Want to keep weight off ? LOSE IT FAST!

With Dr Michael Mosley, inventor of the 5:2 diet

OVER the years we’ve been repeatedly told that rapid weight loss is ineffective and futile: that if you lose weight fast you will put it back on even faster. But that thinking is now beginning to change.

A number of recent studies have gone so far as to give us compelling evidence that very low calorie diets can be a great drug-free way to reverse type 2 diabetes.

Even if diabetes is not your primary concern, there is still much to be gained by cutting right back on your calorie intake for a while. If you’ve got quite a lot of weight to lose, and if you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia and other diseases linked to ageing, then cutting your daily food intake back to 800 calories may be the way to go.

Recent research points to 800 calories as a ‘magic’ number — it is low enough to trigger beneficial changes in your body, but high enough to ensure you get the nutrients you need and are not tormented by hunger.

I’m so convinced of the power of 800 calories in terms of health and weight loss that I’ve updated my 5:2 plan to incorporate it, and I’ve written a new book, The Fast 800, which is being serialised all this week in the Irish Daily Mail.

On Saturday, I launched my new approach with a 32-page magazine packed with delicious calorie-counted recipes to get you started.

All this week, I will be revealing new research behind intermittent fasting, in informationpacked daily pullouts, each featuring healthy recipes to make sticking to the plan easier.

The focus for today’s recipes is quick and easy — because not everyone has a partner willing to rustle up healthy, calorie-calculated meals, like me!

THE CASE FOR RAPID WEIGHT LOSS

I’M FASCINATED by the science behind intermittent fasting and have been lucky enough to be able to tap into the thinking of some of the best researchers in this field.

So I’ve updated my 5:2 plan to encompass the latest findings, and to make it as doable as possible. When I introduced the concept of 5:2 in 2012, it was an instant hit. But some dieters found cutting down to just 500 or 600 calories a day, even if only for two days a week, could be tough.

However, the studies showed that even if you cheat a bit and go up to 800 calories, the diet still seems to work.

Since rapid weight loss can be very motivating, I’ve incorporated a fast-track kick-starter that involves sticking to 800 calories a day, every day, for at least the first two weeks.

Some people may want to use meal replacement shakes and bars, at least to start with (visit thefast800.com for my recommendations).

You can also whip up your own shakes and smoothies from the recipes that were in this week’s You Magazine on Saturday.

I would prefer you to diet with real food, so you’ll find sections in the Mail all this week packed with nutritious recipe ideas — all calorie-counted so you can pick and mix, confident that you will be sticking to a daily 800-calorie limit.

If you have health problems, do check with your GP before embarking on a fast-track diet.

The benefits of rapid weight loss for people who are seriously overweight were shown in a recent trial by Oxford University. For this study, 278 obese adults were allocated either an 800 calorie-a-day regime (soups and shakes), or given standard slow and steady weight-loss advice.

Those on the meal replacement regimen were asked to stick to it for eight weeks, before gradually switching to real food. After

12 months, the 800-calorie group were found to have lost an average of 10.7kg, while those in the standard group had lost 3kg.

Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University and the lead researcher of the trial, was delighted by the results: ‘It’s phenomenal — like nothing we’ve seen before.’

She thinks one of the reasons that the rapid weight-loss group did so well is because rapid weight loss is so motivating.

‘The excitement gets them through the first few difficult weeks,’ she explains. ‘We need to capitalise on all that enthusiasm people have at the beginning to really lose weight and get off as much weight as they possibly can.’

SHAKES ARE OK, BUT...

SOME people think meal-replacement diet shakes are ‘cheating’, others find they really help, particularly at the start, because you don’t have to think about what to cook, or worry about counting calories, or getting in all your essential nutrients for those meals.

I’m pragmatic about this. They suit some people, not others. But a lot of meal replacement shakes contain added sugar, taste artificial and are surprisingly high in carbohydrates, so pick carefully.

Aim for something low-carb, with plenty of protein, enough fat and decent amounts of fibre.

SAFETY FIRST

FAST tracking is not suitable if you’re under 18; if you’re breastfeeding, pregnant or undergoing fertility treatment; if you are underweight, have an eating disorder or a psychiatric disorder; have had recent heart problems, uncontrolled heart disease or high blood pressure; if you are unwell or recovering from significant surgery.

Discuss it with your GP if you have a medical condition, including diabetes, low or high blood pressure, retinopathy or epilepsy.