The Fast800 diet: What it’s really like

Like many others, my husband and I watched Michael Moseley’s ‘How to Lose a Stone in 21 Days,’ programme on channel 4. I was inspired to try, because the science made sense to me and the food looked good. We were just about to go on holiday so we decided to do it when we got back.

After watching the programme I visited the fast800 website and found that there were lots of recipe ideas and information on there. There is a plan you can subscribe to for £99 for 4 months, and that gives you support and meal plans and many more recipes. I didn’t feel like it was necessary, I’m quite disciplined when I put my mind to it. We did buy the fast800 recipe book, which has been really good for us, all the recipes are easy and tasty, they don’t take too long to make and don’t work out as expensive. We spend no more than we usually do on our weekly shop. I’d really recommend getting the book to start you off.

When we got back from holiday I started meal planning and writing shopping lists for the following week. My husband agreed to do it with me having never dieted himself. He’s tried to eat healthy before and to watch what he ate but never tried calorie counting or weighing out portions.

We’ve been on it for five weeks now and still going strong. In the first week I shed about 5lb! It was great seeing the weight come off. I did get hungry and had cravings, but not too bad. It helps that the food is really tasty. My husband has lost over a stone in total. I didn’t lose a stone by three weeks, but I have lost 11lb so far and I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself which is the main thing. We plan on making this a way of life with the odd treat so that it works for us. My goal weight is 10 stone, I’m currently 11stone 5lb with a starting weight of 12stone 2lb. I am pre-diabetic too so it’s for health reasons rather than vanity.

I suffer from fatigue a lot, and I strangely found that I have more energy on this diet and I have greater mental clarity. It’s not a cure-all, of course, I still get days where I need to rest, but I do feel this way of eating is better for me. My husband suffers from high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Since losing the weight his blood pressure has returned to normal, which he is so encouraged by.

What we have found difficult on the fast 800

The most difficult thing is sticking to the portion sizes! Some meals seem really small whereas others appear bigger. They all add up to similar calories though. I was really excited to try the avocado on sourdough toast, but it was such a small portion it wasn’t worth it. I prefer the pear porridge or breakfast bircher and they fill me up better too. The other thing is managing cravings for bread and carbs. I thought I’d struggle more not having crisps, but I want bread more. I have a little bit occasionally with some soup or as a breakfast. Bread is allowed on the diet, but they advocate sourdough bread and a small amount. My husband struggles late at night because after dinner he then stays up later than I do and gets hungry again. We’ve caved in and got a takeaway a couple of times, but we got a small kebab and left out the pitta bread. It didn’t make much difference to the scales.

Tips for succeeding on the fast800 and 5:2 diet

I would say the number one tip for success is having the support of a partner or close friend. If you’re depriving yourself or eating healthily and your partner is sat there munching on your favourite high fat foods it’s really disheartening.

Next, start as you mean to go on. Get rid of all the snack foods and high carb foods in your house. We have three children and we made them a snack/pudding bag with chocolate bars and any sweets in, and we try to have healthier options like cereal bars and yoghurt for them. We used to have a ‘treat basket’ but that is now filled with our nuts, seeds, dried fruits etc. for recipes and the odd snack. This was quite honestly a game changer. We still have crisps in the house but they are strictly for the children.

Meal plan – this is so important. Sit down together at the weekend or whenever is convenient for you and plan for the week ahead, alongside a shopping list. Then you know what you’re having and it takes the stress away. It also gives you something to look forward to. We don’t always plan for lunches, but we have ingredients to make salads, we have soups and things like eggs to make omelettes and frittatas. For breakfast we either have a shake, eggs, porridge or greek yoghurt and fruit. On the fast800 website they sell shakes but we just have Tesco own, they have all you need and are much cheaper.

Don’t be disheartened if you slip up or the weight loss stalls. If you have a slip up, even a big one, don’t panic. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed and you might as well give up. Just start again the next day. We’re all human and have down days. Don’t beat yourself up, perhaps you really needed it at that time. Re-focus and start again. If your weight loss is stalling over a long period or creeping up, look again at your diet, is there anything you can change up, drink more water, exercise, change the recipes and ingredients.

So, on the whole it’s been such a positive change for us. We are still aiming for 800 calories a day but we don’t count up the calories as such, we just use the recipes to help us aim for that. After 12 weeks we will go onto the 5:2 maintenance diet. Some days at the moment we take as a ‘non fast’ day but we don’t go mad, we might just have a slightly larger portion.

Have you been inspired to try? I’d love to hear how you get on, let me know in the comments.

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