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?

[Settle59]

As for the type of food I'm eating Isawamagpie - it's often not very healthy and I would not recommend this as ideal - a lot of digestive biscuits - I'm trying to save money - sometimes interspersed with ready meals and fresh ready packaged salads and cooked chicken. Not really health overall but I never exceed 800 cals so the weight is coming of

[whensmynexthol1day]

@settle59 there's a thread of us following this diet in the fasting/5:2 sub forum if you want to join! It's the bsd/ fast 800 thread

[cansu]

I started fast 800 but increased to a 1000 and have found it does indeed work very well and is far from a starvation diet. I am eating well and very healthily as am naturally choosing to eat much less sugar and fat. I think the key to coming off it will be some kind of maintenance plan. When I reach my target weight, I intend to do a couple of low calorie days per week to maintain.

[BabbleBee]

800 calories of digestive biscuits and ready meals and you’re not on a binge eating cycle? What you’re doing is artificially maintaining a higher blood sugar level with unhealthy processed carbohydrates. Good luck with the come down from that.

[Settle59]

antisupermum - I agree that it is very low calorie and not sustainable or recommended once goal weight is reached but I thought the very low cal diets are classed as less than 500 a day - which I could never do especially combined with 30 mins aerobic exercise a day.

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

800 Is mental.I can do 1200 but any lower than 1000 and id feel ill.

[AlexisCarringtonColbyDexter]

The OP has been very honest about what she's eating and that she needs to change her diet. If we are all honest- I highly doubt we all eat perfectly all of the time. All of us go through periods of stress or whatever that means our diet is not what it should be.
OP- you do need to look at your diet and your nutrition. But thats no reason for people to have a go at her.

[Settle59]

runrunrunt - The book 'The Fast 800' by Dr Michael Mosley - disclaimer - I don't follow his recipes to the letter that are outlined in the book - but compared with a lot of diet books I think the main principles he outlines in it make sense. It should still be available on the shelves in large supermarkets - Tesco Extras and the like.

[Settle59]

Good luck Maggie the Frog - you'll do it if you're determined!!

[Wilmalovescake]

Weirdly I find 800-1000 easier to stick to than 1200-1500. My appetite switches off under 1000 and my blood sugar levels feel much more stable.

I have one small meal (200-250 cals) and one larger meal a day. I eat a LOT of veggies, I take a good quality multivitamin and iron and I drink tonnes of water and tea.

At the moment it’s working.

[NerforMuffin]

I'm doing this now, via Exante, (4x 200cal meal replacements) and have lost 14lbs in 13 days.
I feel so different. More energy. No desire to snack. Sleeping better. And my right knee has stopped hurting even after just a stone loss.

[NerforMuffin]

Sometimes I swap out 1 product for a 200cal meal but I make sure it's keto.

[Karwomannghia]

I lost over a stone doing 1000 a day a year ago and it stayed off. Fast weight loss doesn’t mean it piles back on unless you overeat again (eat when not hungry).
Well I say it stayed off but comfort eating in lockdown meant I put 4lb back on. Getting it back off again now and feeling a lot better. My main strategy is loads of veg, fish, nice non-fatty sauces, fruit and the odd small ‘treat’ food.

[NaturalBornWoman]

I’ve done the fast 800 and it’s fantastic. Some of the recipes are good and I did get the recipe book as well as the diet book (red Thai curry is excellent), but you don’t need recipes really. You get used to the very low calorie allowance after a few days and don’t feel hungry, the results are highly motivating and it reversed my husband’s diabetes. Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.

[sparklefarts]

On those days I just have water and black coffee until my evening meal.

But do you not get dizzy, lightheaded and feel sick ? I start to feel like that if I let myself get too hungry

[NerforMuffin]

Also the key is to drink water. At least 2 litres a day.

[ScrapThatThen]

I think this diet has merits and I am sure studies will help identify health benefits and whether weight loss is sustained. I've been eating 1400-1700 a day, with plenty of exercise no banned foods and sometimes one 2000 cal day a week, usually the day before my long run. I actually enjoy my food more. 12 kg lost since October and it feels like I could do it forever. I have to track though and am willing to keep doing that long term. I'll come back in a year (or five years) and report back because my genetics are set up to defend my flab 😁

[Oysterbabe]

But do you not get dizzy, lightheaded and feel sick ? I start to feel like that if I let myself get too hungry

I had the odd spell of that at first but it was very short lived, passed within a couple of minutes, and stopped completely once I got used to it. My top tip is carbonated water. I drink loads of it and it makes me feel full.

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

I’ve been trying to do this but keep slacking. I think I’ll try again as my other tactics aren’t working.
Op your weight loss is really inspiring but your food sounds pretty terrible. do you take any vitamins? How about chucking a home made lentil or veg soup into your diet? It’s really cheap and high in nutrition.
Good luck with it.

[Zaphodsotherhead]

I did a very low calorie/high exercise diet model last year. It triggered disordered eating, I lost four stone and got very very fit but I looked horribly haggard and unwell. I've now gone to watching what I eat and keeping up the exercise, and I've regained about a stone but I look much healthier. I'd like to lose a couple of pounds now - lockdown hasn't been good on the cake front! - but I'm scared that if I drop my calories too low, it will trigger the disordered eating again.

So be careful, OP. Dieting can become addictive as you watch the weight drop off and the faster it drops, the more you want it to drop. Maybe use it to kick start your weight loss and then move to something more sustainable and gentler.

[BabbleBee]

@ScrapThatThen from what I’ve read this kind of ‘diet’ is widely discredited by healthcare professionals and the fitness industry who promote a higher calorific goal over a week with nutrient dense foods. Admittedly it takes longer for the weight to come off and isn’t a quick fix solution but a lifestyle change which maintains weight and most importantly health. For me, the most important people who discredit this approach to weight loss is those who promote mental health.

[Candyfloss99]

Yes I did 800 calories a day a couple of years ago. Lost 2 stone and have kept it off.

[bridgetreilly]

It's not just an 800 calorie diet, though. Please don't anyone just start cutting down to 800 calories without reading the book. It's not 800 calories of anything you feel like.

I've done BSD and the related longer-term mediterranean diet, and I absolutely trust the science behind Michael Mosley's work. I would strongly recommend BSD (and I think fast 800 is very similar), to most people. BUT he is very clear that this diet is not suitable for everyone. Certain medical conditions make it very inadvisable, for instance.

If anyone's interested, you really do need to get one of his books, read it, and follow it properly. Simply cutting down calories is not going to work and may do more harm than good.

[bridgetreilly]

Just to be clear, he does NOT recommend making up your 800 calories with digestive biscuits. Or any kind of biscuit. Please don't do what the OP is doing.

[NoMorePoliticsPlease]

Intermittent fasting is a good thing, prolonged 800 cal is very bad in the long term