to recommend the 800 cals a day diet?

[Settle59]

I know a book has been written on this - the fast 800 - by Dr Michael Mosley. I haven't followed his recommendations in the book to the letter and his recommended recipes but I still stick to 800 cals daily - since April 14th this year I've started this diet and the results in 4 weeks have been amazing. When I started I was 5ft 1 and around 12 - 12 and a half stone - now I'm around 11st 4. I know I'm still overweight but feel so much fitter. I also run for at least 30 mins every day. My previously tight size 16 clothes feel looser. I had so much difficulty losing weight before- for the past 3 years I've not been able to diet and binge eaten a lot. However, now I've stuck to this for nearly 5 weeks I feel I'm on a roll and determined to keep it going. Has anyone else tried this diet and had similar success?

Well done, good for you.
Not this diet, but I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. I've been on my regime for well over a year now, lost 3 stone of baby weight and actually feel like I'm going to be able to maintain a healthy weight without making myself miserable for the first time in my adult life.

Well done on the weight loss.

I’d ask yourself if it’s sustainable long term ? I’m not sure it is to be honest, you surely can’t be getting the nutrients you need?

Eventually your calorie intake will increase... and surely the weight will too?
I’d look at more healthy diets to be honest... that aren’t as calorie restrictive.

Yes- Ive been doing IF aswell and have lost alot of weight, in fact, probably a bit too much as people have started commenting I'm looking thin. I will carry it on to maintain but yes, its very very effective and its really helped me with health issues too.
I used to get bloated and gassy- thats all gone and my stomach has never been calmer! I also have more energy, and just feel better.
The only thing that does concern me is getting enough nutrients and minerals in if you are eating a lot less. Ive been supplementing but need to make sure i get a good range of foods/fruit/veg/oily fish etc too

Congrats on your weight loss!

Well done OP! @Oysterbabe which fasting plan do you follow please?

Good for you.

I honestly don't think that you can recommend a diet after 5 weeks - come back in a year!

How on earth are you doing 800cal? I'm trying to do 1200, and I'm starving and going over the amount pretty much daily!
I'm 5"3 and almost 11stone, after being around the 8.5/9s Mark the whole of my life.
Is it just willpower and determination that keeps you on such a strict diet? What kind of foods are you eating?
I also worry about getting the correct nutrients when I cut back my dietary intake.

yes fasting works for me too - the only way I can get to near 800 cals is if I only eat one meal a day. This works for me as I often don't get hungry in the morning and then if I'm rushing around or stressed I don't want to eat anyway.

Can anyone point me in the direction of any info about this?

congratulations Oysterbabe - if you've stuck to it for a year you're definitely on the right track!

Istwowyes - I've thought about long term and don't think it's sustainable - if people only ate 800 cals daily after they reach target they'd likely to soon be underweight - I think it's a case of gradually increasing intake until you're at the level that's right to maintain your weight

Well, obviously it's a successful diet if you're hardly eating. Less of a diet and more of a starvation tactic. "Eating disorder" springs to mind. I don't think you should be recommending or encouraging this to others. It's unsustainable longterm and certainly unhealthy.

Alexis Carrington - thanks and congrats on your weight loss too. I must admit a disclaimer - I know I'm not getting a balanced diet as i'm trying to save money and going for very cheap food to make up the 800 daily cals - with a few days here and there of choosing nutritious slightly more expensive food. I won't be doing this in the long term as my long term aim is clean eating and cutting out processed food - but at least for now the pounds are coming off!

I do OMAD (one meal a day) but only 4 days a week. On those days I just have water and black coffee until my evening meal. The other 3 days I eat normally, 3 meals and snacks if I feel like it. It works for me because my 1 meal on my fast days is substantial and anything I want.

When I count calories I am hungry all the time. There is no way of spliting the calories into 3 meals that leaves me satisfied. I find it miserable eating my meal and feeling more hungry than when I started it. It's much easier for me to be hungry sometimes rather than all the time.

I only do OMAD 4 days a week as I found that sufficient for me to lose and then maintain my weight. No need to make life harder than it needs to be.

hula008 - fair enough you have a good point

That's great and well done.
I've got a lot of post baby weight to lose and I seem to binge. I'm eating lots more during lockdown.

However I have started 5:2 and then eating sensibly on my feeding days e.g 1400 calories and cutting out the junk.
Wish me luck!

I don't think 800 calories is sustainable longterm, your weight loss will eventually plateau, then what will you cut out to keep losing weight? I've recently started a diet that gives me 3200 calories a day (high because I am male), now that can be a struggle to hit each day, but it will be sustainable longterm and if I can lose weight on that amount of calories then it should continue to drop off gradually.

3200 is a huge amount for anyone - male or female!

3200 is very high for a male, you must be exercising a lot, me and my partner are currently eating 1,200 calories a week with roughly 0.5kg lose a week, don't know how you're managing 800 :O good job on the weight lose, hope you hit your goal soon and can start bulking your meals up

That’s absolutely crazy - you do not need to be in calorie deficit that much to lose weight! That’s not a diet, it’s a crash course in being unhealthy and you even admit that you’re not eating well.

The best ‘diets’ measure your calorific need both resting and active and you deduct around 20% of the active calories and stick to it along with increasing daily movement (around 10k steps every day) and regular exercise. The food you eat may be low calorie but nutrient rich with a good balance of protein and carbohydrates.

That’s when weight loss and healthy eating becomes a lifestyle choice rather than an unsustainable crash diet that inevitably leads to regaining weight.

Check out TeamRH and similar for a healthy way to lose weight and improve overall well being. Seriously I can’t emphasise how bloody awful this recommendation is.

5 foot 1 is tiny though. I wouldn't be surprised if 1200 is more maintenance calories for someone of that height, although not at your current weight.

Well done you! that's a great start!

I haven't done the diet you mention but I am currently using my fitness pal on 1200 calories a day plus running 3 times a week (want to do more but I have only just recovered from a tendon injury).

I've been going a week and lost 2.5kg so far (approx. 5lb) so I am very happy.

It's good when you start to notice the results yourself, in your clothes etc.

Isawamagpie - - at just 2 inches shorter than you I also feel much more at home towards 8.5 stone and feel definitely overweight at 11/12 stone .
I used to do the 1200 cal a day diet and with 1 form of aerobic exercise a day I DID lose weight on this amount of calories. However, I can remember around Dec 2009/Jan 2010 - I kept this diet over Christmas and just walked every day - it was snowing so couldn't go to the gym but I learnt that walking doesn't sufficiently raise my metabolism and despite adhereing to 1200 cals a day lost 1lb in 3 weeks!! I was so disappointed I was expecting more of a result! I feel that 1200 cals a day CAN work for me if I do it with proper aerobic exercise but it doesn't bring me the quick enough results iyswim.

To answer your question, yes it IS willpower that's kept me going. This is because for the past 3 years I've been unable to lose weight and been on binge eating cycles and vow to start next day but never successfully did. On Tuesday 14th April I changed my mindset though and decided I HAD to stick to this strict diet as not being able to lose weight and hovering in the region of 13 and a half stone quite often - at 5ft 1 - was starting to really affect my mental health. Just to clarify with me -it's not being obese as opposed to being slim that affects my personal mental health - it's the fact i can't stick to something. Also, in April I finished working and have stuck to it on the basis that with not working due to the current climate - my daily habits have changed so it seemed a good time to start a new diet. Now I've stuck to it for nearly 5 weeks - this is the longest I've stuck to such a strict diet for ages so I feel - THERE'S NO GOING BACK!!!

The point about Michael Moseley's diet is that it is a sharp and relatively short hit. It's worked for me because I can't sustain a year of 1200 calories - I need quicker results to keep me motivated.

It's sustainable because after the short sharp hit you can then move to a 5:2 model where you sustain by eating normally 5 days a week and eating 800kcal for 2 days. That seems a sustainable model to me.

Someone upthread asked how don't you starve on this- part of the diet is to eat low carb- so you eat full fat and only nutrient dense natural food which keeps you fuller for longer. I remember doing weight watchers years ago which was probably the equivalent of 1200 calories and I was far more hungry on that than I am now because I was filling up on potatoes/rice and allowing myself to eat mini milky ways etc.

We only lasted for 3 weeks! We were following the recipes in the book, many of which were fucking revolting. Perhaps we should have just gone off script and made up the 800cals with other foods, as you have done.

However we are doing intermittent fasting and have managed to stick to it since March, which is great because we never seem to stick to stuff.

Really pleased for you that you've lost so much weight. If it works for you then stick with it! Well done.