Frequently Asked Questions

Your 12-week plan for weight loss and long term health starts straight away.

When you click “start now”, you’ll be asked to create an account. Once your account is set successfully, please go through the checkout process, which requires you to enter credit card details, to trigger your access to the personalisation quiz and the start of your 7 day free trail. Your credit card will only be charged if you do not cancel prior to the end of the trial period.

This is a difficult question to answer as every individual and everyone participating in the programme is different in so many ways (weights, sugars, exercise, medications, ages, etc).

The different approaches within The Fast 800 can help people who are:

• Looking to lose a large amount of weight and improve metabolic health
• Looking to gradually lose weight and keep it off long term
• Looking for a long term maintenance approach for weight management

The Online Programme  helps to make healthy lifestyle habits  easier and provides:

• Online assessments to tailor the level of exercise, determine the right level of fasting and align the individual’s goals to their plan
• Critical support through the Community  where members can support each other and ask questions of our Health Coaches
• Recipes (more than 400 of them), meal plans and shopping lists
• Guided exercise (for beginner to advanced levels) and meditations
• Tools that track waist, weight, HbA1C, sleep and mood – to help you create accountable goals and measure your progress.

It is important to note that if you have certain medical conditions, are pregnant, breastfeeding or underweight, you should not do the diet.

Please see ‘Who should AVOID a low calorie diet or fasting’ below for further information.

The Fast 800 programme is not recommended for the following:

1. People who are underweight and/or experiencing an eating disorder, or have a history or suspicion of an eating disorder.
2. Children (under 18 years old).
3. Type 1 diabetics.
4. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers or anyone undergoing fertility treatment.
5. People who have a significant psychiatric disorder or substance abuse.
6. People who are under active investigation or treatment, or have a significant medical condition affecting ability to comply with diet.
7. People who have had a recent cardiac event, myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident (<3 months previously) or other heart abnormalities.
8. People who have had uncontrolled heart disease, uncontrolled hypertension, or kidney failure.
9. People who are feeling unwell, have a fever, are frail or recovering from significant surgery (<6 months ago).
10. People who are on insulin. This is to avoid a potentially dangerous drop in blood sugar (hypo).
11. People who are on ‘flozin’ medication (known as SGLT2 inhibitors, taken to reduce blood sugars, such as Dapaglifozin of Canagliflozin). This is to avoid the rare complication and potentially dangerous condition called euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), where despite having normal or only mildly raised ketones the medication can mask a serious complication of diabetes requiring urgent attention.

Please read our medical disclaimer for additional information.

To help the discussion with your doctor, download this letter.

As with all lifestyle changes, we recommend you discuss it with your doctor as they will be able to advise you on how to manage any medical conditions and you should always follow their advice. They can also help with any monitoring or tests to see how you are progressing.

For additional information to support the conversation – please share this letter with your doctor to explain the implications of the diet.

Our upgraded Online Programme teaches you the health benefits of a moderately low-carb Mediterranean-style diet, so it becomes a way of eating for life. It is based on the latest science and takes an evidence-based approach to healthy living focusing on nutrition, movement, behavioural change and sustainable lifestyle.

It includes:

• Education around science-based lifestyle best practice
• Weekly, time-saving meal plans – vegetarian and non-vegetarian – with automated shopping lists.
• The Very Fast 800, The New 5:2 and The Way of Life approach plans
• Exercise plans, incorporating HIIT and resistance training, designed for beginner to advanced levels as well as a library for further stretching and pilates videos
• Mobile-friendly  tracker to measure waist, weight, HbA1C, mood and sleep
• 400+ delicious, nutritionist-developed recipes, unique to the online programme
• Mindfulness meditations
• Core learning content, plus access to exclusive articles
• Support tools for liaising with your usual treating doctor
• Access to a lively Community so you can chat with your fellow members and/or ask our online health coaches for support.

Your first 7 days are free with unrestricted access, and you can cancel anytime. You’ll then be charged £99 / $175 AUD / $130 USD for your 12-week plan.

You will also receive a bonus one month free access to The Fast 800 Life for ongoing support. After that, The Fast 800 Life subscription will renew at £10 / $18 AUD monthly. Remember, you can cancel this subscription at anytime.

The Fast 800 Life subscription gives you full access to all Online Programme content, the private Community as well as all future:

• Exercise content
• Mindfulness content
• New recipes and meal plans
• New learning and articles

The Online Programme is a guided course and starts straight away however, the first week is a Prepare week to give you time to get ready, your Week 1 will start the Monday after.

In Prepare week, you will still have access to a Meal Plan, exercises, educational content and  mindfulness resources.

As the Online Programme is guided, you are unable to pause or restart the course. 

You can switch back to previous weeks and you also receive a free four week trial of the monthly subscription service at the end of the Online Programme to allow you to catch up on any missed content.

Results will vary across individuals however, common benefits experienced by past members include:

• Visceral fat loss
• Rapid, sustainable weight loss
• General health improvement – a sense of well-being and increased energy
• Metabolic improvement – improving blood sugars, reversing and preventing type 2 diabetes, improving cholesterol profiles, reversing NAFLD, reducing coronary artery diseases, reducing the risk of dementia, reversing PCOS.
• A reduction in cognitive decline.
• A boost in mood and motivation – a great way to reduce anxiety and depression.
• Reduced inflammation in the body – improving conditions such as arthritis, asthma and psoriasis.
• Improved relationship with food
• Reduced hunger
• Improved sleep
• Increased fitness

Most importantly, we like to think of the Online Programme as a plan for life.

Our aim is to put you back in control so that when you finish the programme you can continue to make healthy, sustainable choices.

Our members often comment that the information provided in the Online Programme is invaluable and can easily be incorporated into everyday life.

The easiest measurements are things like:

• Physical measurements of your waist, chest, hips
• Weight
• Sleep quality

Some weighing machines will also give you an estimate of your body fat.

You could also take a measure of your resting pulse, as this is a good predictor of future health.

Also, ask your doctor to measure HbA1C (average glucose), cholesterol and your blood pressure.

Yes! The 12-week Online Programme has meal plans specifically created for vegetarians, which will be selected for you following your online assessment.

There are no dedicated vegan fasting meal plans available on The Fast 800 Online Programme.

If you are not fasting, it is possible to adapt The Way of Life approach to create a vegan plan however, it will require your effort to ensure your daily protein requirements are achieved.

There have been many people with certain allergies successfully complete the Online Programme.

The meal plans are not able to exclude certain ingredients. Thus we cannot offer a menu tailored specifically for food aversions, intolerances or allergies, e.g. FODMAP, egg-free, nut-free, dairy-free.

However, you are able to switch out recipes containing offending foods for a more suitable option.

Research shows that a moderately low-carbohydrate Mediterranean-Style diet has unique power not just to restore your body’s ability to reach its ideal weight and stay there, but also to cut your risk of serious disease. 

As one of the most studied and healthiest diets in the world – it is at the heart of all we do.

All of the recipes included in the Online Programme are based around the Mediterranean-Style diet.

There are three different approaches: 

The Very Fast 800, which is 800 calories per day for up to 12 weeks – this approach is for those that are motivated and want to lose a lot of weight rapidly. 

The New 5:2, which is based on five days of healthy eating and two fasting days, created for those who have less weight to lose but would like to experience the other health benefits of fasting and healthy eating. 

The Way of Life, which is for those that are already at a healthy weight but would like to improve their overall health.

Many people who have coeliacs disease or a gluten intolerance have successfully completed the Online Programme.

The great majority of the recipes are gluten free and any recipes that do contain gluten can be easily modified to become gluten free. 

Our Health Coach team will be able to help with any questions in relation to substitutions.

No, you don’t have to give up any of these whilst following the Online Programme although, obviously, we would certainly advise everyone to stop smoking as soon as possible, irrespective of their blood sugars.

Coffee and alcohol are still allowed on the programme although the calories in both of these drinks need to be included in the daily calorie limit (noting that alcohol is highly calorific). 

A pint of beer or a large glass of wine contains 180 calories, so really best avoided or kept to a minimum. 

The good news is that red wine is included in the Mediterranean-Style diet, so once you finish The Very Fast 800 and The New 5:2, and move onto ‘The Way of Life’ approach you will be able to introduce alcoholic drinks back into your lifestyle (we go over this in more detail in the Online Programme).

Black coffee and tea are fine although you will need to include any milks in your daily calorie count.

Please note, 800 calories a day (The Very Fast 800) is too low for those who are doing intense or endurance exercise.

If you are doing intense/endurance exercise, you will require more energy than most. You may still be able to follow The Way of Life approach however, you may require extra nutrition to support your training plan.

We would advise seeing your usual health professional before making any lifestyle changes or starting a heavy exercise regime as they will be in the best position to provide personal advice.

You do not need access to Facebook to get the full benefit of the Online Programme. Our Community is private, and hosted by The Fast 800.

All paid member interaction occurs on the website or via email; there is no programme content on Facebook or any other platform.

As noted in our Programme Terms & Conditions 2.1 (c), The Fast 800 Online Programme offers course content and Community support for a fixed period of time.

Upon joining the Online Programme you will immediately access orientation content. Your course is then 12 weeks long and once finished you will move across to our monthly subscription service (with the first month free). Thereafter you can continue accessing course content and Community support for a reduced monthly fee.

The low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style meal plans in our Online Programme are balanced for variety, nutrition, calories, protein and taste – designed to keep you fuller for longer to make each phase easily achievable. 

With our meal plans on the Online Programme, you can plan for, shop and prepare the week’s food with minimal fuss. Our recipes are designed to be low in effort and high in flavour, and can often be prepared in double quantities to be packed up for dinner or lunch on the go the next day.

Many past members comment on the simplicity and deliciousness of our recipes, which are rich in vegetables, protein, fibre and healthy fats. They are designed with your success in mind and have a variety of options that suit both the keen cook and the novice.

We do not have a payment plan option at this stage.

We accept Mastercard and Visa credit cards and Visa and Maestro debit cards.

You can select to pay in GBP, AUD or USD.

The Fast 800 Online Programme is suitable for people anywhere in the world, as long as they have stable internet/Wi-Fi access. 

The Online Programme is run by a global, virtual team in the UK as well as Australia.  www.thefast800.com is the only url offering the official 12-week Online Programme and this url is the same for members accessing it from anywhere in the world.

The Very Fast 800 approach is intended to be used for no longer than 12 weeks or until a healthy BMI is achieved, whichever comes first.

After a period of 12 weeks (or the achievement of a BMI within the healthy range) you should transition to The New 5:2 or The Way of Life, by way of gradually increasing your non-fasting days by introducing intermittent fasting and non-fasting days each week.

We also recommend drinking plenty of water and taking a high-quality multivitamin.

The meal plans in the 12-week online programme are currently set up for three meals per day but we are currently working on a 2 meal menu.

In the meantime, you are able to amend the meal plans to suit.

• The Community is a private, member driven platform, only available to  paid members of the Online Programme.
• Your privacy is important to us and as such we aim to protect this information. We recommend that you do not disclose any personal information e.g. date of birth, phone number, email, personal address.
• We further recommend that you choose a username that will protect your anonymity but you can clearly identify for yourself.
• Members are encouraged to update their profile with ‘about me’ details and a profile photo so that fellow members can share in and support your progress. Sharing this information is optional.
• Members are welcome to post as often or as little as they like. Discussion regarding any aspect of the Online Programme, hints, tips, and  recipes is encouraged to support members of the Community
• The Community will be monitored by trained Health Coaches, however it is intended that members support and interact with each other. Members must contact Health Coaches via the ‘Support’ page only.
• All posts and comments must be respectful and culturally sensitive.
• Any posts/comment that are insulting, bullying, abusive, slanderous, aggressive or derogatory.will not be tolerated. Any such postings will be removed immediately and the member’s account may be closed with no recourse for refund of fee paid.
• Advertising your own or someone else’s business, page, fundraiser or website is not allowed in any form. These posts will be immediately removed and you might get banned.
• If you see a post/comment that violates our rules, please use the ‘report’ button. Do not verbally attack the author of said post/comment.
• Get in touch with support@thefast800.com if you have any questions or concerns or are experiencing issues in the Community. That’s what we’re here for!

Having a buddy to follow the Online Programme can be very beneficial. If you are happy to do the Online Programme using one account you can just purchase one programme. 

This means you will share a login and the emails will only go to one email address. It also means you will have to be happy to do the same diet plan based on one assessment and be at the same level for the exercises. 

If you want to track your success separately and you are both at different levels of fitness, it is probably best to purchase two programmes.

Recipes from The Fast 800 Recipe Book are not used on the Online Programme because the rights and permissions remain with the book’s publisher and as such we cannot use them directly.

We have tailored our Online Programme recipes to fit perfectly into your meal plans, so all the hard work is done for you in terms of calorie or macronutrient counting. 

As we also follow the principles of the Med-style diet, we have similar recipes to those found in the book. We have also made tweaks to ensure they work well in  12-week Online Programme meal plans – we aim for ease and deliciousness!

We encourage the integration of exercise and activity alongside your lifestyle changes for rapid weight loss and healthy ageing. 

If you are injured or have limited mobility it is possible to follow the Online Programme without completing the exercise component. We offer variations to certain exercises to ensure the plan is accessible for most people. 

If you are unable to do the exercises the main focus would then be your dietary and mindfulness changes.

We recommend consulting with your usual healthcare professional before completing the exercises to reduce risk. We also recommend reading our medical disclaimer.

Yes it is! 

Sign up to our community newsletter for free content, health tips, recipes and exclusive offers delivered straight to your inbox.

We have many shift workers following the Online Programme who appreciate the challenge of being organised around shift work and schedules that change regularly.

Our team have put a lot of time and effort into making the Online Programme accessible for as many people as possible. For example, meal plan items can be swapped, preferred meals can be favourited, change your number of servings for each meal (ie. cook for yourself or for your family), automated shopping lists, exercise at home (no equipment required) all available from the palm of your hand. Not to mention your cohort, Community and Health Coaches who are there to support and motivate.

We offer three sessions of resistance (20-30 minutes) and two sessions of HIIT (10-15 minutes) workouts per week.

Based on the online assessment you complete at the beginning of the programme, you are either placed on a beginner, intermediate or advanced level.

There is also a library of additional exercises – such as stretching and pilates – if you are looking for more!

We always recommend real food first. 

The Fast 800 shakes contain 22 of the key vitamins and minerals plus fibre and protein so are great for busy/stressful days when the convenience of a snack on the go is important.

We suggest no more than 7-10 shakes a week alongside a healthy moderately low-carb Med-style diet.

As a part of your orientation for The Fast 800 you complete a short online assessment to tailor the level of exercise, determine the right level of fasting and align the individual goals of each and every member to their plan.

If you do not have a lot of weight to lose you may be placed on The New 5:2 or The Way of Life.

As your goals and circumstances change, there is likely to be an approach suitable for you, whether you’re looking to lose a lot of weight for better health, or want to eat in a way that will support healthy ageing and promote longevity.

Our interactive and upgraded Online Programme to lose weight for better health is now just a tap away! It is accessible on your desktop, mobile, tablet and laptop. It is now more mobile-friendly than ever before!

We don’t recommend consuming drinks or foods containing artificial sweeteners. Read more about sweeteners here.

We encourage everyone following the Online Programme, particularly those with diabetes or other medical conditions, to share information about The Fast 800 diet and lifestyle with their health professionals. 

To make this easier to do, you can use the healthcare professional handout as a useful tool to help you discuss whether The Fast 800 is right for you.

Professor Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California’s Longevity Institute, is one of the world’s leading experts on the science of human ageing. Valter believes very strongly in using the power of fasting to delay ageing and prevent the onset of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. 

Fasting is utilised in the programme in a range of ways.

• The Very Fast 800 approach is a type of fasting, as you are limiting your calories for a period of time for rapid weight loss.
• The New 5:2 approach is intermittent fasting where you have 800 calories on two days each week.
• Time-restricted eating (TRE) is another type of fasting, where you eat within a certain window.

No. We encourage members to focus on the principles of a moderately low-carb Mediterranean-style diet, rather than too much on macronutrient percentages. 

One of the benefits of The Fast 800 is that our team have done all the work for you with managing the macros and creating the meal plans. Practice with our meal plans to ensure these food choices become a way of life.

The Fast 800 official Facebook and Instagram pages are a good place to engage with the general community interested in this lifestyle.

You can also sign up to our community newsletter for free content, health tips, recipes and exclusive offers delivered straight to your inbox.

We encourage full fat dairy and use it in some of our recipes. 

To make the plans dairy/lactose-free you will need to substitute the dairy component with your preferred plant based alternatives.

The DIAMOND Study performed by Oxford University and Dr Clare Bailey looked at the feasibility of using an 800 calorie, low-carb, med-style diet as a treatment for people with type 2 diabetes.

After 8 weeks the average weight loss was 9.5kg, sustained over the course of the trial. 

Results also included a significant drop in blood sugars, blood pressure and the use of medication.

800 is the generally accepted number of calories used to achieve weight loss in scientific studies. Professor Roy Taylor, leading researcher into the reversal of type 2 diabetes, used 800 calories in his test group in the DiRECT Trial.

We have found that 800 calories is high enough to be manageable for most members, but low enough to trigger a range of desirable metabolic changes.

This error message may be in relation to your Community Nickname. The Community Nickname can’t be just your name, as it needs to be unique to each user. Please try a combination such as ‘Nickname123’ or ‘Nickname1!’ in order for your nickname to be accepted on the programme.

Please try the general troubleshooting tips below:

• Login with email address, NOT username as this can be sensitive
• Passwords are case sensitive – make sure you are including any capital letters, numbers, or special characters
• Make sure the link is correct: https://app.thefast800.com/login 
• Check junk and spam folders if you have not received the reset email with a forgotten password 

If these do not help, please email techhelp@thefast800.com

Please try the general troubleshooting tips below: 

• Make sure your Community Nickname is not just your name as these need to be unique to each user. Try a combination of letters and numbers, or add a special character – for example, Nickname123 or Nickname1!
• If you have signed up to The Fast 800 before, please let us know, as the email address may still be stored in the system. If this is the case, we will need to remove this email address before you are able to re-register with the same one. 
• If you are stuck on the personalisation quiz, please make sure that you have not left any boxes blank, or entered a ‘0’ in any boxes. 

Please try the general troubleshooting tips below: 

• If you are seeing a loading screen/spinning wheel, try refreshing your page a couple of times in case it has not fully loaded 
• Make sure your browser is up to date
• Try closing your browser, re-loading it entirely and bringing up the site in a completely new window
• Head to Settings on your browser and clear your browsing history, cookies and cached data (please be aware that this may sign you out of some sites) 
• Try accessing the site from a different device / browser 
• If these do not work, try a different payment method, in case the issue is with the card