DRWF Podcast: Raising type 2 diabetes awareness in memory of Dr Michael Mosley
DRWF and The Fast 800 recently announced an offer of wider access to lifestyle support in memory of Dr Michael Mosley.
The Fast 800 online programme was co-founded by Dr Michael Mosley and his wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley.
The programme was created to help people improve their metabolic health through structured nutrition, lifestyle change and ongoing support.
To mark the two-year anniversary since the passing of Dr Michael Mosley, The Fast 800 has launched an offer with DRWF to widen access to lifestyle support.
For this special offer, The Fast 800 will provide 3,000 free 12-week memberships to members of the DRWF community.
The organisation continues to be run by the Mosley family with sons Dan Mosley as CEO and Dr Jack Mosley, a UK-based GP, author also operating as a Scientific Advisor for The Fast 800.
The online programme combines Mediterranean-style eating, intermittent fasting principles, educational content, recipes, exercise guidance, behavioural support and access to qualified health coaches.
Dr Michael Mosley was known for inspiring many people to improve their health by making positive lifestyle changes that could help reduce their risk of developing health conditions, including type 2 diabetes.
Among his popular tips to improve health and wellbeing included intermittent fasting and taking short bursts of exercise.
Dr Mosley died on 5th June 2024 after going missing while on holiday in Greece.
DRWF featured an extract from Dr Mosley’s book The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet in the July 2016 edition of Diabetes Wellness News.
For the latest episode of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series we talked to Dan ands Jack about continuing their father’s legacy with support for those living with type 2 diabetes.
Listen to DRWF Living with Diabetes special podcast interview with The Fast 800 team here
Dan Mosley: “The Fast 800 is obviously quite a personal part of me and being able to continue dad’s mission to take really important health science and make it understandable, practical and doable for normal people is just such an honour. I have grown up seeing how powerful that can be.
“Dad had this incredible ability to take something that was very complicated, whether it was type 2 diabetes, intermittent fasting, sleep, exercise, gut health, and explain it in a way that made people think, ‘I can actually do something about this’. That is what we want to carry forward here at The Fast 800, the mission to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives and using the science, in a way that feels human, supportive and realistic.”
Jack Mosely: “I am a doctor based in the northwest. I have been fascinated in this area for some time especially the area of nutrition I set up the new Newcastle Nutritional Medical Society whilst at university and we went into schools and taught nutrition. I did a Masters in Research as well in diabetes with Professor Roy Taylor, who was the first person to show you could send diabetes into remission through diet. It is a fascinating area for me.
“I am particularly passionate about diabetes. I'm sure my parent’s passion for the area has really rubbed off on me too. I am currently working in general practice where I can really see how important these lifestyle changes can be. I wrote the book Food Noise, which was all about the weight loss medications, and how to approach them through nutrition and lifestyle habits. It was not just taking an injection and going on your way, but actually making those changes.”
Living with Diabetes: It is the second anniversary of Michael's passing. Can you give us some background on how he got so interested, from his original journey of being diagnosed with pre-diabetes and then purposefully making himself a bit heavier and then what he could do about it when he was living with type 2 diabetes?
Dan Mosley: “When he passed, there was such an overwhelming amount of positive support and kindness from people. We are incredibly grateful for that. I guess his journey really began when his father, our grandfather, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at quite a young age. Like many people at that time he was following the standard advice that was given – around a low-fat diet. Sadly, despite following the advice that he was given, he went on to suffer some serious health complications and passed away at quite a young age. When my father was later diagnosed with pre-diabetes himself, I imagine it must have hit him pretty hard. I think being a science journalist at the BBC led him to dive straight into the science. Thinking about, what does the science actually say? And is there another way? Then came the BBC Horizon documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer, was broadcast in 2012.
“This was a moment that intermittent fasting really started entering the mainstream a bit more. The documentary explored the science of fasting and tested different approaches on himself. He was a real self-experimenter, with the aim of losing weight and ultimately improving health markers without permanent dieting. The early part of that journey led to The Fast Diet book, published in 2013. That looked at making fasting achievable for people in their everyday, complicated and ever-changing lives.
Through what is the well-known 5:2 diet, which was just stunningly simple and really felt achievable for people. This is where you would fast for 500 calories two days a week and eat a normal or a Mediterranean-style diet for the rest of the time, not calorie restricted. This has gone through some iterations over time, but the research around type 2 diabetes then came when he was looking at the work of researchers like Professor Roy Taylor at Newcastle.
His research showed that for some people, significant weight loss and particularly around reducing fat around the liver and pancreas through an 800-calorie diet, could help restore blood glucose control and even in some cases put type 2 diabetes into remission.
“In 2015 that led to The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, which used that 800-calorie, Mediterranean-style approach. And then in 2018, there was the DiRECT (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial) study that showed that by following this low-calorie diet for three to five months, 46% of people in the intervention group achieved remission, compared to 4% in the control group, which was groundbreaking. This approach helped him to lose nine kilos and reverse his type 2 diabetes.
I think that was something that was so fascinating about him, what people really trusted about him, was that he tested all these approaches on himself. He would, occasionally go through cycles of putting the weight on, raising his blood glucose, and test these approaches to improve his health again.
“I think ultimately what he discovered was that with the right support, the right weight loss and the right kind of lifestyle changes, people can meaningfully improve their health and, in some cases, achieve remission.”
Living with Diabetes: How did Dr Mosley go on to develop The Fast 800?
Dan: “Once he had gone through that journey himself and became passionate about making science practical, it was pretty much all that was discussed at the dinner table for years and years. It was always there and a real passion of his.
“The problem with health advice is that it can often feel very overwhelming. People are told to lose weight, eat better, move more, look at their health, but not always in a clear and structured way.
“The Fast 800 was created to bridge that gap. Based on the book, it developed into an online programme that helps people to improve their metabolic health and build lasting healthy habits through, personalised meal plans, recipes, exercise education, and real human health support and also a community as well.
“It has three broad pathways: The Very Fast 800; The Five Two and the Way of Life.
“The ultimate goal is to get people onto the way of life which is no calorie counting Mediterranean-style diet, along with good healthy habit changes and exercise, sleep, stress, and maintenance support and education.
“Rather than someone having to figure it out all on their own, it gives them these support tools and meal plans, recipes and the tools for people to take that into their everyday life.
“It is science made useful and something that our father would say a lot was that the best health advice is only helpful if people can actually act on it, and we are really built around that concept.
Living with Diabetes: “What are your long-term aims going forward, and why are you looking to engage with the diabetes community?
Dan: “Our aim is very simple. We want to help as many people as possible improve their metabolic health long-term by giving them the tools and the confidence to be able to do it themselves.
“I just want to say how pleased we are to be able to speak to you, the DRWF, the amazing work that you do around funding really high quality diabetes research and also helping people to understand and manage life with diabetes.
“We feel it really aligns with our principles about taking good science and turning it into something that can really help people live better lives.
“At a personal level the diabetes community meant so much to my dad and the work that he was doing. Beyond that, type 2 diabetes is still one of the biggest health challenges that we face.
“The hopeful part is that for type 2 diabetes this is an area where lifestyle change can make a meaningful difference and why we're so pleased to be working with DRWF where we believe lifestyle is a big part of that picture.
“Ultimately, we just want people to feel informed, supported and optimistic given the tools, education, support, to really understand their body better and make changes that can genuinely improve their health.”
Living with Diabetes: How have you carried on the work of your father and popularising that intermittent fasting for better health, making scientific research easy to understand and action?
Jack: “It was clearly a really difficult time for the whole family in the aftermath of his death. I think he was such an important part for the whole family on obviously an emotional level and so many other levels too. He was such a great character. What people may not know about him is that he was quite introverted, but family meant a great deal to him.
“My parents were a big part of why I chose to be a doctor. I could see how passionate they were, and particularly around this area of type 2 diabetes and metabolic health.
“After he passed away, I was blown away by the response, as we all were, but also by the massive impact that he had on so many hundreds of thousands of people across the world. That was through all his different messaging from fasting, and even wider things on lifestyle and high intensity interval training and sleep – just a dramatic impact on so many lives.”
A comprehensive lifestyle programme
The Fast 800 online programme is designed as a full lifestyle programme rather than a standalone diet. Members receive personalised weekly meal plans, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, automated shopping lists and access to more than 900 nutritionist developed recipes.
The programme also includes structured workout plans, stretching, yoga and Pilates sessions, educational content covering the science of weight loss and metabolic health, guided mindfulness meditations and progress tracking tools for weight, waist circumference, blood sugar levels, mood and sleep.
Community support is available through an online member forum, where participants can share experiences and access guidance from qualified health coaches. Members are also given tools to help them communicate progress with their GP, which may be particularly relevant for those managing type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
The complimentary memberships will be available from Friday, 5th June 2026 via DRWF communication channels and via The Fast 800 website.
Find out more about The Fast 800 online programme
We advise that you speak to your diabetes or other healthcare professional before starting a new diet plan. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to diet and diabetes management. Changes to diet can affect blood glucose levels, medications and overall health so guidance from your healthcare professional will help to ensure that a new plan is safe and right for you.
Read more Remembering inspirational health expert Dr Michael Mosley
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