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Original poster

Lose a stone in 21 days - is anyone watching?

149 replies

Cheeseandlobster · 12/08/2020 21:43

It just seems like a shameless plug to make Michael Mosley money.

Lots of chat without science "this is good for your erm mental and physical health". Weird comments including that how long you can stand on 1 leg with your eyes shut is reflective of your life expectancy. Showing off how many push ups he can do. And getting his whole family in on it. I usually enjoy programmes like this but not sure about this one.

Anyone else?

OP posts:
Horsemad · 12/08/2020 22:56

Didn't see the programme but I've heard the thing about length of time standing one one leg being indicative of lifespan.

mybonesache · 12/08/2020 23:06

I have been watching it and have got bored with him droning on. I find him annoying, he would send me straight to my chocolate loaded cupboard.

Oly4 · 12/08/2020 23:09

I’m annoyed he said don’t eat bananas because of the sugar content.. when I’m mostly concerned about the fact they are packed full of vitamins and good for you

LittleBearPad · 12/08/2020 23:12

@Oly4

I’m annoyed he said don’t eat bananas because of the sugar content.. when I’m mostly concerned about the fact they are packed full of vitamins and good for you
So are lots of other vegetables, particularly green ones, or fruit. Bananas are really sugary.
grafittiartist · 12/08/2020 23:12

Yes- it was quite irritating.
Might work- well if you only ate 800 calories you would lose weight, even if it was just chocolate.
Poor bananas- can't food just be food!

icelollycraving · 12/08/2020 23:16

I do the fast 800. It takes a certain mindset!

Original poster
Cheeseandlobster · 12/08/2020 23:34

If that's indicative of life expectancy then I am screwed Shock

OP posts:
RigaBalsam · 12/08/2020 23:50

I saw him libe at the theatre he was much more interesting and scientific.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 12/08/2020 23:59

Only seen first episode so far, but I quite enjoyed it. I made the mushroom 'pizza' dish and the cottage cheese/walnut/blueberry breakfast and both were really nice.
My dad reversed his type 2 diabetes on this diet. Obviously, it's not a complete cure in that he does still need to be very careful with sugar/carbs but he's happy with this way of eating since he likes fish, meat, eggs and veg more than chocolate anyway.
I think it makes sense to eat this way and cut out pasta and chips etc, unless you have a lifestyle where you do enough exercise to burn off the calories.

DishingOutDone · 13/08/2020 00:00

There's been a backlash about him showing how simple it is for all us fat fuckers to lose a stone - yes, as a poster above says, if you only eat 800 calories a day then sur-fucking-prise of course you will lose a lot of weight!!

It should be called Temporarily Lose a Stone in 21 days and then Put it back on in 10.

KrabbyPatties · 13/08/2020 00:00

I found tonight’s episode deadly boring

DishingOutDone · 13/08/2020 00:01
  • sorry - incoherent rant - the backlash is from eating disorders groups, doctors etc.
goingtotown · 13/08/2020 00:08

The programme needs a health warning, 800 calories a day is not healthy. The group will lose weight but put it back on quickly.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 13/08/2020 07:36

I thought the idea was that they drop the weight quickly, to reduce Covid risk/reverse type 2 and then gradually reintroduce some more carbs, so it isn't too restrictive, but still keep to mostly 'good' carbs (rather than Bailey's and Galaxy). And do 5:2 to maintain?

girlywhirly · 13/08/2020 08:19

That’s how it works. You need a restricted level of calories to kick-start your digestive system into functioning properly, and for being able to recognise genuine, tummy rumbling hunger. Lots of us eat when we aren’t hungry, me included before I was found to have borderline Type 2 diabetes. OK, so you leave off the bananas for the duration of the 21 days, it doesn’t mean you can never have a banana again! If you cut carbs drastically, you burn fat for energy instead. The more exercise you do, the faster it goes.

I did a less drastic version and lost 2.5 stones 3 yrs ago. I’m so glad I did it before Covid. It’s the only diet I’ve ever stuck to, but I admit it was very hard to start with while I was getting to grips with what I could eat/not eat, and coping on holiday/eating out. Have you seen the ‘food’ on short haul flights? Absolutely nothing suitable, it’s all sugar and carbs; I have to take my own.

DarklyDreamingDexter · 13/08/2020 08:25

I watched the first episode last night and thought it was quite interesting. Apparently, if you leave mushrooms out in the sun for two hours before eating them it will increase the vitamin D content “a hundredfold”! Who knew?!

MsWoodentop · 13/08/2020 08:30

Bananas are really sugary

It really isn't as simple as that. Banana contain vitamins, minerals (particularly potassium) and fibre. There's nothing wrong with eating bananas, it's very different from eating a spoonful of sugar.

RubyFakeLips · 13/08/2020 08:33

His advice is completely based in scientific fact. Current thinking on weight loss is that for those in the overweight and above categories, intensive or crash dieting as it’s known is more effective than not.

The NHS, who are often very slow to move with the times are now advocating this method of weight loss. Slow and steady is suitable for those with a minimal amount of weight to lose.

As with thinking on low fat there has been a change in the advice. People are deluded about what constitutes a healthy diet.

Of course 800 calories will result in weight loss, but not all calories are created equal. You can have three satiating meals a day on 800 calories or a glass of wine and a large bag of crisps, although one is more enjoyable the alternative is more achievable for 3 weeks.

LittleBearPad · 13/08/2020 08:34

I didn’t say they were comparable but there are other ways to get lots of vitamins and minerals. Bananas are a comparatively high sugar option.

WanderingMilly · 13/08/2020 08:35

I have tried watching it, it's boring. Too much recapping from last week, too much chat with the participants and their tests etc. Could do with proper advice, eg. what is their weekly recipe sheet (a few meals are waved in front of the camera but they all seem to consist of salmon, scrambled egg and plenty of greens).
There exercises were shown but we were not let in on a proper schedule to follow (unless that was given after I turned the second episode off).

A bit tedious....

SaintWilfred · 13/08/2020 08:38

The way Michael Moseley appears to be cashing in on a doc he did several years ago (when first looking at fasting) is making me increasingly uncomfortable with anything he says. I used to really rate him but he's gone from a serious doctor, wanting to learn and share knowledge, to a diet-pedaller wanting to make money (in my eyes).

JoeCalFuckingZaghe · 13/08/2020 08:42

how long you can stand on 1 leg with your eyes shut is reflective of your life expectancy.
I'm either dying tomorrow or living forever depending on what leg I use. What a ridiculous notion lol. A PT friend posted about the danger of this type of programme and the dangers of VLCD. Admittedly I didn't watch, and I know the bloody sugar diet can help diabetics but it's just another long line of programmes that contradict each other and provide confusing information and they don't really help most people to lose weight.

RubyFakeLips · 13/08/2020 08:44

Bananas cannot be quoted to a chocolate biscuit but they are sugary.

If your diet is mainly whole foods and little added sugar then of course a banana is a great source of potassium, B6 and other essentials. However, if you, as so many do, eat a diet with lots of added sugar (it really is in so much) and carbohydrate rich foods then a banana and other tropical fruit is just fuel to the fire. The banana’s nutritional value is completely diminished by the fact it is contributing to sustaining blood sugar at a higher level.

Fruit having to much sugar is not true in isolation, but in combination with most western diets where fruit and sugar are both in abundance it does contribute to the problem.

I believe this programme is a simplified televised version of his book on the subject from some years ago. I think that includes meal plans.

Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 13/08/2020 08:50

I'm in agreement with @SaintWilfred I remember one of the times he did an MN webchat and he didn't answer many questions and told people to buy his book.
I think he's really bloody arrogant tbh.

BullshitVivienne · 13/08/2020 08:52

@RubyFakeLips

His advice is completely based in scientific fact. Current thinking on weight loss is that for those in the overweight and above categories, intensive or crash dieting as it’s known is more effective than not.

The NHS, who are often very slow to move with the times are now advocating this method of weight loss. Slow and steady is suitable for those with a minimal amount of weight to lose.

As with thinking on low fat there has been a change in the advice. People are deluded about what constitutes a healthy diet.

Of course 800 calories will result in weight loss, but not all calories are created equal. You can have three satiating meals a day on 800 calories or a glass of wine and a large bag of crisps, although one is more enjoyable the alternative is more achievable for 3 weeks.

I agree. There's a lot of good quality evidence behind this approach, and that fast weight loss is more motivating for people with a lot to lose. The NHS still tell people to eat low fat which is very outdated now.

Also his wife has written a recipe book for the diet and I'm assuming he's using his family a bit because of lockdown rules so it's easier to film them.

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