The FastDay Forum

[carorees]

I'll add a question on drinks to the questionnaire...alcoholic/smoothies/fizzy drinks etc. Do we think it should be asked just for fast days or non-fast too?

I would add it to non fast days too. There are a lot of calories in soft, fruit and alcoholic drinks.

At least fruit isn't empty calories though.

But if you're getting the fibre, mins and vits from elsewhere already (eg vegetables) then the sugary fruits with world beating PR are optional.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... dwellbeing

I am a carb addict. I could happliy live on bread, potatoes and pasta. I am losing the average of 1 lb/week without cutting out these foods. I do wonder if I could lose weight faster if I cut these foods out but to me the point of 5:2 is that I do get to eat and enjoy these things 5 days a week, otherwise I'd be doing a low carb diet !

Franglaise,

It is great to hear how you succeeded on this diet. I don't think there are any big secrets to losing weight. I think you just ate less overall than people who lose weight slower. My BMI is 20 and my weight loss has stalled most likely due my eating too much crackers, french fries, cheese, and beer on non fast days. I got all that stuff out of my house the other day, and now I am serious about losing weight. Yesterday, I had a smoothie for breakfast (that's how I get my berries and antioxidants), big green salad for lunch, and roasted veggies (eggplant, onion, red pepper) with garbanzo beans for dinner. We'll see what happens.

So yeah, to recap, those who take in less calories overall during the week, lose more weight faster. Those who take in more, don't. No big mystery. Carbs and sugars cause spikes in insulin making people eat more food overall. Less carbs, less eating. People also tend to overeat more when they drink alcohol. (Studies have proven this.)

Another factor that plays a key -- many people, I believe, under report their daily TDEE (calorie intake). They forget to write things down, portions are much larger than what they estimate, or they don't realize how much sugary drinks add up to. When they add everything up at the end of the week, they have no idea why they keep gaining or they aren't losing.

Yes, but Rufus, as you can see from my previous post on this thread. I eat quite a lot of carbs, compared to many, and in ten weeks I have lost 16 pounds out of the 23.25 which I would like to lose. This is better than the forum average and I am happy with this rate of loss. Like JennyH10, I enjoy my carbs and it would be a real hardship to give them up. Being able to eat them is what is helping 5:2 work for me.

I don't count calories any more but, as you say, I must be taking in fewer calories than I am using, otherwise I wouldn't be losing weight. Perhaps some people don't get insulin spikes from carbs, or perhaps we are more able to resist the hunger which it supposed to produce?

I think there is still a lot to discover on different ways of approaching 5:2 but, as long as we accept that there is not a 'one size fits all' solution, then we can support each other in our weight loss adventure.

Maybe I'm just peevish because I'm on a fast day, but I think I am perfectly capable of working out a TDEE and not trying to fool myself that I'm eating less that I actually am!

I have looked back at my last 3 mths on the MFS site and my weight stalled when I changed the balance of my intake. The calories have stayed the same. I have changed back this weekend and already the trend is turning downwards again and that is before my regular fast days.

We are all individuals and some people seem to work better with their brain fuelled by glucose where others, like me, do better on ketones. I know of a lot of other people who, like me, have FMS who also seem to do better both from a weight and an energy point of view if they cut the carbs. A lot of us also seem to have intollerances to wheat and gluten or even grains in general.

I got a couple of weeks in and just thought that maybe as I was now counting calories and not carbs I could reintroduce the odd slice of gluten free bread or the odd extra piece of fruit. Seems not. I don't actually mind going back to mixing low carb with fasts as it was making me feel generally ill. Have felt much better this last couple of days even though my carbs are a little higher than before 5:2.

Maybe we just have to sort out our own path, but if we could narrow it down a bit to a couple of basic protocols for ease of advising others it would surely help.

But then how do you explain people like StowgateResident, whose weight loss seems to fly in the face of the low carb theory, and I'm sure there are other members who are the same. I just think some people can cope better with carbs than others.

Stowgate resident said "40g muesli and semi-skimmed milk for breakfast" which is only ~200 calories with 60% from carbs aka 30g of carbs.

While this isn't "low carb" it's a lot lower than many, and not a lot of calories either.

But that's just breakfast. What about the other meals?

No idea, look forwasrd to seeing some data

no numbers.

Sorry! I didn't mean to stir up a hornet's nest! Simply wanted to point out that what I eat isn't the same as Franglaise but that we are both losing weight. Isn't that one of the advantages of 5:2 - because we can all find our own way through it?

PhilT: Your post appeared as I was typing mine. Did you want numbers from me or were you referring to something else? If you meant me, did you want weights and/or calories of the foods in my first post on Page 1 of this topic? I no longer count calories but I may be able to get the information from a couple of months ago when I was weighing and recording everything.

It's not important. Heard you the first time.

internet stutter, can't see how to delete the duplicate

PhilT: Your post appeared as I was typing mine. Did you want numbers from me or were you referring to something else? If you meant me, did you want weights and/or calories of the foods in my first post on Page 1 of this topic? I no longer count calories but I may be able to get the information from a couple of months ago when I was weighing and recording everything.

Vaguely interested in total calories and % from carbs and protein, if you have the data and the inclination.

Would the GI of the carbs have any bearing Phil? As I can't eat wheat or gluten my carbs would be well up the GI scale. It only took a couple of weeks to spoil everything and not just my weight loss. My energy levels plummetted, my fasting BG was well up and yet during the day it was dropping down to hypo levels.

PhilT: Just a sample but fairly typical from back in February. Since then I have abandoned the Soya light milk and the low cal Mayonnaise and low fat Clover for the full fat versions. I probably eat more than this now as I have learned to relax more around food. Sorry about the formatting. My excel spreadsheet doesn't translate very well! My TDEE is 1450. - I am very idle!

Apologies to the rest of you. Looking at what others eat is probably so boring!
.
Friday 15th February
45g Tesco's Luxury muesli 180
100g Alpro soya light 30
70g boiled egg + low cal mayo. 110
75g wholemeal bread 190
1 crème caramel 110
545g Tortellini & sauce 545
Green salad 20
125ml red wine 85
150g melon 30
1 Solero lolly 105
Total - Kcal 1405

Tuesday 29th January
45g Tesco's Luxury muesli 180
100g Alpro soya light 30
1 M&S Chicken & Ham sandwich 260
1 pkt M&S baked crisps 90
1 medium pear 45
50g cooked chicken 105
150g new potatoes (sauted) 125
15g cranberry sauce 25
100g carrots 35
50g broccoli 15
50g mashed potato 85
½ Crème caramel 55
1 meringue nest 50
½ small banana 50
25g Cornish ice cream 50
2 Weetabix 135
145g Alpro soya light + 5g sugar 75
1 Cadburys Options 30
1 glass sugar free orange squash 5
Total - Kcal 1445

Monday 4th February - Fast day
Vegetable, prawn, rice medley 280
75g Mango 50
Meringue nest 50
25g Cornish ice cream 50
1 satsuma 50
Total - Kcal 480