Hi Kirsty,

I’d really urge you to have the full 500 otherwise it will be so difficult to sustain.

I save all mine until the evening on a fast day so that I can have a nice dinner. That way you get the full 24 hour fast (dinner to dinner) and also you can look forward to a decent meal. It means that in reality you only have to miss 2 meals (breakfast and lunch) twice a week. And it is simple as no counting – I roughly guestimate my 500 calorie meal, it is usually beans on toast!

Then just stay within your TDEE the other fast days. This is an average 2000 for a woman – although do calculate your own as it can vary – mine’s only around 1600 – but even that’s much better than most ‘diets’.

Wish you really good luck!

Hi Kirsty,

I agree with Cathy about having the full 500 calories – it’s really not that much anyway! When I first started I was trying to split the calories over the day but now try to go without anything apart from water or green tea etc. (zero calorie drinks) until dinner time. I still like to save a few calories for a rice cake or something around 9pm though!

You will find that after the first couple of weeks you will find your own way that suits you. I have been surprised that I haven’t been ravenous the morning after a fast and have come to realise that I won’t die if I don’t have something to eat for a few hours!

I’ve had a couple of weeks off over Christmas and could feel myself slipping back into the bad habit of mindless eating (just for the sake of it). I’ve put 5lb on which I know will soon disappear and I will be back on track.

Good luck with your weight loss, keep us posted! Linda