your weight loss should be between 1 and 4lb per week. This is not a crash diet and you should only be aiming to lose weight in a safe and sensible way.
As a general guide, if you are just fasting but not exercising you should aim to lose 1lb per week. If you are fasting, exercising and staying healthy on your normal days then you could potentially see a weight loss of 2–3lb per week.
If you have more weight to lose then your target could be potentially higher than that.
Target weight loss per week: ___________ lb
It is also worth calculating your BMI at the start and end of the four-week period. You should have dropped at least a couple of points and may even have crossed into a healthier bracket.
Starting BMI: _______________
(Look in the ‘Magic numbers’ chapter on here if you want help calculating your BMI.)
BMI at the end of the 4-week plan: _______________
Looking at your body tone and fitness
Try looking at yourself in the mirror before you start, as it will help you see which areas you would like to look better for the summer. If you want to see the improvements, you need to see what you look like before as well, so ladies, put on your bikini or swimsuit, and gentlemen get your board shorts out. It’s time to try them on and have a good look at yourself in a full-length mirror.
First of all, ignore the fact that you are probably a little pasty – everyone looks like that at the beginning of summer and we all know how to fix it. That is a different problem.
What you want to be looking at is where you think your problem areas are. Is it your tummy? Thighs? Cellulite? Or a little bit of everything?
The 5:2 Bikini Diet exercise programme is designed to burn as much body fat as possible while improving muscle tone, giving you a leaner, healthier body in just 30 days. Remember that the diet will help shift the excess pounds, specifically some of the fat. Where we need to help out with exercise is to bring some definition to the flab.
Exercising three times a week for four weeks, as well as following the 5:2 diet, will bring noticeable changes to your body shape. After four weeks put on your swimsuit again and see if you can spot the changes. Then slap on a bit of fake tan if necessary and get yourself to the beach!
Your first fast day
You need to do a bit of planning before you start on the first fast day. There are many different ways in which you can eat your 500/600 calories, but I would recommend that on your first day you have three small meals.
For women this means something similar to:
100 cals for breakfast, 150 cals for lunch, 250 cals for dinner
For men this could look like:
100 cals for breakfast, 200 cals for lunch, 300 cals for dinner
You should plan out exactly what you are going to eat. Take a look at the recipe section (see here) for some inspiration. Try not to eat much carbohydrate as this is very calorific. Stick to lean meats, vegetables and complex carbohydrates such as pulses or beans. Don’t consume too many calories in drinks. Drink black coffee or tea, diet colas, etc. An omelette (one large egg has 89 calories) makes a good, filling and simple meal. A salad is also a good option for lunch or dinner.
If you normally drink caffeinated drinks, don’t cut them out, as a sudden lack of caffeine could give you a headache and make the fasting day harder. If you like milk in your tea or coffee just remember to count the calories. A cup of tea or coffee with (50ml/scant ¼ cup) semi-skimmed (low-fat) milk has 25 calories, made with skimmed milk it has 19 calories. A short skinny latte from Starbucks has 67 calories and a tall skinny latte has 102 calories.
You may find the evening rather long and drawn out too. As you have hopefully had 250–300 calories for your dinner you actually won’t feel as hungry as you did during the day. But if you are at home with some snacks in the cupboard then you may well need some will power. Top tips to get you through your first fast day evening: find something good on the television, have a hot drink and go to bed early!
Remember:
• Feeling hungry is a natural state.
• Have a calorie-free drink to satiate your hunger.
• The first fast day is the hardest.
• You only have to do it once.
• Tomorrow you can eat like a king.
• You are actively losing weight right now.
• Feel proud and revel in a real sense of achievement.
Your first normal day
Congratulations on making it through your first fast day! If you want, you can weigh yourself before you eat or drink anything. You may well have dropped 1lb in your first day. Now, normally I would be suggesting that you eat healthily and don’t snack on the day after a fast, but I think the rules can go out of the window on the first day. So you can eat what you like. Even though you have most likely been looking forward to your breakfast for most of the day before, you may find you are not as hungry as you thought. Or you may find you are starving and can’t stop eating. Don’t worry about it. It’s just your body adjusting and you can allow yourself some treats.
I remember on my first normal day I didn’t feel as good as I was expecting. The big breakfast made me feel tired and lethargic and I found it hard to get motivated all day. I have heard similar tales from others when they were just starting out with the 5:2 diet. These feelings will change quite dramatically as you continue with the diet. Just as the fast days get easier, the normal days get more, well, ‘normal’ really.
I suggested that you should eat three small meals on your first fast day. As you continue with the diet, you will probably want to adjust this to suit your body’s needs and your lifestyle. It is normally wise to leave at least 50 per cent of your calorie intake for the day until your evening meal, although you can eat this meal as early as you like, any time after 5 p.m. But how you split your breakfast and lunchtime calories is more interesting. You could skip breakfast, skip lunch or have a small meal at each.
Here are a few questions that might help you decide how best to manage your meals on a fast day.
• Do you get up early?
• Do you work in an office?
• Are you exposed to unhealthy food during the day?
If you answered
