How to Lose Weight Well: Summer Special

For those not affected by you know what, the past few months have seen us being bombarded with advice on staying fit.

During the pandemic’s early days, as TV bosses wondered how they were going to fill hours of airtime, some keep fit gurus were quick to jump on the advice bandwagon.

Meanwhile, many felt like it was the period between Christmas and New Year, when there didn’t seem much harm in that extra bag of crisps, or third chocolate bar.

Though lockdown has been lifted in some parts of the UK, it’s clear we’re not out of the woods yet. What we need is even more diet advice, preferably from one of the most in-demand experts on the box.

No, not Michael Mosley, though his show Lose a Stone in 21 Days will be offering sage advice on Channel 4 this Wednesday.

First we have Dr Xand van Tulleken. This week he pops up with sibling Chris in the one-off BBC documentary Surviving the Virus: My Brother and Me, a film which shows us the full horror of the pandemic.

Here, however, he joins forces with Dr Helen Lawal. They ask assorted Brits to road test popular and talked-about diets.

For those wondering how they can cook such body-friendly dishes, you’re in luck because Stacie Stewart shows us how turn the diets into delicious meals. No show like this would be complete without a couple of friends and some random deadline to slim down for. In this case it’s pals Sophie and Zoe, who have one week to look even more fabulous for a pending event.

While Sophie tries out the citrus diet, Zoe tries the more alluring sexy pineapple diet. No, that doesn’t mean she eats nothing but pineapple every day. Just every other day. The question is: which plan will help the body-conscious buddies? Well, all will be revealed before the closing credits roll. Before then we meet Barbara and Denise, a seasoned duo who go on six-week diets to slim down for a trip to Ibiza.

Barbara tries out the summer salad diet, while London cabbie Denise eats up to eight slices of bread a day on the summer sandwich diet.

Just watching such inspiring sights is enough to prevent that extra trip to the fridge during the ad breaks. But there’s plenty more advice where that came from.

Theo and Ervis are friends who want to lose weight for a pool party in three months’ time. Helen’s Greek island longevity diet could be just the ticket for ex-professional footballer Theo. Helen takes her inspiration from the Mediterranean and the long lives of the Ikarian people.

Meanwhile, for electrician Ervis, Xand has designed the South American Diet. That focuses on the wide variety of colour and flavour in the healthiest South American cuisine.

Xand also investigates slimming teas and finds out whether vitamins are better taken from pills or from our plates. And if none of that takes your fancy, you could always try the age-old ELMM plan. Eat less, move more.

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