Intermittent fasting: Why the new Fast 800 diet works

  • 21/01/2019

Journalist and presenter Michael Mosley is one of the main reasons why intermittent fasting is currently one of the world's most talked about eating regimes.

Six years ago he published a book on the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet - but his new book, Fast 800, is said to make it even easier.

The book details how to eat a lower-carb Mediterranean every day, and instructs readers to consume 800 calories or less on two days per week.

On The AM Show on Monday, Dr Mosley said eating 800 calories in a day is definitely not starving.

"It's actually quite decent," he said.

"You could have a couple of poached eggs with a bit of smoked salmon for breakfast, a light lunch of some sort of vegetable-based soup, a handful of nuts and then in the evening you have a big pile of vegetables with a little fish or meat."

Dr Mosley says his new eating regime results in rapid weight loss and that in just eight weeks, practitioners could be looking at losing 11kg and 10cm from their waistline.

He said New Zealanders are "some of the fattest people in the world, with some of the highest rates of diabetes", mainly due to "eating a lot of junk food and not moving around as much as you used to".

Dr Mosley says the evidence is now overwhelmingly in support of intermittent fasting, particularly for people who suffer diabetes.

"This is the best method we have to lose weight safely, sustainably and to keep it off," he said.

The Fast 800: Australian and New Zealand Edition was released in book retailers earlier in January.

Newshub.