The FastDay Forum

Usually I manage the fast days ok but now and then things happen, stressful things and I have a moment of weakness such as, I eat a chocolate biscuit (or 2) and I know that this means I either have to scrap my evening meal or accept that I've gone over the 500 cals? I know I could just scrap my evening meal but I really don't want to - it's fish dusted in lemon and breadcrumbs from Aldi (only 150 calories) with roasted peppers. I don't want to not eat it because I've been looking forward to it so much, because it's my healthiest meal of the day and I can sit down with my kids and eat. If you were me would you write off today and do the fast another day or would you just say" never mind it's just 80 calories over the limit"?

I would say "never mind, it's only 80 calories".

And maybe leave a little wriggle room for future fast days (ie only plan about 400 calories, and have teh rest for emergencies)

It is totally up to you what you want to do. What we learn from fasting is that eating is a choice.

[carorees]

"Never mind its only 80 calories over" is what I would say. I often go over, and probably equally often go under so it balances out in the end. Even if you were to go over by 80 cals every time you would probably still lose weight if you are among the people who achieve the 1lb/week average!

Honestly, I think I would say 'never mind, it's just 80 calories over the limit'.

There's also another option: don't eat all your dinner. Leave a couple of bites (if you can bear to) and you should even out closer to +/-20 calories within your limit.

OR, go for a brisk 20 or 30 minute walk to compensate.

In any case think it's necessary to accept a tolerance limit of about 20 calories over or under, simply because all calorie counts are approximate (and even black tea and black coffee aren't calorie-free, there's always a few calories in there!) Even up to 80 calories probably, truth be told, won't "break the bank" - just don't let it become a sneaky habit!

hi
totally agree with the others - dont worry about 80 today it will probably balance out over the week
i think i have more than not gone over the 500 on fast days but equally a couple of days i am under my tdee - so far i have lost almost a stone - dont fret 80 cals just dont let it become habit

jeniben

Thanks guys, it's not all about numbers is it? There's a strong psychological component with this stuff.....and I don't want to sabotage myself with a negative mindset. Think I'll just accept I'm going over, as you say and get a bit of extra exercise in too

Think if it was in the morning I would say "fastings not for me today" & start again tomorrow in a better frame of mind, if it was afternoon then I'd be like everyone else &say what's 80 extra cals when looking at the bigger picture of weekly intake.
It depends how strong you are & whether you can stop at the one biscuit, unfortunately I've not reached that stage yet though I take hope from reading the posts from others on here that one day I will.

Don't beat yourself up about it!

On my supposed second fast day I forgot about it until after I had had a light lunch (it comes with age!!). Like you, I had only gone over the calories by a little so I carried on for a fast day then because I felt guilty I added another fast day that week. I still lost weight!!

Good luck.

I too would continue on with the fast as planned and brush off the extra cals. I started 5:2 as a WOE for the rest of my life, not simply to get down to a goal weight, so I figure eating a few extra cals one fast day out of all the fast days I'll have isn't a big deal.

I am sure I must have gone over 500 on more than 1 fast but it hasn't stopped me loosing weight. If just a few extra calories were that critical then I suspect most people would find this woe unsustainable!

[Tracieknits]

I wouldn't worry about 80 calories. I personally aim for between 400 and 600 calories on fast days. So anywhere in the 500s is just fine by me.