If you want to lose weight fast, then fast. The most popular diets at present all seem to contain an element of fasting, from 5:2, where victims seem to spend two days starving and five gorging, to a summer phenomenon called the Fasting Mimicking Diet, which tricks your body into thinking you’re starving. The logic is undeniable — eating less makes you weigh less.
Getting thin can mean fat profits, too. Robert Atkins, founder of the Atkins Diet, made more than $100 million from his controversial programme, while the clamour for new schemes can give brands such as “Beach Body Ready” creators Protein World overnight success (and notoriety). So I set about discovering the secret to shedding some pounds and, who knows, possibly making some too.
After a few false starts (the “no thirds diet” was a notable failure), I struck gold. I simply wouldn’t eat during daylight hours. Under cover of darkness, I could knock back what I pleased, but the rest of the time, nada. Simple, rules-based, fasting-inspired dieting.
And it worked. Nudging up against 17 stone when I began my regime, a year later I’m a rather more healthy 12-and-a-half. With a proven method in my pocket, I was ready to take it to market and make my millions. But first I thought I should probably run it past someone who knows their stuff.
“Oh my god, get off that diet,” came the expert reply from Rob Hobson, the nutritionist behind The Detox Kitchen Bible and adviser to schools, government agencies and the NHS (robhobson.co.uk). “It’s great you’ve lost the weight but my concern is you’re not going to be getting all the nutrients you need,” he said in genuinely anxious tones.
“There’s also the dangers of high cholesterol and other related health issues,” Rob continued ominously. “What’s more, you’re not instilling any healthy eating habits and the danger is you’ll just pile it back on once you finish.”
In a last-gasp attempt to salvage my multi-million-pound paycheck I called the patent office to see if I could at least get copyright. “What you’ve invented there is Ramadan,” came the curt reply, “and you can’t patent Ramadan.”
OK, so it’s back to the drawing board. The problem is that fasting is so appealing because it’s easy to control, and unlike other diets it doesn’t turn you into an amateur apothecary, constantly fiddling with potions and portions. Also, done properly, so-called “intermittent fasting”, taking short breaks from overeating, can be good for you. It’s just that I was doing it all wrong.
Rob explained: “What you’re doing with your diet is pumping up the calories with curry and wine but you’re not ensuring that you get the goodness you need. Long term, you’re not getting enough fibre and nutrients, which could exhibit itself in B-vitamin and iron deficiencies, which cause tiredness, fatigue and worse.”
So how should we be doing it? Well, as with all things, moderation is the key.“There seems to be some scientific evidence that intermittent fasting like 5:2 works and seems an effective weight-loss tool, but people need to remember that even when you’re on the five normal days you still have to eat quite well, and that comes through having a decent diet and a healthy lifestyle.”
Ultimately, and perhaps boringly, it all boils down to having a sensible relationship with food. Bad news for those with the unattainable target of losing a stone before a winter sun trip, but also realising there’s no silver bullet. Achieving, and maintaining, the body we want probably isn’t compatible with a constant diet of fast food, idling in front of the telly and snacking between meals. I may have missed out on the lucrative patent to Ramadan, but this realisation may have saved me a fortune on fad diets and false hopes, so I’ll eat to that.
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Health