Can I do Fast 800 but not med-style diet?

[startalovetrain]

I really want to try the Fast 800 but I work away Monday to Thursday with no cooking or fridge facilities (4.5 hour train so can't take coolbox)

I've resorted to the balanced ready meals from M&S/Sainsbury's that are about 350-400 calories each and having one for lunch and one for dinner with just coffee for breakfast.

I think I could stick to 800 calories but they do all contain rice or grains or often high carb veg. I usually heat these up in the work microwave and take them back to my hotel in a food flask.

Would I be making myself miserable? Would the diet even work if I can only restrict calories but not carbs?

As long as you are in a calorie deficit then you will still lose weight but you might find it's a bit slower if you aren't reducing carbs

Do you go out and buy these every day? As an alternative it might just be case of thinking "outside the box" - i.e instead of a ready meal why not get something like a pack of prawns or some already cooked chicken, a pack of microwave veg and cauliflower couscous/courgetti/butternut noodles and then mix those with some tomato pasta sauce or salsa when you get back to the office and heat - that could work for either your lunch or dinner

Other great things are those microwave sachets of puy lentils - and you could grab a box of eggs and make yourself a frittata one day with some mixed veg in the microwave - any eggs you don't use you can leave at your desk

Does your hotel have a restaurant? If they do then I'm sure they could adapt something for you ….

And does your hotel room have a kettle? If not then could you buy a travel one? There is lots you can make if you have one of those...

I dont see why not. As long as there's a deficit

If you have a calorie deficit you will lose weight.

But a big part of the Fast 800 is going med-style as it has lots of health benefits in the long run and is a sustainable healthy diet once you have done the 800 weeks.

I've done my 800 weeks and am now finding I am quite happy on a calorie deficit eating med-style food and still losing weight without feeling 'Aaargh diet'

Travel kettle would give you a lot of options for cooking and if you ate loads of fruit and veg this would be filling. Michael Mosley doesn't care much about 'high carb veg' except potatoes and the Fast 800 recipes are much more flexible about carbs - if it's whole grain and most of the meaal is veg, it's OK seems to be the theme.

Do be conscious though that fruit (and some veg) can really pack in the calories - things like peas, sweetcorn, mango, bananas, pineapple, grapes etc

Yes I do have a kettle @Blondie1984 and @AnnaMagnani

It's a premier inn so the restaurant is a bit naff tbh. I will have a look though everything has rocket in booo

That's a good idea about buying a packet of meat and different veg, I can pick them up on the way into the office.

What kind of things will a kettle help me with? It's only a little travel type one :)

Bumping for ideas!

You can boil eggs in it, rehydrate couscous or noodles, poach chicken, steam fish/veg -or do boil in the bag fish - you can even cook veg in it

The next person wanting a cup of tea would really thank you for that.

Op, if you have access to a pret, they do some good low carb salads.

As per Blondie you can do any cooking that just involves boiling in a kettle - if you are v concerned then pack your own kettle.

If you google 'cooking with a kettle' there are a lot of ideas + blogs and books based on cooking with no kitchen. Mostly aimed at students, low budget travellers or prisoners.

There is also the classic book 'Cooking in a Bedsitter' from the 1960s which has recipes for cooking when you have v limited equipment and space. Most are for one gas ring but there is a section for kettle only - DH has a v battered copy given to him by his Dad.

@PickAChew that’s why using your own travel kettle is best - you can pick one up for about the equivalent of 4 salads from Pret