Losing weight can seem like a daunting endeavour for many, but diet plans can make the process feel more manageable. Dr Michael Mosley is recognised as one of the best when it comes to losing weight quickly, through fasting techniques and meal plans which include plenty of lean proteins and vegetables and little in the way of carbs.
Dr Mosley has been on our TV screens with advice on leading a healthier life since 1985 and first introduced his 5:2 fasting diet in the 2012 documentary, Eat, Fast and Live Longer. The popular diet plan involves eating a healthy balanced diet five out of seven days of the week and then fasting for the other two - taking in between 500 and 600 calories per day.
Now, in an updated version, known as Fast 800, Dr Mosley has come up with a plan that sees users eat 800 calories a day. Wales Online health editor Lydia Stephens decided to put the plan to the test, sticking to it for one week to see the results.
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Lydia said: "Like many people, I gained a lot of weight over lockdown, and I have struggled with it since. By January 2023, my BMI was borderline obese. I felt awful. I had limited energy to do anything outside of work. I did no exercise at all and if I tried to go for a walk I would be quickly out of breath. It was a wake-up call to make a change."
Since then, Lydia has managed to lose 20 lbs, tipping her BMI just slightly into the overweight category. But, she says, she struggles to make anything other than slow progress.
Lydia decided to sign up to the Fast 800 plan to see if it was worth the hype. She was asked about her height, weight and waist measurements before being recommended the right plan for her.
Her seven-day plan involved eating two meals a day, adding up to 800 calories in total. With recipe plans and ingredient lists all supplied for her, she set about getting everything she needed for two small portions of each meal - which came to just under £50 in Aldi.
Here's every meal Lydia ate, how she got on and the all-important verdict.
Monday
Cheesy scrambled eggs with pesto, one cup of tea and one cup of coffee, and spinach and turkey mince Bolognese with courgette.
I started the day with a small coffee with a dash of full fat milk at about 10.20am. The first meal was tasty cheesy scrambled eggs. I added spinach which wasn't part of the recipe but the plan allows you to add non-starchy vegetables to your meal. I had a cup of tea at 2pm before dinner at 5.40pm. It was turkey mince Bolognese with courgette instead of spaghetti and added parmesan. I wasn't looking forward to this at all. I thought the courgette would be horrible on its own like that, but it was surprisingly really tasty. I did fancy something sweet afterwards but didn't cave.
Tuesday
Apple, a handful of strawberries, Mediterranean omelette and teriyaki salmon with courgette, one cup of tea and one cup of coffee.
"I had an apple for a snack around 10am and by 12.30pm I had a strong headache and felt really hungry. The first meal was an omelette, but without any cheese. It was made up of red pepper, mushrooms, two eggs and some cannellini beans. It was bland but a quick and easy meal to have for lunch.
"Dinner was teriyaki salmon and courgette at 6pm. This was super easy and quick. Not that tasty or satisfying though, and I did go looking for a chocolate at around 9pm but had none in the house so managed to stay on plan."
Wednesday
Salmon, courgette, apple, mince beef salad with lettuce tomatoes and cheese, one cup of tea and one cup of coffee.
"By 8.30am on Wednesday morning I was really hungry. I really wanted a bowl of cereal (a bit of a trigger food for me), but the scales are telling me I'm already a couple of pounds down in just two days and it was a motivating factor to stay on track. I had a coffee to tie me over until lunch.
"Lunch was leftover salmon and courgette from the night before, which I had at around 11.30am. I then had an apple around 12pm as I wasn't feeling that satisfied.
"Dinner at 5pm was supposed to be mince beef tacos in lettuce with tomato and cheese. I couldn't get the lettuce to work as tacos so I just had what looked like a beef burger salad instead. The mince was super quick and easy to cook but was a very small portion. I didn't feel that satisfied afterward and ended up eating two Oreo biscuits later."
Thursday
Two boiled eggs with feta cheese, peppers and avocado, mince beef salad with lettuce tomatoes and cheese, raspberries, strawberries, a cup of coffee and a tea.
"I was hungry by 8am, but once again used a coffee to curb my hunger. I had my first meal of two boiled eggs, feta cheese, peppers and avocado at 11am. This was really tasty and surprisingly satisfying.
"I had a couple of berries around 4pm to tie me over until dinner at just after 5pm. I changed up my plan for my evening meal because I was in the office and knew I wouldn't want to cook by the time I got home. So I had the leftovers from Wednesday's beef burger style salad. I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. I ate that just after 5pm and that was it for the day."
Friday
Two scrambled eggs with pesto and feta cheese with spinach, bowl of granola, bar of Oreo Dairy Milk, cup of coffee and cup of tea.
"The day it all went wrong. Because I changed my meal around, what had been the plan for Thursday's evening meal should have been Friday's first meal. So I improvised and recreated a dish from earlier this week, but used feta instead of cheddar. I had this around 10.30am, and by 11am I was still so hungry. I don't work Fridays so I found it hard to not think about that hunger and opt for something that was allowed on the plan (like berries or an apple). I caved and I had a very small bowl of granola at around 11am.
"I also didn't stick to the evening meal, I was out all afternoon and starving by 4pm and had to go to a local shop to drop some parcels off. The chocolate was too tempting and I had a bar of Oreo Dairy Milk. I'm not going to look at the amount of calories that was in the bar because, in the grand scheme of things, I had eaten pretty much perfect to plan all week and I don't want to torture myself for having one treat."
Saturday
Cup of coffee, banana pancakes, apple, beef stir fry with peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and pak choi, small piece of cake, cup of tea.
"I started the day with a cup of coffee. The first meal of the day at 11am was super-easy pancakes made with two eggs and one banana. I have made them like this before so knew what to expect. They were OK, not delicious, but did fill me up. I would have added berries and Greek yoghurt but had none left. I had an apple around 3pm.
"I had dinner at around 6pm. It was a really nice beef stir fry, probably the most filling meal of the week with the amount of veggies I loaded in. My partner had brought home cakes from work so I had a taste of one of those too, not really because I was hungry, more so because it was too hard to resist."
The verdict
After three days, Lydia had already lost three pounds, and then another two by the sixth day - meaning she lost five pounds in total.
I lost weight fast," Lydia said. "I really was not expecting that much of a loss. I've never lost more than three pounds across seven days before, so I am really impressed that it works."
Lydia said she found the meals easy enough to stick to - aside from the chocolate and cake that she snuck in. "I felt like I could really stick to the plan as I knew what I was having for lunch and dinner each day," she said. "I knew it was in the fridge ready to cook, and all the recipes were really easy and fuss free."
The ease of the plan meant she could cook dinner and eat within 15 minutes of finishing work, Lydia said, which stopped her from going on the hunt for sugary snacks.
Lydia concluded: "I won't pretend that it wasn't hard, and I have followed intermittent fasting hours loosely for the last few months, so this isn't the first time I've gone so long without food. But, I was always really hungry every morning, and in the evening a few hours after my dinner. I definitely would find it a lot harder if I wasn't following this while working and had more free time to look for snacks.
"The plan does suggest you would lose appetite for sugary snacks, which I haven't, but it might just be I've not followed it for long enough. I'm going to follow the Fast 800 for another week before swapping to the 5:2, as I really think this has helped kick start my weight loss again after struggling at the same sport for the last several weeks. I feel like I've hit the reset button."
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