The FastDay Forum

I feel like I am overeating on my free days. Or eating past full. Maybe too many carbs?
I'm not keeping track on my fitness pal on free days, so not sure my calorie intake.
An example of my free day today...
handful of chocolate chips
nutrition bar
2 small cubes cheese
hummus and about 6 pita chips
scrambled egg, goat cheese, red pepper, artichoke on 2 full slices whole grain bread
large chocolate chip scone
about 1 1/2 cups pasta with red sauce, 3 slices French bread with dipping oil, glass of wine
another 1/2 large scone.

I feel STUFFED. It is a lot of bread.
What is everyone else eating on free days?

If you're doing that and losing weight, I wouldn't worry about it.

I don't count cals on non-fast days, but I try not to go crazy. Also I try to eat lots of veg. Having said that, I have the occasional treat.

How long have you been doing 5:2? I've found my appetite has decreased over time...

I've been doing it about 24 days. I did go to my fitness pal to see what my cals were today and it totaled to 1933 calories.
I had pasta two days in a row and very little veggies. Its heavy on my stomach. I will have to make sure I get more vegetables in and less simple carbs like cookies and scones.

Have you entered your information in the progress tracker? It will calculate your TDEE (the number of calories you need each day to maintain weight). If you don't want to use the progress tracker, there are many TDEE calculators online. 1933 would be high for me, but well within the range of others, particularly younger and/or taller people.

Anyway, it never hurts to cut out some carbs.

Sounds yum to me !! But I know what you mean about feeling stuffed. I'm sure if you add more veggies especially leafy greens and cut the carbs a bit you will feel better.

I'm fairly new to 5:2 and found my eating habits changed so much in the first month or so, as in over eating free days, then not feeling hungry the day after a fast, lost 4 kgs then I had a week off put most back on but now back enjoying the journey again.

I would just settle into and enjoy fasting and pick up great ideas from this forum.

Left to my own devices I definitely overeat on feed days. After initially losing a few kilos and getting within spitting distance of my goal I kind of lost the plot and have been gaining and losing the same 1-2 kilos each week for over a month.

So this week I have given myself a stern talking to and decided on a few rules...
1. Be very strict on my fast days, no bargaining/compromises.
2. On my feed days I will allow myself one serve of dairy per day (usually cottage cheese or natural yogurt) and maximum 2 serves of starchy carbs.
3. I will still enjoy treats but only when they are appropriate such as at dinner party or birthday event etc- not everyday!
4. Have a couple of squares of 75% chocolate with a cup of tea after dinner but no eating after that.

I don't think you can eat "anything you want" on feed days. Whatever you ate to maintain your weight before 5:2 is what you should be doing now. That way your fast days will help you to reach your goal rather than just compensate for overeating on feed days.

I certainly am...which is why my weight is going down, then up, then down, then up etc all fluctuating between a band of about 2 kgs. But you know what? This is the first time I am eating chocolate, fries, wine, ice-cream, salads with olive oil, pasta, bread, birthday cake etc. without feeling guilty (because I AM sticking rigidly to my 2, sometimes 3, fast days per week) and I am not GAINING weight over a period of time. So I am OK.

Some non-fast days I eat silly amounts of food - like yesterday:

Breakfast: 2 homemade burgers without bread but with cheddar and mayo
Lunch: Half a big pizza and an icecream sandwich
Snack: Coffe and almost a jar of cookies
Then 2 sandwiches....

Before dinner: Half a bottle of champagne, and glass of rosé, half a bag of crisps...and a big fat cigar.....

Dinner: Seafood soup with lots of cream, 3 slices of homemade sourdough bread ( right out of the oven) with lots of butter

A large amount of liqorice and the rest of the cookies.

2 more sandwiches with butter and cheddar.....
A peach.

Shocking right? Would guess it lands on 3000-4000 calories.

Today is fast day and tomorrow I'll fast until dinner and then have a normal meal.

Will NOT weigh myself for a week I think......

I just eat what I fancy, whilst trying to be mindful, but if I want that cake,wine, pie ( did I say pie, I hadn't eaten pastry for years until 5:2)I do. I find I'm not having the intense cravings that I did on other diets. It's like now it's not forbidden I find I don't often want it anyway, so it balances out.

Today was my first feed day after my first fast day yesterday.

I went crazy!!

I eat Milo for breakfast which is just indulgent as I wasn't hungry for breakfast and previously eat low carb diet so cereal and milk completely brilliant!

At lunch I eat some biscuits, a slice of soy and linseed toast with baked beans and cheese
Some more biscuits.
Then I had a mini mars bar and a few marshmallows

A pear

Mini goats cheese and fig tart
More cookies
Slice of Pumpkin savoury flan
Carrot and banana muffin
Sugar free jelly, strawberries

Cup of tea
More cookies and mini mars bar

I feel like a pig! I probably am a pig - it seems by allowing myself to eat what I want I ate everything!!! I am hoping that this urge to consume food will lessen as I allow myself freedom knowing I can and actually doing it are two different things completely. I know it is not sensible to consume so much 'junk' food and I want to enjoy food without obsessing about it either by eating too much or feeling like I can't enjoy some of it without feeling guilt.

This feels like the start of a very long journey for me, hoping I have chosen the right WOE for me.

I'm trying to be mindful of what I eat rather than how much of it. I figure I don't have to watch the quantity quite so much if it's all healthy stuff. I'm having the odd treat too if I fancy it but trying not to have it "just because it's there".

But at the moment I'm finding that even healthy stuff feels like a treat after a fast day, so I'm not craving the bad stuff as much as I thought I would. How long that will last I don't know, but so far so good!

I am currently on 4:3 (M,W,F) and try and eat around 1300-1400 on Tues and Thursday. On Sat and Sun I enjoy myself as I have worked hard all week, although I find Sat a struggle to eat a lot. I really enjoy Sundays (Chocolate ) and log everything into MyFitnessPal So far so good!

I am trying to eat what I want, but be more mindful of what that is (and more importantly how muchthat is!)

I do track in MFP, but try not to freak out if I go over and try not to deny myself. At the same time, I try to check in with myself at feedings (lol) to gauge, "do I even like this?" "am I hungry?"

Man, it sounds like a full-time job when I put it like that....

A couple issues for me:
*Having been on restrictive diets in the past, where certain foods or food groups are eliminated, I want to get to a place where I'm not making any one food the bad guy.
*Having been on plans where there is a "cheat day" after days of restriction, I have to be careful not to confuse "feed/feast" days with "anything goes!"

This is what I'm working on now, but hopefully this WOE, including sensible but enjoyable non-fast days, will just become second nature. Perusing the forum, it seems this is happening for some 5:2 vets. I hope to join their ranks. Someday!

Mushroom and cheese omelette for breakfast

2 slices of beef with mayo mid-morning

Chicken leg and hummus for lunch

Sausages with spicy tom sauce &nat yoghurt, cauli cheese for dinner.

Picked at a few leftover berries throughout the day

Yummy, yummy food day !