Best last-minute beach body diets

5:2 DIET

The sell
Few of us can be ‘good’ seven days a week, but the 5:2 only makes us ‘diet’ for two of those days, so it’s less boring and easier to stick to. There are added health claims that the very act of fasting has health benefits such as warding off disease and speeding up metabolic rate.

How it works
On five days you eat ‘normally’ while for two days a week you eat not more than 500 calories if you’re a woman, 600 if you’re a man.

Pros:

• Very simple to understand
• Suits those who fall off diets as only have to ‘diet’ for 2 days at a time

Cons:

• The ‘fast’ days are hard
• Could encourage disordered eating because of yo-yoing between unrestricted and heavily restricted days