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
