800 the new magic number for Michael Mosley  

Posted on 22 August, 2019

Michael Mosley wants Canberrans to “come with questions” when he brings his show Wonders of the Human Body to the capital next month.

The British physician and science journalist says he is “hugely looking forward” to visiting Canberra.

He has an aunt and a cousin who live in Canberra, and on his last whirlwind tour here in 2017 he had a “very warm reception.”

“You’re a very enthusiastic and well-educated audience who read a lot … and who asked some really interesting, fun questions,” he says.

“I love questions so come with questions.”

Michael invented the wildly popular 5:2 Diet, which was taken up by celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel and Benedict Cumberbatch, who swore that adhering to its restriction of calories (500 for women, and 600 for men) two days a week really shed kilos.

“But I’ve now upped that to 800 calories because there have been a lot of studies showing that that gives you a similar sort of benefit,” Michael explains.

When he invented the 5:2 Diet, the NHS, the UK government-funded health care system called it a fad diet, but has since mostly changed its tune.

Michael’s bestselling book The Fast Diet detailed how intermittent fasting could potentially reverse the risk of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

His latest book, The Fast 800, has been updated to reflect the most up-to-date research in the field.

“When I wrote the original 5:2 book, it was based mainly on rat studies, and there’ve been quite a lot of human studies since, and a lot of studies done in Australia,” he says.

In The Fast 800 he now recommends that those struggling with health problems associated with pre-diabetes, auto-immune disorders and obesity should consume 800 calories a day, two days a week.

“But I also recommend that if you can do it, to consume 800 calories every day for a number of weeks for rapid weight loss,” he says.

Michael says Wonders of the Human Body will be a show in “two parts.”

“It will be about everything I’ve learned about diet and exercise, and ways of controlling depression and anxiety, over the last seven, eight years, when I first invented the 5:2 diet,” he says.

“I’m also going to be talking about the microbiome, the gut bacteria and the sort of foods you eat to [support] that.

“One of the wonders of the human body is the fact that we have learned how to cooperate, if you like, with these microorganisms that live in and on us.

“There’s two to three kilos of microbes down there and they have taken on a lot of the tasks of looking after our body. That’s why it’s so important that we look after them.”

During the show, theatregoers will be also treated to “quite a lot of footage” from the BBC.

“I have access to all the wonderful archives from the BBC, shows I’ve made, and also some of the fantastic footage that the BBC has shot down the years showing the workings of the human body,” he says.

“I want to give people information but I also want to fill [them] with a sense of wonder about their own bodies and what they can do, and how to keep them in good shape.

“The human body is a wonderful thing, but unfortunately we abuse it down the years. I’m hoping to surprise and delight.”

The self-confessed human guinea pig is most well-known for the BBC’s Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, in which he debunks myths that have influenced eating habits for decades, but he also has a habit of making viewers squirm

Over the years Michael has tried smoking cigarettes (“very unpleasant”), swallowed a tapeworm from infected beef in Kenya, given researchers a sample of his blood to infect with the parasite that carries malaria, and gone caving (he has claustrophobia)—all in the name of entertainment (and science).

Michael became interested in periodic fasting when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012.

He played around with a number of different forms before he settled on the 5:2 Diet. By following the diet he managed to lose 9kg and get his blood sugar levels back to normal, without going on medication.

For those worried that 800 calories doesn’t amount to much that’s delicious, there’s The Fast 800: Recipe Book by Michael’s wife Clare Bailey, who is also a doctor, and expert food writer Justine Pattison, with a foreword by Michael.

Yummy almond-crumbed pork with Asian slaw, basil chilli turkey with sweet potato noodles, or perhaps a spiced mango smoothie, all adhere to the Mediterranean-based diet that eschews starchy carbohydrates in favour of olive oil, avocados, some full-fat dairy, lots of nuts, seeds, and oily fish, “masses of vegetables,” some fruit, as well as wholegrains, beans and lentils for extra fibre.

While eating more healthily will no doubt benefit everyone in today’s worldwide obesity crisis, the diet won’t suit everyone, Michael warns.

“The Fast 800 is certainly best suited for people who have type 2 diabetes, or are obese, people who want and need to lose weight reasonably fast,” he says.

“The evidence is very strong now that if you do it properly, then rapid weight loss is more motivating and as long as you move on to a proper way of eating, people who lose weight, keep it off.”

The Fast 800 may not suit everyone. Consult a GP or medical professional before starting any diet.

the essentials

What: Michael Mosley’s Wonders of the Human Body
When: Sunday 22 September
Where: Canberra Theatre Centre
Tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au