The delicious way KICK-START to weight loss

Cut calories by replacing meals with smoothies and soups

CONCERNED by the impact of weight gain on our health, the Mail’s new columnist DR MICHAEL MOSLEY has devised a Shape Up Britain series to reduce our waistlines and improve our wellbeing. Continuing today and all this week, we follow the progress of 30 volunteers who’ve road-tested the plan and reveal the delicious recipes that worked for them — and can work for you, too.

WHEn Kieron Bateman, one of our 30 Shape Up Britain volunteers, realised his new food limit was just 800 calories a day, he admits feeling panicked.

‘There are more calories in a family size bag of nuts, so I wondered what on earth I would be eating,’ says the HGV mechanic, 32, from Chudleigh, Devon.

‘My job is pretty physical — I’m lifting heavy equipment and probably do around 14,000 steps a day, so I worried I would be hungry. I also prefer plain food. The idea of, say, banana pancakes for breakfast was anathema. But I surprised myself by what I was eating.’

Eight weeks on he has a new love of cooking. He’s now making Mediterranean-style meals with fresh ingredients, rather than relying on chicken burgers and oven chips. He also has fresh veg such as kale and spinach with every meal.

Even better, Kieron has already lost 1st 10lb (11kg) He also has

energy, not less, showing that the Fast 800 programme, where you start on just over 800 calories a day, is not only effective, but doable.

Kieron is typical of many people with expanding waistlines. And now is the time to take action.

If you catch Covid, being overweight puts you at greater risk of hospitalisation — and death. That’s why I teamed up with the Daily Mail for the Shape Up Britain challenge — which I hope will encourage you to scrutinise your weight, diet and lifestyle and commit, like Kieron and other volunteers, to transforming your health.

On Saturday, we told how two communities at different ends of the country were asked to try a weight-loss programme based on my Fast 800 diet for eight weeks.

In total, 30 men and women from all walks of life — with different body types, ages and health problems — followed the plan, devised with the help of my

GP wife Dr Clare Bailey. Their successes exceeded our hopes.

They lost 39st 8lb between them — with most (23 of the 30) losing a stone or more and our star slimmer losing over two.

All this week, I will be sharing their stories and bringing you the delicious recipes they enjoyed.

I know the Fast 800 works as it has been tested by Oxford University researchers and thousands of people, including me. In my mid-50s (I’m now 63), I hit 13½st and developed type 2 diabetes — which killed my father.

But I lost 1½ st and reversed the diagnosis through my 5:2 diet, which limited my calorie intake to 800 for two days a week and eating healthily on the others.

In response to scientific studies, I’ve adapted the plan so, if you’re suitable, you start a rapid weightloss phase while on about 800 calories a day (this lasts for two to 12 weeks, depending on how much weight you want to lose).

Why 800 calories? Because the figure is backed by science. By limiting yourself to eating this amount a day for a short time, you get all the nutrients you need but will see impressive early weight loss. It also triggers metabolic changes that can reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and dementia.

Early weight loss is also encouraging. Cat Duffin, a 42year-old mother of three from Sheffield, was at her heaviest when she started our challenge, at 14st 1lb (she’s 5ft 4in tall). ‘That first week when I saw I had lost 8lb, it really motivated me to continue,’ she says.

She lost 1st 7lb in total and was overjoyed after eight weeks to find key health markers were down to healthy levels, including blood pressure from 160/95 to 130/70 and blood glucose levels from 6.3 to 5.4. Her cholesterol had also improved.

This was particularly important for Cat, as her mother died after a cardiac arrest, aged 50.

‘I knew I needed to tackle my weight to be around for my own children,’ she says.

Kerry Moxon, another Sheffield volunteer, was also inspired by early weight loss. The 41-year-old administrator felt ‘shattered’ at first but her energy soon returned. ‘Losing 9lb that first week spurred me on,’ she says.

She went on to lose a total of 2st 3lb and has taken up spinning classes, too.

In Devon, Kelly Davis, 41, a nurse, found herself 10lb lighter after just a week. ‘When the weight fell off, it was better than any sugar rush. It was like shedding my old life,’ she says.

This might appear to be ‘crash dieting’, but large studies have shown it to be safe, if you get enough protein, nutrients, and do things properly. This bit of the plan is shortterm and that’s the key.

In fact, the Government recently announced that 5,000 people with type 2 diabetes would be offered an 800-calorie ‘soup and shakes’ diet, as part of a national crusade on obesity. Meal replacement shakes are useful for busy people and some find them easier in the early stages. The best shakes contain no added sugar, and plenty of protein (to preserve muscle and keep you full), fibre for gut health, and micronutrients. Learn more at thefast800.com

Or you can make sustaining soups and smoothies using the recipes in this pullout.

Extending your overnight fast (going 12 to 16 hours without food) also gives your body a break from digestion. Intermittent fasting — or Time Restricted Eating (TRE) — is a key part of the Fast 800 programme. It allows the good bacteria in your

gut to flourish, and allows the body to concentrate on other functions, such as removing old cells and helping it to switch from burning sugar to burning fat — your fat!

Some of our volunteers worried at first whether they could manage this — but they did, enthusiastically.

‘I’m not really a breakfast person so it was easy to skip it and have lunch at midday,’ says company director Chris Hall, 49, who lives in Sheffield with his wife and three children. ‘I’ve honestly never once felt hungry. ’

Chris has avoided convenience foods and snacks between meals and lost 1st 9lb in the process.

Catherine Pashley, 48, a complementary therapist from Sheffield, who lost 9lb in the first week (and 1st 2lb overall), stopped snacking, too.

‘I could never just stick to one biscuit; I’d eat the pack,’ she recalls.

But now she can easily fast for 18 hours between supper at 4pm and breakfast at 10am the next day.

‘I never thought I’d be able to do that. I’m going through the menopause and was having hot flushes, but I’ve not had one since doing the diet. My aches and pains have gone and my energy levels have soared.’

Party planner Carly Murphy, 32, who lives in Rotherham with her partner and two children, puts her weight loss down to intermittent fasting. ‘I’m convinced it was key to my success. I can easily go for 12 to 16 hours overnight without eating. If I feel hungry, I have a coffee or tea.’

If you prefer a steadier approach to weight loss, you can stick to just two 800-calorie days a week, eating a healthy Mediterranean diet the rest of the time. Why not give it a go? It’s never too late to make a big difference to your waistline and health, as our Shape Up Britain volunteers have shown.