The 2-Day Diet was created by Dr. Michelle Harvie, research dietitian at Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention, and Professor Tony Howell.
The authors worked together in research exploring the connection between breast cancer and obesity. They designed this diet to help women with breast cancer to lose weight and keep it off for good.
Diet for 2 Consecutive Days
The 2-Day Diet is simple: For two consecutive days each week you follow a calorie-controlled diet. The rest of the week you will eat a healthy Mediterranean diet.
Research undertaken by the authors showed that this new approach to dieting can really work. It has even been demonstrated to be effective for women with a history of yo-yo dieting, who have tried everything.
The 2 Day Phase
You don’t have to count calories or go hungry on the two dieting days. Just stick with the recommended foods and suggested portions. The plan includes lean protein, healthy fats, low-fat dairy and fresh fruit.
The diet is designed to be:
- Low enough in calories to allow you to lose weight but not so low that you feel hungry.
- Nutritionally balanced so that all your vitamin, mineral and protein requirements are met.
- On the two diet days you also need to limit your carbohydrate intake to 50 grams a day. This is because research shows that carbs make you hungry. A low-carb diet also promotes fat-burning and suppresses your appetite.
Eat the Mediterranean Way for 5 Days a Week
The rest of the week allows for a lot more flexibility in your diet. Your food intake will be based on a healthy Mediterranean way of eating with lots of vegetables, whole grains, beans, fish, fruit, nuts and healthy oils. It can also include small amounts of lean red meat.
It should be easy to lose weight if you follow the meal plans provided in the book. They are designed to be high in protein and fiber to help you feel full and reduce the tendency for overeating.
Contrary to what some people may think, a healthy Mediterranean diet should not include large portions of pasta, pizza and red wine. Treats like alcohol and chocolate are allowed but you should limit these to no more than 2-3 times a week.
Other Foods Promoted
Whole wheat bread, oatmeal, high-fiber cereal, whole wheat pasta, milk, yogurt, feta cheese, eggs, chickpeas, baked beans, tuna, chicken, shrimp, fish, walnuts, pistachios, zucchini, tomato, red pepper, lettuce, arugula, apple, plum, raspberries, apricot, fresh herbs and spices, olive oil.
Sample Meal Plan
Breakfast
Oatmeal and dried fruit
1 cup tea or coffee
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Morning Snack
Pear
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Lunch
Zucchini soup with basil and tomato salsa
Chicken and lettuce sandwich on a whole wheat roll
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Dinner
Roasted vegetables with broiled haloumi
Homemade potato wedges
Green salad
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Evening snack
Yogurt
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Exercise 150 Minutes Each Week
For the first six months your aim is to build up to 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. You can break it up so that you have 3-5 sessions per week.
Eventually you should increase your activity to 300 minutes of moderate or 150 minutes of vigorous exercise. This amount will help you lose weight and keep it off, as well as providing extra health benefits.
You should also do two or three muscle strengthening sessions and two or three flexibility sessions.
Pros
- Easier to follow than most diets because you only need to strictly reduce your calories for two days a week.
- High fiber diet helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and promotes healthy digestion.
- Mediterranean diet has been associated with reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
- High protein intake reduces appetite.
- Includes a meal plan and recipes.
- Provides vegetarian options.
Cons
- Dieters may experience fatigue on the diet days due to reduced calorie intake.
- High protein levels on the diet days make this program unsuitable for those with kidney disease.
- The program is not recommended for teenagers, pregnant or lactating women and people with depression or an eating disorder.
- Advocates the use of sugar-free gum containing artificial sweeteners that have been shown to negatively affect weight loss.
- Some dieters may find it difficult to find the time to do all of the recommended exercise sessions.
May Be Easier to Follow for Some
The 2-Day Diet only requires strict dieting for two days each week. So compared to many diet plans it will probably be much easier to stick with this program.
This approach has been scientifically demonstrated to increase your chance of successfully losing weight. However, most importantly it makes it more likely that you will maintain the weight loss over the longer term.
The 2 Day Diet is available on Amazon.