The FastDay Forum

Hi,
I've been doing 5:2 for about 3 weeks. Previously was following the eat clean diet but became bored. On non fast days now I'm finding my appetite is diminished but because I've always been told that you have to eat to lose weight & if you cut calories too low you retain fat etc so I've been making myself eat even if I'm not hungry???
I've only lost 1.5 pounds thus far but initially the freedom of being able to have what I wanted was a bit too tempting... Stopped that now! So, is it true that if you don't eat enough it won't work???

I'm sure that the more experienced members of the forums will reply to your last question but I can't see any logic in eating when you're not hungry.

I'm with TML13 on this one, go with your gut (no pun intended) instincts. Good luck,

Ballerina x

I am also a great believer in listening to your body and only eat when I need to. Quite often I'm simply not hungry! I have read many articles stating that if you do not eat enough calories your metabolism will slow down leading to slower weight loss. After a Fast Day, I find it difficult to adjust to eating larger portions again.

Thank you for your swift replies, will listen to my body! Xx

Oh dear I'm not very technical, being pressing the thumb icons and it looks like I don't like your replies, but I do!! X

Hello! My name is Shelley and I am from Canada. I have the same problem because I have been following a restrictive diet for years. It is difficult to make myself eat more than around 1200 or 1300 calories a day. But for the 5:2 to work, you need to eat 25% of your usual daily calorie intake on fast days. If I did that my body would definitely be in starvation mode (even more than what I have done to it already!).
My solution right now (I have only completed 3 fasts) is to eat higher calorie items. It is psychologically difficult but instead of 35 calorie per 100 gram yogurt, I am eating Greek yogurt. This way I do not have to eat when I am not hungry but I still get in my TDEE. I also have a protein shake with almond milk, a Tbs of kefir, ground chia and flaxseeds for the probiotics, omega 3 and fibre.
Those of us good at fasting need to work on the eating! It doesn't make sense but for years I have eaten less and worked out more to try to lose weight. It doesn't work

I only eat when I'm hungry now and although I don't count calories, I'm pretty sure I'm eating well below my tdee or whatever on non fast days during the week. I drink a lot of alcohol at the weekend and usually still have two substantial meals on Saturday night and Sunday lunchtime, but overall, I still eat much less. I've had great success losing weight so not eating enough hasn't caused me any problems.

It is true that eating below a certain amount of calories will slow down the metabolism because it might lead the body to think that's it's starving but you don't have to eat huge quantities of food in order to stay around your TDEE. Thank God (or not, LOL), there are many things which are delicious and have many calories in very small quantities.

I know I'm probably stressing too much, I've been trying to lose weight forever! I have had today, 2x white bread with low fat cheese & lettuce & tomato, half a cake at Waitrose with hubby, an apple & a small portion of spag Bol with rice instead of pasta, 2 rich tea biscuits. Any thoughts? Mon & Wed are my fast days. Xx

It's better to try and work out your calories. Quantity-wise you are from little to OK but I've no idea what you mean by "half a cake" or "small portion of".
Try to calorie count for a couple of weeks, just until you get the grip of what you can eat to stay around/within your TDEE.

Great advice form TML13. I am counting calories on feast days for the present time so as to give me a better idea of portion control.Fed up of using scales, so I invested in a set of measuring cups and measuring spoons which speeds up the process. I intend to calorie count for the first four weeks and then afterwards will count calories on fast days and on other occasions when I'm not sure how many calories a particular food item contains.

Thank you for your help & advice. I totalled my cals yesterday at 1,200 & my TDEE was calculated at 1352. Xx

Ive worked out my TDEE and am working towards managing that on non-fasting days. But there seems to be great debate about what food groups to spend those calories on Im finding it hard to understand the concepts of a balanced diet versus higher protein/ lower carbohydrate diet. Which do you think is more beneficial to a quicker weight loss

Some research has suggested - kudos to Caroline (carorees) for spotting it I think - that our metabolism is generally unaffected down to about 80% of your TDEE but below that it might fall somewhat. So I think it isn't a problem to eat a bit less than your TDEE on feed days and of course this will help you lose faster.

Regarding what to eat, it's your choice but eating high GI carbs causes insulin spikes and is likely to make it harder to stop eating. Still, we all do it! The rule stated by Dr Mosley (and others) for protein is 0.80g per kg of your body weight per day. And there is an ongoing debate about whether it is good to have most of your calories as carbs or fat. The traditional view is low GI carbs are good, the newer view is that we don't need any carbs and that fats are good (whether this includes lots of animal and/or saturated fats depends on who you speak to).

Confused? I wouldn't worry at this stage, I think a much bigger danger than not eating enough on feed days is eating too much!