The Complete 2-Day Fasting Diet: Delicious; Easy To Make; 140 New Low-Calorie Recipes From The Bestselling Author Of The 5:2 Bikini Diet

Shopping list for full seven days

Meat and fish

2 × 90g (3¼oz) lean lamb leg steaks

50g (1¾oz) streaky bacon

2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

400g (14oz) skinless chicken breasts

400g (14oz) skinless smoked haddock

200g (7oz) raw king prawns (shrimp)

4 sausages

Fruit and veg

2 small sweet potatoes

2 large potatoes

700g (1½lb) new potatoes

2 Little Gem (Boston) lettuce

1 cos (Romaine) lettuce

Bag baby spinach

Bag mixed salad leaves

Cucumber

2 medium tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes

6 spring onions (scallions)

5 leeks

Mushrooms

1 celery stick

1 lemongrass stalk

1 green chilli

Frozen peas

Garlic

3 lemons

1 banana (men only)

Dairy

900ml (4 cups) skimmed milk

4 eggs

Babybel Lights

10g (2 tsp) butter

10g (2 tsp) Parmesan cheese

Low-fat plain yogurt

Fruit yogurt pots

Storecupboard

Wholemeal (wholewheat) bread

1 baguette

Ryvitas

Wraps

All-Bran

Caster (superfine) sugar

Sultanas (golden raisins)

Dried apricots

Dried figs

Dates

Wholemeal self-raising (wholewheat self-rising) flour

Couscous (men only)

Basmati rice

Naan bread

Porridge (rolled) oats

Granola

Olive oil

Sunflower oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Black peppercorns

Cornflour (cornstarch)

Vegetable stock (bouillon) cubes

Fish stock

Tomato ketchup

Extra-light mayonnaise

White wine vinegar

Dijon mustard

Dry (hard) cider

1 can light coconut milk

1 can anchovies

Jar capers

Black olives

Dark chocolate

Medium curry powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, cumin seeds, hot paprika, cayenne pepper, ground turmeric, ground ginger

Dried thyme, dried oregano, dried mixed herbs, bay leaf

Fresh mint, fresh tarragon, flat-leaf parsley, fresh coriander (cilantro)

Salt and pepper

Light oil spray

The 2-Day Diet is fast becoming one of the most popular diets worldwide. In the UK it is the most talked about diet of 2013 and has spread all around the world. It is incredibly popular in Ireland, Sweden and South Africa, to name just a few.

But why is it proving so successful? I think there are two unique draws of the diet which make people choose it AND stick to it.

Firstly it is the diet’s simplicity that is its main selling point. You can easily describe how to do the diet in one sentence and anyone can go and get started straight away. You don’t need to buy special foods or pay anyone any money.

The second point is the 2-Day Diet’s long-term success rate. People who start the diet are more likely to stick to it than other diets. This is because you are not dieting every day, meaning you can still enjoy life’s pleasures five days a week.

Another reason why so many people love the diet is that it really can burn those last few pounds like no other diet. When you diet normally, the body will always use the simplest energy stores first. This means that you will always burn off the food you have just eaten rather than the fat on your hips. When you do the 2-Day Diet, on your diet days you enter a semi-fasting state and your blood glucose levels fall. This triggers the release of metabolic fuels from the body’s stores of fat. The 2-Day Diet is therefore one of the most effective diets for burning fat.[1]

Health benefits

The majority of people following the 2-Day Diet are interested primarily in weight loss. Losing weight and reducing your BMI obviously has plenty of health benefits. But on top of the health benefits of losing weight there are also indicators that this type of weight loss has advantages over and above other forms of diet.

Areas where intermittent fasting seems to bring additional benefits are diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s prevention. Research into intermittent fasting is ongoing and 2013 has brought some interesting new topics to light.

The most research has been done into diabetes and heart health. Does intermittent fasting reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular markers for heart disease? A review of current research[2] suggests that limiting calories in this way can reverse type 2 diabetes and has the potential to be cardio-protective.

On first glance the link between being overweight and Alzheimer’s does not seem obvious. But when you note that more and more scientists now see Alzheimer’s as just another form of diabetes, then things begin to fall in to place. This has grave implications worldwide. The prospect of an Alzheimer’s epidemic on the scale of the current worldwide obesity epidemic is extremely alarming. Yet there is growing evidence to suggest that Alzheimer’s disease is type 3 diabetes[3]. If this proves to be true, then there is reason to believe that intermittent fasting and the weight loss associated with it will offer some protection against Alzheimer’s in later years.

There is countless anecdotal evidence to suggest that combining intermittent fasting and exercise maximises weight loss and body changes. A new study[4] published in Obesity in July 2013 certainly strengthens this belief. In the study of 64 obese individuals, those combining intermittent fasting and exercise lost the most weight. Over 12 weeks, the average weight loss of those doing both was 6kg (13lb); of those just doing intermittent fasting the weight loss was 3kg (6.6lb) and of those just doing exercise, it was 1kg (2.2lb).

The 2-Day Diet is not a miracle fad diet, promising extreme weight loss in a short period of time. More and more people are realising that intermittent fasting is a lifestyle choice. It works and can comfortably be maintained for as long as it’s needed. In fact, many people, myself included, choose to continue with one diet day a week even after optimum weight loss has been achieved.

You should expect to lose 0.9–2kg (2–4lb) a week in the first two weeks, dropping to 0.5–0.9kg (1–2lb) a week as your body gets used to the diet. Exactly how much you lose depends on your starting weight and your choices on your five normal days.

If you feel that your weight loss has plateaued and you haven’t lost any weight for at least two weeks then you may have hit the wall in terms of weight loss. But don’t worry, there are ways to kick-start your weight loss again.

1. The simplest and most common cause of a weight-loss plateau is an increase of calories on your five healthy days. Are there a few too many treats creeping in? Keep a food diary. Just tracking your food honestly should help you to cut back. Look at the snacks and junk food and see which ones should be cut out.

2. Increase your diet days to three days a week. Your body may have adapted to two diet days so by having three diet days a week, you are mixing things up and giving yourself optimum weight-loss conditions.

3. Take a week off. I know this is counterintuitive, but allowing your metabolism to rest (while eating healthily to ensure you don’t gain weight) should improve your chances of success when you re-start the diet.

Most importantly, don’t give up! If you have hit a wall and are having doubts that the diet is working for you, please stop worrying. As you near your target weight, you will find that the amount of weight you lose each week will decrease. And the small drop in weight may not be accurately recorded on the scales. If you are still following the diet and eating healthily then you will shift those last few pounds. You may find that you are changing shape even if this is not reflected on the scales. Keep off the scales and only jump on every two to three weeks.

Low-carb 2-Day Diet

If you get bored of counting calories or find it difficult on your diet days, you may want to try this new variation suggested by Michelle Harvie and others from the Genesis breast cancer prevention centre.

On your two diet days, follow a very low-carb diet (think ‘Atkins’) but do not count calories. Their incipient research[5] suggests that this is at least as effective for weight loss and other health markers as the restricted calorie approach.

These are all genuine questions that people have asked via Facebook www.facebook.com/52DietRecipes or Twitter @52DietRecipes. If you have got a question that’s not listed here, I’d love to help if I can.

If your plans change and you suddenly find yourself in the pub on a diet day

Don’t panic! You have got two choices. Do you break the diet or not? Having a drink and breaking the diet would mean that the effort you have put in during the day would be lost and you’d have to schedule another diet day later in the week. If it’s the evening and you have already got through most of the day, is it really worth giving up on the diet day? You could have a water, a diet coke or diet tonic water without adding any extra calories.

If you’re starving and there’s nothing in the cupboards

Eggs, baked beans and soups are your friends here. All are filling and you should find the calorie content on the box. If you don’t have any of these in your house, all will be available from your nearest supermarket or convenience store.

If you need/want to exercise on your diet day

Sometimes you will find that you have to do exercise on your diet day. The problem with exercising is that it burns calories and makes you hungry, meaning that you are more likely to struggle with your diet day. Sadly you cannot add on the calories that you burn during exercise to your calorie intake for the day. If you do need to exercise on a diet day, try to do it before you eat in the morning. Light exercise in the evening can also be a distraction from hunger. Try to avoid exercising in the afternoon as this will make you very hungry and most likely to falter.

What is the best type of exercise to do on my healthy days?

I would recommend any aerobic exercise that increases your breathing and heart rate as being best for weight loss. Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or tennis are all good to get your heart rate up. Try to exercise three times a week for at least 45 minutes each time.

If you find a diet day is proving next to impossible

Sometimes this happens to the best of us. For all sorts of reasons – stress, hormonal, lack of sleep – we can find a diet day particularly hard. You are allowed to give up on a day if it is truly dreadful.

It is always worth assessing what is causing it to be so hard and trying to see if it is worth pushing on through. Late afternoon is often a time when we feel at our weakest. If you can bring your evening meal forward or have a small snack at that time, you may find you get over the hump. Remember that the sacrifices you have made already during the day will be wasted if you stop. Try counting the number of hours until bedtime and make sure you get an early night.

If you give up entirely on a diet day, don’t beat yourself up about it. Allow yourself tomorrow off and re-attempt the following day. If you still manage to fit two diet days into your week, then the week has been a success.

If you are on holiday

I think it is very hard to follow the 2-Day Diet when you are on holiday. If you have been dieting for weeks beforehand, then I would say that it is time to relax and enjoy your hard work. To avoid putting on too much weight, try to still be sensible when you can. Eat a big breakfast (especially if it’s free!), eat healthy snacks or a light lunch and enjoy your dinner.

If you’re cooking for other (unsympathetic!) people

If you have got a partner or family who are not dieting then you need to make sure you can accommodate everyone’s needs without much fuss. The easiest way to deal with this common problem is to cook the same meal for everyone. Just serve everyone else’s meal with plenty of extra carbohydrates. If it’s not possible to all eat the same thing, then at the very least try to eat at the same time. There’s nothing worse than watching other people eat when you’re starving.

If you feel that your weight loss has plateaued

It is natural for your weight loss to level out after a few weeks on the 2-Day Diet. The high weight loss that you experience when you start the diet can only be maintained for two to three weeks. After that, at the same time as it gets easier and you get into a rhythm, the weight loss will diminish. This is normal and healthy. The extreme early weight loss cannot be maintained. If you have a lot of weight to lose, then you will hopefully find that the weight loss flattens out at about 0.9kg (2lb) a week. If you are nearer your target weight, your expected weight loss will be about 0.5kg (1lb) a week.

If you are not losing any weight while still following the diet plan, then you should look at what you are eating on the five normal days. You may be eating too much. Indeed this is the most likely cause of a plateau. Make a food diary for your healthy days and be a bit stricter with yourself. Most importantly steer away from the biscuit tin and any junk food.

Under 200 calories

Nutty banana energy bars

Fruity bran loaf

Roasted parsnip soup

Creamy pea and mint soup

Spicy sweet potato soup

Super easy coleslaw

Cheat’s Caesar salad

Celeriac remoulade with smoked trout

Japanese-style sake prawn salad

Garlicky king prawns

Saffron ‘rice’ cauliflower

Oven-baked vegetable fritters

Courgette ribbons with tomato and chorizo sauce

Quick tomato and mangetout curry

Cajun fried chicken

Garlic grilled chicken

Under 300 calories

Power up breakfast

Baked eggs with ham and tomato

Smoked fish chowder

Quick tomato haddock

Purple sprouting broccoli with creamy caper sauce

Patatas bravas

Warming leek ‘pasta’ with olives

Asian-style stir-fried beef and mushrooms

Grilled lamb in fresh parsley and mint sauce

Vietnamese yellow curry

Slow-baked chicken rolls in tomato sauce

Blueberry fool

Baked banana with dark chocolate

Crème de menthe pudding with chocolate crunch

Under 400 calories

Paprika chicken salad

Spring chicken stew

Grilled lamb with tangy lemon couscous

Spicy lamb keema

Slow-cooked stuffed cabbage rolls

Creamy purple sprouting broccoli with Parma ham

Spring is all about hope. After a long winter of cold grey days, all you want is some sun and a few green shoots. You probably want to ring the changes when it comes to food too. Are you bored of stews and soups and crave something lighter and greener?

You may find that you and your body are eager for transformation, but what about the weather? In March it may feel like the depths of winter, with snow still on the ground, but try to ignore the weather and listen to your body. Eat healthily, even on days when you are not dieting. Do some exercise: a gentle swim on any day of the week will re-invigorate you. Most importantly, if the sun does pop its head out, get outside and feel the sun on your face.

Spring recipes embrace the change but also the vagaries of the season. There are not many seasonal vegetables available and it is traditionally ‘the hungry gap’. Try out some unusual salads, explore what’s in your storecupboard, and experiment with the vegetables that are in season. Purple sprouting broccoli is an amazingly tasty green vegetable. Available from late February, it has a lot more to offer than its more familiar cousin. Spring is also the time to enjoy some tender lamb – a lean lamb steak can easily be incorporated into a diet day.

Let’s not get carried away and keep some soups and stews in reserve for the bleakest days. If you can keep a few portions of warming soups stocked in your freezer then you are fully prepared to face the challenges that spring can bring.

Stock the freezer, count the daffodils and celebrate when the clocks change. It is a season of preparation. If you stick to the diet through the spring you’ll be ready and waiting for the beach.

Menu plans for diet days

Use these planners to inspire your cooking on diet days. It’s amazing how much good food you can eat for under 500–600 calories.

Just work out whether you want three small meals/breakfast and dinner/lunch and dinner on your diet days and choose the right planner for you. If you need more help working out which plan is right for you have a look at What kind of dieter are you? (see here).

Feel free to swap a recipe for another with a similar calorie content if necessary.

MENU PLANS FOR DIET DAYS: WOMEN (SPRING)

WOMEN: 3 SMALL MEALS Breakfast Lunch Dinner Cals Day 1 Nutty banana energy bar 118 cals Spicy sweet potato soup 125 cals Warming leek ‘pasta’ with olives (233) 1 small satsuma (18) 251 cals 494 Day 2 Nutty banana energy bar 118 cals Cheat’s Caesar salad 143 cals Quick tomato haddock (225) 50g (1¾oz) spinach (12) 237 cals 498

WOMEN: BREAKFAST AND DINNER Breakfast Dinner Cals Day 1 Power up breakfast 219 cals Asian-style stir-fried beef and mushrooms 267 cals 486 Day 2 Baked eggs with ham and tomato 251 cals Patatas bravas 248 cals 499

WOMEN: LUNCH AND DINNER Lunch Dinner Cals Day 1 Garlicky King prawns 134 cals Spring chicken stew 365 cals 499 Day 2 Creamy pea and mint soup 151 cals Grilled lamb with tangy lemon couscous 314 cals 465

MENU PLANS FOR DIET DAYS:

MEN (SPRING)

MEN: 3 SMALL MEALS Breakfast Lunch Dinner Cals Day 1 Nutty banana energy bar 118 cals Oven-baked vegetable fritters 149 cals Creamy purple sprouting broccoli with Parma ham 337 cals 604 Day 2 Nutty banana energy bar 118 cals Warming leek ‘pasta’ with olives 233 cals Grilled lamb in fresh parsley and mint sauce 241 cals 592