Hello everyone. I am a male, 40, 5’11 and 17st5. I am thinking of using the BSD to lose a lot of weight and the Fast 800 route for 8 weeks.

I am a vegan and I also adhere to the principles of Dr McDougall (whole foods, plant based, no added oils). I know there is debate about whether, and which, fats are healthy but I find McDougall’s argument convincing and will not alter this position. My diet for the the 8 weeks will consist of vegetables like cauli, brocolli, carrots and other low calorie veg and pulses, eaten in one meal a day.

I am worried that the weight loss will leave me with stretched and saggy skin. I think my waste is around 42.

Should I avoid the fast800 plan? Or will losing weight from this weight rapidly not lead to stretched skin, in your opinions?

Hi Dan_F – welcome to the forum. I’m no expert, but I’m not sure the issue of stretched skin would be any different, whether the weight is lost rapidly or slowly, especially if the skin has been stretched for long period of time. I don’t know the work of Dr McDougall, but I’d be concerned that with fats missing entirely from your diet, something essential would be missing, especially where you are limiting calories and carbs. I’m not personally vegan though, so hopefully someone else on the forum who is, will make more appropriate response.

On a personal note, now I am pretty much at target weight, my waist is now approx. 8.5inches smaller than when I started. I lost my weight in fits and starts over a two year period, taking breaks on maintenance, for long vacations. I do have some crinkled skin, it’s difficult to know how to attribute this though, given that I am early 60s and had been overweight for several years.

If you do decide to give the Fast 800 a go, I strongly recommend making good use of the forum, as there is a wealth of experience and wisdom here, as well as encouragement and support. Best of luck to you, no matter what direction you decide to take.

Thanks for your thoughts. As for the fats issue, his thinking is that the balance of Omega 3 to Omega 6 is more important than the quantity and that leafy greens provide more than enough. I have done well on this approach before, no health problems, following it for around 10 years with no issues (my skin also looked clear and smooth, there wasn’t any dryness that one might think with such a low fat approach. I am not eulogising here or trying to convert anyone, just saying it is what I believe and follow.)

I have thought about your approach, though, doing the Fast800 in ‘blocs’. I wonder, has Dr Mosley or anyone else ever given any thoughts as to how long to leave between the 8 week blocs? What sort of approach did you take? How about (say) alternating between 8 week blocs of Fast800 and one month of 5:2? (I know no medical advice is given here, all disclaimers apply, I take full and sole responsibility for any consequences if anything I do when pursuing anything said here etc…!)

And lastly – congratulations on your fantastic results!! You must look like a completely different person.

Hi Dan_F – it sounds like you have good experience with the no fats approach and it’s proven to work for you and that is what is important. We all have to find a way to make the BSD work in harmony with our bodies and our lifestyles, so if this is an approach you wish to use, by all means include it.

The breaks I took, were anything from a month to three months. We go for long vacations (mainly to Turkey) and for those I apply the principles of the BSD, but do not weigh, measure or record my intake for the periods we are away. In between these breaks, I have done the Fast 800 for as many weeks as I have available. So that may be eight weeks, or longer. Your suggested approach of eight weeks on the Fast 800, a month on 5:2 and then back to the 800 shouldn’t be a problem. Some people on the forum have done back to back blocks of 800 until they have achieved their goal weigh.

Thank you for the kind words, yes I do look very different, but more important perhaps, is that I feel better – both mentally and physically.

Hi Dan_F and welcome to the forum. Excuse my curiosity, but I wondered what caused the weight gain? Given you don’t eat lots of things already, it’s interesting to hear what you did eat that caused the gain? I also wonder if removing carbs without replacing them with fat will leave you hungry, as the fat really fills you up. Each to their own, though, be really interesting to hear you progress (I am currently an omnivore but open to other people’s influences!)

I think that if you exercise your midriff then it will be less loose and flabby when you’ve done the weight loss, that was my experience, though it’s not a beach body it holds together well. I had been exercising for several years prior to my 3st weight loss, core and weights mostly. I probably have half a stone to go to be completely non flabby, but that’s going slowly given I am now healthy again.

Best of luck, so let us know how it progresses.

I second Jackie’s question. Vegan reliance on high-carb foods like grains, cereals and pulses often leads to weight gain in the long-term. What if that’s the problem? I am insulin resistant and was told for many years by medical professionals to use whole grains and pulses as the basis of meals. I just got fatter and fatter every year until I topped the scales at more than 300 pounds and I’m just 5’2″. The BSD showed me conclusively that I cannot eat any of those categories of carbs, complex or not, without gaining weight. In 14 months on the Fast 800 (no breaks, no cheats), I lost 200 pounds. The proof, as the saying goes, is in the (chia) pudding.

As far as loose skin goes, you’ll probably have some. I certainly do, mostly around the tummy and thighs. Since I reached a healthy weight, however, and introduced regular extended fasts, the saggier bits have tightened a little, particularly my arms and belly. I’m not exactly enthused about the wobbly bits, but at the end of the day, I was hyperobese, depressed, sick, incapable of walking from the couch to the bathroom without a massive effort, and now I’m slimmer than I was in high school and full of energy. Why give a damn about skin when your life is on the line?

Hi Dan

I lost 10 inches around my waist using a version Fast800 (actually nearer 1000) and I’ve not had any real issues with loose skin, but I combined it with a fair bit of strength and resistance exercise. I also carried on for seven months or so without any evident break (albeit with a few lapses) on the principle I felt fine.

Hello everyone, thanks for your thoughts!

@jackiem: I’ll try to be brief so not to bore folk.

2015: got down to 13.5st from 16st5 by running one hour a day on treadmill and strict McDougall adherence (would fall off wagon maybe once a month, a McDonald’s fries and crisps blowout, for example). Ate lots volume-wise, maybe 3000 – 3500 cals a day

2016: not a great year and discovered porridge and brown sugar. Tried to minimise eating it. Still exercising daily, weight maybe crept up to 14st

2017: awful year life and mental health-wise (see below). Gym went by the wayside and took to eating loads of porridge with loads of sugar as dessert. McDougalll adherence also went so lots of crisps, French fries, ready meal curries from Sainsburys. Late 2017 put on mirtazipine to help with OCD and anxiety in addition to Quetiapine (2013) and venlafaxine (2000 – gulp!). All 3 are weight-gaining drugs. Should point-out the psychiatrist IS MORE THAN HAPPY FOR ME TO TO THE FAST 800. She thinks it will be good for me and said she would look into it for herself (we talk very candidly, almost like old mates, I like her.) So with now THREE weight-gain drugs and a liking for sugar I need to ‘reset’ my metabolism (and insulin levels) so my appetite is naturally lowered, by doing something which is quite intensive in its aims. I firmly believe the more you eat the hungrier you may well be tomorrow or the day after.

JulesMaigret – thanks for sharing that, it reassures me. I have done the calculations and with pulses and vegetables I will be getting all the electrolytes I need. Maybe not as much protein as would be ideal (in order to stick to the 800 limit) but by no means deficient so I may well just reasess at 8 weeks and if it feels good, carry on.

Oh, I should have added, the exercise will be a feature again. I feel well enough to. I don’t think I am motivated enough for treadmills again (I did work hard before) but stationery bike for an hour a day, 6 x per week (maybe a few sets of weights to finish off, and 1 x weights for an hour once a week.

(I know Dr Moseley is a fan of HIIT but I am not keen on it and am probably too out of shape to begin it. Horses for courses, etc.)

Thank you for sharing your story with us Dan_F. Sounds to me like you have a really strong plan going forward and the exercise element is challenging and I wouldn’t worry about it now including HIIT, it’s more important that the exercise is something you are comfortable with and think you can maintain.

Maybe also have a quick look at https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. Whilst BSD is not keto-specific, the numbers will assist in your decision making.

I believe the statement below is dynamic based on your starting weight and BMI but, after entering my details, I had this statement:
“If you eat above 30g of fat, your body burns only fat and you will lose weight. If you eat below that, your body will start burning protein. This means your body cannot produce that many calories from fat only. You will start to lose your hard earned muscles”.
Based on this, I set my minimum fat intake to 30g and I always try to get over it.

@ SunnyB – I think you are right. It is better for me to be able to commit to 1 hour’s challenging but relatively easy exercise that I will actually do instead of committing to a HIIT programme that will feel like torture. I did the 3 x 20secs all out that Michael recommends when I was exercising before. Done properly you feel like you will pass out and/or be sick at the end of the last 20sec all-out sprint! 😀

@esnecca – I know that it is heretical in a sense to folks here but I think that adherence to WFPB will not put weight on if done properly. I ate loads before, absolutely massive volumes of food and still lost with exercise. But CONGRATULATIONS on a 200lb WEIGHT LOSS!! That is absolutely incredible.

As for burning muscle, I am hoping that the maintenance programme I do after my cardio will keep it, as well as the one day a week hard lifting. I think that some loss is inevitable, though, in a calorie restriction. I worked out that I will be getting around 60g of protein a day with pulses and vegetables like cauli & broccoli so hopefully it won’t be TOO severe.

I am having one last porridge blow-out tonight, will eat a sensible pasta meal tomorrow and start on Monday.

Though having said that I might do my own HIIT programme some days in addition to the cardio. I call it ’10 x 10 x 10′:

10 Press ups
10 Bodyweight squats
10 situps

Repeat for 10 minutes, rest when needed, but as little as is possible. It’s a smoker!!

Hi there Dan_F

Sounds like you know yourself well, and like you enjoy exercise. I agree with you and SunnyB about doing what feels good consistently. I would also like to mention that I am a long time weights/resistance trainer who for various reasons didn’t do very much exercise during my Fast800 (practical reasons not weakness etc) and still lost weight. So I personally believe it’s an addendum to weight loss rather than a core factor. I do think it lifts moods and makes us strong, so that’s a key benefit, and also tones us up, which I know you were concerned about in your original post.

I still don’t fully understand how you are following the BSD without fat, but await results with interest!