Emma lost weight and reclaimed her happiness

49-year-old, Emma, was trapped in a cycle of fatigue and stress. She felt stuck and resorted to eating unhealthy snacks like cake, crisps and chocolate for comfort and ‘energy’. Cooking nutritious meals felt like too much effort, and her lifestyle involved no exercise. Living life feeling weighed down by her mood and her increasing weight, Emma’s blood pressure became uncontrollable and needed not one, but two medications to manage it. 

She knew she needed a change, and quick, but this cycle of fatigue made calorie restriction feel impossible. Until she faced up to her emotional eating habits, Emma would never get to a place where her body was healthier and her mood was happier.

That was when she discovered The Fast 800 Programme. The programme’s comprehensive approach which covers not only food and exercise, but mindfulness too, lead to Emma feeling hopeful for the first time.

As Emma didn’t have a huge amount of weight to lose, and her primary focus was to improve her metabolic health and energy, she was directed to the Way of Life approach by the personalisation questionnaire. This method involves eating a moderately low-carb, Mediterranean-style diet with no calorie restriction, which worked well for her apprehensiveness around calorie counting. A few simple changes, like portion control, makes this a diet ideal for weight management and improving metabolic health.

The Way of Life plan is a long-term maintenance approach that has been shown to improve insulin responses and cardiovascular health. Based on the century-old diets of people living in Southern Europe, this Mediterranean-style diet promotes the consumption of healthy fats, protein and fibre to ensure the ultimate gut health and satiety. It’s free from refined sugars and refined carbohydrates, encouraging the enjoyment of delicious, fresh ingredients that promote energy and vitality. Unlike other approaches such as The Very Fast 800 or The Fast 800 Keto, which we recommend following for no longer than 12 weeks, the Way of Life plan was designed for just that: life.

From the very first week on the programme, Emma felt instantly better. The variety of tasty meals were so easy for her to make that cooking felt like a joy, rather than a chore, and she was introduced to new foods such as lentils and chickpeas. The focus on these kinds of food aligned with her knowledge as a nutritionist, providing well-rounded, healthy meal plans.

Furthermore, she began to incorporate exercise into her life with the exercise programme gradually increasing in intensity. As her fitness improved, her energy levels increased, and so a new cycle of energy and motivation was created, rather than the old sluggish cycle she felt stuck in. Supporting these physical changes in her life was the Programme’s mindfulness exercises. They played a crucial role for Emma, by allowing her to become aware of her thought patterns and recognise where they affected her health negatively.

Throughout her journey, Emma naturally encountered challenges, like hunger cravings and temporary weight gain. However, the Programme’s supportive materials addressed those issues and guided her through motivation slumps and plateaus, reminding her that it was all part of the process. She found solace in meditation exercises which improved her confidence and self-esteem along the way, and incredibly she now feels she handles stress better with a clearer mind.

Emma’s small but meaningful changes to her daily habits had a major impact on her health. Within the programme, she managed to reduce her blood pressure medication down from two types of medication to just one, as well as saying goodbye to 4.5kg. But perhaps most remarkably, she found that her friends and family noticed a change in not only her overall health, but her happiness too. She now feels fantastic, empowered and energised off the back of her new lifestyle. 

Emma’s experience with The Fast 800 was life-changing for her. It empowered her to reclaim her health, energy and happiness in a sustainable way. She now preaches that “positive change is within reach for anyone ready to take the first step.”