First two fast days – went over both miserably – question:

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First two fast days – went over both miserably – question:

This topic contains 17 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by  diverdog 7 years ago.

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  • Hi all – after completing two very successful fast days, I went over miserably in the evenings. My question: can I compensate by doing a 3rd fast day? Also, I have a question regarding the 2000 calories per non-fast day. Is this a general rule? I have been taking my TDEE as my calorie allowance.

    Hi,

    do you mean you failed in the evening and ate normally during those 2 days? You have still 500 Kcal to eat during your fasting day, you don’t have to fast completely, however to maximize fasting benefits effect you should fast as long as possible e.g. 24 hours, eat your 500 Kcal and start to eat normally next day as soon as you wake up. So it would be 500 Kcal during 36 hours. If you fail during the fasting day, obviously you must pick another one, if you want to fast at all.

    I don’t know where did you hear 2000 Kcal, but probably it was some around average of daily Kcal intake, however you need to calculate your TDEE and take in consideration your weight, age, gender and moving activity. These data are necessary to calculate your TDEE and this number is maximum Kcal you can eat to not gain the weight once you fast only twice a week. If you do every other day fasting, you may exceed TDEE slighlty (10% let’s say) and you still lose.

    Exercise is important. The best during the fast days, you burn more fat and it’s more effective, people who exercise and fast may lose twice kgs vs. those who fast only without exercise.

    Hope this helps.

    Thank-you TrueMirror – yes, I kept to my allowance during the fast days, and then afterwards, I went to the fridge and ate chocolate! And also finished some wine which was left over in a bottle. In future I shall make sure there is no chocolate (or sweet stuff) or left-over wines around on my fast days! I am confident that I can do this – maybe it is just the start which is a little over-whelming for me. I am also trying to curb my wine ‘addiction’, so losing weight and drinking less is killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Thanks for clarifying the TDEE bit; this is what I have been using as calorie allowance, so all ok. ๐Ÿ™‚

    It helps also to go to bed really early. I have never eaten in bed so that feels like a save zone (far from fridge..).

    Sounds as if you may just be fasting for 24 hours, not approx 36, as TrueMirror observes? Some people have three tiny meals, or two, that add up to 500. But some people don’t have any of their 500 till the evening, just water, black tea or coffee, then have all 500 in one go. Just do whichever you find easier, but it’s one day and two nights.

    It does get easier. The first few are much harder to regulate, and experience counts. If you feel the tummy rumble, try to put off eating a bit longer. Sometimes the hunger goes away for a while, and you get used to ignoring an empty tum. Food tastes so good after, as well! And the wine or chocolate… There’s always tomorrow for it, though don’t go mad!

    Agree with apricot. Lets say your fast day is Monday. So Sunday evening 7pm is your last meal. Then ALL day Monday is your fast day. You can only eat up to 500 cal on Monday. Then Tuesday breakfast is the start of your normal eating day. Just to give you an idea of calories, 3 glasses of wine will be about 400 cal. That is just about your entire fast day amount!! So if you had a block of chocolate, some wine and then 500 cal you probably went over your TDEE!! It was not a fast day, you probably had too much even for a non fast day!! OK so lets give it a red hot go, if your going to do a fast day make sure its a fast!!

    Hi both, I understand and did the fast day correctly time wise – I goofed after dinner with a hand of chocolate beans, and finished some wine, but not more than 4,5 dl. Until I goofed I was within the calories, I did not go over my normal TDEE calorie allowance, but I went well over the fast amount. So I will ensure to get rid of sweet stuff like chocolate and make sure there are no open bottles of wine lying around on my fast days. If I put in third fast day, will it make up for it, do you think?

    Forgive yourself and move on ensuring you stick within your 500 calories on your next FD. Nobody’s perfect and it takes a while to get used to such changes ๐Ÿ™‚
    You need to get used to 5:2 before thinking about adding extra FDs and it’ll take a couple of weeks of doing it properly.

    Thanks all xxxxxx

    Fabulous, that’s completely normal that you failed, we all did sometimes. When I started I split 500 Kcal into 3 meals. Also coffee helps to kill the hunger. Later once you get used to fast, you’ll see you can make whole day with 500 Kcal in the evening = 24 hours from the last meal – last dinner. I read some fasting benefits too, so it’s better to stay without meal 24 hours then eat your 500 Kcal and eat normally next day. But in the meantime you may split your 500 into more meals, so you can handle it.

    I also stay out of food during the day, because it’s easier for me and then I can sleep better when I eat in the evening

    I always seem to go over by 160 to 180 calories on my fast days simply due to the way I eat. I’m supposed to stay under 500. I eat a breakfast smoothie in the morning, typically 385 calories and then a small instant oatmeal cup which is around 180 calories and no dinner. It’s just the most convenient way to do so. Is it ok to go a little over during my fast days.

    I read all the replies to make sure I wouldn’t repeat something somebody else already said. I agree with everyone that has said to not beat yourself up for going over your calories for the day. There is always a learning curve when you try something new. And how wonderful that every day is a new day to start all over! The reason I have had no problem feeling hungry EVER on this program (FD & NFD) is my increased intake of WATER. Let me first say that I don’t like drinking plain drinking water, but I make myself drink 32 0z. before noon and another 32 oz. after noon and get all my water in by 2:00 PM so I don’t have to use bathroom in middle of the night. Many times when we think we are hungry, our bodies are actually thirsty for more water. I can’t believe it myself, but I am NEVER hungry and I do ADF (alternate day fasting). I sure hope this helps you or someone else that may read this.

    Just one detail on TDEE. Your calorie intake on NFD’s should be the TDEE of your goal weight, not the weight you are now.

    I don’t think that is correct. On the How it Works page, https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ it says “TDEE is the number of calories burnt in a day scaling BMR to level of activity. This is the number of calories you need daily to maintain your current weight and is about the amount you should eat on the days youโ€™re not fasting.” I am 197 lbs right now and my goal wait is 140 lbs. Basing my NFD on my goal weight would cause me to restrict way too many calories and I’d just about lose my mind!

    Unfortunately for people carrying a lot of fat TDEE is usually quite generous. It doesn’t take many calories to maintain fat and it it your lean body mass that does all the work. I don’t know if you are male or female and your age but a typical difference for a woman in estimated TDEE for is only about 300 calories. Not all that much. So in you eat 1900 TDEE calories a day @ 197 lbs and 500 calories on two fast days your total calories under estimated weekly TDEE will be 2800 or about .8 lbs fat loss. That’s assuming that your TDEE is accurate.

    So what I’m saying is it’s a good idea to eat less than your calculated TDEE on NFD if you want to have a solid fat loss. After all you are going to have to eat less as you get closer to your goal weight anyway.

    PS my girlfriend and I had our resting metabolism measured by O2 / CO2 usage and mine was 30% higher than calculated and hers was 25% lower. Why? DEXA scan indicated that I had way more muscle than the average guy of my age, height and weight. My girl friend had a lot less muscle than average. Lean body mass burn way more calories than fat.

    I love eating and I like it even more on 5:2. So when I’m fasting I’m planning on how to break my fast and I make sure I have the food I plan to eat on hand. That normally works well for me as long as one of my two teenagers doesn’t consume what I’m planning on eating!

    For me the breaking of the fast is part of the fasting. I break it will foods I enjoy but also with foods that are reasonably healthy. I know I’m going to overeat a bit, so I just plan on it. Maybe something like that will help. It doesn’t fix my overeating but it probably curbs the negative impact a bit.

    Well, I think that’s a bit much. In my first week alone I went a bit over on fast days and ate at my TDEE on normal days and still managed to lose a pound. That’s with having a desk job. I think I’ll be ok. I am not going to stress myself by over restricting calories. That’s a recipe for failure and unhappiness. I also have a mentally stressful job and need to be fueled and alert. As for having to eat less when I get to my goal weight, it’ll happen when I get there. I will keep using the TDEE on this site for normal days. I do feel that your original suggestion is a bit irresponsible and could cause others harm when doing the fast diet, to quit, not want to try it, etc.

    Criperella, congratulations on your 1 lb loss. You should continue to do what is working for you. However based on my experience of losing 70 lbs and keeping 60 of it off for 20 years and coaching and supporting others, I still recommend that TDEE charts are generous and most people underestimate the number of calories they eat on NFD’s. If you shoot for your goal weight TDEE chances are you will be eating the right amount of calories to support your lean body mass and lose fat consistently. All diets including this one cause fat loss by reducing the total number of calories you eat in a week. Eating a little less on NFD’s might be a bit unpleasant at first but if I’m going to fast two days a week I want to see results. Most people quit because the scale isn’t moving.

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