Martin Clunes, the actor known for roles in Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly, shed an impressive three stone in just three months by following a diet that allowed him to 'eat anything' for five days of the week. The 64-year-old star credited the 5:2 diet, also known as The Fast Diet, for his significant weight loss.
Clunes' Weight Loss Journey
In an interview, Clunes admitted, 'I was fat – and while I was getting heavy, I had tired knees and stuff. So I thought I'd try that diet and the weight came off.' He added, 'It's great – and it's supposed to be good for cholesterol, too.' The actor, who appeared in the hit film Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie earlier this year, continues to maintain a trim physique.
How the 5:2 Diet Works
The 5:2 diet, popularised by the late TV doctor Michael Mosley, is an intermittent fasting programme. It involves eating normally for five days of the week and drastically reducing calorie intake on the other two days, known as 'fasting' days. On these days, women typically consume 500 calories and men 600 calories. Healthline experts recommend choosing two non-consecutive fasting days, such as Mondays and Thursdays, and eating two or three small meals on those days.
Former UK Chancellor George Osborne also adopted the diet, consuming just 600 calories on two days a week and eating whatever he liked on the other five. A colleague noted, 'Like all busy people, George doesn't always have the chance to focus properly on what he's eating. But he started to look at his diet a bit more closely and decided that the 5:2 was the way forward.'
Celebrity Endorsements
Other A-listers, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Jennifer Aniston, have championed similar fasting regimes. Clunes later modified his approach to a 6:1 diet, fasting one day a week. He stated, 'Now I do 6:1 and that seems to work fine. I eat anything I want on the other days.' He also noted, 'I have a couple of big horses and ride them. I'm very healthy. This is a difficult age, obviously, but I'm doing fine – I'm not on any medication.'
Benefits and Warnings
The British Heart Foundation acknowledges potential benefits of the 5:2 diet, such as easier calorie restriction and flexibility, as no food groups are completely eliminated. However, it warns of possible downsides, including hunger, tiredness, and irritability on fasting days. The foundation advises leaving at least one non-fasting day between fasting days to manage these symptoms.
