Lose up to a stone in two weeks! Dr Xand van Tulleken offers his tips and tricks to do just that - and a selection of recipes from his Definitive Diet 

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Ready to shed the pounds? Dr Xand Van Tulleken's Definitive Diet will help

After several weeks of glorious over- indulgence, you're probably feeling ready to shed a few pounds — not to mention feel lighter, brighter and healthier.

Here's the good news: that's not an impossible task. In fact, thanks to the Mail's exclusive serialisation of my Definitive Diet today and all this week, it's easier than ever.

My diet is simple, packed with delicious recipes and really proven to work, however much you want to lose.

As a Harvard and Oxford-educated doctor, I've seen many of my patients struggle with losing weight, despite the extravagant promises of the diet- ing industry.

That's why I decided to do something about it. I made a dedicated study of the world's most popular diets and took all the good bits — while discarding the waffle and gimmicks — to formulate my Definitive Diet.

I'm proof it works. While now I'm a slim, healthy man, that wasn't always the case. In 2009, I weighed 19st before going on my own diet and losing six stone.

All this week I'll be telling you exactly how I did it and how you can do it, too, with these fantastic pullouts packed with delicious recipes, which have been created specifically for the Daily Mail by chef Georgina Davies.

I've based this plan on my personal experience of dieting, weight loss, weight gain, cooking and eating.

But I've also drawn on over a decade of painstaking examination of scientific literature and dieting advice.

As a doctor, I don't just want you to be thinner (if that's your aim), I want you to be healthy, too. I want you to lose fat, not muscle, and I'd like it to be as easy as possible.

Everyone is different, which is why I have devised a flexible plan that helps you tailor-make a diet that works for your life.

So my plan offers three options: choose my quick-fix one-meal-a- day solution and lose up to a stone in two weeks; opt for the slower burn of two meals per day, which could strip you of half a stone of unwanted fat in a fortnight; or follow my blueprint for healthy eating, with three meals a day, to take a steady route to reaching your ideal weight and staying there.

Whichever route you choose in the longer term, I suggest beginning with two weeks on just one meal a day to kick-start your weight loss.

You can use it as a short-term fix to banish the bloat of Christmas excess, and get you firmly on track for healthy eating and sticking to those New Year's resolutions.

Here's the bottom line: if you want to lose weight, you will have to use up more calories than you consume.

You'll need to weigh your portions, work out your daily calorie expenditure (I use myfitnesspal.com — I think it's good) and aim to run a calorie deficit, even though it's hard to be totally accurate when you are calorie counting at home.

When I started properly thinking about shedding excess weight, I wanted results fast. I love food and have a huge appetite, so I decided the best way to restrict my intake of calories was to limit myself to one good meal a day.

For me, dinner is the most important meal — it's non- negotiable. I love eating with friends and I didn't want to compromise on that.

So I devised a plan that worked for me. I gave myself a daily calorie allowance of 800, but I bundled all my calories into that one evening meal. It meant I could eat delicious and nutritious food with huge piles of buttery vegetables and even have space for a dessert.

Dr Xand van Tulleken will be telling us all week how he lost weight and how you can too

Yes, it meant I'd have to skip breakfast and lunch, but very quickly I realised I could put up with being peckish for much of the day if I had a delicious meal to look forward to in the evening.

This really keeps dieting simple. As long as your evening meal is packed with fresh food and vegetables, wholegrains and healthy fats, you can even enjoy a fruit-based dessert and still lose weight.

Just pick any main meal from the delicious options in the 32-page magazine that came with Saturday's paper — if you missed it, email your name and address to helpline@dailymail.co.uk or call Freephone 0808 272 0808 (7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday) and we'll post you one — or select one from the many fabulous dinners in this week's recipe pullouts.

This plan won't be suitable for everyone — those who stick to fasting diets tend to do well.

You'll be hungry and maybe a little slow for some of the afternoon at first.

Yes, you might struggle with discipline. But stick with it and you'll find it's really hard to gain weight if you are eating just one meal per day.

Keep at it for just two weeks while your resolve is at its highest and you'll see the greatest rewards on the scales.

That's when you can ease back a little and switch to the two-meal or three-meal plans, which should be easier to manage long term.

Dr Xand van Tulleken is pictured above before he underwent his transformation

When I'm eating two meals a day, I usually kick off with breakfast — bacon and eggs or porridge are my favourites — then I'll work through lunchtime and I'll know that I can still sit down to a nutritious supper when I get home.

Plenty of highly respected people do this (including Dr David Ludwig, a notable professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health), and there is a large amount of medical evidence to prove fasting is safe and an effective way of losing weight.

On the three-meal-a-day plan, though you won't spend hours of the day feeling hungry, you will still need to be super-vigilant about counting calories, not eating to excess and keeping up with regular exercise.

Three days of delicious recipes to kick things off 

Just focus on your evening meal if you've decided to kick-start your diet with the one-meal-a-day plan.

Bump up your calorie allowance with a large, extra portion, or two or three different types of vegetable (see Wednesday's paper for great ideas).

Those on a two-meal plan have the choice of breakfast or lunch and an evening meal. Pick a healthy egg-based breakfast, porridge or homemade granola (see the recipe in Saturday's magazine) or just combine a dollop of Greek yoghurt with a handful of unsweetened, fresh or frozen berries and a few nuts.

Alternatively, skip breakfast and enjoy lunch instead (see the suggestions here and in Friday's paper).

If you don't have much weight to lose or just want to maintain your size, enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner, but adjust your portion sizes accordingly — and keep an eye on your total daily calorie intake.

BREAKFAST 

Cinnamon apple overnight oats

 Serves 2 (383 calories)

2 apples, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

100g porridge oats

Juice of ½ lemon

175ml milk

175ml water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Simmer the apples in a small saucepan with 2 tbsp water, the honey and cinnamon for 15-20 minutes, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients, add the cooled apples and refrigerate overnight. When you're ready to eat, stir and loosen up with a little extra milk or water, if needed.

 Peanut butter & banana porridge

Serves 2 (388 calories)

100g porridge oats

300ml water

200ml milk

Pinch salt

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 banana, mashed

Bring the oats, water, milk and salt to a light simmer in a small saucepan. Add the peanut butter and mashed banana, and leave to cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately, with an extra splash of cold milk if desired.

 LUNCH

Courgette & Parmesan frittata 

Serves 2 (274 calories)

6 eggs

1 courgette, grated

2 spring onions, sliced

15g dill, chopped

Small knob of butter

15g Parmesan, grated

Heat the grill to high. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk briefly with a fork. Season and add the courgette, spring onions and dill. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in the egg and vegetable mixture. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and grill until golden and set. Serve with a green salad.

Cauliflower & parsnip soup

Serves 2 (224 calories)

250g cauliflower (about ½ a large one), chopped

2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled, but kept whole

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

400-450ml hot chicken or vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.

Place the cauliflower, parsnips, onion and garlic on a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft, turning regularly so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Blend the roasted vegetables and the stock (added ladle by ladle to get the desired consistency) in a food processor or with a stick blender, until smooth.

Pour into a saucepan and heat before serving in bowls.

 Carrot & courgette fritters

 Serves 2 (261 calories)

1 courgette, grated

1 carrot, grated

50g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

2 eggs

20g mint leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Put the courgette and carrot in a sieve and press out as much water as you can with the back of a spoon. Place vegetables, flour, baking powder, eggs and mint in a bowl, combine then season. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Spoon mixture into pan to create 6 fritters. Cook for 7-10 minutes each side, flipping often to prevent burning. Serve with garlicky yoghurt and a crunchy green salad.

DINNER 

Cod parcels with tomato, olives, capers and rocket 

 

Serves 2 (295 calories)

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

50g pitted black olives, roughly chopped

1 heaped tsp capers, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

15g flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the fish

Salt and pepper

50g rocket

2 skinless cod loins

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients apart from the rocket and cod. Season well with salt and pepper. Take a good length of foil or baking parchment (enough to wrap the cod and vegetables) and lay over a baking tray.

Place the rocket in the centre of the foil/paper, spoon over the tomato and olive mixture, then lay the cod loins on top. Season the fish well with salt and pepper and drizzle with the extra olive oil. Bring the edges of the foil/paper together and fold them to create a sealed parcel. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Carefully unwrap the parcels and serve with the vegetables and the juices spooned over the fish.

Baking in foil or paper keeps fish moist, while infusing it with any flavours you have added to the parcel. You can use any type of fish fillets, but you will have to adjust the cooking time depending on their thickness.

 Five-spice beef with smashed avocado

Serves 4 (571 calories)

1 tbsp olive oil

350g minced beef

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tsp Chinese five spice

Pinch chilli flakes

1 avocado

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper

2 Little Gem lettuces, separated into leaves

2 tbsp natural yoghurt

Small bunch coriander, chopped

Heat oil in a frying pan over a high heat, add beef and cook, turning, until golden brown. Reduce heat and add garlic, five spice and chilli, mix well and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and stone avocado and mash with lime juice in a small bowl and season well. To serve, arrange lettuce leaves on a large plate, spoon beef into leaves, then top with mashed avocado, yoghurt and coriander. This great mid-week dinner is quick and easy to put together.

 Spiced aubergine and chickpea ratatouille

Serves 2 (450 calories)

1 aubergine, cubed

400g can tomatoes

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp sunflower oil

Salt and pepper

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Chopped coriander, parsley or basil leaves

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

1 courgette, grated

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.

Place the aubergine, tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon, garlic and sunflower oil on a baking tray and mix together. Season well with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 35 minutes. Add the drained chickpeas, stir well and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir through the herbs, lemon zest and juice and courgette before serving.

This makes an excellent, light one-tray lunch or supper. You could also add a big dollop of Greek yoghurt. Make this dish more filling by stirring in cooked brown rice or quinoa, or serve with a baked salmon fillet.

 The fine art of snacking

There’s such a huge snacking culture in the UK — we have somehow been duped into believing we can’t survive between meals without snacks.

However, if you're following my plan, an occasional healthy snack can stop you making a disastrous meal choice and can boost flagging energy levels.

My main advice on snacking is this: do it when you're hungry, not when you're bored — when calorie-free green tea can be brought in to play. Plan ahead and make them yourself. The best snack of all is an apple with nuts or a small piece of cheese. Seven almonds and a 1 in (2cm) cube of cheese will only set you back 100 calories, but can kid your body into thinking you've had a meal.

Alternatively aim for high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate snacks. Don't go above 200 calories and plan when to eat them. Fitting snacks into a routine will help fight off hunger — particularly in the early days when your body is geared up to expect considerably more food and dieting can seem tough.

Orange and almond granola bites

128 calories

200g pitted dates

60ml warm water

125g peanut butter

150g oats

100g flaked almonds

20g sesame seeds

Pinch of salt

Zest of 1 unwaxed orange

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.

Line a baking tin (20cm or 23cm square) with baking parchment. Whizz the dates, water and peanut butter together in a blender. Add the oats and pulse. Put in a bowl, then add the almonds, sesame, salt and zest.

Spread to a 1-2cm thickness in the tin. Bake for 10-12 minutes until firm. Cool in the tin then on a wire rack.

Cut into 20 servings.

Beetroot, cashew and sesame dip

Serves 4 (144 calories)

Make up a batch of your favourite dip at the weekend when you have time to spend in the kitchen. Keep in the fridge to enjoy during the week with crunchy raw vegetables, or spread thickly on a slice of wholemeal toast.

75g cashew nuts, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes

150g beetroot (raw or cooked, but without vinegar)

50g natural yoghurt

1 tsp sesame oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper

Remove the nuts from the soaking water and blend in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients until the dip is smooth.

Pea & mint dip

Serves 2 (162 calories)

200g peas, defrosted withboiling water

3 tbsp yoghurt

25g mint

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Blitz together all theingredients except the salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Season well. Enjoy with vegetable crudites

Chocolate dipped fruit

150 calories

1 satsuma, peeled and split into segments

5 strawberries

50g good quality, dark chocolate

Melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water, or on low in a microwave. Dip half of each piece of fruit in the melted chocolate and leave to set on a tray lined with baking paper. One serving is around five small strawberries or one satsuma.

Soy roast nuts & seeds

160 calories a handful

250g mixed nuts and seeds (try cashews, almonds and pumpkin seeds)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.

In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients. Spread on a greased baking tray lined with baking parchment and roast for 10 minutes.

Medical disclaimer

Check with your GP before starting a diet if you are underweight or frail or have a history of psychiatric illness, are under 18 or pregnant or are breastfeeding, on medication or have Type 1 diabetes.

• Adapted by Louise Atkinson from How To Lose Weight Well: Keep Weight Off Forever, The Healthy, Simple Way by Dr Xand van Tulleken with recipes by Georgina Davies (Quadrille, £15). © Xand van Tulleken 2017. To order this book for £10.50 (offer valid to January 28), visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. Dr Xand’s TV series How To Lose Weight Well is on Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.