The 14 day weight loss plan: How to lose 7lbs in two weeks (2024)

Lose 7lbs in weight and gain a more athletic physique in just two weeks with Nigel McDermott's 14-day Executive Eating Plan.

In this part of my Executive Fitness Plan I will tell you how by changing what you eat for just two weeks you can lose as much as 7lbs in weight and gain a leaner, more athletic physique. Combine this eating plan with the Executive Workout, and in just 14 days you can totally transform your body.

You will build stronger, firmer muscles, get a flatter stomach, lose puffiness from the face and around the eyes, have clearer, brighter skin, feel alert and more focused, with improved concentration levels, feel energised and more dynamic and regain your zest for life. Stick to this programme and I guarantee you will achieve results.

This eating plan is perfectly balanced yet incredibly simple to follow. There are no fiddly recipes to make and you will still be able to enjoy dinners at good restaurants.

Having spent years researching every diet and weight-loss strategy available, I've come up with six principles that guarantee success for losing body fat. These principles are not complex but, used in combination, form a powerful nutritional strategy.

Once you have absorbed these six principles, the key is for you to take ownership of every micro-step of your programme. Like the 14-day Executive Workout the key here is to use this as a kick-start to long-term healthy eating. Once you see the weight drop off and feel more energetic and focused, you will be inspired to eat healthily for life.

Whether you are most concerned by an expanding waistline, or chronic stress and tiredness, the answer is eat right, exercise right, and you will feel like a new man. It's a proven strategy for success. The power is in your hands – get ready to excel.

The Six Weight-Loss Principles

1. Drink at least one litre of water a day

Water is important in weight loss. Fat cells are made up of a dry mucus-like substance to make them better at storing fat. The more hydrated your fat cells the easier it will be to eliminate unwanted fat. Dehydration is a common cause of tiredness, poor concentration, reduced alertness, recurrent headaches and mood changes, and it can also lead to constipation, kidney stones, and even a blood clot, heart attack or stroke, as it increases the thickness and stickiness of blood.

2. Always get your five daily portions of fruit and vegetables

Canned frozen and dried fruit count too; potatoes are classed as carbohydrate and do not count as one of your five a day; a serving of vegetables is approximately one handful; you can hide veg in things like Bolognese sauce, or blend fruit to make a smoothie.

3.Implement a carb curfew after six

Don'teat carbs in the evening, they will sit in your muscles and turn into fat while you're sleeping. Carbs also affect your insulin levels, disturbing your sleep patterns.

Cutting carbs after 6pm also helps cut your overall daily calorie intake without you having to try too hard. You will feel less bloated and fuller for longer.

4. Cut right down on alcohol

I would prefer you to be alcohol-free for the duration of this programme, but at most consume one glass of alcoholic drink per day. The calories contained in alcohol are more readily converted into acetate which the body will use as fuel instead of using fat. Your body will not start breaking down fat until it has cleared itself of alcohol and it is a lot less efficient at burning fat when you have alcohol in your system.

5.Eat three portion-controlled meals a day

Lots of people who come to see me have pretty healthy diets, but are still not losing weight. An effective weight-loss programme must focus on portion sizes – so we don't count calories or grammes of fat, we use managed, fist-sized portions. For example, breakfast is a fist-sized portion of porridge and an apple. Dinner might be a large chicken breast, which is about the size of a fist, and so on.

6. Snack twice a day

The aim is not to starve yourself – which makes your body hold onto fat because it thinks food is scarce – but to provide nutritious high protein, low carb snacks to ensure you have the right kind of fuel to keep you going until your next meal time.Proteinfills you up for longer and helps to keep your blood sugar stable, which in turn helps stabilise your energy levels.

Your 14-day weight-loss plan

Day one

• Breakfast: handful of wheat-based cereal, skimmed milk, apple.
• Mid-morning snack: peach.
• Lunch: pasta with tuna (a handful), salad.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: sauteed chicken, steamed asparagus and French beans.
• After dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day two

• Breakfast: grilled tomatoes, 2 wholewheat toast.
• Mid-morning snack: pear.
• Lunch: 2 slices rye bread, smoked salmon, green salad.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: grilled chicken, steamed mangetout, watercress & spinach salad.
• After-dinner snack: protein drink.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day three

• Breakfast: porridge, skimmed milk.
• Mid-morning snack: blueberries.
• Lunch: grilled chicken, brown rice, steamed vegetables.
• Mid-afternoon snack: 2 sugar-free oatcakes, cottage cheese.
• Dinner: roast pork fillet, apple sauce, steamed broccoli & cauliflower.
• After-dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day four

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs (1 yolk, 3 egg whites) 2 slices wholewheat toast.
• Mid-morning snack: mixed berries.
• Lunch: ham sandwich on wholewheat bread.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: grilled trout, steamed asparagus, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: handful soya nuts.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day five

• Breakfast: grilled mackerel, 2 wholewheat toast.
• Mid-morning snack: strawberries.
• Lunch: roast turkey, boiled potatoes, steamed mixed vegetables.
• Mid-afternoon snack: crisp bread, cottage cheese.
• Dinner: quorn & vegetable stir-fry.
• After-dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day six

• Breakfast: muesli (no added sugar), skimmed milk.
• Mid-morning snack: raspberries.
• Lunch: lentil soup, 1 wholewheat roll, an apple.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: cold roast gammon, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: handful soya nuts.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day seven

• Breakfast: oat-based cereal, skimmed milk.
• Mid-morning snack: an apple.
• Lunch: roast fillet beef, roast potatoes (a handful), steamed mixed veg.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: grilled salmon, salad.
• After-dinner snack: grapes.
• Drinks:1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day eight

• Breakfast: handful of wheat-based cereal, skimmed milk, apple.
• Mid-morning snack: orange.
• Lunch: baked potato, low-fat cheese, tomato salad.
• Mid-afternoon snack: popcorn.
• Dinner: chicken, tomato & veg casserole.
• After dinner snack: 2 plums.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day nine

• Breakfast: toasted bagel, baked beans.
• Mid-morning snack: cherries.
• Lunch: turkey sandwich on rye bread, green salad.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: grilled fillet steak, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day ten

• Breakfast: porridge, skimmed milk.
• Mid-morning snack: kiwi fruit.
• Lunch: roast turkey, boiled potatoes, peas.
• Mid-afternoon snack: toasted bagel with Marmite.
• Dinner: omelette with peas and sweetcorn, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: protein shake.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day eleven

• Breakfast: grilled kippers, 2 slices rye toast.
• Mid-morning snack: orange.
• Lunch: pasta with tuna/tomato sauce, green salad.
• Mid-afternoon snack: popcorn.
• Dinner: baked monkfish, steamed French beans & baby corn.
• After-dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks:1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas

Day twelve

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs (1 yolk, 3 egg whites) 2 slices wholewheat toast.
• Mid-morning snack: raspberries.
• Lunch: grilled chicken, basmati rice, steamed spinach.
• Mid-afternoon snack: toasted bagel, cottage cheese.
• Dinner: grilled salmon, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: handful soya nuts.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day thirteen

• Breakfast: nutrition smoothie (soya milk, mixed berries, oats, seeds).
• Mid-morning snack: kiwi fruit.
• Lunch: ham salad sandwich on wholewheat bread.
• Mid-afternoon snack: protein bar.
• Dinner: quorn & veg stir-fry.
• After-dinner snack: low-fat yoghurt.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

Day fourteen

• Breakfast: grilled kippers, 2 wholewheat toast.
• Mid-morning snack: strawberries.
• Lunch: roast fillet beef, roast potatoes (a handful), steamed mixed veg.
• Mid-afternoon snack: crispbread, cottage cheese.
• Dinner: grilled trout, baked potato with low-fat cheese, mixed salad.
• After-dinner snack: 2 plums.
• Drinks: 1ltr water, 1 coffee, 2 herbal teas.

The New Rules of Power-Dining

1. Don't avoid eating out. Just choose something that will help you achieve your goals rather than hinder your success.
2. When looking through a menu, imagine your body is a high-quality car that needs high-quality fuel to be at its best.
3. Have a healthy snack before going out.
4. Choose olives instead of bread before a meal.
5. Have two starters instead of a starter and a main course.
6. Fill up on extra salad or veg instead of dessert.
7. Leave enough time between courses for your body to register what it has just eaten.
8. Choose foods that are not fried or served in heavy sauces.
9. If having dessert, ask for a sorbet or fruit selection.
10. Drink lots of water before, during and after your meal.
11. Chew food slowly, putting down your cutlery between mouthfuls, allowing for plenty of good conversation/negotiating.
12. Do not tell people you are trying to lose weight, or on a diet. Simply state you are in training, or on a health and fitness plan.

This article was originally published in 2009. ​

Related Topics

• Weight loss