Is Michael Mosley's Extreme ‘Fast 800’ Weight Loss Diet A Good Idea!? #shorts

Is the 'Fast 800' 800-calorie diet a good idea?

This extreme doctor-prescribed weight loss diet is popularised by Michael Mosley and has research supporting its ability to lose weight and keep some of it off for up to 24 months (longer than a lot of weight loss trials, lol).

So, in theory, you can absolutely say that it 'works' for weight loss.

However, I think it's a good example that epitomises how extreme weight loss diets can be because a lot of you will hear "800 calorie diets" and think "absolutely no way in hell is that a good idea".

So, a bigger question is where is the line between a weight loss diet that works, and something that resembles a super extreme starvation protocol that you wouldn't actually ever recommend someone follows?

Just something to think about.

References:
- Durability of a primary care-led weight-management intervention for remission of type 2 diabetes: 2-year results of the DiRECT open-label, cluster-randomised trial
- Doctor Referral of Overweight People to Low Energy total diet replacement Treatment (DROPLET): pragmatic randomised controlled trial

[christineellengalbraith]

Fast 800 was brilliant for me. 4 years of eating this way and I have maintained the reversal of my type 2 diabetes which I had for 12 years, hypertension of 16 years gone, retinopathy reversed, anxiety just not an issue any more.
In 12 weeks I’d reversed all my health issues. Off all medications. Even the blood test results reporter wrote - Perfect results how did you do it? Congratulations.
I’d lost 17% of my start weight, a loss of 15kg, in those first 12 weeks, by 26 weeks 21 kg was gone and still gone 204 weeks later.
I’ve been discharged from specialist diabetic eye clinic because my eyes have aged in reversed. They are now biologically 10 years younger than my chronological age and no sign of the retinopathy I’d had for several years.
All done with real food, heaps of meat & dairy and varying amounts of leafy greens and above ground veg.
Thing is it won’t work for everyone but if you work at it you’ll find your physiological fit. For me 2 meals a day not snacking no simple carbs heaps of complex carbs high protein and the fat that naturally comes with it. At least 14 hour period without food most days.
This approach is definitely a winner for me. 62yo feeling 40.

[PaulAnthonyDuttonUk]

It’s hardly extreme. I dropped 18 kilos on 800 kcals a day. I chose 800 for myself as a good deficit provider and never really felt hungry. Sometimes I go over the limit but just generally just follow the 800 white line in the road and the weight came off. Am much stronger than before. Vitals are all ok and walk with a bounce in my step. It’s a very easy diet because u don’t need to worry overly about food groups and instead focus on energy in and out. I walk around 5 miles a day with the dog, hour in the morning and same in the afternoon and after studying it a bit the walk or NO walk makes no difference to the weight loss. Diet is king. Also it’s not a starvation diet and the weight does not come back on.

[eGregiousGames]

I'm learning so many new terms for... vivid imagery, by watching your content 😂

[valkylva]

Since I can’t lift weights and am recovering from a hip injury I decided to eat 800-1200 calories a day (since I can’t do much at home either). I’m basically bed bound so I quit alcohol completely and cut the calories and make sure I eat lots of protein so I don’t lose too much muscle. I don’t feel tired at all I feel completely normal and when I enter ketosis I feel amazing.
It’s doable and more safe for people who aren’t as active but I wouldn’t suggest it for active people.

[DeltaA]

Medical professionals are not infallible.
Sincerely someone who comes from a family of doctors

[Vinny-nobd]

Dr Mosley passed from a heart attack at 67, I'll pass on this diet.

[WhoMeDavidC]

Just got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on Friday. I’m 6’2, 150kg and 31 years old with a young kid. Kinda sucks because I love lifting but my diet has always been so trash. Takeaways everyday etc but I didn’t care because I was strong as an ox. Doctor told me to try the 8 week blood sugar diet and come back when I’m done. I’m real worried about losing all the strength I gained over the past decade but in the grand scheme I’d rather be healthy for my kid. I started today and I don’t know if should be working out like I was or what I should be doing. I’ll give it a few days and see how I’m feeling. Wish me luck!

[daveclaude]

I did this diet accidentally when trying to lose weight. Coffee and chicken was all I ate pretty much.

[zachb]

(Agree with ya but adding more) if you do the super low calorie diet you should be in a good mental place/have good mental health when doing so; I didn’t use a “diet plan” I just cut down my food and calorie intake severely in order to lose weight, my mental health and body image is not good and i ended up taking it to the extreme and developed borderline anorexia and an intense “fear” of eating and of what I was eating, to the point where I was heavily considering bulimia. I did lose a crap ton of weight in a short period of time, but 10 months after starting I’m still very much struggling with the way it impacted my relationship with food, and the way it mentally screwed me up. This is ofc just my experience and does not mean that everyone will/would have the same or even a remotely similar experience, but I wanted to bring up the perspective of how it COULD affect someone if they have poor mental health and struggle with their body image and confidence as I do.

[Nimeve]

It worked for me, the initial phase was difficult at first. I still think it's better then taking diabetes injections to loose weight.

[JemyM]

I did very-low-calorie-diets before. ~500 calories per day for months. Regaining the weight was as quick as losing it. I have done ADF now for 15 months. The advantage with the latter is that ADF still have full eat days on which you practice full days of eating normally.

[jordanhanson]

I completely disagree, you haven’t struggled with obesity and by the looks of it you have a pretty fast natural metabolism, no hate. I have struggled my whole life with weight. I lost 40kg slow and steady, ended up gaining allot of it back, now 800 gives me a goal to stick to and see fast results, it’s really motivating and I feel so much better just after a few days. Then I’ll transition to higher maintenance calories. It’s not as bad as you think. I ate pizza with mates the other night and still fit it in my calories 👌

[Blessingsuponyou]

If you weighed 600lbs you better get on that 800 lb diet for your health

[gabrieljimijones]

Could you do more vids on Michael Mosley's quackery? I feel like he's completely immune from any rational criticism just because he's a GP.

[paulbainjr]

I think his original plan 5:2 was better im actually doing 4:3 my wife and I Sunday Tuesday Thursday fast 800 . Been working well .

[jazzmoon]

I think the idea is that it’s just the first phase, and you are meant to eat whole foods and also have macro targets. Then the subsequent phases increase the calories until you reach maintenance. I don’t have good personal experience with 800 calorie diets, but I did lose weight under supervision of an integrative GP who also held qualifications in nutrition (full separate degrees, not just the GP weekend training in nutrition) and she said that there was sound evidence that losing weight rapidly then shifting to a more steady rate had best outcomes especially with adherence over the long term. So yeah 800 calories a day is brutal and stupid but in the right context it can be effective.

[patrizian]

I did Fast 800 and it messed up with my metabolism. First I lost weight but than gained all back with the interests. After this I haven't been able to find the strenght to start any other diet

[danelled]

My breakfast often contains 700 calories. 😂😂 guess I'm not eating later😒 nm.. not gonna do it. Lol

[Max-OCATCBuff]

Isn't this the definition of a fad/crash diet? I'm sure some people can benefit (particularly, people who need to cut weight for a specific event). Unless you build back into a more sound lifestyle plan, seems like MOST people would put all the weight back on once they returned to their pre diet lifestyle.

[gabbyholloman]

I actually love super low calorie diets. I don’t end up with a lot of the side effects most people complain about (such as headaches and fatigue) tho so i definitely can see how stuff like that could make it feel impossible and is 100% of the reason I would never recommend anyone to do this.