The FastDay Forum

I'm a big pulse eater, too @Lil and build them into my daily carb allowance of 60-80g per day. They form the central core of most meals; as I have said elsewhere, I no longer eat rice (though I has a spoonful last night as part of the ...err Malaysian banquet, where I blew not only the carbs, but everything else out of the water!), pasta, bread, couscous or any other carb heavy foods.
That's on all days, not just fast days.
I also build in a 30g portion of Allbran and wheatbran and milk, though I do use Splenda to sweeten it.
Once I have accounted for the carbs/fibre, everything else is optional!
I am cautiously beginning to add fats - don't want to rock the boat too much.

I'm getting frightened now, ALLBRAN........on 2 threads, this is very worrying Penny

Ballerina x

I have a bag of prunes prominent in my pantry cupboard and on non fast days I would have 5 across the day and everything is moving along nicely thanks. Have to say water and also a wholesome fibre filled menu of fruit and veggies is also involved. Have to say the prunes became a necessity as I was far too efficient fasting and not as effective at fluid replacement.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/super-s ... -chia.html

I didn't know the answer for the amount, I use a tablespoon ish in my porridge so a quick google brought the above up, they're saying 2 tbs. I might stick with my usual sprinkle though as it works for me.

[carorees]

I'm getting frightened now, ALLBRAN........on 2 threads, this is very worrying Penny

Ballerina x

Isn't All Bran quite high in sugar? Not ideal imho.

It works for me Caroline. My not be right for everyone, but I'll forgive its sugar/carb content!!

There you go, @ballerina your reason not to eat it!!

What would you suggest as an alternative @carorees? 30g Allbran gives me 80 cals, 23g carbs and 10g Fibre, plus the bran which gives 14/1/2 respectively. Plus it's the only way I get any milk inside me!

Isn't All Bran quite high in sugar? Not ideal imho.

Yup! And Bran Flakes... and even Weetabix.... if you look at the ingredient lists they all list sugar as their second-highest ingredient. The only thing - apart from porridge oats - without added sugar is Shredded Wheat - and that's wheat.... so I can't win! lol

One of my favourite post fast breakfasts - unlike many I really enjoy breakfast after a fasting day - is a type of bircher muesli. I grate an apple, add 1 1/4 os oats, a shake of wheatbran and a teaspoon of chia seeds and soak in unsweetened almond milk overnight. In the morning I add some sweetener and a bit of vanilla mullerlight yogurt and sometimes a few raisins or chopped up soaked figs. It makes a large amount and I often leave some for lunchtime but I find it really yummy and keeps me going through a long morning at work without needing to snack. I acknowledge that the apple and raisins/figs add some sugar

OK, a lot of nice things to talk about.

As many of you know, I think the low fat diet was one of the worst things ever foisted upon the general public by our benevolent governments.

I was able to figure out that a high fat diet was good when I was part of a clinical study comparing the DASH diet with Atkins. However, I also learned over time that I could not eliminate the carbs I 'loved' (was addicted to), even after learning how bad they were. I was able, however, to cut down on my total carbs and maintain my very high weight for years after that learning experience.

What is interesting about 5:2 is that it seems to compensate for bad eating. Using Varady's research, she was surprised that it was OK to eat high fat foods and get the same results as from eating high carb foods. But if you reverse the findings, you see that IF compensates for the effects of a high carb diet.

So my advice is to reduce carbs where you can, and replace them with fats. But don't go overboard - one end of the pendulum swing is as bad as the other. In the meantime, do 5:2 to compensate for the bad things that come with eating a low fat diet.

Good Luck!

A very thought provoking thread Callyanna that I am still trying to come to terms with. Thank you also simcoeluv for your summary & experience.I am sure that my yoyo dieting over the years following the low fat low cal route has resulted in my continuing failure to keep off the weight I have previously lost. Finding 5:2 I hope that this will finally solve that problem when this time I manage to lose my extra weight.
I have now thrown out low fat, artificially sweetened stuff & replaced it with butter, coconut oil, olive oil (although had usually cooked with that), & full fat yoghurt. But I still like occasional whole meal bread, basmati rice & fresh pasta & I don't think I could completely eliminate them from my diet. Because of 16:8, thank you Ballerina!, I now don't eat breakfast cereals & have reduced carbs but I am still trying to find a healthy balance that will enable me to still lose weight & heaven knows about maintenance when I eventually get there
Thank you everyone for your very interesting insights & comments. Back to the drawing board for me because I seem to be unwillingly maintaining my weight at the moment despite also trying out 4:3ing.

I make porridge with water and salt then add it to grated apple, coconut(oil), chia seeds and then liberally add cream....it's great! Apologies to my Scottish friends, who think it should only be the water and salt as additives.

[Tracieknits]

...
I also still have quite a sweet tooth although it is much more controlled. I have moved to eating more berries than other fruits but still use sweetener to make things taste how I like them.If I don't do that I still find myself looking for something sweet although I have eaten enough. I also drink diet and no added sugar drinks. I know a lot of people think sweeteners are dreadful but do they have a place if you are trying to reduce carbs?

I am firmly in the "no artificial sweeteners" camp. I do think that at the very least they mess with our "sweet tooth" and make the sugar cravings stronger. There are those that say they mess with our brain because our brain tastes sweet and thinks calories are coming - so it dumps insulin and then suddenly finds the calories aren't actually there - and demands more food to deal with the insulin it dumped.

I have decided that in trying to eat healthier, whole foods, there is no room on my plate for artificial sweeteners, even things like Stevia.

Since I weaned myself off of my (not kidding) six Diet Cokes a day habit, I have found that I really do crave far fewer sweets and sugary things. In order to get off the diet soda habit, I switched to unsweetened iced tea, unsweetened iced mint tea, and lots and lots of flavored setlzer waters/sparkling waters. There are so many to choose from!

I would seriously urge you to consider giving up your artificial sweeteners and diet drinks. If you search the forum, you will find a few threads on this

The apple in my porridge makes it sweet enough. The less sweet stuff you eat, the less you want it, it's just habit in a lot of cases.

Well done @tracieknits for giving up the soda's. I agree with you about artificial sugars. I have stevia and xylitol, but only then, very occasionally. However the only thing I can't ditch is gum. I hate myself for it, but its really useful on fast days. Is there a brand I wonder which does gum with stevia?

[Tracieknits]

Well done @tracieknits for giving up the soda's. I agree with you about artificial sugars. I have stevia and xylitol, but only then, very occasionally. However the only thing I can't ditch is gum. I hate myself for it, but its really useful on fast days. Is there a brand I wonder which does gum with stevia?

I am firmly of the mindset that anything in MODERATION is not going to destroy you

Gum with stevia should be easy to find at a health food store - California has an abundance of them. Whole Foods is the biggest, but you should have no problem out there.

So Callyanna, how are you doing with the low carb high fat 2 months later?