So, Easter is on its way, with its glorious high-calorie promise of holiday bingeing and general excess. I must confess that I have never really been one for Lent; as with dieting, giving up something entirely - especially chocolate - is not my style.
Over the course of my 20-year career, I have in fact been emphatically anti-diets, so it may seem odd that I have now written a book devoted to one. It's no U-turn; The Fast Diet, co-written with Dr Michael Mosley, works so brilliantly because you don't have to give anything up at all.
You eat absolutely normally for five days a week and only restrict calories (to a quarter of your usual intake) on two days. So come Easter Sunday, I'll be eating the kids' chocolate eggs, just as I do every year. And on Easter Monday (or even Tuesday, if I fancy a little Bank Holiday indulgence) I will return, guilt free, to my bi-weekly 500-calorie fast.
It is times like Easter that illustrate why the Fast Diet has been so well received. In just two months, we have garnered a huge following and it is the diet's flexibility that seems to be the key to its success: most of the time, there are no awkward dinner-party clichés ('just salad, dressing on the side - I'm on a diet'), no need to be the dull colleague passing on post-work drinks, no need to count or fret.
The diet works because you know that tomorrow you can have that glass of chardonnay/roast dinner/chocolate muffin. If you have ever struggled with the strictures of conventional, every-day dieting, it's a liberating thought.
The book has now reached number one bestselling status on both sides of the Atlantic, which is hugely exciting for Michael and me. While the science is still young, the research is mounting and the results impressive (you can keep up with the conversation at www.thefastdiet.co.uk).
Some of the most common questions we get are about what to eat on the Fast Days; for this reason we are publishing a comprehensive Fast Diet Recipe Book on 2 May, including plenty of information about how the method works, together with more than 180 meal ideas, rich in protein and complex carbs, so you won't find yourself flagging on a fast day.
This Lent, I reckon we can all have our cake and eat it.
Follow Mimi Spencer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mimispencer1
The Guyliner: Twenty-Five More Men You Should Never Date
5:2 diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Fast Diet » the secret of intermittent fasting: lose weight, stay ...
'Fasting Diet' Fad Could Be Unhealthy, Nutritionists Say - Yahoo! News
What kind of person, obviously not a doctor, recommends a diet where you eat less than a toddler for two days a week?
Also, I try to eat healthfully most days. I schedule in 3-4 splurge days a month, where I am A-OK going over my calories for the day. I use those days for my guilty pleasures, such as burgers or going out to eat at a restaurant. It works for me.
Also worth noting that the weight loss is only one potential benefit of this diet, the longer term benefits are actually much more interesting (reduction in the risk of cancer, diabetes, dementia) - I won't go into the details of how that is possible, but there is loads of research online about it.
Its actually not at all difficult to work and exercise on only 500 calories - I actually feel more energetic on fasting days and as long as I have something to eat an hour before going to the gym I feel fine. I do see your point that eating healthly 7 days a week would be better, but the reality is that many people do not find that so easy and this approach allows you to eat that peice of cake without wanting to kill yourself afterwards! Its also surprising how little you actually do binge of non-fasting days. Anyway - its an interesting theory and I'll be interested to see more research on this.
Your point about the gym, again lacks the science and the point of exercising. If you exercise purely to lose weight is that sustainable as a lifestyle? Or is that you should be retraining your brain that exercise is a part of being healthy? Being healthy and fit is not just about being skinny. If I exercised moderately for a hr I would easily burn 500 calories. I need to be fuelled to exercise. I also needed to fuel my muscles after exercise. This means replenishing the glycogen stores and giving my body enough protein to repair itself. Otherwise you break down your muscles and they don't build stronger. So what's the point? You are no fitter, just tired and hungry!!
If you eat healthily and exercise regularly, having a bit of cake is no drama. If having one bit of cake makes people feel so upset I would be interested to know how they feel eating 500 calories a day? Restricted I would say. You say it yourself you 'binge' on on fasting days. Again thats avery wierd mindset towards healthy living. Would you say this is the best way to drink? Don't drink all week and then go all out on
It comes down to calorie counting and exercise.
The only sustainable way to lose weight is to reduce your calorie intake and increase your calorie burn rate.
Just exercising more will not necessarily make much of a difference because the body is incredibly good at storing energy - you really do need to reduce calorific intake too.
In 3 months I have lost 17 pounds of weight by using this method.
Diets that require you to eat strange foods or indulge in strange eating habits simply are not sustainable.