The FastDay Forum

@sarahg. Don't know what your bodyfat % is but you don't have much to lose and with a bit of focus you might get to where you want to be quite quickly. I'm 51, 5"3 and lost well last year (6kg's in 4 months) but then gained when I moved country and job. The reason was because I was over eating my TDEE on non fast days. However I lost a kilo last week as I went to see a nutritionist to sort me out, and I'm now combining a healthy eating regime with 5:2.

I would advise against going very low carb if you are an exerciser. I'm eating about 60g to 75g a day of carbs on non fast days which equates to a quarter cup of cooked brown rice mixed into a salad and a quarter cup of uncooked oatmeal in a pancake which I make in the morning with a whole egg and two egg whites. I eat every 3.5 hours on non fast days and force myself to eat even when I'm not hungry and my weight is going down. I'm bang on my TDEE. I know it's popular here to have long eating windows, but I have found for me I need to eat in the morning. Sometimes I will stop at lunch time and do a 24 hour zero calorie fast as one of the 5:2, but I want to gain more muscle so want to make sure I have an engine of sorts.

I advise you to drop the rice crackers/cakes. They have a very high GI and will make your blood sugar go crazy. Stick to brown rice and oatcakes http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/die ... -never-eat. Also the lowest GI fruit is a grapefruit so eat that and also berries. Do not undereat your TDEE on non fast days.

Hope this is helpful to you.

@Barbarita - "I have a diploma in teaching grandmothers to suck eggs" fabulous! Afraid I'm in the walkers tent, though I obviously need to follow you

I have not posted much to this tent, low carb for me is no potatoes, bread, rice, pasta for 6 months. Occasional rice, yep they make me hungry, so I'm off to the nut cupboard, not my fav food in the natural state, perhaps I'll grind more and add to dishes.

I've just added chopped toasted hazelnuts and flaked almonds to natural live yogurt, most satisfying :0)

Thank@Azureblue, I'll sort my nut self out this weekend.

Thanks rawkaren
Not sure about this body fat thing,according to my fat sacked its around 23 to 25% and never seems to change over the years ?I do a lot of yoga and pilates and feel that I have become stronger . Interestingly ,my jeans are tighter over the calf and looser at waist.makes me think all those warrior poses are making my legs stronger.
Yesterday was a non fast day and I lost a bit of weight
I agree though I need a bit of breakfast and regular small snack or a find myself mindlessly eating nuts rice cakes or just picking at food.
Actually I think that is my problem....mindless snacking.even though it's healthy or low fat stuff it adds up
Will follow your advise and eat regularly and as suggested I will write down everything I eat .actually,contrary to popular opinion I put on weight from too mush healthy fat so need to limit nuts and red meat.
Thanks for your help
Feeling a bit more positive today and plan to stick to basics ie two fasts and sensible nonfast days

@sarahg. It's fine to eat lots of healthy fats (my current intake is between 30 and 40% of my daily calorie intake. There are two things you need to remember though:

a. Fat and sugar or high GI is a deadly combination. If you eat alot of fat, you really must keep your carb count down
b. More calories per gram in fat:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories

Good morning.
I am busy tent hopping this morning!
Is there a limit on how many tents I can join!
Went to see doc yesterday and she recommended low carbs 5:2 diet so this tent looks good to me thanks to the ppl on the introductory thread that pointed me this way!
At the moment I will just try to cut down on the obvious stuff like bread etc and have more veggies and salad.
It feels so wrong to me getting food with fat in after all the years of fat free! Eeeeekkk!
Look forward to getting to know you all
Love
Lou x

Welcome @LoubyloulouGlad you've made it over here at last
Well done on your doctor for suggesting 5:2 and low carbing as a weightloss regime, you can tent hop as much as you like lol
It does feel so wrong to be going high fat again after all those years of having our heads full of such rubbish from the media.
Good luck have a good read around whenever possible,
Join in with us when you can, ask as many questions as you need answers then someone will give you a reply.

Help! Now I have just had a shock ,
I have just made my morning green smoothie. Today I threw in v8, kale, cucumber, celery and half a grapefruit. And I was shocked to see that there are carbs on this! What on earth do I do about this? I have been getting used to having these fab smoothies for breakfast.

I am soooo confused.

Ooh by the way I used to put more fruit in, but yesterday doc told me instead of eating more fruit and veg try it the other way round....more veg and fruit. She suggests one piece of fruit and the rest veg!

Cheers
Lou xxx

[carieoates]

Never had v8 before, is it tomato based. Plus how many carbs does it have? You are allowed some you know. I aim for sub 100g

@Loubyloulou
I wouldn't worry to much just reduce the fruit because yes that's quite high carb then adjust accordingly.
I'm spending my allowance on fruit and veggies and drastically reducing my "bad" carb intake, you're best starting gradually making small changes as in bread, potatoes, rice, and pasta.
I personally don't worry about veg carbs (never count them)
one piece of fruit daily and some berries.

Thank you ladies. I will relax now after all, it's feel good Friday! Xxxx

I like the sound of your GP Loo :0)

I wouldn't worry either - carbs from veg and some fruits have loads of other health benefits and are part of a healthy diet. I manage under 70g a day and I eat shedloads of veg plus berries every day. As people have said - the carbs to try and reduce are the bread/cereal/rice/pasta type. Good luck!

Is this a good low carb lunch ?
I just had 100g of fat free cottage cheese with a huge salad of lettuce, peppers, mushrooms, cucumber and tomato.
Just wondering......