Why I created this blog

Hi everyone!

This is my first true public blog. If you have found your way to this page, I am guessing you somehow were looking for more information about "The Fast Diet" by Dr. Michael Mosley. I will just start with this disclaimer that I have no conflict of interest with anything written or published or released by Dr. Michael Mosley nor is he endorsing anything that I will be writing here. This is just my own journey through the diet.

Why did I finally decide to write this blog? Well, I started this journey back in March 2013, and it worked for me. I have lost 15 pounds in 6 months so far. When I googled up on the fast diet this morning looking for new meals ideas, I found very little on that topic, and tons of websites urging people to not start this diet. Then most of the other more helpful websites were in Europe and really not tailored to a North American reality food wise... combine to that the fact that I am of asian decent and I really didn't think their meals were that palatable...  I thought that was a shame...

Do I think this diet is for everyone? No I don't. I have tried different diets in the past (Montignac, Dukan, etc) and although they worked for a lot of people, they didn't for me. I would say people should read everything carefully, see if it matches their personality, see if it actually works for a couple of days, and if not, let it go immediately before the discouragement and guilt spiral kick in.

Before starting this diet, I was eating well with little junk food, clocking in between 1,800 to 2,200 calories a day (probably up to 2,500-3,000 on days when I would go out with friends). I was weighting 150lbs for 5'7, so was in the BMI normal range, but kinda chubby for an asian girl with a very annoying muffin top and carrying a "food baby" after every meal. I was, and am still, working out roughly one hour 2-3 times a week.

Just like Dr. Michael Mosley, I am a doctor as well. I am actually an oncologist. But to anyone who asks if I think this diet will make you healthier, I will reply: I DO NOT KNOW. There is just not enough research data on humans released at this time. All I can say is that after watching "Eat, Fast, and Live Longer", I got curious and I did some basic blood tests throughout the diet. The result: well, I always was lightly anemic, and because my way of cutting down calories involved cutting out a lot of the red meat, my result came in with slightly decreased iron levels. Armed with that fact, I now take one multi-vitamin with iron on fast days, and have increased my iron-rich food intake on non-fast day, and my bloodwork at the 6 months mark came back clean as a whistle. I guess what I am trying to say is: pay attention to your body's response and diet intelligently!

I am now 135lbs, went from a size 8 to a size 2, and am continuing on the diet a bit more lax just to maintain my weight. I have religiously recorded everything I ate and taken a lot of photos of my food on diet days and will be posting them on. I hope they can encourage you and give you some ideas to go through this journey. Good luck!