Hi everyone ….I started the Fast 800 on Monday and have stuck to it religiously. However I am feeling so weak and lightheaded and also have been waking up at around 4am and unable to get back to sleep.
In need of support! My first time attempting this. Thank you x

Hi, You may be suffering from what is known as keto flu. – Our bodies have to hold water if storing carbs, and as soon as you cut back on your carb intake your body releases the water but also releases electrolytes with the water. So what you need to do is increase salt intake to replace the released electrolytes. –
With regard to not sleeping well, that does happen to some people when they are starting out, it does pass.

Thank you so much for your help. Glad to know it’s all normal. Fingers crossed it passes soon.
Every time I stand up the place spins!
I will hang in there x

My first reply was based on the assumption that if you have been diagnosed, or do you suspect that you are diabetic you would have said. – So you are only following the BSD for weight loss.

If you are or could be diabetic please do talk to your doctor about your problems and work with them to phase this way of eating in combined with monitoring medication.

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The other question is much water are you drinking? you need to have a couple of litres a day.

However I am not a doctor and if you are concerned then do take medical advice.

Hi Christine, this is a pretty touch diet and several side effects have been noted in the early days. At only 800 calories you are bound to feel weak and you should be taking things easy, i.e. dont try the diet when you have a full schedule or about to run a marathon (joke). Also, people report sleep being affected, some worse sleep others better. Are you waking up because you are hungry. Like JGwen says, the common side effect is keto flu or carb withdrawal. If you can ride it out over the next week or so it does get easier.

that should have said tough

Hi Christine, how are you doing? I think it’s fair to say that there are various different approaches by those on the forum, though all guided by the basic BSD principles. Just getting rid of the really bad white/processed carbs has been so beneficial for many, which may or may not cause “carb flu” – and then that can lead on to further adjustments. Would I have thought 6 months ago of not eating for nearly 24 hours and feeling fine? No! Not that that is an essential component! To my mind, we should not be looking at this as a “tough diet”, because this is not a diet. It’s a retraining, which can be more or less gradual, in terms of cals, but overall undoubtedly beneficial, and with pleasing results if we get out of the “instant” and immediate numbers driven “results” which tends to drive our lives now!

Thanks so much everyone !
Other than osteoarthritis I am in good health with the exception of needing to lose weight 😩
I am trying not to think of this as a diet and more a way of life and healthier habits . Dizziness and weakness a bit better today but hands up I am terrible at drinking water and have been all my life .
As a newbie trying to obtain as much info as I can from Dr Mosley and here .
Do people do the Fast 800 for 2 weeks then move on to the 5:2 or stay on Fast 800. Bit confused x

Hi, There is a mixture of people on the forum. Some people who only have a little weight to discard stay on this way of eating for a few weeks. – However, those of us with more weight to discard have used the BSD as a springboard to understanding the science behind the BSD, so they can return to health by following the program for months. There are a mixture of people on the forum ranging from people who are newcomers to those who have been in maintenance for over 2 years having discarded more than 100lbs. – We don’t want to lose weight because that suggests we may find it again, discard is a more appropriate phrase.

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There is a regular weekly thread which starts each Tuesday and has the date in its title where you will find a wide range of people. Why not join in and draw on the wealth of experience on the forum.

Exactly the same, started Monday and today very dizzy and light headed. Reading the posts on here it seems normal if you drop your carbs so drastically. Feel confident that this will pass by what other people are saying so going to stick at it.

JGwen you have been very helpful! Sincere thanks for taking the time to post 🤗x

Sharan7 yep I agree! Persevering and feel confident there will be a loss in weight this week.
This is definitely an attempt to change the way I eat and think about food as I want to be as healthy as I can. At 46 years I am more aware than ever that carrying excess weight carries so much risk. This forum is fantastic! 🤗x

JGwen you have been a fantastic help and sincere thanks for posting!
Day 5 and still feeling optimistic 😊x

Hey Christine, in his book Dr MM suggests that after 2 weeks on the fast 800 you just do a little check on how you’re doing and feeling.
If the fast 800 is a plan that suits you, doesn’t feel too restrictive and you still have weight to lose then he says it’s fine to stay on it.
If for some reasons you don’t like the fast 800, find it too restrictive or else then he says it’s fine to move onto his 2nd phase which is 5:2. 5 days on the Mediterranean diet with no calorie counting then 2 days on the fast 800. Apparently you can still lose 1-2kg while on the 5:2.
Personally I don’t lose that much on the fast 800 so I doubt that 1-2kg per week would be my going rate on 5:2 but I haven’t tried 😊
I have 3 young kids, no diabetes or insulin resistance, but quite a bit of fat to remove following pregnancies and brestfeeding.
Losing 15kg should get my waist back below 80cm which is my true goal. I plan to stay on the fast 800 until I reach that goal (hopefully by October) then move to 5:2 for a little while then maintenance. Hope it helped!

Thanks Louise!
Yep we sound in a similar situation and thoughts but I have had 2 kids and not 3 🤗
Will take it one week at a time. 800 calories is tough and wow do those calories go quick even with good choices! 🙈
Am doing ok as it’s only week 1 and motivation high but who knows in a few weeks time!
Trying to eat just twice a day now and skipping breakfast to try and make the 800 calories go further.
Just wondering if you are restricting your carbs? X

Yes I’m keeping my carbs below 20gr each day (or I try anyway!!). This ensures that I am in ketosis which I feel is the reason why I’m losing fat from my belly. Some days I’m at 30-35g of carbs, I don’t sweat it, just move on and aim for lower the next day. Actually if I go a little over carbs wise, I try to do a longer fast straight away as that might help get back into keto.
At the end of the day, this has to be manageable in the long term and I won’t cut out carbs to 20 gr a day for the rest of my life. Are you feeling better with the dizziness?

Dizziness hasn’t been great and was pretty severe last night 😩
On Day 7 now and still early days.
The dreaded carbs…..I am vegetarian so it is a huge challenge as my diet has always revolved round pasta, rice, potatoes and bread!
Have averaged around 50g a day which is a massive reduction from what I would normally have! I want to be able to sustain a way of eating and cutting out carbs would not work for me but determined to keep to a minimum.
Sticking to TRE and fasting anything up to 16 hours. I am still waiting for my MM books to arrive and hoping some recipes will inspire me in the cookbook. Sometimes a struggle for meal ideas .
Great to have this Forum because most people swear very low calorie diets are dangerous and it can be quite negative.

Hello, Christine! We do have vegetarians in our community. It does present a challenge, I agree, but JGwen has shed very close
to a 100lbs. with this protocol, so I know that it’s doable. 🙂 Just ask for her help, and she will be by your side! This is what
the community is all about. Very best to you on your journey!

Allie

Hi Christine,
Allie is right, it is a great challenge cutting out carbs for a vegetarian. I am afraid the recipes in the books will not help they are focused on being for meat eaters, with very limited options for vegetarians. – The dietdoctor website has a good reputation, and if you search for keto vegetarian you will find ideas, but don’t touch anything that uses artificial sweeteners. Our body reacts to something which tastes sweet by increasing insulin, so artificial sweeteners may not have any calories but they have the same impact as sugar on our insulin levels.

I started out by cutting out the main sources of carbs, bread, pasta, pizza, rice, chocolate, sugar. Then I used an app on my mobile phone. fatsecret. to record everything I was going to eat so that I could tweak my carb intake down. –

I lost a lot of weight in the initial stages, but I think that was stored fluid from being on a high carb diet all my life. After 9 months I found that there was a steady change in shape, collar bones appearing, shoe size dropping, legs changing shape but the scales just fluctuated around the same weight.

As I reduced my carbs my hunger levels dropped, so gradually I increased the amount of time between waking up and my first meal of the day.

I got down to averaging around 30g of carbs a day, but struggled to get it lower. One sticking point was looking for low carb options for sauces, like stir fry. It took me a while to realise the secret to success was to move away from sauces and fry in butter. Healthy veg fried in butter, or cooked in the microwave and then let lots of butter melt over them are not just fine but gives a chance for all the different flavours of the veg to shine through.

The one piece of advice I would like to go back in time to tell myself is to focus more on the carb intake than the calorie intake. – I have broken the current round of stuck scales by cutting carbs down below 20g and staying there every day and if that means that my calories are a bit higher thats fine. I have a physically active lifestyle so I am still in calorie deficit. But being in ketosis is the key to maintaining the weight loss.

If the books have not yet arrived, spend some time following the links on the Take a look at this thread. – I would particularly recommend the Dr Bikman podcast that I put a link up to back in Jan / Feb 2018. – Once you understand the science behind this WoE, it becomes much easier to motivate yourself to find the work arounds needed.

Thanks for your kind words Allie 😊x

Thanks JGwen!!!!
It’s encouraging to hear this can work for vegetarians ! I get to the point especially dinners where I scream what can I eat?! I am vegetarian but also a very fussy and basic eater. Another problem is as I am sticking to 800 calories a day at the moment, shying away from butter and full fat anything . I am managing to eat in a 8-10 hour window and can fast anything from 12-16 hours. I also worry about lunches when I go back to work in a week.i have a lot to get my head round but only the start of week 2 tmoro.
Whatever weight loss is great but I know that is secondary to being able to live on this way of eating. Life like many is busy with 2 young children and work. I will keep reading as much as I can and also use this Forum.
I am so grateful for the support !! X