Exclusive:
Kirsty Slade was unhappy and lacked energy before deciding she needed to take action for the sake of her health and embarked on the Fast 800 Keto diet plan by Dr Michael Mosley
Being a mum to a young son meant that Kirsty Slade had to find a diet that was flexible and could fit in with her lifestyle. She had put weight on and was unhappy in herself so started to research various weight loss approaches online.
She came across the Fast 800 plan by the late Dr Mosley and remembered that years before someone had bought her his book for Christmas, but it was languishing on her bookshelf, unread. So Kirsty, 35, set about devouring the book and the articles on the website, which struck a chord with her.
“The timing felt right for me now – I was in the right mindset and I knew I needed to make some significant changes to my lifestyle to become healthier,” Kirsty told the Mirror. “I was far heavier than I wanted to be – I was overweight, my face was really round and I felt so sluggish. I felt so unhappy in myself, so lethargic, and I felt like I didn’t have any energy.”
She decided to embark on the Fast 800 Keto plan, which meant drastically cutting her carbohydrate intake and introducing intermittent fasting. The diet builds on the foundation of the original Fast 800 plan by the late Dr Michael Mosley but reduces carbohydrate intake even further to push the body into nutritional ketosis. The high fat intake in the diet means the body burns fat as its main energy source rather than glucose, which is commonly found in carbs.
Realising she may need extra support, Kirsty also signed up for the programme and chose a date to start with the intention of staying fully committed. The first few weeks were challenging because Kirsty, who lives in Essex with her partner and son, had been used to eating a high-carb diet and processed foods. The major shift in eating habits also coincided with her little boy’s Scouts camping trip in June last year, when she knew the only food available was going to be hotdogs, marshmallows, and crisps – none of which she was allowed.
Knowing it wasn’t feasible to take her own meals along, she decided it was the perfect time to try the programme’s Fast 800 high protein shakes she’d read about. “I used them over the weekend and they allowed me to stay on track, and kept me full and satiated,” she said.
Kirsty started to see the results of her dedication and the weight began to fall off rapidly, which made it easier to stick to the diet. But once again she was faced with a lifestyle challenge when the school summer break came around and her routine went out the window. Throw a family holiday into the mix and she found she was snacking and eating things she shouldn’t be.
Determined to get back on track, when she returned from holiday Kirsty dived back into the programme, which she found easy to do. “In hindsight I now appreciate that this is one of the brilliant things about the programme,” she revealed. “It’s very flexible and you can make it fit around your lifestyle. I found it very easy to ‘jump back in’ to the programme and managed to get back on track with my weight loss journey.”
She continued: “In the first few weeks, the weight fell off quickly again and by the time my son had gone back to school in September, I’d lost 3 stone and my BMI had returned to normal. I was so happy that I’d managed to lose all of that weight. I was also really enjoying the food and my new-found energy levels.”
Kirsty felt so much better in herself, but the effectiveness of the plan on her overall health was revealed when she was given her annual private medical check at work. Part of the report included an indication of the likelihood of developing certain health issues later in life. Her results were astounding. The chance of her developing type 2 diabetes in the next ten years had fallen from 50% to 0.1% and the result was the same for her risk of heart disease.
“I was thrilled to learn that my weight loss had made such a positive impact on my health,” a delighted Kirsty said. “It was good to know it was working – I wasn’t just feeling better, on paper it actually showed the results were better. It was such a relief.”
It wasn’t just Kirsty who reaped the benefits of the plan either. Although they aren’t on the diet, her partner and son are now eating much healthier foods, including lots more vegetables and healthy proteins because she’s making better choices in the supermarket. They have also cut down on the amount of processed food and sugar they consume.
Thanks to her success, Kirsty says she’s now in the maintenance phase of the programme and has relaxed her approach. She still follows the principles but has increased her portion sizes slightly, using the Fast 800 app for recipe ideas. She still occasionally has the chocolate shakes that were such a help to her in the initial stages, often having one for breakfast. They come in especially handy when she’s out with her son, busy at work or away from home.
“If I’m honest, I find it easy now,” Kirsty insists. “It’s become second nature to me and I don’t even need to think about it. I’m feeling much happier, I’m much more energetic and my mood is lighter in general.”
