and lots of water.

I tend to eat at 1 pm then around 7 pm but it appears to be quite a personal thing as to when suits you best.

Trial and error then? How do you not get hungry in the mornings? I'm always so starving when i wake up.... Have you had successful weight loss?

Hi
I'm quite boring. I now only have one meal on a fast day. I stick to a salad with either salmon, prawns or small chicken breast.
I have found reducing carbs has helped me.
All I can say is, find what works for you. If that means having 3 meals adding up to a total of 500, then that's OK.
I started by having breakfast and evening meal. Now I am used to fasting I can manage easily on one meal.
I wish you luck on your 5:2 journey.
Lesley

Banana for breakfast then I avoid all carbs and I go with some protein and veg mid afternoon (spiced up also helps). Something like prawns or mussels. Treat myself to a low cal hot chocolate in evening (40-60 cals) Drink lots of water, fills, think good for you and helps me be less cranky

good luck, gets easier

I can't cope without breakfast either so I have a boiled egg and a Shape Delight fat free yogurt when I get up. I eat again between 6-7pm and usually have a piece of fish or chicken with a large salad but recently I've discovered Quorn products and I can get something pretty tasty for less than 300 calories. If I get too hungry in the afternoon I have a cup of miso soup or a diet cuppa soup.
With the Quorn food I often add a small portion of brown rice and for me personally, the amount of carbs I eat on a fast day hasn't made any difference to my weight loss, which has been slow but steady.

I have green tea and fizzy water all day, sometimes a cup of bovril around lunchtime. For dinner I have chicken or fish with salad or veg and then perhaps a 10 calorie jelly, a cup of chai with a splash of 1% milk during the evening and a 40 calorie hot chocolate before bed. Never thought of tea as being a treat before but it is lovely towards the end of the day

Trial and error then? How do you not get hungry in the mornings? I'm always so starving when i wake up.... Have you had successful weight loss?[/quote]

Yeah, a bit of trial and error. I've just never really been much of a breakfast person and don't really start to get hungry until after 11 so it's not long until lunch. You start to realise that hunger actually goes away too if you are occupied, then comes back now and again to remind you to eat rather than constantly building as I though it would.

I didn't have too much weight to lose and was driven by health benefits so the weight loss has been a bit of a side issue for me. However, I'm now the proud owner of a 6 pack and if anything should probably stop losing weight and start a bit more gym training so that I fill my clothes a bit more.

On my fast days, I start with a small low fat yoghurt for breakfast to wash my tablets down with. My main meal is about 5pm where I will have tuna and low fat salad cream between 2 slices of whoelmeal bread, no butter or marge and a bowl of salad stuff, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery and 2 sweet sour gherkins. Throughout the day I will drink water and 2 cups of tea with a hint of milk and 2 sweetners

I have 3 hard boiled egg whites for breakfast 51 calories then a soup for lunch around 100=150 cals (homemade chicken and vege soup) then a 300 calorie dinner( I just google recipes in that calorie bracket.)
I allow my self all this food but Once a week I eat all of it and he other fast day I find that I can wait till dinnertime and just have my one meal. It's my choice.
Good Luck!!!!!

I started by having lunch (porridge made with water with brown sugar and cinnamon) then a mid afternoon snack of mushrooms, peppers and carrots, then a 250 / 300 cal supper - prawns with peas, mushrooms and a tiny amount of brown rice was a favourite.

Now I am used to fasting I find that if I drink all day (water, black tea, fizzy diet drinks, whatever gets me through) I can wait until supper and have my 500 calories in one go. this makes it easier to eat with my fiancé in the evening.

Im on my 4th fast day and seem to have the same every one! Scrambled egg whites with a bit of salsa and cottage cheese, lunch is then a salad with a bit of chicken or ham and dinner is loads of stir fried veg with a weight watchers soup. i also have a couple of clemantines.
I find that if you drink lots and keep busy the fast days are easily done. And breakfast on the day after a fast day is the best food ever!!

As you can see, nearly everyone is different! When I started (in January) I used to have a slice of Ryvita with a low fat cheese triangle for breakfast, another of same at lunchtime with a tin of weight watchers chicken noodle soup. That totals about 170 cals.

I then had either tuna and pasta in a home made tomato souce (half a tin of tomatoes, half a stock cube in a cup of water, half a tin of tuna, half a courgette, half a red pepper, some garlic and 35 wholemeal pasta shells (which is 100 cals - yes, I still count them out!!)) at about 300 cals, leaving 30ish spare calories for things that I can't be bothered to count (herbal tea, garlic and spices for dinner, mistakes), or a Chinese chicken noodle soup (also home made).

The last month or two I've started waiting until dinner before eating anything, leaving me with a bigger dinner, but I can add more pasta and some olives to the tuna stew. It's really nice actually, would be happy to eat it on a "normal" day.

I have two other recipes that I alternate with, one Chinese broth with noodles and chicken or prawns, and one Moroccan lentil and chicken stew - happy to give your recipes if you would like me to.