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?

To add, my only exercise since lockdown is walking and before that was swimming and walking. I’m still losing weight on low carb Mediterranean food and no calorie counting at all.

@Rutennotou

800 calories is 800 calories no matter how it's obtained

Absolutely not true. A calorie isn't a calorie isn't a calorie! A calorie of fat will have no impact on your blood sugar, unlike a calorie of carbohydrate.

Well done op.
I lost 2.5 stones using 4:3 fasting (as opposed to 5:2) after reading Michael Moseley’s book. For me, I found it an easy way to lose and then maintain weight.

Hi, I lost 3 stone 7 lbs following this diet. After 10 weeks i followed the Mediterranean diet & have kept it off 18 months. Not eating bread , rice & pasta made a huge difference to my body shape.
I regularly got recipes off the Forum. Keep
going, I have no residual eating disorder & feel much better both physically & mentally.

@BIWI a calorie of fat won’t affect your blood sugar complete utter unscientific bullshite!

Calories from all foods affect blood sugar, some maybe not as quickly as others but they do affect them.

From diabetes website
“ Unlike sugar, fat has little immediate effect on blood glucose levels and this a key reason why low carb, higher fat diets tend to produce better blood glucose control.

However, it’s important to note that taking in excessive fat, if it leads to an excessive calorie intake, will result in increased insulin resistance and therefore higher blood glucose levels.”

Eating around half of your usual daily cals will do that, yes, in whichever form of diet. well done op :)

@geekone

From diabetesdaily.com:

The effects of slowly digested fats and proteins on blood glucose are minimal in people without diabetes who produce sufficient insulin.

and

Carbohydrates have the greatest impact on blood glucose levels. If carbs are a part of your diet and you’re not counting them accurately, it will have a greater impact on your blood glucose levels than fat or protein can.

I put my hand up to my previous post being an over-generalisation - but the principle still remains true - not all calories are equal.

@BIWI I think I can live with that too much fat can still be very dangerous for anyone with diabetes though as they can be prone to CVD more than non diabetics.

Balanced diet is the most important thing

Ha ha. Dr Michael Moseley with his non existent dietitian qualifications and his desire to flog his books. Crack on, OP. You've been taken for a fool, sweetheart.

I'd trust a doctor over a dietician

A nutrition professor at Kansas State University wanted to prove a calorie was just a calorie and did the Twinkie diet for 10 weeks and basically ate junk food up to a certain calorie count.

Ended up losing 27 pounds and had great health readings (the diet itself is quite repulsive but headline grabbing).

So maybe a calorie is just a calorie 🤷‍♀️

I'm not a fan of Dr Mosley, but intermittent fasting is a great way of restricting your calories over the course of a week.

When it comes to weight loss - a calorie is a calorie whether it comes from avocado or chocolate.

When it comes to nutrition and satiety, a calorie from an avocado is very different to one from chocolate.

Yes let's ignore a doctor because he's not a dietician and instead take the advice of a poster such as @opticaldelusion 🙄

Massive Dr Mosley fan here broadly followed his advice (16/8 intermittent fasting cut down on sugar then healthy Mediterranean type diet) lost 2 stone maintaining and feel great. Same weight as I was at 25 (am 45).

You've been taken for a fool, sweetheart

Nasty post. The OP wanted to lose weight, and she has. Fail to see how she has been taken for a fool? May not work for everyone but it does for her.

I like intermittent fasting. I’ve never been really overweight per se, but have found that my metabolism has slowed down since having DS so have to be a little more mindful. Skipping the odd meal or having one or two days of ‘Fasting’ has helped me maintain a healthy weight and I don’t feel deprived. I eat fairly healthily most days but don’t deny myself.

I'm doing a gym programme and have lost over a stone. The eating plan is the biggest factor in losing weight, but if you build muscle, you'll burn more calories even when you're inactive. I've found the eating plan very similar to Mosley's findings although it's lower in fat and higher in protein. Eating lots of veg is encouraged. I haven't eaten so much food in years!

YABU to put that amount of calories in a thread title which can be harmful for people with eating disorders.

There's a whole board devoted to dieting and weight loss...

wowfudge - congratulations on your progress! I regret the fact that I didn't weigh myself on the very first day of the diet so I don't know exactly how much I've lost but I'm the lightest I've been in 3 years! I love veg - you can eat a lot as most veg is relatively low in calories

You've been taken for a fool, sweetheart

Her aim was to lose weight. She has achieved that aim. Why is she a fool? And why are we calling her sweetheart?!

Indeed - if you lose weight and were over weight then it's good to lose it. Even if people put the same stone on and off all their life that is better than a stone a year put on between age 18 and 50.

when I started I was 5ft 1

How tall are you now

Of course you’ve lost weight eating so few calories but it’s not healthy or sustainable long term. Also many people would be ill eating so little so it’s not “one size fits all” so to speak.

Booksandwine80 -

by the time I reach my target weight I hope to be at least 6ft

That's great, good for you. But I don't think it's particularly healthy to be honest. I lost over a stone in a month by counting my calories (1400 a day) and upping my exercise and I'm still getting all the nutrients that I need.