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]

Thanks LaurieFairyCake - I've successfully lost weight on 1600 cals a day in the past - good luck with your efforts!

[ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings]

Having looked up the author it seems like he graduated medical school in 1985 but never actually worked as a doctor, and instead went straight to work for the BBC. So, he did 5 years or medical training 36 years ago and has no additional recent relevent experience. Speaking as someone who went to medical school, it is a real bare bones level of knowledge intended to get you started as a doctor but most of the actual indepth stuff you learn is done during your specialty training. So, don't let the fact that he has the Dr title influence the amount of credence you give him. He might as well not have gone to med school if that was all he did and it was that long ago.

Also, if you're trying to save money op then biscuits and ready meals are a crazy idea. 800 calories worth of any food is hardly expensive, but ready meals/biscuits/Greggs etc are actively expensive for the amount of nutrients they actually contain. Certainly relative to the other things you mention like salad and chicken. I'm glad you've lost some weight but if you think you aren't still caught in a binge/restrict cycle then you're kidding yourself.

[Sleepthief]

I followed this diet last year, lost a stone and a half in six weeks, then piled it all back on and some more for good measure because it wasn't sustainable in the long term. As soon as i started eating more normally the weight went straight back on. Now attempting 5:2 as hopefully more sustainable...

[TellySavalashairbrush]

Far too few calories and totally not sustainable in the long term. I ate around this amount when I was in the clutches of an eating disorder.

[Settle59]

Shantotto - I did it for over 7 weeks in 2012 - it worked luckily as I had a hot date and got my weight down in time!!

[Settle59]

TellySavalashairbrush - I'm definitely stopping on hitting target as don't want to risk being underweight

[Settle59]

want to reiterate what certain posters have said

I wouldn't recommend doing exactly what I've done! but a 800 a day diet is likely to get quick results - if that's what you want

[Branleuse]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

Please can you read up a little about the effects of starvation on the brain and body, both short term and long term before encouraging others into such restrictive diets. 800 calories is not enough to keep your vital organs functioning. Of course your body will try and eat itself.
This is completely irresponsible

[Recoverandthrive]

Well done op, its life changing isn't it. I know our worth shouldn't be based on our weight but the confidence it gave me back was immeasurable. For the op who said come back in a year-well that's me a 18months on having lost two stone. It's not designed to be done beyond 12 weeks.

[Recoverandthrive]

And I never ate healthier than I did during and after this diet plan.

[bridgetreilly]

@ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings, no he's not claiming to have done the research personally. What he has done is take the results of actual studies done by various clinical researchers (referenced fully in his books, so you can look them up yourself), especially in the field of type 2 diabetes, and make them accessible to people who want to understand and make the necessary changes in their own lives He's also very clear about the need for medical advice and supervision, especially if you have other conditions, and that this diet is not recommended for everyone.

[ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings]

Ah OK, fair enough bridgetreilly.

[SerenDippitty]

I’m hypothyroid and very low calorie diets are not recommended if you have this condition. The thyroid needs a moderate regular calorie intake to support its function. Someone I know with the condition went down to 900 calories a day and still didn’t lose weight.

I'm hypo too and low carb fasting works brilliantly for me where not much else does. I am rubbish at sticking to it but wish I could as it makes me feel great.

That's interesting. I don't think I would be able to exercise the way I like on so few calories though.

[Socksey]

My mum has been on a similar diet on and off over the last 40 years.... she started at a healthy 8stone in her early 20s... by her 30s she was 9stone and started trying this... she lost weight initially.... however, over the last 40 years has got heavier and for the last 20 she weighs more than 15stone.
So short term success which is unrealistic and can't be maintained as new eating habits are not learned...
Not even getting into how good for you this is.... or not

[wowfudge]

Michael Mosley reversed his own type 2 diabetes. His wife is a GP who has collaborated with him. He's not a charlatan. But there's no point not following what his books tell you as yes, you'll lose weight, but then go back to old habits and put it back on.

[BIWI]

@Rutennotou

I'd never manage on 800 calories, wouldn't be sustainable for most people at all.

The point about The Fast 800 way of eating is that you're eating the right kind fo calories - not digestive biscuits like the OP!

It's based around keeping your carbohydrate levels low, as well as your calories - and cutting down the carbs has a knock-on effect of curbing the appetite. (It's all to do with getting the key hormones insulin, leptin and grehlin in balance - they control your appetite/hunger/satiation levels).

@Branleuse that's simply not true if you're eating the right balance of macronutrients. However, in the longer term, you're right that it isn't a sustainable way to eat, which is why the Fast 800 plan, devised by Dr Mosley, is only supposed to last for 8-12 weeks. After that, you move to a diet which is generally lower in carbohydrate than we would consider 'normal'. Once you do this, you don't count the calories any more.

[0DETTE]

To anybody who's thinking of trying this READ THE BOOK!. Please don't do what the OP has done and cut down to 800 calories of sugary crap, that's the complete opposite of what Dr Michael Moseley intended with this diet. The fast 800 diet is limited time (8-12 weeks), cures insulin resistance and can reverse Type 2 Diabetes, but not if you're eating digestive biscuits

This is an excellent point and worth repeating.

[Branleuse]

@BIWU yes it is true.

nedc.com.au/research-and-resources/show/issue-59-i-the-starved-brain-can-what-we-eat-determine-how-we-think

In fact I could give you links to heaps of studies. Just search for starvation effects on the brain.
The minnesota starvation experiment involved them eating more calories than is recommended in this diet, and it still had to be halted because of the detrimental effects on the people involved.

Of course starving yourself leads to weightloss if you value weightloss over all other wellbeing long term, then thats up to you, but its seriously irresponsible to peddle this bullshit

[hotstepper4]

I follow the 16/8 plan sticking to 1200 calories a day. Sometimes at bedtime I'm so hungry I have to have a boiled egg or some ham. I couldn't cope with only 800 calories admire your willpower though!!

[Candyflosscookie]

Branleuse, Dr Mosley references the Minnesota experiment in his book actually. I believe they ate mostly turnips and potatoes. Hardly the varied delicious Mediterranean choices he advocates. And it lasted many months, not just the 8 weeks or max 12 weeks of the initial 800 phase.

And yes OP you need to make better nutrition choices. Salad and veg are not that much more expensive than biscuits and a lot cheaper than ready meals! 🙈

[bumblenbean]

I follow this but only two-three days a week as any more is unsustainable (at least for me). There’s no way I could do it every day for any length of time.

I lost a stone doing it last year and have kept it off but want to lose another stone so have started again.

On 800 days I have no breakfast then for example will have scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for lunch and then lean meat and cauliflower rice for dinner. Lots of water/ tea etc to keep going. I do get pretty hungry on those days but I know I can eat normally every other day so that keeps me going.

I started again this week and have lost 4 pounds. And on non fasting days I still have some chocolate etc

It’s the only thing that’s worked for me. But I wouldn’t recommend doing it every day - and you’ve got to eat the right kind of stuff!

[Rutennotou]

@BIWI Yes I know digestive biscuits isnt the way to do it but 800 calories is 800 calories no matter how it's obtained. You need more than that for basic bodily functions, nevermind exercise.

[Opendraw]

I found it great it’s all really healthy food and I can’t say I was too hungry the quick results give you the drive to keep with it. I was bursting with energy. I now exercise more and so am more relaxed and eat more calories and blow out a little at weekends. Just in jaunting mode now . I would recommend it highly.

[CaptainBrickbeard]

If you read anything Michael Mosley has written beyond the title of the book you would not be eating 800 calories of biscuits and ready meals! High carb processed food is the antithesis of what he recommends and eating a high carb low cal diet is a horrendous idea, definitely not to be applauded.

The point of the diet is that it’s low carb Mediterranean. The 800 calorie phase is limited to absolutely no more than twelve weeks. It works and isn’t torture because your 800 calories are high in fat and low in carb and it’s nutritious, healthy food.

I read the books on 1st January this year. I have stuck to the principles but never gone below 1000 calories in a day when I was counting them at the start. Now I eat according to the principles but don’t calorie count and follow TRE most days. I’ve lost three stone in five months.

Cutting down to 800 calories but eating high carb processed food is absolutely not the Michael Mosley diet. It is very far away from just not quite sticking to 'the letter of the diet’. It bears absolutely no relation to anything the books explain about weight loss. Please can people stop cheering an 800 calorie daily allowance of terrible, nutritionally absent food just because it leads to weight loss. What the OP is doing does not lead anywhere good. It’s dangerous.

[Opendraw]

Agree follow the book don’t use the calories for biscuits and wine !