Martin Clunes 'eat anything' 5-day diet saw him lose three stone in three months

Actor Martin Clunes lost an impressive three stone in just three months - and put it down to a dieting method that allowed him to 'eat anything' for five days of the week. The Doc Martin star disclosed in an interview that he adopted the '5:2 diet', which resulted in his considerable weight loss. "I was fat – and while I was getting heavy, I had tired knees and stuff," Clunes, now 64, admitted in an interview. "So I thought I'd try that diet and the weight came off. "It’s great – and it’s supposed to be good for cholesterol, too." He still looks trim today, as film fans will have seen when he appeared in hit blockbuster movie Wuthering Heights alongside Margot Robbie earlier this year. The 5:2 diet, also known as The Fast Diet, is an intermittent fasting programme made famous by the late TV doctor Michael Mosley . It works by allowing normal calorie consumption for five days of the week, while dramatically cutting calorie intake on the remaining two days. Former UK Chancellor George Osborne lost weight after adopting the diet. For two days a week, he ate just 600 calories - and whatever he liked on the other five days. A colleague said at the time he adopted the craze: "Like all busy people, George doesn't always have the chance to focus properly on what he's eating. But he started to look at his diet a bit more closely and decided that the 5:2 was the way forward." The two days are known as 'fasting' days, during which dieters typically restrict their daily calorie consumption to 500 for women and 600 for men. Healthline experts explain: "You can choose whichever two days of the week you prefer, as long as there is at least one non-fasting day in between them. "One common way of planning the week is to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, with two or three small meals, then eat normally for the rest of the week." Clunes applauded the diet for its positive impact on cholesterol levels, though later modified his approach to incorporate 6:1 fasting days. A-listers including the 'Sherlock' star Benedict Cumberbatch and Hollywood's Jennifer Aniston have similarly championed comparable fasting regimes. "It's easy and seems to keep the weight off me," Martin revealed during a 2017 interview. He then modified the diet and said at the time: ""Now I do 6:1 and that seems to work fine. I eat anything I want on the other days." "I have a couple of big horses and ride them. I’m very healthy. This is a difficult age, obviously, but I’m doing fine – I’m not on any medication." The British Heart Foundation says there are benefits to the diet. But it also warns there are downsides. Its website states: "There are a few reasons why you may find the 5:2 diet a useful way to eat less calories. Some people prefer only having to eat less on certain days of the week, instead of every day. "And unlike other, more restrictive diets, you do not have to cut out different types of food or food groups completely on the 5:2 diet. It’s also relatively flexible – you can choose to fast on any 2 days of the week you prefer. "However, some people may feel more hungry, tired or irritable on fast days. It’s worth leaving at least 1 non-fasting day in between to manage these symptoms."