You should only follow this advice on the recommendation of your healthcare professional. If you have diabetes and are on any medication, please check in with your healthcare professional as there may be an alternative plan which would suit you better.

There are many weight reducing plans available but it should be one that works for you and fits your lifestyle.

On this plan you will be restricting your calories for only two days a week. This will give you greater flexibility to eat out on this plan and still lose weight.

However, it does mean that you will have to severely restrict your calories on two days of the week, so we have provided some advice on how to do this below.

Try not to overcompensate by eating too much on your ‘normal’ days or the plan will not work. Instead, just eat as you normally would.

About the plan

Women will need to restrict calories to 500kcal a day and men 600kcal a day, two days per week. This will result in a 0.5-1kg (1 to 2 lb) weight loss a week.

Pick non-consecutive days

• Try not to pick two days together, such as Monday and Tuesday.
• It is unlikely that you will manage two days of severely restricting your calories next to each other

Don’t drink your calories

Your calories are very limited on the restricted days, so it is best not to use these for drinks. Try to have water, black tea or coffee with sweetener, diet drinks or no added sugar squash. If you must have milk in your tea or coffee, you need to count it. For every 100mls you use, count 50kcals from your daily allowance – 60kcals for full fat, 46kcals for semi-skimmed and 34kcals for skimmed milk.

Restrict your carbohydrate

Carbohydrate comes from bread, rice, potatoes, cakes and biscuits. On these days try and have protein rich options rather than carbohydrate, as they will keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Eat only when hungry

Try to eat when you first feel hungry rather than at set meal times. It is likely that you will feel hungry every four hours. This is when the brain will need energy to prevent headaches, so keep this in mind. A good meal pattern might be 10.30am, 2.30pm and 6.30pm but listen to your own cues for hunger. Try not to have your fasting days if you’re going to be up from 6am or in bed at 11pm because you may struggle to manage this effectively.

Try to buy ready made

It’s a good idea to have ready-made protein, to prevent cooking on restricted days, as you will be hungry and cooking may make it difficult to avoid temptation. Try ready-made cooked chicken breast, cooked prawns, crayfish, and tinned tuna.

Sample days

The following sample fasting day menus are just examples of how you can achieve your restriction, but what you eat and how you reach you calorie limit is up to you.

Helpful resources

• My Fitness Pal app available to download for free on both iPhone and Android.
• Carbs and Cals app available to download for £3.99 on both iPhone and Android or the book version which is in association with Diabetes UK.
• Many books about five/two recipes from bookstores or the internet which will give you further ideas.