The 5:2 diet is one of the more well-known of the intermittent fasting diets. It asks you to restrict your food intake to 500 calories (600 for men) on two days a week. Not convinced 500 will stretch that far? You might be surprised. Take a look at the following three week meal plan and decide for yourself.
RECOMMENDED: The 5:2 Diet On Trial
Week 1
Fast Day One
Breakfast: A tangerine. Porridge (40g oats) and blueberries (145g).
Dinner: Chicken stir-fry (one chicken fillet, handful sugar snap peas, 100g cabbage, 2 carrots, ginger, coriander, garlic, soy sauce)
Fast Day Two
Breakfast: Yoghurt (small pot natural fat-free), blueberries (70g) and ham (40g)
Dinner: Feta Niçoise salad (1 egg, handful lettuce, handful green beans, 100g chopped cucumber, 90g feta cheese, 6 black olives)
Week 2
Fast Day Three
Breakfast: 1 boiled egg and half a grapefruit
Dinner: Veggie chili (1 large mushroom, half tin chopped tomatoes, half tin of kidney beans, garlic, half a chopped red chili) with brown rice (80g cooked)
Fast Day Four
Breakfast: Smoked salmon, a cracker and light cream cheese
Dinner: Thai prawn salad (handful of cooked prawns, grated cucumber and carrot, sesame seeds)
Week 3
Fast Day Five
Breakfast: Smoked salmon (50g) and 2 scrambled eggs
Dinner: Roasted vegetable salad (10 cherry tomatoes, ½ cougette, ½ aubergine, 1 red pepper). Two tangerines
Fast Day Six
Breakfast: Strawberry smoothie (1 banana 100g, pot fat-free natural yoghurt 150g, large handful strawberries 50g)
Dinner: Oven-baked fillet smoked haddock (200g), 1 poached egg, 100g steamed broccoli
More Low-Calorie Meals
If you're loving the 5:2 diet, keep reading to find out some of our favourite low-calorie meals from The Fast Diet Cookbook, by Mimi Spencer and Dr Sarah Schenker (£14.99, Short Books).
Low-Calorie Breakfasts
Soft boiled egg (1) with asparagus spears = 90 calories
Watermelon with a quartered fig and parma ham = 185 calories
Yoghurt, plums (2, quartered), flaked almonds (1tbsp) and 2 tsps agave nectar = 264 calories
Grilled portobello mushroom, cherry tomotoes, spinach and a paoched egg = 124 calories
Prawn omelette (2 eggs, 30g prawns, 1/2 courgette) = 207 calories
Low-Calorie Lunches
Ratatouille with rye bread toast = 173 calories
Beetroot soup with a spoon of creme fraiche = 116 calories
White crab and artichoke salad = 226 calories
Tuna Fagioli (tinned tuna, tinned beans, red onion, lemon juice, tomatoes, parsley) = 286 calories
Mushrooms stuffed with mozzarella, pecorino and spinach = 159 calories
Low-Calorie Dinners
Smoked haddock with wilted spinach and a poached egg = 211 calories
Salmon fillet with pesto and ribbon vegetables = 327 calories
Turkey burgers with tomato salsa and corn on the cob = 333 calories
Lean pork meatballs in tomato sauce with steamed kale = 264 calories
2 egg omelette with emmental cheese, tomato and rocket = 300 calories
This article first appeared in Women’s Fitness
