Food & Drink

Feast & famine

“The Fast Diet” says you can eat anything you like — beer, pizza, cake — five days a week. (Jennifer Polixenni Brankin)

Every Monday and Thursday, glamorous British journalist Mimi Spencer follows the same ultra-restrictive diet — low-sugar muesli, a splash of

1 percent milk and a couple of strawberries at breakfast, an apple for lunch and, for dinner, arugula salad with a slice of chicken or tuna.

The total daily calorie count is a measly 500. Yes, she frequently feels famished. But, according to Spencer, the returns are well worth the occasional hunger pang.

Five-foot-7, size 4 and weighing 119 pounds, Spencer has the perfect model figure. Yet, less than six months ago, 23 pounds heavier, she was an ample (but unhappy) size 8.

“I am fitter and healthier, more alive than ever,” says the 45-year-old mother-of-two, who eats “whatever I want” the other five days of the week. “I have never felt better.”

She shared the secrets of her success with The Post ahead of the US launch Tuesday of “The FastDiet,” the guide she wrote with UK doctor Michael Mosley, which is causing a sensation across the pond.

Also known as “The 5 Day: 2 Day Diet,” the controversial plan claims to reduce the chance of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and several types of cancers.

The formula couldn’t be simpler: Consume 500 calories for two non-consecutive days (men are allowed 600 calories) and eat normally the rest of the week. There’s zero calorie-counting on the so-called “nonfasting days.” No food is banned.

Psychologically, you are more likely to stick with the diet because the starvation only lasts for two separate periods of 24 hours (and hopefully, you’ll be asleep for at least eight of those).

“It’s really hit a nerve, and there’s this incredible energy around it,” says Spencer, whose book currently tops the UK list of best sellers. “At the start, we thought: ‘This could be revolutionary; this could change the health of a lot of people and develop our relationship with food.’ And that is exactly what’s happening.

“If it happens in the States as well, that would be phenomenal.”

But the plan has its skeptics. Some experts fear that eating a quarter of your usual calorie intake twice a week will lead to a cycle of bingeing and starving. “They’ll think they can eat carte blanche those other five days,” says Joan Salge Blake, of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Where is the change in behavior to learn how to keep [the weight] off?”

Adds Keri Glassman, a New York City-based dietitian who contributes to Women’s Health magazine: “I don’t argue with the science, I argue with the big picture.

“It could actually initiate bad behaviors and yo-yo dieting.”

But others are supportive. “The scientific evidence is strong that intermittent fasting can improve health,” says Mark Mattson, a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The book cites a recent study by the University of Illinois showing that intermittent fasting slows the aging process and boosts brain power.

Other experiments show that 5:2 followers develop better sensitivity to insulin, and the ancient practice of fasting (advocated by most religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam) speeds up cell renewal and metabolism.

In other words, you lose weight.

Susy Scott, 54, of Dallas, Texas, became an early adopter of the diet due to health concerns. Diagnosed with pre-diabetes in January, she has been following 5:2 for just over a month, and has already lost 8 pounds.

“I’m finding it very doable,” she says. “It’s easy because it’s just for a couple of days, so I don’t feel deprived.”

On her two fasting days, the legal secretary-turned-writer gets by with an egg and a piece of ham in the morning, and a hearty soup with a chunk of bread for dinner. She drinks plenty of sugar-free liquids and green tea to stay hydrated.

“I’ve never felt faint,” insists the 5-foot-2 Scott, whose goal weight is 152 pounds. The rest of the week, though, she keeps to a “pretty good diet,” drinks red wine and eats treats.

In common with Scott, Spencer prefers to fast on Mondays and Thursdays — “nothing [social] seems to happen on a Monday, and you might want to get the second fast in [on Thursday] before the weekend,” she observes — but it’s up to the individual and the days can be switched around.

“You have to apply willpower — but, to me, that’s a small price to pay for the positive benefits of what your jeans look like and your potential longevity,” she says.

Spencer believes it’s better to fast on days when you are busy, so your mind is taken off the hunger pains.

“You have to develop ways to work around it,” she says. “The art of distraction is really important — you might phone a friend, go online to a forum, drink green tea or even do a jigsaw [puzzle].

“When it’s not a threat [like it would be in the developing world], hunger is not a tidal wave; it’s a gentle lapping, and it comes in waves.”

But what about the temptation to pig out on nonfasting days? “I wouldn’t suggest going crazy hog-wild,” advises Spencer. “Maybe some people do that, because they go: ‘Whoop whoop, I’m free!’ but that’s probably not a benefit in the long run.

“But if it helps compliance and gets you through [fasting days], nobody is going to tell you off.”

In fact, another reported effect of the diet is you generally feel less hungry. Because the diet trains you to control your appetite, you’re less likely to binge eat on your days off.

“People find their appetites modify because they’re intermittently fasting, so they don’t quite fancy that bag of chips or the chocolate fudge cake,” says Spencer. “It’s actually quite liberating.

“They can have [the unhealthy food] but, you know what? They don’t want it.

“The dieting industry breeds dependency, but [the 5:2 diet] is giving them power and control over their own appetite.”

Novelist Kate Harrison, 45, couldn’t agree more. The self-confessed diet junkie from Brighton, England, says 5:2 is the only plan that has consistently worked for her. A vegetarian, she lost 21 pounds in six months by reducing her calories to 500 per day for two days a week.

“On a typical fasting day, I’ll have salad with beet root, goat cheese and maybe some eggs [for lunch] and then soup for dinner,” says Harrison, who seldom bothers with breakfast. “Other days, I’ll quite happily eat cake, chocolate, cookies and bread, but it’s unusual for me to have so much that I feel uncomfortable.

“But, if I eat it, I feel zero guilt. That’s what I think has been missing from other programs.”

The diet is already building buzz here: It will be the subject of a “Nightline” documentary and a riveting PBS series in April.

Harrison was blown away by the regime when she first saw it on a British TV show featuring Dr. Mosley, and went on to write her own e-guide, “The 5:2 Diet Book.” It sold upward of 400,000 copies online (a 2,100-member Facebook support group was recently formed) and came out in paperback in the UK last week. It will be published in the US this fall.

“At first, I thought fasting was something that a person like me could never do,” says the 5-foot-4 author, who shrank from an American size 12 to a size 6 and now weighs 140 pounds. “But then I saw there was a way of doing it, which meant eating a lot less, but only temporarily.

“The biggest revelation for me was not being afraid of being hungry. It comes and goes, but it’s manageable.

“It’s different if you can’t afford food, but it’s nothing to be scared of when you know you can end it.

“This new way of eating has changed my life.”

Additional reporting by Doree Lewak

jridley@nypost.com

The FastDiet: How It Works

• Women eat 500 calories per day and men eat 600 calories per day on two nonconsecutive days a week. “Eat mostly plants and proteins on fast days,” advises co-author Mimi Spencer. Eat whatever you like on the five other days of the week.

• The diet won’t affect your social life: You can be flexible on your choice of fast days and even the 24-hour period (e.g from 1 p.m. to 1 p.m.).

• Since you are eating 75 percent less than normal twice a week, your average daily calorie intake will be lower, your metabolism will work faster and you will burn fat.

• Fasting periods lower levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which appears to accelerate aging. Lower levels of IGF-1 seem to switch on the DNA repair genes that renew cells — lessening the risk of age-related diseases like cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

• Studies show that fasting can improve mood and mental sharpness. “Imagine a caveman, short of food,” suggests Harrison, author of “The 5:2 Diet Book.” “He had to work harder to figure out where his next meal was going to come from.”

• There are no special shakes, drinks or bars, that cost a small fortune. But, on fast days, you can eat calorie-counted ready meals for ease, from brands such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Kashi or Smart Ones from Weight Watchers.

For more information, visit thefastdiet.co.uk or the5-2dietbook.com

Low-calorie recipes from “The FastDiet”

MUSHROOM AND SPINACH FRITTATA

(245 calories)

Fry ½ medium onion, sliced (27 calories), in 1 teaspoon olive oil (27 calories) in a nonstick skillet until translucent. Add 2 small white mushrooms or 1 large white mushroom, chopped (3 calories), and cook until the mushrooms are barely tender. Add 1 loosely packed cup baby spinach (8 calories) and cook for 2 minutes more. Pour in 2 small eggs, beaten (180 calories). Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes, and finish under a hot broiler until the eggs are set.

TUNA, BEAN AND GARLIC SALAD

(267 calories)

Combine 1½ cups canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (108 calories), one 5-ounce can solid white tuna in spring water, drained (119 calories), 2 ounces grape tomatoes (16 calories), and 1 loosely packed cup baby spinach (8 calories) in a salad bowl.

In a small bowl, combine 1 crushed garlic clove (3 calories), the juice and grated zest of lemon (1 calorie), ½ teaspoon olive oil (12 calories), and a splash of white wine vinegar. Drizzle over the salad, and toss to mix well.

THAI SALAD

(322 calories)

Soak 1.8 ounces rice vermicelli noodles (194 calories) in water, according to package instructions.

Combine 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (20 calories), the juice of 1 lime (1 calorie), 1 teaspoon sugar (16 calories), 2 scallions (white and green parts), trimmed and thinly sliced (5 calories), and 1 very small red chili, finely chopped (1 calorie) in a bowl. Mix well. Add 10 very small cooked and peeled shrimp (30 calories) and 2 large carrots, peeled and grated (55 calories). Drain the noodles and add them. Toss well.

THAI STEAK SALAD

(260 calories)

Grill a 5-ounce sirloin steak (188 calories) until cooked to your preferred doneness. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Slice the steak very thin across the grain.

In a bowl, combine 2 cups shredded romaine (16 calories) and 1 cup shredded savoy cabbage (24 calories). In a separate bowl, combine the juice of 1 lime (2 calories), 1 teaspoon sugar (16 calories), 1 clove crushed garlic (3 calories), 1 very small red chili, seeded and finely chopped (1 calorie), and 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (10 calories). Pour over the salad, and toss to combine. Place the salad on a plate, and arrange the steak slices on top.