Dieting just two days a week blasts fat and balances blood sugar.
What is the 2-day diet?
For folks with diabetes, weight loss is a natural form of “medication.” But in an ironic twist, losing weight may be more difficult if you have type 2 diabetes. Now breakthrough research has revealed a better way for people to go about diabetes dieting to lose weight and reduce insulin resistance. The secret is a concept called intermittent fasting. British researchers created this revolutionary new diet, which strictly limits caloric intake for two days of the week but permits larger portions for the rest of the week. Women who followed the plan lost almost twice as much fat as those who restricted calories every day. Within three months, participants reduced insulin resistance by 25 percent more on nonfast days and inflammation by 8 percent more than people who dieted continuously.
What’s on the menu
After seeing this research, Reader’s Digest asked registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator Erin Palinski-Wade to create a simple and delicious menu that incorporated the findings. She developed the book The 2-Day Diabetes Diet. You don’t have to count carbs, calories, fat grams, or anything else—all you have to do is follow the special eating style in which you “Power Burn” two days a week and “Nourish” on the rest.
How to do a “power burn” day
On Power Burn days, you’ll fill up on low-calorie, low-carbohydrate foods that include delicious soups, tasty stir fries, and luscious homemade smoothies. You’ll throw weight loss into high gear by consuming only 650 calories, without hunger or cravings thanks to three satisfying meals and a snack. This shifts your metabolism into fat-burning mode, which shrinks fat cells and helps reduce inflammation and insulin resistance. The other five days, you’ll stoke your metabolism with 1,500 calorie’s worth of Mediterranean-inspired foods—an eating style proven to bring down inflammation and reverse insulin resistance.
The Power-Burn breakfast
Eat this two days a week: Omelet made with 2 egg whites and 1/2 cup onions and peppers cooked in non-fat cooking spray; 1 cup low fat yogurt
The Nourish breakfast
Eat this five days a week: Yogurt parfait made with 1 cup low-fat yogurt, layered with 1/2 cup whole-grain cereal and 1 cup blackberries, topped with 1tbs. chopped walnuts
The Power-Burn lunch
Eat this two days a week: Carrot soup with dill; 1 cup fresh blueberries
The Nourish lunch
Eat this five days a week: Wrap made with one 12-in. whole-grain tortilla, rolled with 5 oz. deli turkey breast, 1/2 cup sliced raw hot peppers, 1/4 cup sliced onion, 1/4 cup diced tomato, and 2 tbs. hummus, 1 cup garden salad and 1 tbs. dressing on the side
The Power-Burn dinner
Eat this twice a week: Grilled chicken kebabs; 1/2 cup zucchini cooked with cooking spray and 1/4 cup whole-grain pasta, 1 cup 2% milk
The Nourish dinner
Eat this five times a week: Summer garden soup, served with 5 oz. broiled pork tenderloin, 3 oz sweet potato topped with 1 tsp. trans-fat–free spread, and 1/2 cup prepared collard greens sautéed in 1 tsp. olive oil.
The Power-Burn snack
Eat this two days a week: Grapes
The Nourish snack
Eat this five days a week: Sliced apple topped with cinnamon; 1 cup 2% milk.
