The Fast Diet: Revised and Updated: Lose weight, stay healthy, live longer

I'm so, so glad I bought a copy of this book. I've read it from cover to cover devouring every single word and I think I might just have hit the jackpot this time. I've been dieting for many years, I’ve tried them all I reckon, and they’ve all been tough with nothing to look forward to but misery, and as it always happens, I lose about 1st 7lb and then I plateau. I'm one of the unfortunate few that when I plateau it lasts for weeks and weeks and weeks rather than just a week or two like everyone else, it continues until I get so disheartened, I just give up hope altogether and go straight back to gaining weight and I end up weighing even more than I did when I started. MM talks about this and explains what every other diet book writer simply refuse to address properly. He explains why and what's going on in my body, he tells me not to panic, he points out the positives, he understands the level of frustration, loss of hope, the sheer desperation, and he encourages me not to give up and how/what I should do to get the weight loss going again, in other words, he GETS ME and all the thousands of others just like me and he’s given me hope and dare I say it, a virtual hug of reassurance. Provided you read every single page from cover to cover, this book will answer every question you have about this type of diet and why it works. There are 3 stages to go through. You don't have to do the first stage if you don't want to you can start with stage 2 which is mainly what this book is about and then when you reach your desired body weight you slip gently and easily into stage 3 which is the lifetime maintenance diet of 6:1 where you only FAST on one day a week, the really easy stage. I'm going to start with the Rapid weight loss programme which is basically 0:7, where every day is basically a FAST day with just 600 cals for Women, (800 cals for Men) to spend every single day and then go into the stage two which is the 5:2. the stage were you only fast on 2 days a week (rather than 7 in stage 1) and eat what you want for 5 days, within reason of course and mindful of everything he teaches you. Stage 1 is definitely going to be hard but I'm getting desperate to get this weight off (5st), MM suggests 3 to 12 weeks in stage 1 but I know I won't be able to live without my white carbs for so long so I can't see me getting beyond 3 weeks in this stage but that's ok, the 5:2 will achieve the same results, but it'll just take a bit longer that's all. To give you some idea about menus you might want to read the COMPANION to this book, the FAST 800 KETO RECIPE BOOK written by both Michael and is wife Clare Bailey. It’s packed with wonderful meals which look really tasty and are designed for the FAST days. Thankfully I ordered a copy of that at the same time as this one, you’ll have everything you need to get started. Do yourself a favour and buy both books, you won’t be sorry, I’m definitely not.SUNDAY 30/7/23 UPDATE – Ok so today marks the end of my 14th week on stage one of this diet and I thought it might help you to know how its working for me. I have lost exactly 2st 4lb, that’s an average of 2lbs 2ounces per week. Not much I know, it’s slow going but I’m encouraged that I’m at least getting somewhere at last. I started out on 600 cals per day divided into 2 meals and it’s been hard work staying motivated and on target but I’ve remained determined throughout. I keep a strict record of everything, I weigh myself first thing every Sunday morning after I’ve visited the loo and am stark naked. My scales are put in exactly the same spot every week, so an uneven or slightly sloping floor doesn’t affect my reading. I hit my plateau at the end of the 10th week when I was shocked and devastated to discover that I had GAINED 2lbs. At first I felt desperately sorry for myself and just wanted to stuff my face silly with all the things that I’m not allowed. BUT I didn’t. I sat down and gave myself a ruddy good talking to. I told myself, “This is entirely YOUR fault, YOU did this to yourself and if you want to be slim again you have to work out the cause and fix it. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself and "Just bleep Do It" and remember, don’t lose sight of how far you’ve come already”. END OF RANT TO MYSELF! My next step was to think hard about where I’d gone wrong. It took me a while to realise that it wasn’t because Id increased portion sizes because I weigh, measure and calorie count everything, it was simply because 600 cals per day was now too much, my calorie intake was higher than my calorie burning and what was ok at the start was NOT ok now. I immediately dropped my cals to 400 per day but all that did was keep me stuck in the plateau, so I now know my maintenance level. BUT, I still have a lot of weight to lose so I dropped to 300 cals per day. I’m riddled with arthritis from jaw to toes in every bone and joint and I can’t yet exercise properly without severe pain and causing loss of balance so at the moment I’m totally reliant on what I eat. I know a Doctor would be worried about that but I tried a water diet for 3 days and nothing happened, I didn’t lose weight I just retained all the water in my body. Right now I’m fighting tooth and nail to lose every single pound of weight but at least I’ve started losing again. I’ll keep going until I reach my target, I’m determined not to give up, I have to keep going. SO, on 300 cals I can confirm I’ve lost 12lbs which really is excellent if you think about it but I cant stay on 300cals for long, it’s too difficult. I’m still eating very healthy, meal one is all about pure protein, meal 2 is all about vegetables/salads. To make sure all bases are properly covered I also take one dessertspoon of extra virgin olive oil straight from the spoon and one tablespoon of Aspalls Apple Cyder Vinegar mixed with water for the electrolytes, every single day. Extra Virgin means no bad oils have been added to bulk out the olive oil, EVOO is completely pure 100% olive oil (I did my homework on this) If it doesn’t say Extra Virgin on the bottle then it’s not pure, it’s had all sorts of crap oils mixed in. I also take multi vitamins as advised by Michael Moseley in this book. Yes, I do get hungry on just 300 cals but I’m very focussed on my target weight and I know it won’t be forever, just a few more months. THE POSITIVES – I can walk up/down stairs in the normal way and much faster than before, I can get in and out of bed and the bath more easily, I don’t have anywhere near as many nasty falls as before but if I do fall I can get myself up again, I can get off the sofa without struggling now, I can stand for much longer periods, I can kneel on a cushion in front of my fridge to wash it out properly and surprisingly, my arthritis pain is improving, not massively but there’s definitely an improvement. In visual terms I can see the changes in my mirror and with the tape measure. I’ve lost 4 inches round my waist, 4 round my bust and 2inches round my hips and it really shows. gone are my puffy face and swollen hands and feet and I can now cross my legs at the knee and have the top leg hang downwards rather than stick up in the air. Putting socks on is now easy, no belly in the way to stop me. Silly things I know but they matter to me and it means I’m getting my life back, albeit slowly but I’m getting it back. I started out labelled as obese, I’m now labelled overweight, my BMI was 30.95, its now 25.62. One day I will be back to jogging 3 full miles x 3 times a week like I did before, and I won’t be letting my arthritis ruin my life anymore. ITS RUDDY HARD WORK and you’ll have your bad days BUT ITS WORTH IT, you have to JFDI coz no-one else can do it for you.

This book is a very useful adjunt to the TV programme. How much detail and information from the programme did you actually retain in your head?The book is well written and structured in a logical order as follows:INTRODUCTIONProvides a background to the fasting ideology and both authors.THE SCIENCE OF FASTINGThis chapter was much more interesting than I anticipated. The scientific claims in the book are supported by research, which the authors state is still very much in its infancy. Where scientific claims are made, there are footnotes with links to the research papers for anyone who wishes to investigate further.THE FAST DIET IN PRACTICEA detailed explanation of how to follow the 5:2 eating plan, supported by the shared experiences of both authors, together with a Q & A section. E.g. What you can expect, etc...THE FAST DIET EATING PLANThis chapter is only 28 pages long and therefore does not constitute as "padding" as several reviewers have claimed. I consider myself to be a fairly decent cook, with a reasonable understanding of nutrition etc. I found this chapter helpful, because it gave me an idea of a) The quantity of food I could eat on a fast day and b) The type of food combinations I should be considering.This was never intended to be a recipe book for slimmers. Was it?THE FAST DIET AND ME22 pages recounting the experiences of people who have been following this eating plan. Again, I found this helpful... Since the New Year I have been trying to follow my own distorted version of the 5:2 diet, based on my memory of the original TV programme, and was confused by the intermittent stagnation in my weight loss.The book explains that this is quite normal and why it happens. It was a relief to learn that other dieters have had a similar experience, and also how the diet has affected them in terms of mood and other health benefits. The 5:2 Diet is not just about weight loss...CALORIE COUNTERA list of common foods, and their caloric value per portion size. Unlike several other reviewers I am pleased this has been included in the back of the book. Yes, we can all go and find this information for "free" on the Internet, but isn't it useful to have this information to hand as a quick reference?As you scan down the list you will quickly spot the foods with low and high calorific values. Much easier than Googling every single food item one by one on the Internet. Duh!CONCLUSIONAt £3.85 you cannot complain about this book. It's a paperback with four colour plates (8 sides) stuck in the middle. It's affordable. Was this intentional? E.g. To help spread the word to the masses, I don't know. It could have been published with glossy pages and cost a lot, lot more.It's excellent value. Just buy it...

If you're unhappy with your weight, if you find diets ineffective or suspect they are less healthy than they should be - try this common sense and highly effective dietI did. Absolutely painless, effective and no weight rebound when you return to normal.Every book by Dr Mosley is evidence based and his advice is easy to follow.Condolences to friends & family of this wonderful man who helped so many people improve their health.

Esta dieta es fácil de seguir por siempre, es muy bien pensado por el fasting intermitente, y con recetas sabrosas...

it seems challenging but I am curious.there are excellent tips in the book and i am going to start fasting for 3 days starting today.

I will be using the ideas in the book to achieve a 20 kg weight loss..fingers crossed!! Two days on 500-600 Cal and other days in the week eat in moderation.

Was recommended this book and it is great for my diet.