Vegan & Fast 800

[shreddergodo]

Any Fasting 800 vegans out there? Starting this weekend/Monday :)

CW: 67kg
Preliminary target weight: 63
Target weight: 60

Day 0

I thought I'd start a little log book here if people are interested, please join in, no matter what day you're on.

Around 67kg

I'm a part-time ortho nurse in a geriatric ward, I love my job but a while a go I hurt my knee and have been struggling to finish a shift without a LOT of pain afterwards. I've had to go to 1 day/week (only 6 h shift) and working the phones from home 2 days a week. Rest of the day I'm mummy to my lovely DS, 2 years of age and feisty as hell! He's great. For ages though I've been feeling depleted and gross, it's not only about the weight, most of which I put on after lockdown/when i stopped breastfeeding (around 8 months ago)... I think both didn't help. So moving less, and burning less, but also having a tough time mental health wise, it's been a tough year for everyone.

Anyways, hoping to find some inspo here. Just starting to plan out my meals actually so reading up on what you've eaten in a day is helpful :)

Hi, I'm vegan & been doing Fast 800 since October 19th. I feel soooo much better in myself, and I've gone from 76.3kg to 60.65kg (so far!).

I've started putting my meals on instagram as there's not a lot of Fast 800 vegan resources out there yet. It takes some effort to get the right protein levels, but for me it was worth it for the results :)

Hey!
WOW that's brilliant- what is your target weight- I can't wait to feel better, so sick of feeling half myself!

That's an amazing idea! Is your IG name same as on Mumsnet? Don't suppose you could give me a rundown of some of your go-tos just to get started.

I've been fiddling with MFP to try and get the split right re: macros and come up with chickpea tuna salad (reduced veganese amount), steamed veg (obviously), tofu with soy sauce and olive soil baked, veggie and bean soup...

SO glad you replied btw thank you :) :) :)

@shreddergodo Nope, I'm not at all consistant :)

I'm melon_candy on IG and midoristorm on MFP. There's also a link in my IG bio to a spreadsheet where I'm collating a bunch of vegan food (UK based) looking at the protein per 100kcal and the protein:carb ratio, because I have become obsessed :)

The stuff I keep on hand for when fresh stuff isn't available (I shop online right now, and substitutions for vegan items are highly variable!) is as follows:

Pro-fusion protein bread (I get it from Morrisons, but I think VeganKind do it too, and probably other websites). It's expensive, but the macros are right and it lasts a few months unopened, so I keep a stash of it. I've never tried it untoasted, but it's good topped with Nush (almond milk cream cheese), marmite & half a small can of low sugar beans, avocado or tofu scramble.

Linda McCartney Sausages (Vegetarian or Red Onion and Rosemary - the other two flavours are not as good macro wise).

Explore Cuisine Edamame Spaghetti (I get it from Asda). It cooks in 3 - 5 minutes, it doesn't need any messing about with a spiraliser, and it's got tons of protein and not many carbs.

Frozen vegan mince, frozen vegan quorn pieces and frozen naked glory tenderstrips. I think the tenderstrips are nicest, but quorn pieces can go straight into a sauce with no pre-cooking, so they're super easy, and mince is good for things that work better with mince... obviously!)

Frozen cauliflower rice. I get it from Asda or Tesco. Asda bags are slightly bigger, so it depends if you're serving one or two people which is best. Although in my case it really depends on where will give me a delivery slot. I try to vary it as nowhere does all the weird high protein vegan things I need!

For a quick meal, I buy a pack of stir fry veg, fry up some high protein meat substitute pieces with it, add soy sauce, done :)

Some of my favourites are:

Vegan Rogan Josh (from the Fast 800 non-recipe book), but I substitute the butternut squash with quorn vegan pieces. It makes the protein levels much better, and it's also a whole lot easier than cutting up a butternut squash! Served with cauliflower rice.

Chestnut and Mushroom Hot Pot (from the Fast 800 recipe book). This is really lovely, but not that high in protein, so I have a couple of Linda McCartney sausages on the side.

Chickpea and Pistachio Pot (from the Fast 800 recipe book). Totally lovely, probably my favourite of all. Needs a high protein other meal though, or quorn adding!

I don't eat breakfast, then I have lunch (protein toast based or salad with some kind of fake chicken pieces), dinner ('main meal', curry, chili, pesto pasta, fajita (singular!), one of the things above, with - if I have the calories - alpro greek yogurt and raspberries) and then I use my remaining calories on a protein shake and some sainsbury's veggie protein mix to finish the day.

My initial target weight is 60kg, but I'm thinking of aiming for 58kg now so I have a bit of wiggle room when I switch to maintenance!

Wow, I can't tell you how helpful this has been thank you!
Sounds like you're killing it and that spreadsheet sounds really helpful and kind of necessary- I think people assume things are like for like with regards to nutrition.

58kg would probably be my ultimate goal too TBH, that would be a very 'slim' weight for me but as you say, wiggle room is nice.

Are you working out too? I've injured my knee but usually I run and lift a little bit.

Oooh I’ve been admiring your Instagram posts for a while, your food always looks so good.

@shreddergodo I haven't consistently exercised. I did 3 weeks of Lucy Wyndham Read's 7 minute work out to lose belly fat (in November/December) and in January I walked 10,000 steps a day. I'd like to do more, but it's hard to find time right now. Pre pandemic our nursery opened until 6:30, but now they ask us to collect as close to 5 as we can, so there's never any time spare! I'm not fit enough to casually do a video & go about my day, I need to shower afterwards, and it all takes time!

The diet works fine without it, but I could definitely use some toning now! I'm hoping once it gets a bit warmer it'll be easier.

@JaquelineBeanstalk Aww thank you, I'm so pleased it's useful! Sometimes it does feel a bit self indulgent just posting about myself!!

Thank you @FreestyleInTrance for all the great info and @shreddergodo for starting this thread

Hello @FreestyleInTrance I've been following you on Insta for a while. I have you to thank for the edamame spaghetti which has become a staple lunch for me

@FreestyleInTrance - thanks again for all the info. Just checked out your IG- it's brilliant! I'm glad mince and quorn are options as beans and tofu were my go to in my first meal plans and it became a bit repetitive.

What about dairy free milks. Of course my fave is Oatly Barista... but it's double the amount of sugar to fat ratio and barely any protein...siiiigh Of course I don't have it in the morning but hoped I could include it somewhere as a milky coffee is a mother's dream at 4pm haha

Really great thread
Can I ask what the point of 800 (rather than 2 days of 500) is and how we do it?

@shreddergodo I think macro wise Alpro protein milk is probably best, but I'm not sure how it would go in coffee! I don't use any plant milk at all (not for F800 related reasons, just generally!), so it's one of the few things I haven't researched. Thankfully I like black coffee :)

This might turn out disgusting, but possibly you could add protein shake to a coffee?!

@LittleG69 OMG, hello! Glad I could spread the word of edamame spaghetti... I love it! 😍

@EveEveander you do 800 every day in stage 1 (2 to 12 weeks depending), then switch to 5:2 with two 800 days. There's a lot more focus on macros than in the original 5:2. I aim for a minimum of 60g protein & a maximum of 60g carbohydrates a day. There's also an element of time restricted eating. Dr Mosley recommends starting with 12:12. I aim for 16:8, i.e. I fast for 16 hours and eat my 800kcal within 8 hours.

I see, thanks very much

That seems quite complicated (for me )
I like the "eat virtually nothing" for 2 days approach

@EveEveander it definitely takes a bit of planning / getting used to... but I think the results are worth it! It probably helps that I'm a data analyst though, so I sort of enjoy figuring out how to maximise the macros whilst still making a tasty meal! Also all the thinking about it distracts me from snacking!! I've basically turned it into a hobby :)

With the old 5:2 I spent 2 miserable days a week starving, but I didn't really change the way I ate. With the Fast800 I have learnt so much about the macros in my food, and although learning a whole lot of new recipes does take some effort it's quite satisfying :)

And once we're allowed back out, next time anyone asks me 'But where do vegans get their protein from' I am so ready now... haha!

I do miss carbs of course, but going moderately low carb has made me feel so much better. The whole biscuits > sugar high > sugar crash --> MORE BISCUITS cycle wasn't making me feel good, like as well as the weight issue I had headaches all the time, whereas I haven't touched a single painkiller since starting F800!

That's amazing
I can understand the attraction of really getting into it

@FreestyleInTrance Day 3 breakfast time has really been tough i'mnot gonna lie, I'm starving. I've already lost almost a kg, probably water weight (from not having any carbs, I know they cause retention), and I'm drinking a ton of green tea and water to keep me doing. I really miss sugar and just eating what I want but I think that it's also showing me how psychological my eating habits were (especially sugar ones- as you said, the biscuit sugar crash cycle was my day to day, add caffein in there and it was a sh*t show!).

I've been reading the FAST800 book and I'm hoping that the hunger and food missing will abait a little after a few days- was this your experience.

Can I ask - do you have 'cheat days'- I don't mean binge eating all day but like, a bowl of pasta every so often or do you stick to it. Also - are you very strict with the 800 kcal or do you go over sometimes?

@shreddergodo I aim for between 800 & 900 kcal a day. Dr Mosley says (in the first recipe book, rather than the original book) that vegetarians and vegans can have up to 900kcal if they need it to hit the protein requirements. In January I did exceed that 4 times... 924, 916, 978 & 965, so nothing too crazy. My average for January was 862kcal, so I think that's fine. (Although I did deduct myself a reward for those 4 days over!)

The hunger definitely lessens... but there are occasional bad days. You're not really supposed to chew gum or have diet fizzy drinks, but if I'm struggling I have a caffeine free diet coke or a piece of sugar free gum.

I don't have random treat days, but I do allow special event days! I took a week off at Christmas, which was too long! I planned for 2 days, but then when it went from 5 days relaxed rules to just the one I took it really badly & went off the rails a bit...

No treats in January, but I have 5 planned off plan days this month... because it has to still allow you to live sometimes!

It's my husband's birthday next week, and he's been (mostly) quite patient with all my obsessive weighing of every tiny thing & us never having takeaway anymore, so I'm going to stick with 16:8, but otherwise chill out on the weekend & his actual birthday. Also we might be moving house this month. When we move our traditional first dinner is chips & champagne, and I fully intend to have both whenever our moving date ends up being!

@FreestyleInTrance sounds like you don’t let it get in the way of your life but you’re still doing incredible. It’s nice to hear as of course the one thing you can do right now is get a coffee and a muffin or something with a friend On a walk and that’s so nice. I would miss it! I also don’t think I’d be able to last toooo long if I was freaking out too much. I haven’t been great and measuring and weighing veg, just been guessing TBH... will be more strict next week, just easing into it.

@shreddergodo haha that makes my life sound a lot more exciting than it is! It's easy to allow exceptions because there's not a lot going on! There's only 3 birthdays I can legally celebrate indoors at the moment... and I am definitely never moving again after this one either!! (Although I did say that last time... but being locked in a place for months does have a way of putting you off it!)

I weigh everything, my data analyst side requires that if I'm going to record it I have to record it accurately :)

Hello,
I wondered if I can join you? I’ve been dabbling for a couple of weeks but properly trying for the last couple of days (properly calorie counting etc).
I’m veggie but trying not to eat tons of dairy and eggs, is it ok if I tag on to your thread? I was 13 stone at the start of the year but down to about 12.8 by not drinking and being a bit more careful with what I’m eating. I’m aiming to be 12 stone by the start of March and then eventually my goal is 11 stone. I’m fairly tall so this would give me a good healthy bmi.

@FreestyleInTrance I checked out your Instagram, wow! You’ve done amazingly, very inspiring!

I was wondering what how your doing with fibre? According to my fitness pal I’m having about 8 grams a day which is quite a lot less than is recommended (25 grams I think?) I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to up it significantly. Any top tips?

@BoozeHound Welcome!!! Your goals sound great and achievable.I'm just starting my first week ever on the fast800 and have to admit I'm not counting every veggie calorie in the evenings... I know I should but I'm just easing into it, and getting to grips... 800 is a LOT less than I've been eating over the past few months and I feel like I need to ... I guess start getting into the whole calorie counting thing. I got protein bagels today- they seem like a good shout.

As for fibre...I think as long as you're eating lots of veg you'll be fine, and you kind of have to eat a lot of veg right, to get your bulk in within calories. I put everything I eat on a bed of lettus, or add spinach to everything to give that extra green/fibrous boost! Beans and legumes are also fibrous so if you're hoping to include them (as an alternative protein source to eggs for example) then you'll get some in there. Sometimes I feel like MFP neglects nutrients that not many people are interested in!

Thanks @shreddergodo I think I got a bit bogged down in the macros yesterday, everything with lots of fibre seemed to have a lot of carbs too, I think I’m going to concentrate on protein from now on and hope everything else looks after itself. I was sort of thinking I should avoid legumes as so carby but then it basically means only eating cheese which is ridiculous.
Whatever I’m doing is working though i was 2lbs down this morning, so chuffed! Growling very headachey and tired today though but the scales moving is so motivating!
How are you getting on? I joined a couple of Facebook groups and they’ve got a list of veg you can eat freely without counting the cals, shall I try to copy it for you?

Hi @BoozeHound list would be amazing, I don’t have FB! Thank you! I’ve been over for sure tonight, had dressing and houmous on my salad and extra lentils. Also added some extra barista oatly to my sugar and sweetener free cocoa but I’m happy with the decision, at least I didn’t cave and eat junk! It’s been the toughest day yet with cravings!