Webchat with Dr Michael Mosley, author of The Fast Diet and The Fast 800, on Tuesday 15 January at 1pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Dr Michael Mosley on Tuesday 15 January, 1 - 2pm. Dr Mosley published The Fast Diet five years ago about the power of intermittent fasting. He has recently published The Fast 800 - where he updates the science and provides a programme built around an 800 calorie fasting day.

The book contains exercise plans and recipes - plus a range of tools designed to improve brain function and reducing blood pressure and inflammation.

Michael Mosley trained as a doctor before becoming a journalist and television presenter. He is the author of The Fast Diet, The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, and The Clever Guts Diet. He is married with four children.

Please do join the chat on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please leave a question here in advance. Do bear in mind the webchat guidelines - one question each (follow-ups allowed if there’s time).

Thanks
MNHQ

[MissMacaron]

I know several people who have had real success with intermittent fasting, but taking it to an extreme extent - one of them is doing strict keto, the other is keto plus gluten free and dairy free.

My question is, do I need to incorporate more ‘hard core’ dieting / nutritional changes, or would eating simply (with less processed food and sugar) in a small window in IF fashion be enough to get results?

[Smotheroffive]

Living diet, daily life is my query.

Surely its about sticking to basic rules every day, not 'dieting'?

I would like to know what proportion factors outside of food intake, contribute to weight gain or lack of.

I say this because we had a thread on MN recently where many talked if having a fast metabolism, etc.

So, some have a much harder fight than others and there are more factors outside our control than we might have thought, as there was recently a documentary about the lies of diet and exercise on channel 5.

[NewFitMe]

Is it ok to do intensive training (1-2hours a day) while doing intermittent fasting? When is best time to exercise and how can you maximize recovery?

Thanks in advance!

[SarahBeeney]

Hi Michael 😀

My question is....

What are your thoughts on having coffee/tea in your fasting hours?
There are so many differing opinions on this!
Personally I would struggle to fast without these. (I tend to do 16:8 every day).

Love your books and programmes btw.

[GoFiguire]

What’s your favourite biscuit and how many of them do you eat in one go?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Hi Michael,
My question is: do you lurk on our threads on here we know you do

Blood sugar diet thread 13 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/3437086-blood-sugar-diet-thread-13


I don't really have any questions, I've loved the blood sugar diet since discovering it 2 years ago and it's changed my life.

[3boysandabump]

Is it ok for a breastfeeding mother to follow a fasting diet?

[APlaceAtTheBSDTable]

Hi Michael, I loved the BSD and it made a massive and positive difference to my relationship with food so thank you for creating and introducing it.
I wonder if, during the testing/research phase, you consider how the diets' impact on hormones or/and are affected by hormones (eg the difference between someone who is menopausal compared to someone who is fertile etc).
Usually medical testing/research is notoriously male focused.

[greenelephantscarf]

interesting news today about the danger of low carb diets with regards to lack of fibre.

what's your view on the trend of very low carb diets?

[MelanieCheeks]

Hi Michael, I love your scientific and self-testing approach!

You seem to use the Daily Mail as the main newspaper for publicising your latest recipes and research. Is this something that is just down to money, or do you consider other factors when deciding which newspaper or magazine gets to publish?

[FairyLightFiend]

Another vote for finding out more about the inevitable lowering of fibre intake on an 800 calorie, low carb diet.

I’ve been loveing the results of the 800 calories, but am now concerned about fibre intake.

[theresaspiderinthesink]

Hi Michael,

I've found your documentaries fascinating for a while now!

When I watched the one you did on fasting I realised I sometimes naturally do this anyway though not strictly. A big Sunday lunch often lasts me a day or so! Certainly I usually only have an issue with weight gain when I've been drinking alcohol more regularly. Often I actually have an issue keeping weight on when I'm very busy, which is interesting as I'm hypothyroid and take thyroxine. In fact I often loose weight when I've been very hypo for a long time. (Previous research has led me to believe you can loose muscle mass when either hypo or hyper hence muscle weakness symptoms in both? This would be my experience.)

It would be interesting to learn more about how different metabolisms work in any future work you do as it's clear different people work differently.

Also, many people with hypothyroidism believe there are special 'diets' that help them loose the weight eg gluten free or 'paleo'. After 20 years on thyroxine, apart from being careful with soya and anything else that interferes with t4, following a sensible diet and maximising your medication and tsh or any other vitamin levels, I've always felt this is untrue and misleading. It would be great if you could investigate and clarify this for many people.

[BatFaced]

Hi Michael

I do follow your diet and manage to work it as a vegetarian which is great. However, how long do you think it will be before we swing back to another 'perfect' way of eating?

I can vaguely recall when 'The F Plan' was all the rage. For those that don't know, that's F for fibre. And then ... out of fashion and in came Rosemary Conley with her low fat diet. And a decade or so later - out of fashion. Now we have the very trendy intermittent fasting and high fat/ low carb way of eating - yet studies published today show we need more fibre

These things just come full circle. I think. What are your thoughts on this?

[theresaspiderinthesink]

That's interesting Bat, I've just read about the fibre thing. I've always eaten a lot of fibre and even crave it at times. I was definitely influenced by my mum who always talked about fibre.

[BatFaced]

It stsamds to reason doesn't it that we need fibre? Roughage etc

I can see a time - probably relatively soon - where low carb diets will be debunked. Same as all the others - and the. They'll come back into fashion again. Same with HIIT - the exercising where you go all out in short bursts to get your heart rate up fast. I can see that being proven to be dangerous

[theresaspiderinthesink]

I definitely had times where some fibre didn't agree with me but often when my thyroid levels weren't great.

I'm sure Michael can confirm but I'll bet a lot of it's down to the mix of bacteria and fibre in your intestines.

Certainly I'm always best starting the day with porridge made with water!

[Waysmeet]

I added a message here esrlier re a cslorie count on a meal in the Mail on Monday. This is to say it hss been addressed by the publisher now thanks.

[EssentialHummus]

What are your thoughts on having coffee/tea in your fasting hours?

And Diet Coke/similar, please - are there any studies to show it is detrimental?

More generally - thank you! I genuinely enjoy 5:2ing and feel it’s a healthy, sustainable way of life.

[Smotheroffive]

I have serious concerns about how far some will take this (ebf DMs) or not to need to worry?

[BIWI]

I'm interested in the fibre thing too - and I'd also like your views on the report that was featured in today's papers.

As an IBS sufferer, when I was being diagnosed, I was told to increase my fibre intake. This made things much worse for me, and when I reported this back to the hospital, they said it sometimes has that effect.

Whereas on a low carb diet (albeit one where I make sure I eat a reasonable amount of veg and also nuts), my IBS has completely cleared up.

[KingIrving]

And Diet Coke/similar, please - are there any studies to show it is detrimental?
my understanding is that artificial sweeteners are harmful to the good bacteria

[TunaVersesAngelfish]

Fruit and veg are carbs and stuffed full of fibre. Living off flour-based foods (bread, pasta etc) is not recommended. Am I right?

[MrsSnippyPants]

In the '8 Week Blood Sugar Diet' book, there is a recipe (p196) for No-carb Bircher. I love it and could eat it for breakfast every day to be honest (I do try not to!)
It contains raisins AND apple juice, both of which I thought would be complete no-nos on this way of eating.
It does keep me full until dinner though (I tend to do brunch/dinner as my way of eating).
How does that work then? I thought fruit juice and dried fruit really wouldn't be a good idea on this diet?

[Oblomov19]

1)Unfortunately, In this day and age it's almost impossible to know who to believe. Everytime you read one view that 'this' way of eating is good for you, you read 2 contradicting/disputing it.

As a type 1 since birth, so for 45 years, one child Diabetic consultant put me on low protein and I didn't grow for over a year, until my mum refused to continue.

I've been told to stick to high fibre- low fat, for 30 odd years.

Now low fat is being disputed. Sugar rather than fat is the devil child, We're now being told.

And when they took out the fat of all the yoghurts etc, it was replaced with artificial sweeteners. Which are now being criticised.

What am We left believing?

Unfortunately I agree with the previous poster: In this day and age it's almost impossible to believe what we are being told. I feel terrible saying this, but How do we know that soon this won't just be seen as yet another 'Fad' that goes out of fashion or is disproved?

My diabetic consultant as Kings College Hospital said that it couldn't be approved, yet, because despite my continued improvement to my Hba1c, it hadn't been around for long enough to know what the long term effects are.

Unfortunately we all have to admit that this is true.

Below, Diabetic's even type 2's can't yet have this recommended to them, because we need 30-50 years of it being followed, with proper health studies, before long term effects can be clarified.

How does MM feel about that point?

2)I started MM's BSD 3 years ago. I know it's not actually recommended for type 1 diabetics. But I chose to. I lost 1 3/4 stone. But fell off the wagon and Gradually put most back on, still applying alot of the BSD principals, but obviously reverting to type and eating too many occasional crisps, mashed potato etc. So, I've had to recently start again. I still continue.....

Most people are overweight. 66% of the UK population, are overweight. Fact. We have a problem controlling our weight in the UK. Most find it hard.

For many, unless you have a will of steel, in which case you probably wouldn't struggle at all with your weight, BSD as a WOE, is too restrictive for most people to stick to it closely enough long term.

2)What does MM think of this point?

3)I agree with others that the BSD maintainence advice needs further detail/needs further investigation and clarification.

[Ta1kinPeace]

Hi Michael,
I saw the original programme and started 5:2 in September 2012
I joined the MN threads on the topic before you and Mimi had even written your first book .....
I still use 5:2 to manage my weight

so I have to ask ....

Why the Daily Mail ? Do they really pay you enough to be associated with the level of racism, ageism and misogyny on the rest of their site?