Could the two day diet work for you?
Filed under: In the news
If you have trouble sticking to a diet for more than a couple of days, new research suggests that you could still lose weight - and keep it off.
Researchers at the University Hospital in South Manchester believe that sticking to a strict diet for just two days of the week, and eating what you like for the other five days, is more effective than being on a constant diet.
As part of their research they put 115 women on one of three diets.
The first involved sticking to just 650 calories a day for two days of the week, including cutting out carbs such as pasta, bread and potatoes along with all fatty foods.
For the other five days they could eat whatever they liked, but were encouraged to stick to healthy foods.
Women on the second diet were also banned from carbs for two days, but they did not have a specific calorie limit.
The third group followed a standard weight-loss diet which involved sticking to around 1,500 calories every day and avoiding high-fat foods and alcohol.
After three months, the women on either of the two-day diets had lost an average of nine pounds - nearly twice as much as those on the full-time diet who had lost five pounds.
Dr Michelle Harvie, of the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Centre at the hospital, said that there seemed to be a 'carry over effect' on the two-day diet, meaning that the benefits continued even when women ate normally.
She also said that women seemed to continue eating healthily - and eating less - on the five days when there were no restrictions.
Do you give yourself 'days off' from your diet? Let me know below...
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