The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

There is a lot of talk on the forum as to whether it is better to spread your fast day calories or to have them in one meal. The experts that Dr Mosley spoke to think that long gaps between meals are best for the extra health benefits beyond weight loss and some people on the forum are finding that they find it easier to save their calories for dinner. So, I thought it would be interesting to start a poll to see what our forum members are doing.

I have allowed voters to change their vote so if you find after a while that you have changed your eating habits on fast days, please do update your vote!

Edit:
It has been brought to my attention that some people have meals plus snacks so I have changed the poll, please now vote for the meal arrangement you have AND whether or not you snack!

I have breakfast and evening meal, and usually a snack. No option for me. Trust me to be awkward.

[carorees]

OK, I've changed the poll to add whether or not you include snacks, please can you vote again if you already voted on the old poll? thanks!

Done.

Just evening meal for me.

B'fast only for me - bowl of muesli with some chopped fruit plus instant coffee with milk, then no food till b'fast next day.

I have a single cup of Marigold Vegetable Bouillon if I feel like it (but it is so low in calories that I haven't counted it as a snack or lunch). But I don't have this every fast day, and I would only have only one mug per day anyway. I have miso soup in the cupboard in case I should ever become desperate and feel like a change.

Apart from that, I have just a large bowl of homemade vegetable soup in the early evening. This means that I don't have to count calories at all, even on a fast day, as a few test calculations showed that it is probably physically impossible to eat 500 calories' worth of vegetable soup if you don't add fat or starches other than the occasional parsnip or single potato (for the entire pot of soup, to help thicken it). Stick to lower-starch vegetables and add no fat, and you get a really low calorie soup, which is very satisfying if you blend it until it is smooth and velvety. My first couple of batches (which I did count carefully) came in at 100 calories or less per serving.

As evidence to support my theory, have a look at http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/healthy/low-calorie-soup/ which has a range of soup recipes including much more calorific ingredients than I use for my fast-day soup, all coming in at under 200 kcal per serving.

So I think I have a plan that suits me now, in which I don't have to count calories at all, even on fast days. I like to think that there is precedent for fasting like this, in mediaeval monasteries!

[Tracieknits]

Yes, there is an allure to the idea of not counting calories on a fast day! But I must say, I get fatigued at the idea of eating the same thing two nights a week for any length of time. So the veggie soup idea would probably work for me about once a month.

Hubby has a lot of business trips this month (including Scotland this week!) so he may try doing an early dinner one night (try to be done by 7pm) and simply not eat until his business dinner the next night. This way he can sneak a 24 hour fast in, and still stick to his required business dinners. Or he may do that on one of his (very long) travel days.

But I have definitely found that as long as I eat nothing more than black coffee and an occasional cup of bouillon/broth, the hunger is very very manageable until evening. If I eat a modest breakfast or lunch, I'm simply famished all day long. A 500 calorie dinner can be very filling and satisfying, even if you are including a reasonably small portion of healthy carbs

I love this poll. I've just voted for my routine which is breakfast, evening meal and no snacks.

I have skinny cappuccino for breakfast (90 cals). Then lunch (around 2pm). Then eve meal around 6-7pm.

Done

Completed the poll. I save my 500 cals for a single evening meal (with my husband). No snacks. If I eat earlier on then it's like I've tripped the appetite switch and then want to eat more. I'm beginning to like the empty sensation now and have loads of energy - I can still do my intensive cardio session on fast days too.

I have only just started and am planning on having breakfast, dinner and a snack some time in the middle of the day. However I am hoping to drop the snack when I get more used to the 500 cals.

I think it would be easier for me if I didn't have to fit into other people's eating times - I think if I could have breakfast later and dinner earlier then I'd have more chance of managing without a snack.

Edited the next day: I've worked out that I don't actually have to have breakfast with the others, so today I've experimented with no breakfast at all and see how it goes. If it is better this way I'll change my entry on the poll!

Good question! It would be interesting if this could be correlated with the Progress Tracker somehow. ie to see which regime results in the most consistent weight loss ?

Just me having nowt then?! So lonely, sniff!

Interesting, i agree with what Dean says, a bit of a study of correlation with progress tracker will be interesting after a few months at it.

Big thanks to Moogie and Carol for all the great stuff they're putting time into on this site for us! Really apreciate it.