Dr Michael Mosley is the man behind the Fast 800 diet, the 5:2 and now Fast Keto plans. He has helped thousands lose weight and reverse their type 2 diabetes. Express.co.uk spoke exclusively to Kelly Stevens, 39, a Design Manager from Manchester about her weight loss results.
Like many, Kelly has struggled with her weight since she was a teenager: “When I was in secondary school I was always the chunkiest of my friends.
“I loved sports like athletics, running and long jump, but as soon as I left school and went to university, the sports stopped and I put on even more weight. I partied a lot and probably ate the wrong foods. My weight steadily rose as I reached adulthood and I didn’t really know what to do about it.
“I tried many diets over the years, including week-long juicing diets that were hard to sustain and didn’t really work so eventually, I would always I give up on them. None of the diets seemed to help and I seemed to be consistently around three stone overweight for about five years.
“Whilst I’m quite an optimistic person most of the time, my weight gain did get to me. I didn’t like the fact that when I was walking, I would be out of breath. I still saw a personal trainer, but all exercise felt like really hard work that wasn’t enjoyable.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton diet: The Duchess’ diet plan she follows to stay slim
“I also found that I had one default outfit for going out for dinner with my boyfriend that fitted me properly, so I would always wear that.
“Also, I felt conscious that when I went on holiday and I had to wear swimwear, there is no hiding yourself – it gets to you after a while of living like that,” she added.
“At the beginning of 2021, I saw Dr Michael Mosley on Channel 4 show ‘How to lose a stone in 21 days’. The show resonated with me as I felt like I was in a similar place to the people featured and I could see they were achieving results in a reasonably short period of time.
“I liked the fact that The Fast 800 was routed in science and I also liked that Dr Michael had created the plan with his wife who is a GP. All of the diets I tried previously seemed ‘faddy’ by comparison, so I was keen to try and see if this one would work for me.
“I signed up to the online programme and amazingly in the first seven days, I lost 10Ibs! I had gone from 14 stone 4Ibs to 13 stone 8Ibs in just seven days!
DON’T MISS…
King Charles – the unusual food new monarch refuses to eat [INSIGHT]
Supermarkets to close for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday [NEWS]
Remove stains bedding without bleach ‘Won’t damage fabric!’ [EXPERT]
“I was thrilled and whilst I found the first week challenging, I couldn’t believe how quickly and easily I’d experienced results. I stuck with the programme for around three-four weeks losing 22lbs, but then I hit a bump in the road. I had a few social engagements to attend and I went for few dinners with friends. Also, work was particularly stressful at that time so often, I would finish work and open a bottle of wine to help me relax.
“As soon as I stopped following the programme, I gradually put back on 16Ibs that I’d recently just lost which was disappointing.
READ RELATED: 'Important' advice for beginning your weight loss journey- get 'the best start'
“Then in the coming months, my sister announced she was getting married in spring of 2022 and she invited me to be a bridesmaid.
“I was thrilled and I really hoped this was the motivation I needed to help me lose the weight again. I was confident that I had done it once, so I could do it again.
“We went to bridesmaid dress shopping in August 2021 and I tried on dresses in a size 16 which fitted me at the time. My plan of action was to buy a size 14 dress and over the coming months, I would lose the weight and fit into the dress come April 2022, in time for the wedding. This time I had to lose weight.
“After I had enjoyed Christmas, in January 2022 I decided to set myself a 75 day challenge, knowing the wedding wasn’t far away. My starting weight was 13 stone 12Ibs,” she continued.
READ MORE: Avoid menopause weight gain with ‘easiest’ 3 step diet
“I decided I would use The Fast 800 online programme to help me incorporate healthy low calorie diet, and then I would also introduce daily exercise, including walking, yoga and some of the exercises from the Fast 800 online programme. (I love fresh air and walking and I actually managed to walk 406km over the 75 days.)
“I entered my goals into the Fast 800 website and it suggested I tried The Very Fast 800 stage of the programme. This meant I had to try and stick to around 800 calories a day for no more than three months. At the end of my 75 day challenge, by 17th March 2022, my final weight was 11 stone 5.2Ibs! I had lost 2 stone 6.8Ibs,” Kelly said.
“I used the online programme every day and my boyfriend and I cooked a number of the recipes every evening. Being a vegetarian, I love that fact there were so many recipes that catered for my diet some favourites being the basil pesto lentils and the cauliflower pizza.
“I was so surprised that I wasn’t hungry throughout this period, although I will say that the first week was the toughest. After that, I flew through the programme and one of the unexpected side effects was that my skin cleared up a lot. I didn’t ever suffer from severe acne but I would get the odd break-out. My skin was now glowing!
“I also felt like I had more energy. Since I’ve lost weight, I’ve now taken up running again and it is much easier this time as I’m not so heavy. I was worried I would put on weight again, but I’ve realised that I respond well to challenges, so I’ve signed up to a local running challenge and I have to run a mile a day.
“By setting myself these goals, it keeps me motivated and I can manage my weight,” Kelly added.
“If I’m honest, I’m not quite at my target weight yet, as I’d like to lose a few more pounds. However, I’m realising that for me, it’s about finding a balance between enjoying myself socially and living a healthy lifestyle.
“I’ve now transitioned into The New 5:2 phase and I’ve adapted it to suit our lifestyle. Some days my partner and I will eat from the plan, but other days, we will we be less strict if we have a social engagement. We have a really nice balance so for me, the main thing is maintaining the weight loss over the summer months.”
Dr Michael explained: “Eating well and achieving a healthy weight is about far more than how you look. It’s about improving your mental wellbeing, protecting your brain and avoiding the development of chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our answer is a Mediterranean-style diet, proven by science to be one of the healthiest in the world, while being satisfying and delicious.”
Source: Daily Express | Diet
