The FastDay Forum

Hi everyone
So ive been doing the 5:2 diet for 4 weeks now and i was wondering what you all did on your feasting days.
I might of got the wrong impression from the book but it said that studies were done on people how were on high calorie diets and people on low calorie diets, so the people who were eating a high calorie diet seemed to lose more weight/quicker than the people on low calorie diets. So i decided to really go to town on my feasting days. But 3-4 weeks in and i feel im eating loads and feeling like im doing it wrong. Ive also thought is this really what i should be doing. It makes sense to lose more weight on a low calorie diet. So this is why im asking you guys. What do you do or what is your views on a low or high calorie diet?

I'm mixing it up to keep my body from adjusting to any 'norms'. So I have 2 days on the 500 calories, 3 days mainly eating high protein, vegetables and minimum amount of carbs - which would equate to my TDEE but is really high in nutrients. Then the other 2 days are my 'feast' ones. I will go over my TDEE these days, but not by double or anything. The main difference is the type of foods.... so I will eat carbs, and sweet stuff. Yesterday was my 'feast' day and I went out to a restaurant... I had half a loaded burger (it was just too big for me) some onion rings, a small beer and a slice of apple pie. For tea I couldn't really manage too much as I was still full, but I had a slice of ham and a high fat yoghurt. I probably went over my TDEE by 20% but the type of foods I ate were really different than the nutrient rich 'normal' days. Today I'm back to the fast - which feels really nice after the 'feast' day.
Not sure if it will work, but it seems to make sense having read all the advice on this forum and combined it to get hopefully the best mix. And I definitely feel like my body is switching from day to day - and I'm feeling slimmer in my third week now. Will be doing my monthly weigh-in on 25th, so I'll see how effective it has been then!

I too mix it up. I tend to eat less on Feast days during the week and more at weekends when I often eat out and enjoy a glass (or several) of wine. The days after a fast I'm generally not very hungry and get full quite quickly so probably eat about 1500 calories on those days. I fast on Monday and Thursday most weeks. You will work out what works for you over time and as you will soon realise from browsing these forums we are all different. The only real similarity you will find is that the majority of members who have been doing it for a month or more are seeing real results in terms of weight and inches lost.

I might of got the wrong impression from the book but it said that studies were done on people how were on high calorie diets and people on low calorie diets, so the people who were eating a high calorie diet seemed to lose more weight/quicker than the people on low calorie diets.

Wasn't the reference to high fat vs low fat diet in the comparison study - with both at the same calorie level ?

[carorees]

Remember that the high fat/low fat study was ADF, so the participants could get away with eating a lot on feast days whereas only doing two fast days a week will not be enough if you binge on all the feed days. Best keep feasting to just a couple of days!

Thanks for all your advice. See this is where i think im going wrong. the other thing i find i do is i feel like i should eat rubbish on my feasting days just for the sake of it as thats all im craving on my fasting days. I just need to get over this bad food phase and start eating healthier on my feasting days.

[carorees]

Avoiding carbohydrates especially sugars on feed days should help the cravings. Once you have broken the cravings you can reintroduce some carbs without causing cravings (well it's worked for me). Best to avoid diet foods as they are high in sugar and eating too much sugar prevents weight loss.