I recently read the book by chance on a plane journey and found it absolutely fascinating. I am not diabetic, 27 years old and love exercising (go to the gym probably 5 times a week). Slowly since leaving university and starting a job with long hours my diet has gotten a lot worse – I don’t eat a lot of your classic bad foods (chocolate, chips, pastries and cakes) but I do eat far too much Pasta potato and bread, which I think has contributed to very poor sleep and tending to peak and crash throughout the day.

By BMI I am classified as overweight (I’m 6’4 and 100kg) but have a very broad physique and quite muscular. I have weighed about this level for the last ten years as it was about the right weight for playing rugby, but I could probably drop some of this now.

The diet does sound intruiging but I’m concerned as someone who isn’t diabetic, exercises a lot and works long hours is 800 calories just too low?

Hi Adlr27, there are lots of us doing the bsd who aren’t pre-diabetic or diabetic but we just want to lose some weight or generally improve our health. I’d say there is no problem in anyone taking up this lifestyle (and Dr Mosley says it too) as it will be beneficial to everyone to eat less simple carbohydrates, sugars and trans fats. The bmi measurement isn’t particularly useful to someone like yourself as you have a lot of muscle which is not taken account of, therefore, losing weight might not be your priority. However, by reducing your pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, cakes and biscuits, you may find other benefits such as better sleep, better skin, better immune system, more energy, less appetite. These are all the results of restricting carbs and eliminating trans fats. Also, if you are carrying any visceral fat, you are going to find that this dissipates.

I wish you every success if you decide to give it a go, it really isn’t a diet but a way of life which will stand you in good stead as you get older.

Hi Adlr27.

As Janet says, there are many on here who aren’t diabetic or pre-diabetic.

There seems to be agreement that following this low-carb way of eating is beneficial to everyone. As well as lower blood sugar readings and lower blood pressure, there is weight loss, and a general feeling of improved health including more energy, clearer thinking and a loss of the desire for the carbohydrate foods that gave been making us feel ill, although we hadn’t realised it.

Hope you decide to give it a try, and let us know how you get on.