Hi everyone,
I recently received, read and was impressed by the Michael Moseley fast 800 plan, so I did some looking around the internet and have found a fair few people who start… But never seem to post updates or anything.
I’ve dabbled in IF before, mainly 16:8 but wasn’t really watching what I was eating so didn’t see many benefits. I generally work better with defined rules and structures so was thinking of doing 16:8 with the 800 calories as per the fast 800 plan (med style food, cutting down on sugar). It was mainly the claims of “initial rapid fat loss” that drew me in, because I think that will really help keep me motivated if I can see the changes.
Do any of you have any experience with fast 800? Or just general advice for me?
For context I’m 30yo female, 165cm (5”5) and I weigh around 116kg (256lb). I have a lot of joint pain and my immune system is just crap from being overweight - it’s exhausting and I’m ready to start looking after my body better.
Thanks in advance!
Taking a look at the site and program, my two cents is this just a bunch of flash that’s trying to sell you products and plans.
Like yes, you’ll lose a bunch of weight eating only 800 calories of low glycemic foods, but their “initial rapid fat loss” is the more or less the same big reduction most folks see with a change in diet. Eating less and cutting carbs causes everyone to shed a lot of water.
There’s also the question of sustainability. Even their site only recommends it for at most 12 weeks, because extended periods below 1,200 generally lead to nutritional issues and increasing loss of lean body mass. This can put folks in a bad position to yo-yo back up to their previous weight at a higher body fat percentage, making it even harder to lose later.
This also doesn’t help to address the root cause of our relationship with food. Instead of working with ourselves to come to a better understanding of why we eat the way we do.
Well, I haven’t exactly followed that plan, but considering I was in a similar situation, I’ll tell you eat worked for me, and works to maintain weight loss.
Keto and IF.
At 28-29 ish I was so sick of being overweight, of shopping in plus size, having such a hard time finding things that looked good, and breaking a sweat far too easily.
I’d battled binge eating disorder, coupled with bulimia in my teens. I was able to overcome the bulimia by my 200s, but the BED stayed.
So by 28, at 5’ 2” I was over 200 lbs.
Even at over 200, I did IF everyday, not intentionally, I just didn’t eat during the day, but come night time, watch out, the BED would come out in full force.
Only when I started keto did I learn to break my carb addiction…. and I felt satisfied, and the weight really did melt off. By the end of the second month I’d dropped 30 lbs and went from 1 - 2 xl to size large.
The next 50 lbs took longer with some ups and down. However, in about a year, I lostmover 75 lbs. I now range between 125- 130, at 34 years old. For the first time in my adult life I feel good about my weight.
I maintain my weight by primarily eating keto and IF. When I stray, I begin to gain weight. I’ve worked too hard to go back now.
I recommend keto, it seems to work great for us overweight women. I think if and when we hit over 200 lb mark many of us have insulin resistance problems.
Might I also suggest kick starting with doing a Whole 30. It’s super restrictive in regards to what you can eat, but helps break that sugar addiction…. so when you switch to keto after a whole 30, keto doesn’t feel restrictive at all.
And the beauty in whole 30 is you can really eat as much as you want, if it’s the approved foods. It really helps get ya ready to stay on the keto wagon. No calorie counting, you’ll have plenty of that to come in the future. However, it’s nice to change your eating habits in the beginning without calorie stressing.
That’s just my experience. There’s many different diets to lose weight, it all comes down to less calories in then out. I just found keto a great way to control my appetite and BED, I feel satisfied, fueled, and good.
Best of luck to you on your journey. You can do this!
I think it would be better to just go for full on fast. I have read studies which say fasting is much better than calorie restriction and 800 looks like calorie restriction to me. You will get quick results and the benefits are immense from full on water fasting. If you have the will power to do 800 calories for 12 weeks then you can do a 10 day fast instead?I have started many a workout and diet plan with fasting, i eat only fruits and veg for a couple of days then only lemon and salt water for a day - 36 hours, then again boiled veggies , soup for a couple of days. If you have lot of determination and no other health complications you can do this. Extend the fast days to more than 1, may be 3? I lose about 3 kilos with this. I always feel fantastic after this fast, like i have been cleaned inside out. All the cravings disappear and I find it easier to eat clean after. Please consult a doctor or something tho just to be on safe side.
https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/wellbeing/7-day-gentle-detox-plan
What Gloomy Coconut said. Fast results from very low calorie diets, will set you back in no time. You will gain back the ‘lost’ weight. It’s just not sustainable nor healthy. If you want a change, you need to first change your mindset, not seek for fast miracles, be patience, start weight lifting and doing cardio and do CICO (calories in, calories out). Calculate your TDEE first, then you will know how many calories max. you can take in a day in order to lose weight. It’s plain simple, yet not easy. There are no Fast this or miracle that solutions.
800 is not a sustainable amount of calories for most people; hard cuts like this almost always result in hard rebounds. Start slow and find your personal sweet spot. I worked my way up to 60% of my basal metabolic rate. When I go further than that I start suffering and rebounding. Try to never go below 1000 unless you’re experienced doing multi-day fasts. After a while of counting calories and measuring everything you might just get the hang of it and stop. When I developed a better eye for portions and could stop measuring and counting everything I began to enjoy my food a lot more. But YMMV based on your own needs and preferences obviously.
I’d rather eat nothing than torture myself with 800cals a day. I can feel the dizziness and weakness already. If you wanna go hardcore do OMAD and only eat one plate of whatever is for dinner. (Maybe separate bowl for soup/salad.
Hi op!!
We have the exact same stats except im one year older!!!
I just started doing if again. On dec 30. , but was very lazy until the 2nd.
In my experience, 800cals is too low, and likely to lead to be being burnt out. Im no expert /obviously, haha, but im currently goaling for 1500, and if i eat below that - amazing! But its doable, and long term which is what im told this whole journey is about! Haha.
Remember, you didnt gain all then weight at once. This is my 4th go around, and im still trying to remember “its a marathon not a race”.
If you are going to do an 800 calorie diet, you need to be under a doctor’s supervision. Also it should only be for a very short period of time as it’s a kind of crash diet and is not healthy or sustainable long-term.
You also need to work on your relationship to food and learn to eat in a healthy way, so if you have something like an “all or nothing” or extreme or obsessive personality, you are at risk for developing a BED from such severe restriction.
At the end of the day, the most sustainable weight loss is done through a diet you can stick to through lifestyle changes that gives you steady, slow weight loss of 1-2lbs or around 1% of body weight per week. Taking the weight off too fast often means those lessons aren’t learned, or getting frustrated when it stops working, or going back to old habits.