Our fast 800 journey

We are well into week two of our  fast 800  journey and I would like to reassure our readers that we are both still alive and kicking (should you have been at all concerned). I should probably really say  Ross’s  fast 800  journey as I seem to have strayed somewhat from the plan. As my BMI hit the bottom end of healthy by last Sunday, I was freed from calorie counting and regranted access to carbohydrates. Dangerous business. However, with my Dad coming up to visit for a few days, this was perfect timing. It meant that we could go out for dinner and enjoy ourselves without me having to worry too much what I was eating… I did try to be good, opting for Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs on our breakfast out; nevertheless, this soon deteriorated into Hot Chocolates and Beer Battered Fish and Chips by the evening. Refillable Hot Chocolate (naughty) Now I talked previously about getting to a wonderful stage of the diet where we no longer felt particula...

It has now been exactly one week since we began  the fast 800 diet and, in fairness, we have both been impressed by the results... We retook all our measurements and saw some interesting changes. Here are some of the highlights:  Ross has lost 7kg and I have lost 3.1kg in this first week and we have also seen our BMIs drop as a result. Ross has lost 4.5cm from his waist measurement. Using our Ketone urine test strips , Ross showed ‘large’ amounts of ketones meaning that his body is now definitely burning more fat for energy. I showed between ‘trace’ and ‘small’ amounts of ketones, which is as expected as I have less fat to burn. Our blood sugars were  still both within the normal range, Ross’s had dropped slightly. Whilst we may not be at risk of diabetes now, this diet should hopefully ensure this remains to be the case for the longer term.   What has surprised us the most is the distinct lack of hunger during these past few days. Just a week before, w...

In a nutshell,  the fast 800  diet is the new version of the 5:2 diet devised by Dr Michael Mosley a few years back. At that time, studies had primarily been done on rats; however, for the first time, human studies are now available which has led to this reworking of the diet. One of the key differences is the focus on  what  you eat as well as restricting calorie intake. This means following a ‘traditional’ Mediterranean diet (sadly not the modern pizza/pasta filled one) of meats, oils, fish, vegetables and legumes and very low levels of carbohydrates. We are already feeling the difference that this has made. Compared to when we did the 5:2 diet last year, we have felt much less hungry this time and we have tried so many new dishes in just the first week.   Let’s have another brief look at the three stages of this diet. For more detail please refer to  the fast 800  book . -        Stage one : Calorie restri...

Day four was going quite well for me until I reached the evening. My busy day at work and my two meals between 9:30am and 4:30pm had kept me going. And then I headed to the climbing wall. In fairness, I think much of my hunger is psychological. You just can’t stop thinking about what you can’t have! When I walked into the climbing centre, I was convinced that I could smell food, specifically noodles! When I mentioned this to my climbing buddy, she said she could not smell anything. Ross suggested that  the fast 800  might have heightened my sense of smell and I was probably sensing some appetising delicacy from  several  streets away. Possibly… Glasgow Climbing Centre Nevertheless, climbing went well although I did not feel as energetic as I usually would. This is to be expected as the body accustoms itself to burning fat rather than sugar and carbs. I have also had a busy week travelling with work and have not had my optimal amount of sleep. It is surpr...

Hit subscribe at the top of the page to follow our journey! When I woke up this morning and took a shower, even the picture of the orange on the shower gel looked rather appetising… However, I knew that it was important to wait for that first meal for a couple of reasons: a)      Extending the overnight fast period gives your body a greater chance of beginning autophagy (literally  self-eat  in Latin). This is essentially your body regenerating – old, damaged cells are gobbled up and once you start eating again, new, healthy cells replace them. Interested? Read more here . b)     If I ate too soon, I would have to wait far too long for dinner, which would not equate to a fun day at work.  Interestingly, we both used a ketone urine test strip today to see if we were in ketosis and indeed we were! This means that our bodies should now be burning fat rather than relying on glucose in our blood for energy (which would co...

Hit subscribe at the top of the page to follow our journey! Our first  fast 800  dinner was surprisingly good, if a little long awaited as we had eaten nothing since our breakfast/lunch that afternoon. We ate later than we should have, towards 9pm. It is recommended that you should eat your last meal at least three hours before going to bed. According to Dr Michael Mosley, your body does not like to be forced back into action just before you hit the pillow. He backs this theory up with research in his book . On this note, we will aim for earlier meal times going forward. So what did we cook? Firstly, note the word 'cook' here. When we embarked upon the old 5:2 diet a year earlier, we relied heavily upon M&S Balanced For You ready meals which, in fairness, did offer a reasonable variety, were rather tasty and an overall very easy option. This time, we want to be making the food ourselves, from scratch, as much as possible. I think this will give us a greater apprecia...

Hit subscribe at the top of the page to follow our journey! Our final meal before beginning  the fast 800  was, admittedly, a naughty one. It was time for our belated pancake day. With toppings of Nutella and blackcurrant jam (my favourite), this was one sugary high to end our times of carb fuelled, processed foods.  As well as measuring our various body dimensions, we also tried out our new blood sugar testing kit .  In the morning, before eating, our blood sugar levels were well within the normal range (4.5   mmol/L  f or me, 4.9 mmol/L  for Ross). Whilst I did not particularly enjoy getting my finger pricked for the purpose of this, it is certainly information that most of the population would never normally be looking at. It all began to feel rather more scientific and measurable compared to anything we had ever done before. We also both used a Ketone urine test strip  to confirm that neither of us were in ketosis.   (This is where...