The FastDay Forum

In a bid to learn a bit more about our community's fasting habits, motivations and other interesting foodie/fasting stuff we're going to be running a poll each week and would appreciate it if you could take a moment to cast your vote on the matter!

For this week's poll, we are asking:

How do you count your calories for a fast day?
Feel free to reply to explain your answer further, or if none of the answers are close enough for you.

Over to you!

I always know what I'm going to eat because I have a weekly plan. It's unusual for me to change the scheduled meal. I don't wing my consumption, I can make an informed estimate of the macronutrient and kcal content. I don't eat off-plan.

Similar to @Ssure tend to eat the same thing every fast day, know the calorie content. Any variation is just small so insignificant.

I only eat one meal on fast days, but I do have tea/coffee with a little milk during the day. I usually track everything on MFP (although I probably only need to if I'm eating a meal that I haven't made before).

Like @Ssureand @janeg, I eat mainly the same foods on fast days, it's so much easier and I know that whenever I change to different meals or eat anything extra that's when it all goes wrong.

I tend to eat the same foods on fast days, so don't count, I just know it's OK from having counted previously, but if I'm making something new, I weigh it out and use the calorie count website.

I tend to stick to low carb vegetarian meals like veggie curry for fast days and I only have one meal. Sometimes we'll have chicken, but I keep portions reasonably small. Having said that this week has not folowed that pattern. Tuesday I broke fast with a chippy tea and Thursday we had pasta. Might explain the 1.75 pound weight gain then eh

Doing this for quite some time now and having around the same weight for a year, since I reached my goal weight, I know what works for me on a fast day and it doesn't matter if I am 500 cal or a bit more.

When I was fasting and losing weight I only had home made soups and black coffee or tea on a fast day so I didn't count either.

When I first started, I carefully weighed and measured everything. Now I just eyeball it.

Like many others, I tend to eat the same thing every fast day, with a few variations for flavor, mainly things I've had before so that I remember how many calories are in a medium tomato or a measured amount of cottage cheese, or tuna, or sardines, or 2 large eggs. Sometimes I look things up if I'm incorporating an item I haven't had on a previous fast day.

You didn't give us the option: I use nutrition software to calculate the exact caloric value of my daily intake and weigh and measure to be sure I get portions right.

Obsessive, yes. Effective, very. This is the only way I've been able to lose weight after menopause.

On Tuesday it will be my 1 year Anniversary of 5:2!
I have gained internal health, feel better within myself, lost being lethargic, lost at last count (about 10 weeks ago) 20+ kilos.
And how do I count my calories for fast day?
By following set 5:2 recipes on my fasting days. It doesn't matter if I have had them before, I still read, gather ingredients, and
weigh them. I love these meals and am always looking for variety. Hubby enjoys them too.

Thanks to 5:2 and Fast Day I have found ME who became lost in the plethara of life, with children, husband, work, etc.
I am now back into my crafts, socialising and loving life.
Champage's at my place on 25th November, thats 1 year on 5:2.
Come, join the dance.
tenshi

I haven't chosen an option.
Previously I would have said that I had learnt enough to be able to come to a rough estimate of the calorie content of a meal, however, after about nine months of this way of eating, as my appetite had reduced quite significantly, I started to eat only one meal on most days. As a result I stopped thinking about calories at all. I came to eat in a relaxed way. I'm not trying to lose weight at the moment, but I will simply eat a little less when I decide to climb back on the wagon after Christmas. Until then, if I notice any upward creep in weight, I'll cut back.

I've passed 2 years since I started fasting and I still write down my calorie intake in a book on fasting days. I use the Hairy dieters books, Kate Harrison's recipe book and I have a looseleaf binder with recipes I have collected from the internet and from this forum. If I am following a recipe I believe the calorie count. Everything else I weight and use a calculator to work out the calories. I have skimmed milk in a cup of tea in the morning and a decaf at bedtime which I count at 10 cals a pop. I just have one meal in the evening and am currently trying to keep to under 400 cals on a fast day as my TDEE is in the 1600s.

Apart from knowing what I generally eat on fast days, I also use the MyFitnessPal app on fast days to keep track things that I don't often eat.