hi. I’m a newbie to the 5:2 diet and was wondering what others eat for breakfast on a fast day. I always eat breakfast so would prefer this to lunch on a fast day.
This topic contains 55 replies, has 44 voices, and was last updated by Couscous 7 years, 7 months ago.
Welcome to a whole new you – I have found this ‘diet’ (dont like to call it that) more way of thinking one of the most effective and easy to maintain lifestyle ever. So far I have lost 16lbs! For breakfast I usually take a 2 egg omelette as I find that keeps me going well into the afternoon – good luck :)!
hi MrsSkellers!
well done on starting your journey with 5.2, as Jilli72 already suggested eggs are good, lots of fasters skip breakfast but I cant! I have tried though…
I try to stay away from carbs so I usually have a black coffee, maybe a tiny pancake (carbs I know!!!!!!) and keep it under 100 cals…
am sure you will get lots more ideas form other members soon, good luck and happy fasting! 🙂
Hi MrsSkellers
I am doing my first fast day today and for breakfast I had a cereal bar. Know its not the best thing but it filled me up and only 97 calories. These are easier for me when I go back to work on Monday, especially being a single mum. I am hawever going to be looking at other low cal brekky options as like you, I cnt go without it.
Good luck x
I usually have porridge, one packet made with water is 125cals, I used the packets as its already measured so no inadvertently exceeding the calories. A few blueberries or raspberries on top adds only a few calories and keeps me going until about 6pm.
Having said that I do feel a bit out of control on normal days since Christmas so having eaten a good meal at 6:30 yesterday I decided to skip breakfast today. Its now after 5pm and I am beginning to think its time to have something to eat! I will be so pleased to get back to normal next Monday, when all visitors have gone home and a Birthday Party for my 89yo mother on Sunday has finished.
Hi TimeAndBeing! I part-cook the tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach first – if I need to (usually I don’t, depends on your tomatoes I find) I might put a dash of water in to get it all going. I use a small non stick saucepan so nothing sticks. Once about half way cooked, I add in a lightly beaten egg and VOILA its done.
It is super quick to make – I usually pre chop my veges into a small bowl the night before and also get my egg out the night before so it cooks at room temp.
Give it a try – its really lovely.
In saying that, DH made my breakfast yesterday and he added a teeny amount of olive oil when cooking down the veges – that was very nice but had slightly more calories of course.
Hi everyone,
Today is my second fast day of Week 1 on the diet. I was hoping someone could confirm if I have my calorie count correct for the breakfast I just had. I had a 2 egg whites only omelette with one chopped mushroom, 1/2 medium tomato and 1/2 medium onion, a fresh basil to taste. I also had an orange. I calculated this breakfast as approximately 100 calories. Can someone tell me if I am on the right track with my calculations. Thank you.
It depends on the size of the orange.
medium orange = 80 cals
navel orange = 154 cals
egg whites/mushroom/tomato/onion = 76 cals
So even with just a medium orange you have had 156 cals
With 1 satsuma/clementine/tangerine at 30 cals it would have been 106
http://www.myfitnesspal.com is an easy calorie tracker app you could use for a week or two as it is just too easy to underestimate your cals if you are guessing.
keep going and don’t obsess too much…it takes a few fast days to get ‘into the swing’
xx
Thank you Sylvestra for your quick response to my question. My calculations were way off! It was a naval orange. What I thought was 100 calories actually were 230 calories. Gosh those calories sneak up on you quickly 🙂 thank goodness I feel quite full right now and hopefully won’t need much for dinner.
Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.
Hi, DES
I (male) have half a grapefruit and a boiled egg. Without getting obsessive about calories/size of egg or grapefruit, that’s 125 calories.
My wife does not like eggs, so she has 100g of low fat yogurt with 60g of blueberries, followed by the other half of the grapefruit. That’s 130 calories for her.
Mrs Skellers : Watch those bananas! (95cals for 100g). There are much better fruits (i.e. lower in cals) to fill you up e.g. melon 29cals for 100g, pear 35cals for 100g.
Best of luck – this way of life works!
Silverback
I’m not on a fast day today (doesn’t work for me on weekends) but I woke up really fancying peanut butter. I’m trying to make healthier choices on non – fast days, and don’t normally bother with breakfast at all. Anyway, I have just made a batch of banana and PB pancakes and they were fab! Thought I’d share on here as I know some people prefer to have a ‘bigger’ breakfast on fast days.
Basically it’s 1 banana, you’d have to weigh to get accurate calories, 2 eggs and a tbsp of crunchy PB. Made 3 and came to 200 cals for the whole thing.
I don’t know if I will make them on fast days, as I prefer to save my calories and eat later in the evening, but may help for some of you!
Enjoy!
I am allergic to eggs….a huge disadvanage as they are the perfect healthy breakfast. Instead, I have a smoothie made ith 100ml coconut milk, a good handful spinch or kale, same with bluebrries, a tblsp chia seeds abd flaxseeds….if too thick add some water. It’s delicious and keeps me going until 6pm
Try this one: banana mug cake: mix 1banana with an egg, put in mug/ bowl in microwave for about 1.20minutes, flip on a plate, add some cinnamon and some chopped dried dates, figs, or shredded coconut , depending on how much kcal you like to have.
This can also be a banana pancake: mix and bake 😉
Add oatflakes if you need more energy, or as bteakfast on your nonfasting days.
I made the banana cake for my first breakfast and loved it. I am a devotee of kefir of which I make my own fresh lo-fat yoghurt every day, I also use the kefir whey to replace oil when stir-frying. I usually have a fruit smoothie (raspberries, strawberries, banana) with it at least once a day so am wondering how many calories 1 cup of lo-fat kefir smoothie would be please.
I’m on my first week of this plan – I had a boiled egg and a clementine for my breakfast on my first fast day – it kept me going until lunchtime easily. I then had french onion soup but it didn’t keep me going at all. I felt light headed and hungry from about 3pm. Tomorrow is my next fast day and I will make sure I have protein at lunchtime to keep me going. I think that will help. Good luck.
I love the scrambled egg and spinach breakfast, I also steam mushrooms I turn this into a main meal with my veg a bit like a steamed stir fry instead of fried, no fat add garlic and ginger chopped finely and light soy sauce and black pepper to finish.
Also weetabix are only 76 cals each so with skimmed milk this is another filling breakfast. Porridge cooked with water then a spoonful of fat free yogurt and few slice of banana comes in under 100 ish!
and remember to drink lots of water. Today is not fast day and i have not stop eating, toast, butter, lemon curd and chocolate, I hope this will all regulate in a month or so!
Hi, I’m new to the Fast Diet too. (Female) This is my first week. I had porridge and fruit (based on the recipe in Michael’s book) one day and then the scrambled egg and smoked salmon the other day. The eggs dish was far more filling and left me feeling satisfied for longer. The calories were higher though in this meal so I had to adjust my dinner quantities to keep within the calorie limit. The recipes in the book use a lot of ingredients that are available mainly in the warmer months like mangos, melons, aubergine etc. It’s fine at the moment but I would like some ideas for Autumn and winter as I prefer to buy produce in season. I am semi-vegetarian, eating no meat but some seafood. Any ideas welcome.
I’m planning my first fast day tomorrow…feeling very nervous that I’ll fall at the first hurdle!!
I usually skip breakfast with the rush of the school run so thinking of using one of the breakfast type options as a mid morning brunch and hoping that will keep me going til dinner when my hubby gets home about 8.30pm. He’ll be dieting by proxy as I refuse to cook us seperate meals 😉
I was going to go for porridge but think the general feeling on this thread seems to suggest protein (egg) as a more filling option.
baldhen, no, egg is not necessarily the most filling option even though it has a protein hit. You are different from all other posters. Look at the advice and experience of all of us by all means but you have to find what suits you best to get you through the day. For me, as a male I skip breakfast and have home made porridge (not instant, its not filling enough) with fruit around noon – 1.00pm. The low G.I. helps keep me full through the day. Around 6.30pm I then have my meal with protein in the form of meat with veg. My eating window is always within an 8 hr time period. Bed around 9.00pm.
This works for me but as you have seen other posters have different fast days.
Experiment until you find what works for you. Try eggs to see if they work. Do not get downhearted if something does not work, simply adjust, change and move on to something else recognising that all the time you are moving in a positive way to lose fat and gain inner health. Forget about being nervous, there is no need to be like that simply recognise the positive actions you are taking. Finally remember this is flexible so you can change fast days, adjust during a fast day or have a rest from it for a while.
Good luck.
Good Luck – Im starting tomorrow too. I think I might bring my porridge into work and have it as a brunch too. Work can make it easy and difficult at the same time – busy, but then different times when others are eating.
one thing I find interesting to read – everyone has to work at this – so i have to be prepared to do this too – sometimes when i feel hungry i think its only me that is suffering with all this – good to know there is company, and that everyone is and has to make the effort to get there!
Hi Edina
I tried using Fitness Pal as recommended in the book but found it counter-intuitive. I stumbled upon the Easy Diet Diary app and find it simple and easy to use. You can count your calories as you go, select and view the calorie value of each entry, as well as see the cumulative calorie total. You can enter foods under breakfast, lunch and dinner headings (helpful to separate totals if you are fasting with another person in the house). I haven’t found a food not in their database (even obscure things) and there are endless options for weight, volume and the way the food is cooked if it’s not weighed raw.
Good luck
Hi Manipleman
I don’t know anyone who does all three as equally sized meals. Not only is every person different but I have found (and others I’ve talked to) that each fast day can be different too. I have varied the way I eat on fast days and have found that skipping breakfast is pretty easy. My husband now does the same and waits until mid to late afternoon before he has his first snack. I prefer to have a light snack earlier. We have both found that when we do eventually eat for the first time it often makes us feel hungrier. How well we deal with this is helped by distractions such as work or activity combined with good regular hydration. We save the evening meal for the lions share of our calories and tend to eat low calorie foods for bulk along with some protein (usually meat for him and tofu or egg for me, as I’m largely vegetarian). It’s amazing how you actually begin to long for the fast day, especially if you’ve had a few days where you feel you have eaten more than you should!
Scaramouche, just seen your post re muesli and eggs. Remember, we are all different. What suits me may not suit others. Give your suggestion a try, if it works and is ok for you then that is fine. It also depends on what time of day you eat your muesli and remember the calorie total for the Fast Day. Remember though that a fast day should include sufficient protein for various reasons including helping to make you feel fuller longer.
Good luck.
My first day I tried a brunch of weetbix and milk at 10.30. By 1pm I was having a hypo episode. 2nd day I had a smoothie with mash pumpkin, kefir milk, spice and maple syrup with two teaspoons of dried egg powder for under 209cals. I did much better on 3 x200 cal meals over the day than trying to manage just two.
Hi Newbie here, hello all, am okay for breakfasts I struggle for Lunch on fasting days my downfall for Dinner at night is I love potatoes and I heard they are banned on fast days? have rice and cous cous some nights and lots of veg have chicken salmon steak or a lamb chop are all these okay for fast days or not help!!!!
I don’t think anything is really banned. You just need to limit your calls to 500 (for a woman) for the day. Carbs and fats have a lot of cals per average portion, while protein fills you up.
I skip breakfast on FD and have an early lunch at about 11.30 (12 if I can make it that long) and then have dinner around 6pm.
Lunch is usually a hard boiled egg,1/2 a grapefruit and some miso soup; or a boiled egg and a lower cal veg soup (homemade carrot ginger or potato leek). Many of us get cold on fast days.
Dinner is usually a small serving 3-4 oz of protein (fish, chicken, meat) and salad or veg and a piece of fruit. If I need a snack it is red peppers, or carrots.
Planning ahead is the key for me. I put it all into my fitness pal. I also make sure I leave some cals for milk in tea and coffee. I need at least one cup of coffee and tea with milk per fast day to get through the day.
Good luck!
Lesley-Deanna – As slg says nothing is really banned, but some things are, of course, much higher in calories and so don’t fit in on a fast day. Certainly of all the meats you could choose (any day) lamb chops are probably the highest in calories – something I tend to keep for an occasional special Sunday lunch on a non-fast day. Potatoes and rice are also high in calories – try cauliflower rice instead. I skip breakfast and lunch on fast days as I find eating through the day only makes me hungry for more. There’s no magic answer to losing weight – the 5:2 way of life is the only thing that has worked for me but you do still have to make an effort to make it work and keep an eye on the calories. Keeping a food diary to start with was, for me, absolutely essential and you really do have to work out your TDEE and keep within it on non fast days otherwise you undo all the good you’ve done on your fast day.
Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, The Fast Diet Cookbook, page 28. It says two eggs and 80g of smoked salmon. It does not say 2 servings. Is that really one persons share or a book printing error?
Thanks for any help. I am just about to start. Also, if I added some coriander and some asparagus, negligible?
Hi,
My partner and I have just started 5.2 and we have done 3 fast days. We split our calories equally, having 150s 0% greek yoghurt -85cls and blueberries 51 cals for breakfast.
Lunch 9 slices wafer thin chicken from Tesco-72 cals and 7 cherry toms- 21 cals, 130 grms cucumber – 15 cals, romaine lettuce 85 grms – 4 cals, 1 small peach- 35 cals Total 147 cals
Dinner 150 grms Tesco skinless and boneless cod loin 106 cals with same salad as lunch 40 cals Total 146 cals
Total 429 cals leaving enough for Alpen light bar just before bedtime! 65 cals
I found this much easier than going long periods without food and it seems better for my mood.
On non fast days I stick with bacon and egg for breakfast, salad for lunch and a meat and veg for dinner. I snack on fruits on non fast days as that is the only thing I would miss if I couldn’t have it.
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