On a fast day should I avoid carbs. If I have a slice of toast and it is within my daily allowance is that ok? Reading lots of info about avoiding carbs and I don’t understand why? Thanks
This topic contains 7 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by weeman 7 years, 7 months ago.
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There are no restrictions on 5:2 so far as what you eat, only on how much. It is entirely up to you to decide whether to eat toast on a FD. Trial and error will help you to decide what is best for you.
Having said that, most of us who have been fasting for a while have come to realise that avoiding processed carbs and sugar is the best option as they cause a huge rise in blood sugar level followed by a drop once our bodies have released insulin to deal with it. Once our blood sugar level drops our body craves more, a feeling that most of us mistake for hunger and then we overeat.
Avoiding them on a FD make it much easier to stick to the fast. A boiled or poached egg has less calories and will fill you up for longer than a slice of bread.
Avoid processed carbs. Bread falls into that category. Any grain based processed product will have the same effect. Bread will be broken down into maltose while you are still chewing it in your mouth. Maltose is two glucose rings joined together. It will then be tuned into glucose in your stomach. Bread will thus cause you to get a massive glucose spike very shortly after eating it. Which raises insulin levels which makes you store the excess glucose as fat. And then the residual insulin prevents you from accessing your stored fats. Hence 2 hours later you will be hungry again as you will have exhausted your glucose supply and wont be able to access any fat.
Of course you can have the bread if you want. It will just make the task of losing weight more difficult.
There are perceived benefits from fasting and their are benefits from following a healthy diet.
If you are eating toast I’m assuming you are eating breakfast so you aren’t doing anything different from what you did before ie you aren’t extending your fast from the normal overnight between dinner and breakfast, you might want to think about that, and also the type of bread you eat. If you are talking packaged ready sliced bread, it contains preservatives and other additives designed to keep it soft and look OK for many days and it isn’t doing you any good at all.
If you are talking proper bread and by that I mean uncut with no additives then it is still processed carb but a much better choice.
And what are you putting on it?
Many experienced fasters either eat nothing at all on FDs or use a narrow eating window, anything from 8 hours eg 12 noon until 8pm and some (like me) only eat dinner.
I always cook from scratch and occasionally my FD dinner contains a small amount of pasta/rice/potato and it has never made any difference in my ability to lose weight but I don’t eat bread on a FD.
Weeman, Amazon is spot on about the bread, personally I don’t touch it though. I’m vegan and for lazy vegans (like I was) it’s the easiest thing to eat because it’s so accessible. The problem I found, which I don’t think is unique, was bloatedness and hunger after a couple of hours. My advice would be to cut it out totally, though I know it is hard, but I will bet you’ll feel better for it. Good luck
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