The 5:2 Diet Book: Feast for 5 Days a Week and Fast for 2 to Lose Weight, Boost Your Brain and Transform Your Health

Product Information

Dinner:Forget a Thai takeaway and try this green miso noodle bowl instead. At just 198cals it’s your better option by a mile. The book contained a lot of random meal suggestions (which weren't relevant for me, since I don't live in the UK).

Lunch:For lunch, rustle up our crushed new potatoes and shoots (170 calories). Calories so far: 226 Welton S, Minty R, O’Driscoll T, et al. Intermittent fasting and weight loss: Systematic review. Can Fam Physician. 2020;66(2):117-125.

Many of you will be aware of the 5 2 Diet developed by Michael Mosley almost 5 years ago, which became a world wide phenomenon, embraced by thousands of people. Grajower MM, Horne BD. Clinical management of intermittent fasting in patients with diabetes mellitus. Nutrients. 2019;11(4). doi:10.3390/nu11040873 At Verywell, we believe there is no one-size-fits-all approach to a healthy lifestyle. Successful eating plans need to be individualized and take the whole person into consideration. Prior to starting a new diet plan, consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian, especially if you have an underlying health condition. Barnosky AR, Hoddy KK, Unterman TG, Varady KA. Intermittent fasting vs daily calorie restriction for type 2 diabetes prevention: A review of human findings. Transl Research. 2014;164(4):302-11. doi:10.1016/j.trsl.2014.05.013

This baked cod and broccoli is so easy to make, throw everything into one pan and cook all together. Swap cod for your favourite fish if you like. Breakfast: A medley of a banana (90cals), 25 blueberries (20cals), and a kiwi (46cals) Calories so far = 156 From curry to stir fry, from omelette to soup, our 5:2 diet meal plans below will help guide you through your 500 calorie days with ease. Whether you’re hoping to lose weight fast or just want to manage your food a little better, the 5:2 diet is a part-time diet that has grown in popularity over the past few years.

Michael looks at the Horizon special, "What's the Right Diet for You" and tells us which diet they say is best for him.

Dinner:Try our hunger-busting veggie balti to fight off the fasting blues (131cals) and two and a half rice cakes (100cals). Breakfast: Make a fruity concoction with a strawberry and almond yogurt, using 25g low-fat Greek Style yogurt, 50g strawberries, and 4g ground almonds. Calories so far: 56. Eat Stop Eat: On this plan, you’ll observe a complete 24-hour fast once or twice a week. For example, if you stop eating at 8 p.m. on Sunday night, you wouldn't eat again until 8 p.m. on Monday night. Like the 5:2 diet, you’re free to choose your fasting days on the Eat Stop Eat diet. Varady KA, Bhutani S, Church EC, Klempel MC. Short-term modified alternate-day fasting: a novel dietary strategy for weight loss and cardioprotection in obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(5):1138-43. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28380 On your 500 calorie days, you can eat whatever you like, but the below foods are some of the most sensible as they’re low in calories so you can eat more throughout the day than if you eat smaller, high-calorie foods:Lunch:Young’s Cod Steak in Parsley Sauce (101cals) is perfect. Eat it on a bed of 60grams of lettuce (8cals). Calories so far = 261 Some of that advice is particular to the UK market as it details the products on sale in British supermarkets. The information about such products and their calorie count is extremely useful - not only is the information succinct and clear but the ideas suitable for those 500/600 calorie days are a real boost to dealing with them.

Being a reasonably fit, young female, I was interested in the long- term health benefits of fasting. Book is very informative and very easy to read. Having previously read Dr Mosley's I found this book pleasant enough with it's conversational style, but, having watched the BBC Horizon documentary on which it is based, I didn't feel that I learnt anything new or benefited in any way from her insights. I read Michael Moseley and Mimi Spencer's book on this topic when it was first published, have been on the 5:2 ever since, but wondered if there was more to learn. Kate Harrison's book is a lively reminder of all the worthwhile material in what I think of as the original. It includes stories of weight loss which are heartening and some excellent advice. Breakfast:Begin your day with a bowl of porridge with a sweet maple syrup topping. Put 20g porridge oats in a bowl with 2tbsp water and 2tbsp skimmed milk. Microwave on high for 1 min 20 secs until the oats are tender and then stir in 1tsp maple syrup. Calories so far: 100Fasting for two days out of seven also gives you a chance to experience the other benefits of fasting, which include: Lunch:Half of Sainsbury’s Creamy Vegetable Soup is a super healthy option at only 53 calories. Calories so far = 151.