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Insights From An Extraordinary Year: A Case For Health
2020 can be described as nothing less than extraordinary. There’s never been a more important time to focus on your health.
Insights from 2020: the revolution of rapid weight loss
One of my biggest takeaways this year is that the interest in rapid weight loss has had a massive revival. A major revolution in the weight-loss world, alongside intermittent fasting, rapid weight loss includes diets in which you reduce your calorie intake to 800 calories each day, every day, for up to 20 weeks. Diets on which you can expect to lose around 14kg in three months.
In large part, one of the reasons for this resurgence is due to the threat posed by Covid 19. Being overweight doesn’t increase your risk of catching the virus if you are exposed to it but being obese does make you twice as likely to end up in intensive care with life-threatening complications if you do catch it. In fact, three quarters of the people who die from Covid-19 are overweight or obese, which is worrying news for the estimated two thirds of the UK population who are heavier than they should be.
Right now, under the spectre of this frightening pandemic, losing weight isn’t about being ‘bikini body ready’ for your summer holiday, or slimming down to fit into your favourite jeans – for many people, weight loss is now, quite literally, a matter of life and death. You can read more about the importance of losing weight to reduce your risk of complications from Covid 19, as well as the two best ways to survive the Covid 19 pandemic in our articles.
Although over 100 different scientific teams are working hard to produce an effective coronavirus vaccine there is no guarantee one will be found. Even if the most optimistic predictions are right, and a vaccine is discovered this year or next, being overweight is very likely to limit its effectiveness; another strong case for ensuring that you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
It’s hard to believe that I published two books in 2020; one on sleep and one on Covid 19. In addition to achieving a healthy weight to minimise any complications if you were to contract Covid 19, rapid weight loss is also the best cure for snoring and improving sleep.
Another standout in 2020 was Dr Clare Bailey’s – my wife – publication of the Diamond study which used our 800 calorie, low-carb, Mediterranean-style diet in a randomised controlled trial, run with Oxford University, for overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetics. The results of the study, called Diamond, were recently published and showed average weight loss after 8 weeks of 9.5kg in the rapid weight loss group, sustained over the course of the trial, and a significant drop in blood sugars, blood pressure and the use of medication (none of which improved in the controlled group, who were following a standard diet). There were no significant side effects.
Rapid weight loss in action
Lose A Stone in 21 Days with Dr Michael Mosley
Those of you living in the UK may be aware that I was involved in making a 3 part series for Channel 4, helping five brave volunteers to lose lots of the weight they put on during the Covid-19 lockdown. The series was filmed over three weeks, largely at my house, and features my wife Dr Clare Bailey, and two of our kids, Dan and Kate.
As well as measuring our volunteers’ height, weight, waist and blood pressure, we also did blood tests. These revealed the startling fact that though our volunteers were quite young (ranging from 30-50 years old) they were already showing signs of metabolic damage. Mother of two, 34 year old Katie (pictured here), already had pre-diabetes, which was a nasty shock, but which gave her plenty of incentive to lose weight.
Shape Up Britain – a Daily Mail campaign
I teamed up with the Daily Mail to work on a brilliant Shape Up Britain challenge to inspire the nation to take positive steps to lose weight and reduce the risk of Covid 19 complications. To show just how effective The Fast 800 plan can be, we took two completely different communities of people from different ends of the country and set them on a challenge to see how healthy they could get in just eight weeks.
Seventeen members of a Facebook friendship group based in Rotherham in South Yorkshire and 13 neighbours who live on one road in the Devon town of Chudleigh were challenged to shape up with The Fast 800 plan. Not only have both groups who took part in our challenge lost weight – some people have lost a lot of weight. The health checks have also shown a range of potentially life-changing health improvements.
Many have said the process has been much easier than they feared, and we hope their ringing endorsements will inspire you to join in the challenge to galvanise your determination to change the way you eat and exercise. Click the newspaper graphic to read all about it!
Dr Michael Mosley is an ambassador and co-founder of The Fast 800 online programme, a comprehensive plan offering support and step-by-step guidance to help you achieve long-lasting health. The 12-week programme is your first step to better health, with meal plans, recipes, shopping lists, Health Coach support, exercise and mindfulness plans and more.
