The FastDay Forum

Anyone know what the follow up has been on Dr Mosley's diet ?

Ie, I understood it 'worked' for about 6 weeks last August.

But where is he with it now ?

[Please don't refer me to twitter or I'll scream ].

[carorees]

Can we refer you to his website where he has started a blog? Click on the link at the bottom of any page "visit the fast diet official site".

He is still fasting 5:2 and intends to get his blood done again soon...will update us in his blog.

His website not that helpful in answering the simple question : what weight etc. was he
when he started the 5/2 diet in summer and what weight etc. is he now?

And what's the latest actual scientific research showing ?

It's all complicated by the fact that ( as far as I can see ) the blog is largely a marketing exercise for the book / plan / whatever and it is filled largely with comments from readers ( rather than him ).

And there's a lot of ref to Twitter [ don't get me started ].

It doesn't help that he uses kilos [ ok I can work it out at 2.2 lbs equals a kilo but LIFE's TOO SHORT to do that in the UK when everyone in fact still uses stones and pounds ( and rightly so ! ). [ Does he provide his waist measurement in centimetres?
I didn't notice, but I KNOW that there is not a single person in the UK who thinks in centimetres for their body measurements and if he doesn't perhaps the inconsistency could be pointed out to him. ]

[carorees]

Oh, OK. Not sure if you have the book or not but here are the figures he gives in there (given as the before, recommended and after 3 months figures):  

HEIGHT 5’ 11”  
WEIGHT 187lb (13st 5lb); after 3 months: 168lb (12 st)
BODY MASS INDEX 26.4 (recommended 19-25); 24
BODY FAT 28% (recommended less than 25% for men;) 21%
WAIST SIZE 36" (recommended less than half your height); 33"
NECK SIZE 17" (recommended less than 16.5"); 16"
FASTING GLUCOSE 7.3 mmol/l (recommended 3.9–5.8 mmol/l);5.0 mmol/l
TRIGLYCERIDES 1.4 mmol/l (recommended less than 2.3); 0.6 mmol/l
HDL CHOLESTEROL 1.8 mmol/l (recommended 0.9–1.5); 2.1 mmol/l
LDL CHOLESTEROL 5.5 mmol/l (recommended Up to 3.0); 3.6 mmol/l
HDL % of total 23% (recommended 20% and over); 37%
Somatomedin-C (IGF-1) 28.6 nmol/l (recommended 11.3–30.9nmol/l); 15.9 nmol/l

Does that help?

much more helpful than his website.

so his body fat actually went up ??

[carorees]

Oops! typed it the wrong way round ...no it went down; corrected the post now

Riv

Everyone is going to think I am anti IF but I am not, as I am following it. However there are no clinical studies looking specifically at the 5:2 regime. What has been shown is that people who are obese benefit from alternate day fasting, i.e. decrease % fat and improved glucose control etc. Mosley made the 5:2 regime up as he thought it was more manageable than alternate day fasting. So nobody knows if this is an optimal strategy.

So, if you are following it then you should do so in full knowledge that the claimed health benefits are not clinically proven.

Personally, I think it is fine as a weight loss strategy as you are undoubtedly healthier with a normal BMI than a BMI>30, however who knows if it's best in the long run.

I am using it to lose weight but I will be keeping an eye on research to see what the long term effects are.

I am a UK resident and use kg, as do the previous two UK people who've posted in this thread, judging by the data in their profiles. It's clear, then, that "everyone" doesn't use stones and pounds. Here's a website you can use to do kg to stones calculations. You can also get apps that do that sort of thing for smartphones.

http://www.metric-conversions.org/weigh ... stones.htm

I have to say that I'm with Echo on the claimed health benefits. Besides the well established benefits of not being overweight, I await more science that deals specifically with 5:2 and more replication of that which has already been done before I buy the claims made.

All that said, the weight loss side has been very effective for me. I've lost 12.1kg since late September which equates to almost 1st 13lb. My BMI has dropped from 30 to 26.6. I find it very easy to do and plan to vary the number of fast days I take once I reach my target weight in order to stabilise my weight and not get underweight or put it back on.

Last I saw, Dr Mosley said he was on 6:1 as a weight maintenance regime and still doing this and his high intensity training

[carorees]

No, he has actually gone back to 5:2. See this excerpt from Twitter on 6th Jan:

Colin Kerr ‏@nilocrrek
6 Jan @DrMichaelMosley You said U on 1:6 now. Is that as effective, given 2:5 already a weaker form of the alt day fasting most research tested.

6 Jan Michael Mosley ‏@DrMichaelMosley
@nilocrrek prob not. Am back on 5:2

I really am not a fan of twitter, but i have a look every few months to see how he is going. as of 5 hours ago, he posted that he was on 6:1. Ultimately he is just another person with his own motives and goals, so i wouldnt let his movements impact too greatly on your own.

[carorees]

Where do you see that Darren? I'm not seeing it. Wonder why?...twitter is unfathomable sometimes (most times)

Edit: found it now! Looks like he went 5:2 post xmas and now gone back to 6:1. Shows how flexible it is!

By the way, I did see a tweet saying the Horizon editor wants to do an update programme.

Missed that one, thanks.

He seems to be doing exactly what I plan to do when I reach my target weight, which is to keep an eye on my weight and vary the amount of fast days accordingly. I certainly don't want to end up underweight.

Saw him on BBC 2 last night he looked fit and healthy.