Forget abandoning carbohydrates or detoxing. The new dieting craze sweeping Britain and taking off in the United States lets people eat whatever they like - but only five days a week.
The 5:2 diet (or as we call it the "2 day diet") is all about sticking to a healthy 2000 calories for five days and fasting on no more than 500 (for women) / 600 (for men) calories for two days – which means you can still eat your cake and lose the pounds!
The 5:2 diet (or as we call it the "2 day diet"), allows people to eat what they want for five days but only eat 500 (for women) / 600 (for men) calories a day on the other two.
The diet is based on work by British and U.S. scientists who found intermittent fasting helped people lose more fat, increase insulin sensitivity and cut cholesterol which should mean reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Eating a 500 (for women) / 600 (for men) calorie daily diet - about a quarter of a normal healthy adult's intake - could consist of two eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken and lettuce for lunch, and fish with rice noodles for dinner with nothing to drink but water, black coffee or tea.
Usually the problem with standard diets is that you feel like you are constantly having to exercise restraint and that means you are thinking about food all the time, which becomes self-defeating. So on this diet you are only really on a diet two days a week. It is also extremely flexible and simple.
On its website last month the NHS said the British Dietetic Association (BDA) reviewed a 2011 study by researchers at the UK's University Hospital of South Manchester that suggested intermittent fasting could help lower the risk of certain obesity-related cancers such as breast cancer.
The 5:2 diet (or as we call it the "2 day diet"), has been widely praised by those who follow it.
So what are you waiting for, give it a go, what have you got to lose?
Regards