5:2 - what do you eat on the fasting days?

[Wenchelda]

I'm looking more into 5:2 as I'm struggling to keep within my 1500 calorie limit currently set on mfp, and someone on my other thread suggested 5:2 might work better for me. So I like the idea of being able to eat more "normally" for 5 days but how on earth can you stick to 500 calories on fasting days?!

I keep all my calories for my evening meal (apart from a few splashes of milk in tea). If I'm lazy I'll have a ready meal from M&S (they have lots within the 500 range) or a very large bowl of porridge. Other days I might have an omelette with vegetables, chicken and veg stir fry, or chicken breast (I like those Maggi paper wraps thingies) with a few small potatoes and veg. I basically have a lot of veg! I did try spreading out my calories over two or three meals but I find it easier and more enjoyable to have one decent meal, and the hunger really isn't that bad (I find it comes and goes quite quickly).

You fast : that is the point of it.
Come and join the 5:2 board - loads of resources

I have 2 boiled eggs and a tin of weight watchers tomato soup during the day and at night something like a warburtons thin toasted with a snap pot of beans or some chicken and veg.

500 calories is much more than it sounds....if you're clever with it.

Avoid bread, pasta, rice etc, and focus on veg and protein.

A prawn strifry without the noodles will be around 250-300 cals. Have a cupasoup at 60 cals mid day, or an even lighter miso soup, still leaves calories to play with (10 cal jelly, 40 cal Options hot choc, 30 cal satsuma, 25 cal laughing cow wedge, 10 cal Bovril, slice ham 25 cals).

Eggs are your best friend, around 75 cals each.

www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/eatingwell_s_500_calorie_dinners

The 2 day diet is the original 5:2 diet and on that you can have 1000 calories on fasting days but cant have any carbs on those days. I've lost 1 stone since Jan 1st on it.

youbethemummy
trouble is that my TDEE is only 1500 calories, so 1000 on a restriction day would not make much of a difference.

Also, fasting has medical benefits that go way, way beyond weight loss, which is why bods like me still do it over 2 years after we stopped losing weight

I've not eaten since 7pm yesterday and will have a 500 calories supper around 7.30 tonight.

Hi I hate hate hate fasting days, but do it anyway because I don't feel so guilty on the other days, and it does make me feel better generally. I don't think it is that great for losing weight but is great for health and for maintaining weight. Eating 500 altogether in the evening works best for me so I have something to look forward to but make sure that you don't have a lot of stress that day as you will probably be grumpy. I am a nightmare. Cup a soup is brilliant as it fills you up and you can be precise with calories, otherwise eggs and veg are the best way to go. I also got some tablets from H&B which are meant to fill you up and they seem to help although I am not disciplined enough to take them 1 hr ahead of meals, so I just have them with instead. Why don't you try one day a week and take it from there?

I usually have steamed veg and a boiled egg for lunch. With 2 tangerines and a banana for snacks of I get really hungry during the day. Then ww soup, 2 crisp breads and a yogurt for dinner. I always start eating as late as possible I.e. After 1pm to make the food go further. Some days I don't even hit the 500 cal mark. Fast days are hard but you never feel too hard done by because you can eat what you want on your days off.