Woman's Own Egg and Grapefruit Diet

You've fake tanned and bought a new bikini ready for your hol next week, but oh no - a few vanity pounds are showing!

Most of us have a small bulge we'd rather ditch, but when the problem's small and the event's big, a crash diet can be a joy. This week's emergency eating plan is the healthy, filling egg and grapefruit diet (though you can eat oranges as well). You should lose 7lb in seven days and the best thing is the amazing nutritional combination, which will make you look great!

The science bit
Researchers in the US put 100 obese people into three groups: one ate grapefruit with meals, another drank grapefruit juice and the third added nothing. After 12 weeks, the first group lost 3.6lb, the second lost 3lb and the third lost no weight.

Suggestions for success:
1. Start each meal with a glass of ruby grapefruit juice or ½ grapefruit. Just 35 calories and it takes the edge off your hunger.
2. Try a Florida cocktail as a starter - mixed grapefruit and orange segments.
3. Add grapefruit to salads - great with crab, prawns chicken, avocado, watercress and celery.

- Eggs and grapefruit or oranges are a brilliant nutritional combination - the iron in eggs is better absorbed when you have vitamin C. Always have citrus fruits when eating eggs.
- Eggs are a 'complete' food, containing all eight essential amino acids for growth, plus they're high in protein.
- Egg whites are pure protein, with only 10 calories each.

Where to next?
The Egg and Grapefruit Diet food plan