Fast 800 in 23:1 intermittent fasting schedule for 8 weeks?

Reply • New topic

We have not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you are have any health related symptoms or concerns, you should contact your doctor who will be able to give you advice specific to your situation.

• posted by JenniferG
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 08:20

  

  Hello, my name is Jennifer. I’m new here — this is my first post. I just bought Dr. Mosley’s book the other day and read it in its entirety in one day (excluding the recipe section). I very much enjoyed reading about the science behind it (along with other authors like Taubes, Fung, Westman, Phinney, Volek, etc.). I enjoyed reading all the success stories. I was also enlightened how type 2 diabetes affects those that otherwise don’t really appear to be obese (different from me as I was 422 pounds — 30 stone — two months ago). I love the idea of the LCHF Mediterranean diet as it ha been shown to reduce chances of cardiovascular problems compared to low fat diet. (LCHF alone doesn’t appear to show any reduction in cardiovascular disease compared to low fat.)

  Let me introduce myself, telling you guys a little bit about me. I’ve been morbidly obese since 10 years old and I was a fat baby and obese all my childhood. I was born in the womb of a diabetic mother of 26, who now has Type 2 diabetes as bad as I do. I’ve always struggled with my weight on the low fat hi carb diet. It never worked. And now I know why after reading Taubes, Fung, Westman, etc.. books, along with this book.

  For the past 4 years I have had very uncontrolled blood sugars with resulting A1C of 9 to 11. I injected 120 units a day at one point and was on Metformin.

  Anyways, the past 2 months I’ve turned things around. I am no longer on any meds and I have a projected A1C of 5.8. I plan on this getting better as time passes.. it’s understandable since I still have like 200 pounds (14 stone) to lose. The first month I did 2400 calories a day LCHF (not Mediterranean) grazing diet, getting my insulin injections down to 40 units a day. Lost some weight on it. Then I changed the past month to Dr. Fung’s 18:6 intermittent fast combined with the same LCHF at 1600 calories a day, eliminating both insulin and all oral diabetes meds. Did very well on this and lost even more weight and didn’t feel hungry on it.

  I’ve lost over 40 pounds (3 stone), normalized my blood sugars, dropped all meds and no have half the feeling back in my limbs.

  Now I want to try Dr. Mosley’s Mediterranean diet, 800 calories a day. I feel I will have a very hard time spreading these calories out over the day. I seem to do much better with the 18 hour fast each day. And if I eat only 800 calories per day, then it will be in a one hour window, with 23 hour fasting.

  I am wondering is it okay to do this? To eat the Fast 800 on a 23:1 schedule.. aka “Fast 800 23:1”. For 8 weeks straight? I feel I could really succeed on this diet if I could do that. I am on no medications that will cause hypoglycemia or hypotension–and of course I’ll get my doctors seal of approval (fortunately I have a competent doctor that’s open). And I drink salty homemade broth from animals bones during the fasting hours, along with plenty of water (some coffee and tea).

  I read in The New Atkins for the New You, that it is recommended to have some protein all three meals per day, to avoid breakdown of muscle. But isn’t it okay because I’ll be getting the protein in that one hour window and it will rebuild itself back up? Dr. Fung seems to think that fasting won’t mess with muscle mass: https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fasting-and-muscle-mass-fasting-part-14/

  So what do you guys think? Looking for some advice. I really enjoy the fasting because then I don’t have to worry about prepping food three times per day, and it eliminates the hunger. If I eat three meals a day and do snacking it keeps the insulin levels up a bit higher and makes me get hungry to where I want to graze.

  Again, I’d like to do the Fast 800 in 23:1 for 8 weeks, if that’s safe.

• posted by SunnyB
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 09:55

  

  Hi JenniferG

  Welcome onboard and congratulations on the great progress so far, you must be feeling really proud – and justifiably so. Wonderful that you are already off your meds and seeing real health improvement.

  I’m not aware of anyone doing the Fast 800, who is just eating one meal of 800cals a day, although though there might be and I have missed their posts. Quite a lot of people do two meals a day – a brunch late morning and then an early evening meal and are not seeing any detriment by using this eating pattern. Personally, I would have thought this would be a better way of doing the 800 with the least meals, rather than just one meal a day, but I’m not an expert.

  Hopefully someone will be able to give you a definitive answer regarding eating just one meal a day on the Fast 800. Meanwhile, hope we will be hearing how you progress and will be reading more great results from you soon.

• posted by captainlynne
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 10:06

  

  Hi Jennifer

  Each of us finds the way that suits us. I’ve just completed 31 weeks on 800 calories, very low carb, losing 78 pounds so far – still more to lose.

  What I’ve found is that eating low carb has meant I no longer want/need to snack. I eat breakfast, then my evening meal as I’m not hungry inbetween. The protein and full fat products really fill me up.

  It’s surprising how much food you can get for 800 calories when we cut out the carbs and processed foods.

  The other thing I’ve done is to stop drinking diet fizzy drinks. Now I still drink black coffee, but otherwise it’s water (fizzy, or still with sliced of lemon and lime).

  I was type 2 diabetic (diet controlled) but now my blood sugars are right down in the normal range.

  I think my suggestion would be to follow the plan as in the book and see how it goes. After a few weeks, if you wanted to, you could change from eating 3 meals a day, to 2 meals. I know one meal a day would not work for me, I’m happy with 2. Personally I’ve not needed to snack, but that’s just me. As I said, we’re all different and find our own way of doing this.

  Jump in, you’ll know from reading the posts that it works. And record everything.

  Let us know your progress.

• posted by JenniferG
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 11:11

  

  @captainlynne

  It’s quite impressive what you have accomplished. Wow 31 weeks of 800 calories a day. I read Dr. Mosley recommended switching to 5:2 after 8 weeks, why I am not sure. (I wonder if he thinks it might somehow be detrimental going on such a low calorie diet for much longer than 8 weeks.. wasn’t made clear.)

  So you’ve lost 78 pounds that’s amazing. How much did you start at? I started at 422 on May 9th, I am 379 now. Have you experienced any muscle loss at all?

  I know I could easily do 18:6 intermittent fasting eating those 800 calories in a 6 hour window. I’ve been doing that with the 1600 calories LCHF and often it’s hard to remember to eat those extra 800 calories for dinner before 8pm. If I tigthen the window to 1 or 2 hours, then I get less hungry and could easily do 800 I am sure.

  I like the idea of eating only 800 calories a day because I can incorporate some more healthy carbs into my diet without affecting my blood sugar much due to the very low calorie nature. So I might be able to eat 1/4 cup of oats or 1/4 cup of lentils form time to time etc. I like the use of omega 3 rich fatty fish and lots of olive oil. Mediterranean diet sounds really healthy. I just want to try out all the recipes in the book looking at them.

• posted by captainlynne
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 11:34

  

  Hi Jennifer

  I started out at 224 pounds on 19th December.

  I’m not aware of any muscle loss, and my recent blood tests were fine, even showing improved kidney function as well as blood sugar in normal range (latest HbA1c was 5.2, in April it was 5.5, January 8.7, December 9.6). My blood pressure is also normal.

  Do you test your blood sugars? When I ate porridge my blood sugar spiked, but I know other type 2s who can eat it without any problem. When I started the BSD I went back to testing after different foods so I knew what I could eat without spikes.

  After 31 weeks of low carbs I find I don’t miss them.

  As I approached the end of my first 8 weeks I asked the BSD team about staying on 800 calories. Their response was to stay on it for another few weeks as long as I felt OK, then move to 5:2 or Mediterranean style, low carb.

  But I still had lots more weight to lose and wanted to lose it as quickly as possible so decided to just continue with 800 calories. I was seeing the diabetes nurse monthly so she could monitor my progress and make sure I wasn’t doing anything silly. I also records everything I eat, together with all test results.

  The nurse and her colleagues were doubtful about the sustainability of 800 calories, of of sustaining the weight loss after reaching target weight. Well, I saw the nurse on Thursday. She’s now telling other patients about the BSD!😃

  I’m no expert. I just decided to treat myself as the subject of an experiment. At starting, I thought I could just try it for the 8 weeks, then I wondered about continuing for a few weeks. And just continued. I feel so much better in so many ways that I don’t see myself eating those carbs again. And I used to eat huge quantities of bread, pasta, etc 😱

• posted by ruthdownunder
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 12:38

  

  Hi Jennifer

  My suggestion would be to have a small high protein shake or something you do not have to cook – hard boiled eggs even – mid morning and then your main meal with the rest of the calories. I have always been a dreadful dieter because I got hungry and on this one, now in week 4 It does not really bother me, I think because I can have a small amount of nice food later, not cottage cheese and celery sticks!

  Remember Dr Mosley although pre-diabetic was not very overweight. Captainlynne is our poster girl, but there are others who have gone on longer because they had more weight to lose. I know a couple he formerly diabetic she not who have lost 50 and 40 kilos respectively on VLCD and kept it off for several years.

  Good luck
  Ruth

• posted by monabee
  on 23 Jul 2016 at 19:04

  

  Hi Jennifer;

  It was great to read your post- as I also came upon Dr. Fung and his suggestions after reading and doing BSD for about 4 weeks.

  My weeks on BSD were fantastic….15 pounds off in about 21 days- great energy levels and not feeling deprived. I would carefully track on fitness pal and if needing a night out- say for a glass of wine or a slice of pizza- I would save my calories for it- and eat lighter or less frequently during the day. I also found that I had energy to exercise in the pm and made it a priority while following the BSD principles….making sure to do the book’s cardio and strength training in the am- only focussing on doing the minimum….taking about 10 minutes each morning and ensuring I also got a minimum of 10,000 steps throughout the day.

  I tried the 23:1 fast last week, thinking it would might make things go even better and it did not work out that way. I found by eating quite a lot in the pm, I did not have the energy or desire to exercise before or after. I found myself feeling more tired for some reason. I also fell off the wagon and splurged on some ice cream in a pm meal. I actually felt unwell after, had a headache and a terrible mood the following day. My body does not like that sugar on board!

  I’m back to 800 calorie BSD, and I think many of suggestions other people have wisely mentioned also work best for me. What worked best for me was about a 16:8 fast, with about 2 meals a day (my meals could be more substantial this way which I enjoyed). I do my 10 mins of either cardio or strength early in the am before work, drink lots of water and have some fiber supplement and coffee++ I seem to have time for all this when not having breakfast! And did not feel hungry until about 1000-1100; then I usually have a ploughman like lunch which I can make ahead or have greek yogurt and boiled egg, or a salad with tuna and a boiled egg, and I also like having a light dinner with my husband at about 5:00 pm. Usually a salad with some cheese, a balsamic & olive oil dressing and a meat of some sort….Then, I do some light exercise, a walking video or a nice flat walk outside at about 6:00 pm. This works much better for me that a 24 hour fast….I am convinced of that now! I would try to focus on “what fun thing will i do tonight?” like a walk or walking video i enjoy rather than having food as my fun thing….

  I hope that helps you! Jennifer! I think Dr. Fung’s information is totally relevant, and a fantastic read (his obesity code book) however he also states we need to find what works best for us….and this requires some trial and error….and I may need to switch things up again at some point. However, I do want to stick to my above routine for at least another 8 weeks- as I really think it worked best. I will likely do it much longer as I have about 60 pounds to lose, however I am OK with that. Once it is a routine…it seemed quite simple really.

• posted by JenniferG
  on 24 Jul 2016 at 09:54

  

  That’s awesome monabee! Yeah I am a big fan of the 16:8 fasting as well. I did the 18:6 for 25 days straight and didn’t get hungry. Had great weight loss with it as well.

  I really look forward to buying all these Mediterranean ingredients Dr. Mosley lists in his book. It seems a bit overwhelming right now, because I don’t really have all the ingredients on hand it seems for even one of his recipes, but I can learn the diet over the next months. I’ll just learn a couple his recipes per week and wing the rest with my existing knowledge of LCHF. Perhaps after learning enough the Mediterranean diet over time, it won’t be that overwhelming and I can eat much more of it. I hear it’s really healthy. Dr. Mosley’s Mediterranean diet is something I have plenty of time to learn as I am 378 pounds (27 stone).

  One tip I can suggest to you, that I’m sure you’ve read in Dr. Fungs book, that helped with any hunger when you are fasting is to have plenty of homemade bone broth on hand. It’s a freebee and really satiates. I drink a couple cups of it a day. Each week, I take a 12 quart pot and throw one whole chicken in it along with an onion , black pepper, salt, & celery trimmings (which I store in the freezer in a bag). It takes about 3 to 4 hours to simmer the broth and not to much time to strain it , cool it, skim the fat and then store in individual 1 quart freezer bags. The broth is really healthy for you because minerals & gelatin come out of the chicken bones. Store bought broth is useless in comparison.. I never buy it.

  I pull all the chicken meat off the bones and refrigerate and use in salads, feed to the dog, and in chicken soup I make with the broth. Also use the chicken in other recipes, e.g. for a mexican dish or whatever. ( like microwaving a bit of the chicken, and throwing on hot sauce, paprika, cumin, and a dollup of sour cream.. mm)

• posted by JenniferG
  on 24 Jul 2016 at 10:22

  

  Digressing a second: I want to say how much I love the advice he gives to just get up every 30 minutes and walk. No other diabetes/LCHF book I’ve read recently even suggested this. I have been doing that now since he suggested it. And I believe it’s already helping. I feel much better when I get up and walk every 30 mins. If it can improve my blood sugars as much as the study reports, that’d be so wonderful. This advice alone, made the book worth it. I’m sedentary, physically disabled, suffered neuropathic complications and often need bed rest in the middle of the day, so this was particularly use info. I find myself lying in bed reading a good diet/diabetes book and now think.. hey I should get up and walk for a couple minutes.. so I take the book with me walking around the house while reading it. My dog probably looks at me funny now.

  But that combined with all the success stories, the Mediterranean diet and the HIT exercise advice. Along with the Mindfulness. I’m getting a lot out of the book.

  And I might follow it exactly as he suggests, taking into consideration, his suggestion that we could skip breakfast and that a longer fast duration is beneficial, and doing it something like a 18:6 schedule. Or I might just do it in 23:1 schedule. But overall I got boatloads out of this wonderful book. Read it all in entire day.. was really engrossed in it. Really look forward of the next several months cooking these recipes, learning them one by one. Anyone know of a good low carb Meditteranean cookbook with many more recipes? And perhaps macronutrient info as well? Btw, if anyone wants me to, or if it hasn’t been done already,, I’ll calculate all the macronutrient info for the recipes in the book and share in a PDF file for anyone to freely download.

• posted by Ziggy
  on 24 Jul 2016 at 10:32

  

  Walking every 30 mins is brilliant for people carrying too much weight. They are literally moving their total weight which will involve expending quite a bit of energy and thus burning a lot of calories into the bargain. So it helps to move it to lose it

• posted by JenniferG
  on 24 Jul 2016 at 10:37

  

  I just walked 30 mins in the park with dog. I try and do that once per day. I am physically disabled so I am good if I can do that once per day 🙂 What I’d like to figure out is how I can do HIT exercise with bad achilles tendon.

Reply • New topic