This topic contains 10 replies, has 8 voices, and was last updated by sylvestra 10 years, 10 months ago.
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hi Mmillar and welcome to the forums!
I am no expert but I don’t think there is any scientific evidence on eating either 3 small or 1 main meal on fast days… I have been doing this since July last year and I haven’t changed the way I do it, I spread my cals throughout the day and keeps most for my evening meal, I admire fasters who can go all day not eating,i am a coward and I cant lol!
all I know is that it works regardless and the pounds come off,very slowy but I don’t mind at all…
only you can decide what works best for you, good luck and happy fasting 🙂
You are welcome Mmillar!!
I think from what I have read and other posts/threads that as long as your fast is good 36hrs from your last meal of the day till next morning than that is absolutely fine 🙂
how you use the cals is up to you and what you feel comfortable with, 500 cals is 500 cals lol, you will soon see and feel the results for yourself!! 🙂
Hello Mmiller, don’t know about any proof but after doing this successfully for 5 months began to struggle. Had two weeks off over Christmas, and have found, since re-starting that I now get on better if I only have the one meal in the evening. It’s as though once I begin to eat I give myself permission to crave food. Monday’s fast went really well and didn’t eat until 6:30ish. We all have our own way of doing things, which is why it’s so good.
I’m like toms mantis. As long as I don’t eat at all, it’s easy enough but if I eat a bit, then it’s like my body thinks “hey, there’s food out there, find more and eat”. So I always wait and fill up on low-cal veggies in the evening. It’s probably also easier to be exact and keep track if you only eat once. In my opinion it’s unlikely to matter though how you do the fast day. The important thing is to get it done.
There are advantages too, to being able to go long intervals without eating. I went on a river cruise over christmas vacation, and of course I overate because I can’t pass up a meal I’ve already paid for. But I didn’t buy or eat any other food on the trip and that meant missing some meals. I saved money and gained less than 2 pounds over 12 days. It doesn’t bother me to skip meals. It feels like conquering an addiction.
I find that I am more successful on fast days if I put off eating anything at all until late in the day. Water all day is just fine, but like others here have mentioned, once I have something, I start wanting something. That said, I know others who much prefer a little something here and there, and find that to be most successful for them. I think we have to at least start out doing whatever works best for us. Testing the waters with other methods is all well and good, and may be something I try later, but for now, I’m happy to skip a few meals rather than having very small ones. 🙂
Hi all, interesting question regards how we manage our fast days. Dr Krista Varady, whom Michael interviewed regarding the impact of fasting suggests that people who do Alternate Day Fasting get the best benefits by eating one meal between 12.00 noon and 2.00 pm. Michael, in developing his idea of fasting has tried to make it more acceptable by simply suggesting eating your allotted calorie intake as it suits you. He eats twice a day, it suits him. I do the same. Others do a water only fast or eat several meals. There are other fasters who suggest a timed eating window on their fast days, ie eating between noon and 6.00 pm. We are all different. Experiment until you find a system you are comfortable with and which you feel gives maximum benefits. Lastly, 36 hrs seems to be the accepted fasting period to get maximum fasting benefits.
Good Luck to you all.
Actually, as far as I remember, if you just eat one meal per day your “fasting” period is longer and you hit two birds with one stone: you are then not only doing 5:2 but also 18:8 or 20:2. In other words you do not eat anything for either 16 or 20 hours which allows your body to go into “repair” mode. The more often you eat the longer the body has to deal with digesting your food.
On another note: I have found that one meal for me at dinner time is the easiest. I can then eat a “proper” dinner and don’t go hungry to bed.
Eeverybody though is different and it works better for others to have more meals.
BTW, I have read Krista Varadi’s book and can highly recommend it. It is very scientific based which is very convincing. She talks though about ADF, alternate day fasting or as she calls it: The Every Other Day diet.
Best of luck
Stef.
When I started 5:2,the first week I ate three small meals a day but, like many others on here, I found that if I ate in the morning I wanted to keep eating.
Now I have black coffee and water with a slice of lemon all day until around 7pm when I have a meal usually veggie based as I prefer go easy on carbs on a fast day.
But as we keep saying, in nearly every post, you do what works for you and there is no real ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way as regards 1, 2 or 3 meals.
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