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Hi mcca and welcome:
The standard advice is to eat more foods with fat and protein in them, and fewer carbs, especially processed carbs like sugar, bread, cereals and pasta. This is because carbs make you more hungry, while fats and protein make you less hungry. Here are some general tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Hello all. Embarrassed to admit. Just eaten a whole Sains 500g trifle in just over an hour. Believe me, I’m not proud. Just an example of however I lack any sort of control on a non fast day. Oh I know, why did I buy it? Suffered a moment of weakness yesterday on a fast day, andj, stupid I know, these trifles are on offer at half price at the moment.
I’ve also eaten about 100g peanuts and breakfast and lunch. After eating half of the trifle, I still felt like eating the rest. I don’t experience fullness since being on 5:2, but manage to not each such trash on fast days. Binge or what?
I can’t believe this is me and my eating was never this bad. Can’t believe I’m telling you this. What an embarrassment.
Mcca – I’m curious where you got the figure of 1350 calories for non-fast days? It seems to me we are able to eat much more than that on non-fast days. How long have you been doing this and how are your results? If you are having results I wouldn’t stress about it. To me, it seems you are being too restrictive over all. The point is that you’re supposed to relax and eat as normal on your non-fast days. And if you stick to non-processed healthy foods, your body should adjust to a normal appetite.
Ruby, TDEE is dependent on many things including age. There are many people on this site with a TDEE OF 1300-1400.
mcca, what do you eat on fast days and how does it differ from non fast days?
If you usually eat a lot of processed carbs and sugar you might be suffering from withdrawal symptoms on the day following a fast as your body is addicted to them and telling you to eat more.
The answer is to start cutting down on the amount of such foods you eat every day which probably isn’t what you want to hear.
I found that cutting out breakfast and gradually pushing back the time of day when I start eating has really helped. I now rarely eat before lunchtime on any day as I am not hungry.
I also make a concerted effort to make healthier choices every day. It wasn’t easy but I kept asking myself if I wanted to be unfit and obese forever or if I really wanted to make this diet the one that works.
Everyone can succeed on 5:2 but it takes willpower and sacrifice to re-train our appetites.
I still eat cake, chocolate, dessert etc but they are all occasional treats and not all on the same day. They actually touch the sides as they go down now too 😉
I’m far from perfect, I still have bad days when I eat far too much of the wrong thing but they only happen occasionally rather than being a daily routine. And I’m yet to conquer the post night out (yes I mean alcohol) cheese on toast fest but I’ll keep trying!
Unfortuantely there is no magic bullet, it’s all about willpower and heathier eating habits.
I’m one of the “lucky” one’s with a TDEE of 1400 calories. It does make NFDs a challenge, exacerbated by the fact that I also have a binge eating disorder.
A low TDEE is not uncommon if you are short, female and older and it’s even worse if you aren’t very active. I have a chronic illness that limits my activity options so although I do make sure every day includes movement it’s not enough to make much difference to my TDEE.
I was really annoyed when I realised how low my TDEE actually was – I felt cheated. But reality is what it is and unless I learned how to eat the right amount of food I was doomed to be obese forever. I eventually figured out how to restructure my diet to stay around my TDEE on NFDs.
I made similar changes to those Amazon described. I don’t feel hungry first thing in the morning so I rarely eat before 11am, and often it’s later – I try very hard to listen to my hunger and not to eat when I’m not hungry. I eat wholefoods not junk foods. I eat plenty of carbs but they are high fibre complex carbs (eg legumes & wholegrains), I rarely eat simple carbs and sugars other than those in fruit. For me a lower-fat high-fibre varied diet that is high in veg & fruit content is the best fit. I eat 6-10 serves of veg & fruit each day. This gives me enough volume to eat, a wide range of nutrients and keeps me under my TDEE. However, I don’t have insulin resistance and have never had issues with blood sugar – I know my approach to food choices may not work as well for people with those issues. It took a bit of experimentation for me to find a dietary approach that works for me and my solution is personal to me. I think everyone needs to find what works for them, as if I’ve learned anything on this forum it’s that one size definitely doesn’t fit all.
TDEE is just a guide at best. You have to learn to eat to a level that works for you. That being said, if you eat a lot of sugary junk you are probably going to eat more. Why do you think there is so much sugar in processed foods? It works to keep us eating.
The problem isn’t with the amount you want to eat the problem is with what is eaten. A bit of treats isn’t going to cause you to become a blimp but stuffing yourself with treats isn’t going to help you lose weight.
So I think the trick is to have lots of foods you can eat a lot of until your body tells you to stop. For example I mostly replaced my ice cream that I love with nuts. Nuts are actually higher calorie content but I for whatever reason I don’t seem to gain weight off of them like I do from ice cream. I also have been finding ways to add fiber to my food and I don’t avoid fats. I don’t go out of my way to have fats, I just don’t avoid them anymore. What I do avoid is added sugar! I go out of my way to avoid it and when I do have it I’m mindful of it so I limit it. I try to stay under 10g/day of added sugar. Now I don’t limit myself on fruit but fruit is expensive and it is hard to eat too much whole fruit, so that is self correcting.
It is also completely possible to eat huge amounts of food with limited calorie content. For example one day when everyone else was out for supper I made a salad large enough for six people and eat all of it. I just used one persons worth of high calorie toppings though. It was actually good and under 500 calories. The only problem is that it took me 90 minutes to eat it and I felt a little too full well into the next day, which was a fast day.
Changing one’s diet takes time and effort. Take it a step at a time. Fix the diet and the overeating will take care of itself. Most of the time now I eat less than what I used too when I started 5:2 about six months ago. When I do overeat, I’m mostly overeating foods that won’t derail my diet. (Except nuts and frankly I eat way too much of them, but for some reason it hasn’t derailed my weight loss.) The point is eat things that work with your body and the amounts will take care of themselves.
Easy. Stick to your TDEE and don’t go over. Fat has 9 cal per gram. If you went over by 1000 cal then its 1000 divide 9 = 111 grams plus associated water retention. What is it about the weekend that makes you eat differently to the week days? Perhaps try and break that cycle by doing different activities?
Avoid ALL processed grain based carbs. These products are quickly turned into glucose and if your glycogen stores are full they are converted into fat. Get your carbs from whole foods like veggies, legumes, nuts, some whole fruit (not dried fruits, not fruit juice). So no bread, pasta, noodles, cakes, biscuits, muesli, breakfast cereals etc. If it came from a grain don’t have it.
Hi thanks for your reply. I have had 2 party’s last weekend and this weekend
So I managed to drop 5lb last week and hold until Saturday morning then I put on 2.4 Saturday and then another 1.4 yesterday I did eat a bit more but there seems to be something more to it. And I do eat quite loosely aftr fast days, I thought that was the idea. I did eat for 3 days various foods including cereals and chocolate but managed to hold the weight loss until Saturday but very frustrated at my self. Rant over sorry. Thanks again for the advice
Ok, sugary foods increase your insulin levels. For someone trying to lose weight that’s not good. You only need 4 grams (one teaspoon) of sugar (glucose) circulating in your blood at any one time. Anything in excess of this is shunted off to be stored either as glycogen or if those stores are full then it is stored as fat. The residual high levels of insulin are long lived, several hours. Insulin tells the body to store everything that you’re eating.
I will weigh my lowest the day after my fast. That makes sense. The next day I can weigh up to 2 pounds more, usually 1 pound though. But it basically stays at that level for the rest of the week. Then the fast day comes around and I can drop 2 pounds again. Im in maintenance so I try and maintain my range between 152 and 154 pounds. If youre wanting to lose weight then really just focus on what you weigh the day after your second fast. If that is going lower then all well and good. Don’t worry about the other days. As long as the trend is downward all well and good.
See all the other threads about fluctuations on the scales and looking at other measurements as well….. Are you weighing at the same time daily, and with the same conditions?
My weight goes up and down without always seeming to be related to what I’ve had – though carb rich days almost always see an increase. I like the daily check even though it’s not always reassuring, but I also calculate the average for the previous 10 days (picked because of an off hand comment elsewhere) and that trend seems to stay downward even when the daily weight fluctuates.
Are you getting enough fluids in – water, tea, coffee etc? It’s something I find I have to track on NFD’s especially when not at the gym as I can get through 2L while at the gym which makes fluid intake for the day pretty easy those days. Low fluids usually leads to water retention, leading to gain.
Like others have said try and restrict the carbs / sugar. Fill yourself up on protein and healthy fats and it really does reduce the cravings, as does getting the fluid intake up.
My appetite has reduced massively since I started in February, and I also now find it much easier to not finish something off just because it’s there. Carbs do definitely make that harder for me though. Even though I know, having weaned myself off a lot of the carbs/sugar that were in my diet, overindulging now leaves me feeling bloated and uncomfortable and also craving more empty carbs.
Also, have a browse through some of the other threads – increased exercise is not necessarily helpful for weight loss, it is important to your health.
Are you tracking any other measurements – they may give a different picture to the numbers on the scales and help with motivation.
@pdoran23 Take measurements now and you have them for the future. Do your clothes feel different? Remember that fat loss and weight loss are 2 different things. Gym time should be building muscle (which is denser than fat) which will increase your basal metabolic rate so you can burn more calories, but that won’t necessarily show on the scales.
I try and ignore the cravings and have more fizzy water, or decaf black coffee, but sometimes I do give in and just try and keep to a small amount (the left over Easter chocolate is too tempting at the moment – but on the plus side I haven’t eaten any whole eggs). I then try and be honest with myself and log the off plan moments too. Most days some frozen berries and icelandic yoghurt ,or a berry and spinach smoothie, satisfy the sweet cravings. I’m not a big eater of salty snacks.
I still log everything I eat to try and keep the numbers accurate – I don’t weigh everything, but anything I’m not completely sure on portion size I weigh. And on fast days to hit target I weigh everything.
The joy of this diet for me is that it’s not really a diet as such and if you know you’ve consistently overindulged then you can plan in an extra fast, or try and cut out any trigger foods you’ve noticed for a few days.
The NHS website has a calorie checker from nutracheck, although the search sometimes needs a couple of attempts at different ways of putting the item in (have to search for onion to find raw red onion), or you can use apps like myfitnesspal until you get used to the calorie counts on the things you eat often.
Given all of that, I added 0.8kg overnight despite a NFD under TDEE. I blame the carbs I consumed yesterday as I definitely got enough fluids in and a decent amount of fruit and veg but almost half of my calories were simple carbs and I’m guessing they’ve gone straight into storage.
Hi All! I’m new to 5:2 and am just beginning my second week. I lost 3.4 pounds the first week, some of that probably water weight.
On the subject of sugar and processed food increasing the “hungries” there is a very good book on the subject, written by someone in the food industry called, “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” by Michael Moss. I read it a few years ago and it really helped to reinforce my ideas about junk foods and a lot of foods I didn’t previously think of as unhealthy. If nothing else it may make you mad enough to avoid some of foods that keep us all overeating. The Kindle version which toy can read with the Kindle app on most tablets is $1.99 US. Or you could get the hardcover. Here’s an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Sugar-Fat-Giants-Hooked-ebook/dp/B00985E3UG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495128320&sr=1-1&keywords=Sugar+and+salt
Lately I’ve been trying to eat slowly and I’ve noticed I’m not eating as much. In my case it takes more than 20 minutes before I feel full. This is probably related to how far the food has started to make it through the small intestine. I started this because my daughter eats like this and she is very slim.
Anyway I’m not trying to cut or count calories, but if I feel full on less food then it probably means I was over eating some. My go to snacks when I don’t feel full are either peanuts or some nuts. I was eating well over 500 calories worth of nuts a day on non-fast days and now it is probably more like 100 calories worth.
Tonight I took my daughter out for dinner, my dinner actually looked too small to me, but I just eat slow and was surprised to find myself quite full by the end. Just something to try.
@Calf dreamer … I just checked your kindle link and the book was $10.99 for me. That is Amazon for you … Sometimes they just change the prices or different people will get different prices …
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