Many of you have now been on the Fast Diet for well over a year – your posts are hugely inspiring, and truly support the idea that this is not so much a diet, in the conventional sense, as a life plan – a ‘life policy’, as someone said to me the other day. Michael and I read your stories with real interest, fascination and pleasure. How brilliant that 5:2 works for so many of you; how much better that it seems to be achieving measurable health benefits for so many.
Over the months, we’ve taken on board so much of what we’ve heard from our devoted band of fasters. We’re listening and learning all the time – and not just to the positives, but to the blips as well. One of the things that many people have asked me for is a simple, straightforward cook book. Not a book of clever recipes. Not a book that requires much effort or planning. Just a collection of simple, sustaining, practical basics to make Fast Days that much easier – particularly when time is scarce or the family are hungry and waiting to be fed. I’ve also been asked to write a selection of recipes expressly for men – who, we’ve found, often tend to fast all day and eat their entire 600-calorie quota at supper time.
My answer is Fast Cook, which is published on March 6th. I have loved writing this book – so many of the recipes will be familiar and comforting, but I’ve given them a Fast Diet make-over, cutting back on superfluous calories while retaining all their fantastic flavour. The book has plenty of nutritional tips (one of the great things about 5:2 is that you really start to think about, and understand, the nutritional impact of the food you eat). Each recipe is designed to keep you fuller longer, with a great balance of protein and plants (that old Fast Diet chestnut!); each recipe is, of course, carefully calorie-counted to allow you to make the best choices on your Fast Days.
I really hope you enjoy the recipes and ideas in Fast Cook – let me know your favourites, and please do join the chat by posting your best Fast Day recipes on the forum here. You’ll notice that we’ve updated and upgraded the website to coincide with Fast Cook’s arrival. We hope you like it. Sign up for our new monthly newsletter if you want to keep on top of the 5:2 story as it progresses well into Year 2 and beyond… For now, I’m back to the chopping board!
11:09 am
6 Mar 14