Expert Diet and Weight Loss Solutions

You want to lose weight and improve your health?

Easy, says one diet cut out meat and eat more plants.

Stick to pulses, beans and lentils, says another.

And heres one that says unlimited consumption of cabbage soup will work wonders.

There are lots and lots of terrible diets out there and a long history of them the cabbage soup diet included, laughs Dr Michael Mosley who is arriving in Perth for his live theatre show with GP wife Dr Clare Bailey next month.

You really want to look into every diet to see if the research is behind it because what I am advocating is science-based.

Dr Mosley, who popularised the 5:2 diet, is passionate about showing people how to live a healthy lifestyle based on scientific evidence encompassing diet, movement and mindfulness.

The Fast 800 author says intermittent fasting, especially incorporating a Mediterranean diet, is not only a great and sustainable way to lose weight but it has other health benefits too.

Intermittent fasting sees a person limit their calorie intake to either certain hours of the day or days of the week to lose weight and control eating habits.

Dr Mosley encourages strategies like the 5.2 diet where you eat normally five days a week but cut your calories to around 800 for the other two days.

He encourages eating a moderately low-carb Mediterranean-style diet, which is rich in protein, fibre and healthy fats.

While a diet is a diet and they all work by reducing the net amount of energy consumed, Dr Mosley says there is mounting evidence to show fasting not only prompts weight loss but has mental health benefits, improves sleep and can help people live longer.

Hes taking to the Perth stage to not only discuss the latest surprising science around weight loss, sleep, wellness and how our bodies work but just as crucially, he adds, to lift the lid on what many of the professional medical doctors arent telling us.

Numerous studies have shown if you are significantly overweight and you have type 2 diabetes you can get rid of it if you follow a proper diet.

There are lots of things doctors tell you which just arent true because they havent caught up with the science, adds Dr Mosley.

For example, he says recent research is showing how intermittent fasting strategies can cure sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts.

It can also fight disease, he explains, and the evidence is particularly strong with type 2 diabetes.

When I first came out to Australia a couple of years ago the view was very much that rapid weight loss was a terrible idea and that you [cannot] reverse type 2 diabetes and put it into remission, says Dr Mosley.

Since then, the evidence has become so overwhelming that Diabetes Australia have changed their website to reflect the evidence and the stuff Id been talking about.

We have lots of data now and have had more than 60,000 people do it. We recently had it evaluated and the average weight loss at two years was nearly 10kg and if you had type 2 diabetes, half were able to come off their medication, so I think we have a lot of evidence supporting what we do.

He explains it was his friend professor Roy Taylors pioneering findings that has changed the way type 2 diabetes is now being treated.

Prof Taylor and his team from Newcastle University were able to demonstrate how the potentially deadly condition, which affects billions of people worldwide, can be put into remission with a rapid weight-loss diet.

Dr Mosley managed to reverse his own type 2 diabetes about a decade ago by sticking to the 5:2 diet.

He then adapted Prof Taylors research for his Eight-Week Blood Sugar Diet, which involves eating 800 calories each day for 12 weeks, which he says has since helped thousands of other people send their diabetes into remission.

Numerous studies have shown if you are significantly overweight and you have type 2 diabetes you can get rid of it if you follow a proper diet, explains Dr Mosley.

When you change what you eat it can have a profound effect on your mental health too, he adds, citing a study by Melbourne professor of nutritional psychiatry Felice Jacka.

It sounds blindingly obvious but what she (Prof Jacka) did, what Roy Taylor did and what (Nobel Prize laureate) Barry Marshall did, was they did the clinical trials.

They actually did the studies which are persuading the medics, the psychiatrists, people like that, and they provided medical evidence which is what you need to change medical practice. In the show I will be talking about the latest research as well as showing examples.

He adds it is now even possible to show with a great deal of accuracy what our biological age is, which is different to our chronological age, that which is written on our passports.

Dr Mosley says a recent study revealed men who were asked to do eight weeks of intermittent fasting and daily breathing exercises to reduce stress cut their biological age by almost two years.

A rapid weight loss plan, with typical weight loss of more than 10kg sustained over 12 months, is shown to achieve a high rate of type 2 diabetes remission.

Its own website describes it as a highly effective approach to intermittent fasting, enabling weight loss and building a healthier brain and body.

Some people start with The Very Fast 800 if they have a significant amount of weight to lose, or to kickstart weight loss, while others start with The New 5:2 for gradual weight loss or to improve overall health.

Schedule two days a week as 800-calorie fasting days and follow a healthy Mediterranean-style diet for the rest of the week, with no calorie restriction, just sensible portions.

The rapid weight loss phase involves eating 800 calories a day. The key to feeling satiated, while restricting calories, is to consume a moderately low-carb Mediterranean-style diet, rich in protein, fibre and healthy fats.

If this approach is right for you, youre encouraged to stay on this stage for a minimum of 2 weeks, though you can follow the plan for up to 12 weeks depending on your goals and how much weight you have to lose.

As with any diet, however, you should speak to your usual healthcare professional before starting.

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Dr Michael Mosley in Perth: How an eating plan can boost mental health and put type 2 diabetes into remission - PerthNow