8 week blood sugar diet

yasento
yasento Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just finished reading Dr. Michael Mosley's book, "the 8 week blood sugar diet". It recommends a daily calorie intake of 800 calories. This seems crazy. I'm not pre-diabetic or anything so I'm not trying the diet, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the diet, or any thoughts on it.

Replies

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    Unless this is a medically supervised eating plan, then it sounds like an awful idea.
  • BunnyBomb
    BunnyBomb Posts: 143 Member
    I would agree with the poster above. I would be dubious about a diet that advocated 800 cals consistently for 8 weeks.

    There is a school of thought that says one weekly "fasting" day is good for you, but 8 weeks seems too long at that level.

    I think if anyone was looking to do that diet they should first have a long chat with their doctor about it.
  • yasento
    yasento Posts: 4 Member
    Yes it seems very extreme. But the guy does cite medical studies which support his opinion. I think this is a good example of conflicting advice. For every medical study saying one thing, there's another which contradicts it. In the end, the public simply has no clue about what is good or bad, safe or dangerous, truth or fiction.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    yasento wrote: »
    Yes it seems very extreme. But the guy does cite medical studies which support his opinion. I think this is a good example of conflicting advice. For every medical study saying one thing, there's another which contradicts it.
    You can make a study say anything.

    In the end, the public simply has no clue about what is good or bad, safe or dangerous, truth or fiction.
    Unless we apply common sense. Unfortunately, it's not that common :#

    To your initial question, yes, 800 calories is too low, and yes, it's crazy. Don't do it.
  • Dariusz19
    Dariusz19 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi All,
    Seen your posts and thought I'd join in as I got the book from my brother a few days ago and, having read the whole book, I think the science behind the approach is quite sensible, despite the 800 calories a day.
    I agree with Yesento that there is so much conflicting advice at the moment, primarily because the whole low-fat mantra of the last few decades is being overturned and discredited by evidence, that it is difficult to decide who is right. But realistically it is also going to be different for different people based on their age, gender, genetic make-up, current medical/health condition, level of activity and the environment they live & work in. So the only way to do it s to try and work out what makes sense based on the latest evidence and see if it works for you.
    Anyway, based on my previous personal nutritional and diet experience, I would normally ignore an 800 calorie a day diet as "crash", "fad" or "extreme" and give it a wide berth as unsustainable, but I'm convinced enough with the science on this one to start the experiment on myself. I thought I would give it a go for the next 4-6 weeks.

    I'm 50, not diabetic but need to lose about a stone reasonably quickly to reduce my high blood pressure. Although people would not say I'm fat, I do carry a bit around my belly (waist 37.5-38" at the moment), so probably am effected by the excessive visceral fat described in the book.
    My key approach is to avoid all sugar, white starches, (most) processed foods and all alcohol (perhaps the odd glass of good red wine might slip in if I'm making good progress ;) ). My focus in on eating good healthy fast (avocado, coconut oil, nuts) and fresh green vegetables + lost of soup/broths.
    So far, I have to say, I feel great with no hunger issues at all, my energy levels seem elevated and I have slept better the last 2 nights. OK, it's only a few days but I'm 2kg down and feeling very good. So, so far so good!

    These are my days so far:-
    Day 1 - 10th Feb - Not tracked but probably ~1000-1200 cals eaten less about 300-400 in additional exercise. No alcohol or sugar. Net cals = ~800
    Day 2 - 11th Feb - 1203 eaten - 769 extra exercise = net 434 cals
    Day 3 - 12th Feb - 1128 eaten -1074 exercise = net 54 cals

    I'm happy to give you my real experience of this diet, success or fail, if you are interested?
    D
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    This diet is against the guidelines here.
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
    Vlcd are against guidelines here.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    @darlusz19 You are not eating enough nutrients to sustain your body. This type of VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) is against MFP guidelines because it is unhealthy.

    You need to NET your BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate), which is the number of calories needed to sustain your body if you were in a coma. If you don't know it, you can find it here http://scoobysworkshop.com/calories-burned/.

    MFP is about finding a sustainable way to lose weight. When you stop your drastic plan--what's going to happen? You'll gain the weight back. Please find a WOE (Way of Eating) that you can eat forever to maintain your weight loss that does not put your health at risk through lack of nourishment.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    Dariusz19 wrote: »
    These are my days so far:-
    Day 1 - 10th Feb - Not tracked but probably ~1000-1200 cals eaten less about 300-400 in additional exercise. No alcohol or sugar. Net cals = ~800
    Day 2 - 11th Feb - 1203 eaten - 769 extra exercise = net 434 cals
    Day 3 - 12th Feb - 1128 eaten -1074 exercise = net 54 cals

    I'm happy to give you my real experience of this diet, success or fail, if you are interested?
    D

    This sounds very unwise. Please eat enough food to fuel your body.

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
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