I lost three stone in three weeks and it completely changed my life… but there are shocking side-effects of dramatic weight loss, DONAL MACINTYRE reveals

As an investigative TV journalist who has gone undercover to expose some of the most undesirable elements in society – from British football hooligans to Russian gangsters – I consider myself pretty thick-skinned.

Just as well, given the humorous comments made by some Mail readers about the dramatic fast I undertook recently – eating nothing and drinking only black coffee and water for 23 days.

I finished the fast last Wednesday and when I wrote about it in Saturday’s paper, some people questioned whether I could really have lost 41 pounds (nearly 19kg) so quickly. There were even suggestions that the differences between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos were down to some hoodwinking on my part.

‘Who knew you could lose three stone by pulling your belly in?’ quipped one wag while another joked that I had simply followed ‘the breathe-in diet’.

I don’t blame people for being sceptical. That is a huge amount of weight to lose in such a short amount of time.

Friends have done double-takes, and acquaintances haven’t recognised me. And there have been moments when I almost haven’t been able to believe it myself. But while I know that I’m not yet ripped, or anything close to it, I look and feel like a man transformed, so much so that my clothes no longer fit.

I am boring extra notches in my XXL belts to hold up my ill-fitting jeans and those shirts whose buttons were hanging on for dear mercy just three weeks ago are now comfortably loose. So too are my shoes. Who’d have thought? I always knew I had flat feet – but fat feet?

Loyal viewers to my Killer Evidence documentaries for CBS Reality and the True Crime Channel have been turning a blind eye to my ever-expanding waistline for years. 

But although they will be pleasantly surprised to see me so much lighter, the producers may be somewhat frustrated by continuity issues – given that I have yet to film the last four episodes of the current series and will be noticeably trimmer than in the first six.

Still, they’ll be delighted to have a freshly invigorated host, back in action with a swagger. Confidence is so much part of a TV host’s job and I can feel mine returning – just as it ebbed when I was trying to ignore my weight gain, shrouding myself in black T-shirts and blazers designed for someone with the body shape of a Pavarotti.

As I explained on Saturday, it was seeing myself in the mirror shortly after Christmas that made me decide on my fast – an extreme challenge but one I felt was more than ever necessary. I was FAT – and there was no denying it.

 There is an invisibility that goes with being overweight in advancing middle age. We feel the same but make no mistake, people treat us differently or, worse, are indifferent to us.

As someone in the public eye, I perhaps feel this more than most. For much of my career, my frequent TV appearances meant that strangers would come up to me and spontaneously strike up conversations. But then I noticed this happening less and less.

Perhaps they didn’t recognise me, or maybe they were embarrassed for me. Whatever the reason, I’ve noticed over the last couple of weeks that I’m being recognised again – and I put it down to the fast.

It was not easy, but neither was it as hard as I expected. In total I went 540 hours without food – missing around 67 meals, and who knows how many snacking opportunities. But, although I was out of sorts and sometimes had tummy pains, I never felt sick.

At my worst, I would compare those tough times to an intermittent hangover – something one just ploughs through but would not stop you from going about your daily life.

Following the large cup of clear chicken broth with which I broke my fast on Wednesday, I’ve been eating large salads as I work my body safely up to a wider palette.

Having had only black coffee and water for sustenance for more than three weeks, I am not yet able to cope with any heavy meals and indeed it could be life-threatening if I am not careful in reintroducing solids to my body.

It will take me nearly as long to return to normal eating as it did to fast in the first place. After soups and pureed vegetables, I’ll graduate to soft cheeses and then smoked salmon and chicken.

It will be another two weeks or so before it will be safe for me to have my desperately desired T-bone steak. But I have no regrets about my fast.

It started on my 59th birthday and I now accept it was the greatest gift I could ever have given myself. It was free, there were no medical side effects and my outlook on life is more positive and uplifting as a result.

Of course, I was under the supervision of medical professionals, without whom such a diet may present genuine health risks.

Among the benefits have been a re-setting of my gut microbiome. With nothing for 23 days, it is ripe for a repopulation with healthy bacteria, and I am taking probiotics.

Sensitive souls out there might want to skip this paragraph but… I am also taking note of my bowel movements. For the last 14 days of the fast there were none but they have now returned – and no complaints there.

Strangely, my nails and hair have been noticeably growing faster. Dr Ash Kapoor, my medical supervisor throughout my fast, has explained that, post-fast, we produce around three times more human growth hormone than usual so that we can rebuild muscle and revitalise the body after weeks of deprivation.

Other benefits have included more energy and focus. Those tasks I have prevaricated about are getting done and I’ve tidied my workspace to prepare for more long-forgotten jobs. Perhaps, the control I have been able to exert over the most basic and primal of daily habits – eating breakfast, lunch and dinner – has given me the moral fortitude to arrest other weaknesses in my unproductive habits pre-fast.

Now my aim is to reach my target of 13 and a half stone – a weight that I think is healthy for me and sustainable. I give myself three months to cruise my way to that goal.

To that end, I will keep carbs to a minimum and try intermittent fasting, perhaps even one meal a day, or ‘OMAD’ as it’s known.

Weirdly, I find that more daunting than the thought of the 23-day fast. While taking drastic action to deal with the crisis of my weight gain had its own dramatic appeal, adapting my long-term eating habits seems a bit dull by comparison. But I know that I will have to make it a habit if I want to keep the weight off.

Meanwhile, there is a new wardrobe to buy to accommodate my slimmer waistline. I have gone from XXL to L, and M lies just beyond the horizon. It would have taken me at least five months to achieve the same gains on Ozempic or similar – risking side effects including nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

I hope the journey which has been so transformative for me inspires others to know that change is a mindset. You can reinvent yourself, your health and wellbeing in a matter of weeks but it starts with accepting who you are and your starting place. Don’t get angry or frustrated – make a plan and try and stick to it.

Not everyone can keep to a 23-day fast but we can all set our own goals and achieve remarkable results with just a little bit of determination and self-control.

You’ll also need to work at delayed gratification. In my case, that means I’m still waiting for my steak, but in a fortnight’s time you can bet I will be savouring it – with gusto!