How to eat the FASTer Way

The FASTer Way To Fat Loss has become part of my healthy lifestyle (read what I think about it here!) and I’ve had a lot of questions about what I eat!

The FASTer Way food plan is pretty simple.  Eat whole foods.  If it came from the ground or had a mother, you can eat it!  

Avoid dairy and gluten.  These are very inflammatory foods, so eliminating them from your diet will help a lot with getting your body healthy!

If you’re interested in trying the FASTer Way but you’re wondering what you can eat when you start the program, this post is just for you!

In a nutshell, the nutritional strategy of FASTer Way to Fat Loss includes intermittent fasting (which is basically an eating schedule that limits your food intake to an 8-hour window) and carb cycling (which is a varying intake of carbs throughout the week—some low carb days, some higher carb days).

On the intermittent fasting schedule, I usually eat two bigger meals and a small snack or two instead of three meals and two or three snacks.

If you really like breakfast foods, you can still have them when you break your fast!  Just stick to gluten-free versions of your favorite foods.  Some delicious options are:

  • Black coffee
  • Herbal tea
  • Banana pancakes
  • Oatmeal with nuts and berries
  • Eggs
  • Sausage
  • Bacon
  • Hash browns
  • Smoothie/smoothie bowl
  • Granola
  • Protein-based shakes

Some snack options include:

  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • Veggies and clean ranch
  • Veggies and hummus
  • Dried fruit
  • Jerky
  • Energy balls
  • Fruits (low glycemic fruits like berries, pears, and apples are recommended, but all are approved)
  • Kale chips (homemade or store bought)
  • Apple chips
  • Hard-boiled eggs

Dinner is the easiest meal for me to have the most variety (but you can eat any of these to break your fast, and any of the breakfast foods I listed are great for dinner)

  • Any high-quality meats including:
    • Grass-fed beef
    • Wild-caught seafood
    • Free-range Chicken
    • Pork (including bacon!)
  • All vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous
  • Gluten-free grains
    • Quinoa
    • Millet
    • Amaranth
    • Buckwheat
    • Oats
  • Legumes
    • Beans
    • Lentils
    • Peas
    • Peanuts

If you’re wondering what you’ll eat for dinner without bread, pasta, and cheese, there are still lots of delicious options!  A few easy meals include:

  • Tacos
  • Wraps
  • Broiled fish
  • Steak
  • Cobb salad
  • Blackened shrimp salad
  • Pot roast
  • Chicken salad
  • Pork chops
  • Stuffed peppers
  • Beef stew

Now that we’ve listed all the healthy foods, we can’t forget about the treats!  It is totally okay to have a treat on the FASTer Way eating plan!  We just limit how many we have, but go ahead and stop by your favorite bakery and have yourself a donut!  I always have my weekly treat on leg day of the workout plan since that’s the highest calorie-burning day of the week.

If you’re still not sure how to put it all together, here’s a sample 7-day meal plan.

Monday

Break Your Fast: Cobb Salad
Snack: Almonds
Dinner: Chunky Beef, Cabbage, and Tomato Soup

Tuesday

Break Your Fast: Eggs + Bacon
Snack: Veggies + Clean Ranch
Dinner: Pot Roast + Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Wednesday

Break Your Fast: Protein Pancakes
Snack: Hard Boiled Egg
Dinner: Pork + Baked Sweet Potato

Thursday

Break Your Fast: Gluten-Free Oatmeal with nuts & berries
Snack: Almonds
Dinner: Tacos + Guacamole

Friday

Break Your Fast: Protein Shake or Green Smoothie
Snack: Kale Chips
Dinner: Steak + Roasted Veggies

Saturday

Break Your Fast: Cobb Salad
Snack: Veggies + Hummus
Dinner: Baked Chicken + Roasted Broccoli

Sweet Treat!

Sunday

Break Your Fast: Mixed Greens + Tuna
Snack: Granola
Dinner: Spaghetti Squash + Meat Sauce

Are you hungry yet??  If you’re interested in learning more about the program, you can click here for more information.  

Some of the fabulous benefits I’ve been enjoying from participating in FW2FL are:

  • incredible fat loss and unbelievable body composition changes
  • increased energy, stamina and strength
  • better digestion and less bloating
  • better sleep and improved mood

This lifestyle has been a blessing for me and I hope it will be for you, too!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog. I’m on Facebook, Pinterest and my favorite one, Instagram.

Beauty For the Heart~~For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8

Have a blessed day!

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leave a comment...

  1. I am unable to get all the macros in just eating 2 meals a day. I have never eaten so much food in my life!!! Planning is the key though. How do you get it all in? I love your sites! I have been following for a while now.

  2. Hi Cyndi. I’ve been following you for a while now and really appreciate your insight. I’m really interested in the program but wanted to know if you have to go to a gym to do work outs? Can you do them at home? Also, since I haven’t done this before, I’m curious as to how you would prepare the oatmeal for example? Is it just cooked oatmeal, berries, and nuts? Do you add butter or sweetner of any kind, or salt when cooking it? I love to cook and love trying new things, but eating plain, bland food seems a bit much when entering into a new lifestyle change. It may be a silly question, but I am totally in the dark here and really want to try out this program. I’ll admit I am hesitant just because it seems so foreign to me and it appears like there will be a ton of changes. It’s also hard when the support at home isn’t there. I am 43 with chronic Lyme Disease and want badly to be able to run again and get my body back in shape. I just want to feel better and be comfortable in my clothes. Thank you for posting. Hope you have a blessed day 😇

  3. Hi there!! I just started the FWTFL program recently and found your blog while trying to come up with meal ideas. I am having such a hard time meeting my macros b/c my coach said I’m not eating enough and I need to be sure to eat 3 meals a day!! I saw your examples and they look like about how much I’m eating each day so I’m confused!! I wonder why I’m not meeting my macros??

  4. Love your post about FWTWL! What is a “high Carb day” and what is a “low Carb Day” ? I watch my carb and dairy intake already so I was just curious what that was like!

    Thanks for posting this info! 🙂

  5. I’m almost done with Prep week and have been playing along so far. Fasting is the easy part for me. I am a foodie though; love to eat, cook, try new things; so it’s quite a challenge when time to enter the macros. If I make something other than a protein/veggie on a plate. Ex: my chili is heart healthy but there isn’t a recipe so to break it down, I just don’t know how.. I’ve made the investment and hoping to stay strong. Hoping the support group will have some fellow foodies with ideas! I am feeling the work out for sure!

    1. I don’t take calcium supplements but I do eat a lot of food with calcium. I would check with your doctor but I think it would be a good option for you.

  6. Thank you for sharing this, Cyndi! My husband and I lost weight using a similar plan. I would love it if you shared your workout schedule/plan! My New Years resolution is to work out more regularly.

  7. After seeing your posts this summer,I tried out the program for two sessions and had amazing results.My age is in the latter part of the fifties and my metabolism had tanked! The Faster Way really works even if you are older! I parted ways with dairy and at least 27 pounds in 4 months. I made this a lifestyle change and the weight continues to drop.( Maybe not so much over the holidays!) Thanks for sharing your journey Cyndi!

  8. You look amazing, Cyndi! Thanks for sharing about your new lifestyle. I think eating that way is the best we can do for ourselves and the ones we love. I love today’s quote. Especially when people don’t understand we should honor our health, and they see it as marely an act of vanity. 🤗

  9. This sounds like something I can do…
    I am more of a grazer than a three-squares a day type gal. Also have a gluten sensitivity.

  10. How do you like VIP? I’ve done 2 rounds of FWTFL and just signed up for Jan 1st round but now wondering if I should instead try VIP? The only thing I don’t like is the daily FB posting, but I know it needs to be done for accountability. I want to try VIP, but I can’t pay for it every month. Do you think I should just do another regular round? OR try VIP? You are the one who inspired me to try it out!

    1. Carrie, I did three rounds of FWTFL because I didn’t think I was ready for VIP. I probably could have just done 2 rounds and then VIP. I like the VIP for it’s accountability and I have lots of questions but will probably try it on my own in February. There are a lot of ladies in VIP & I have gone a week without posting… hope that helps.

  11. Hi Cindi, I did a round of TFW over the summer after reading your and KBstyled’s experience. I was in a slump and needed something to motivate me to get myself back in shape. I can’t say I strictly follow the eating part of the program but can say I think it really does work! I got back in great shape, am more conscious about my food choices and get a lot of compliments on how great I look! You are an inspiration and a great role model!

  12. I just got diagnosed with MANY new food allergies….including gluten, dairy, eggs and the list goes on and on. Its been so very difficult and I’m still having a hard time figuring out different things to make for meals but learning. I’m much more limited to foods than you are in this program. I have to eat 3 meals a day and snack to have enough to eat. Doing other things also to hope to relieve my migraines I’ve had for years and years with no relief. I haven’t been on this long, but starting to get some migraine relief already. Now to be able to get well enough to begin to exercise on a regular basis without triggering a migraine. Its been hard. Glad this program you found works for you. Thanks for sharing all the infor. I’m sitting on the couch this AM sick with a cold and all I’ve heard the last 2 days of being sick is about exercise. 🙁 LOL Not going to happen right now. 🙂

  13. Cyndi thank you for posting this! I have done the FWTFL since reading about your success and enthusiasm for the program. I have had great success and am trying to figure out how to live this as a lifestyle – I don’t want to lose any more weight but continue to eat healthy and to tone and build muscle. I don’t always have the time to exercise all 5 days.

    One question for you that I have posed in the group also – your meal plan looks like Amanda’s. On the days when I eat like that I am way under on my calories. I have to eat ALOT to hit my daily calorie goal. I think your meal portions must be bigger than what I am eating. Maybe?
    thanks again!

    1. Gina – I’m always under on calories too ! They always tell me to get them up but I can’t possibly eat all that they want me to!