It’s almost time for a new year and a new decade! It is also time for me to try once again to lose some weight in the new year. The Fast800 Diet is an unpdate of the author’s previous two books—The FastDiet and The Eight-Week Blood Sugar Diet.
In the original FastDiet, the fasting diet calorie level was 500 calories. That was too low for many larger people. This new diet allows fasts with 800 calories a day. There are, however, some additional rules for what can make up those calories. Each day must incorporate 50-60 grams of protein. Carbs must be cut to allow for a ketosis state to begin such as that seen on the Keto and Atkins diet.
The book contains some Mediterranean diet recipes and meal plans. The author also includes three new trends in dieting on his new plan. First, participants should kick off their diet with periodic fasting for at least five days. This should be repeated every few months. During the plan, two days of every seven day week should be with the lowered fasting calorie count of 800, which the author labels the 5:2 plan. Finally, if you narrow your eating window gradually from twelve to eight hours a day, you will lose even more weight. And this diet is built for quick weight loss to keep the dieter motivated. The book states that you can lose up to 11 pounds in two weeks if you can keep up the periodic fasting that long. It doesn’t specify how much you will lose once you convert to the 5:2 plan.
There are many scientific studies referenced within The Fast800 Diet. Just from my own experience in grad school, I bet if you looked, you would find just as many studies proving the exact opposite of what is advocated here. However, bottom line is “Will it work for me?” If you think it will, or are at least willing to try it for a few weeks, it will probably cause you to lose weight. I think I might try it. I’ll let you know if it goes well. If nothing gets added to this review by mid-February, assume that I returned to the slow, boring but steady WW (formerly Weight Watchers) plan. We’ll see. 4 stars (if it works, I’ll up it to 5)!
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.