MICHAEL MOSLEY’S LIFE PLAN
My secret tips for keeping your diet on track
IT’S been two weeks since I launched my new 5:2 diet plan and I’m already receiving letters from readers telling me how they are seeing impressive changes to their waistline. To keep on track I think it is important you really understand the scientific rationale behind what I’m recommending. So I’ve put together a shortlist of some of the most common, diet-related queries and answered them as best I can. This should arm you with the knowledge you need to combat the challenges and temptations that may occur in the first weeks of the diet.
WHY FULL-FAT?
IN THE 1970s, it was widely believed that eating fat caused people to pile on the pounds and led to heart disease. But recent scientific research questions this, showing that some fats – such as omega-3 found in oily fish – can reduce blood pressure and the risk of blood clots, and boost brain health. A 2014 study, conducted by researchers at Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard universities, examined more than 80 studies on the subject, involving almost half a million people, and concluded there was no convincing evidence that eating saturated fats leads to a greater risk of heart disease.
In fact, eating a particular type of saturated fat (found in dairy products) can reduce heartdisease risk, and full-fat dairy eaters often have a lower body mass index (BMI) than low-fat converts. Full-fat yogurt containing live bacteria (check the labels) such as bifidio bacteria and lactobacillus will help contribute to a healthy microbiome (the bacteria in the gut). This sort of research inspired me to reintroduce butter and full-fat Greek yogurt into my diet. Avoid highly processed fats in cakes, biscuits and margarines, but healthy fats such as fish, dairy, olive oil and nuts will help to keep you healthy and trim.
WHY 800 CALORIES ON FAST DAYS, NOT 600 OR 1,000?
WHEN I wrote The Fast Diet in 2012, I advised that on ‘fast days’, men should eat 600 calories, and women 500. This recommendation – a quarter of the average recommended calorie levels – was based on evidence from human and animal studies available at that time. Many succeeded using this strategy and lost weight, but some struggled. To make the diet more doable, I now suggest eating 800 calories on ‘fast days’. It’s easier to stick to and is still likely to produce significant weight loss.
WHY CAN’T I HAVE TROPICAL FRUIT?
WHILE it’s important to get our ‘five-a-day’, the emphasis should be on vegetables rather than on fruit. Fruit tends to be much higher in sugar, and while that might make it tastier, loading up on it is not great for the waistline or blood sugar levels. Tropical fruits such as bananas, mango and pineapple generally cause a much bigger sugar spike than apricots, peaches, apples, pears and strawberries. Apples and pears with skin will boost fibre intake.
CAN I EAT BREAD?
SOME loaves can be calorific, especially when loaded with butter and marmalade. Two slices of toast – spread thickly with butter and jam – can add up to more than 400 calories, the same as you’d find in a chocolate muffin. If you crave bread, choose a loaf that contains nuts and seeds for fibre, or go for rye bread.
WHAT IF I CAN’T HAVE GLUTEN?
I ENJOY wholegrains like barley, rye and bulgar wheat as these release energy slowly and are high in bowel-friendly fibre. But they are best avoided by those with coeliac disease (in which the small intestine becomes inflamed due to an adverse reaction to gluten) or gluten-intolerance, as they all contain gluten. Instead, why not try buckwheat, corn, maize, polenta, pulses (beans and lentils), quinoa or brown rice.