A summer cut diet plan that fits around real life

Every June, people try to lose ten kilos in four weeks. It rarely works, and the rebound often arrives before the holiday does. A steady eight-week cut is more realistic, and it leaves room for the social life that makes summer worth having.

Weeks 1–2: set up

Find your maintenance calories, then set a deficit of 300–500 kcal and protein of 1.8–2.2 g per kg. Pick three breakfasts and three lunches you like and rotate them. The less you think during the week, the more energy you have for the weekends.

Weeks 3–6: weekday structure, weekend flexibility

Your body responds to your weekly intake, not to a single day. If you eat 200 kcal under target from Monday to Friday, you have about 1,000 extra calories for the weekend while staying on track. That's a meal out or a few drinks, not a free-for-all.

• Keep breakfasts and lunches the same on weekdays.
• Make dinners high-protein and vegetable-heavy.
• Plan the weekend meal you're looking forward to and build the week around it.

Barbecues and summer parties

• Start with grilled chicken, fish, prawns or lean burgers.
• Fill half your plate with salad and grilled vegetables before you go back for sides.
• Watch the sauces, dressings and mayonnaise-based salads.
• Have one plate, eat slowly, and stay away from the snack table while you talk.

Alcohol

Alcohol contains 7 kcal per gram, nearly as much as fat, and it lowers your willpower at the next meal. A pint of beer is about 200–250 kcal, a large glass of wine about 200 kcal, and a gin and slimline tonic about 60–100. Decide in advance how many you'll have and alternate with water.

Weeks 7–8: hold steady

Don't slash calories in the last two weeks. Keep training hard, keep protein high and sleep well. Most of the 'last-minute' change you see before a holiday is water and less bloating, which comes from regular meals, less salt and less alcohol, not starvation.

After the holiday

Go back to maintenance calories for a week or two before deciding on the next goal. Most of the weight you see after a holiday is water and food volume, and it usually drops within a few days of normal eating.