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If you are reading this on your first diet day then I suspect you are feeling one or other of these common symptoms for the first day. Not everyone gets these but if you are one of them, then read on for some simple ways to combat them and get through the day.

Headaches are a common problem in the first few days of the 2-Day Diet. I believe the main cause of this is a change in caffeine intake. If you normally have a few cups of tea and coffee then a headache is almost a given if you cut down. But as this diet is not about caffeine-reduction and you are most likely to go back to your normal intake tomorrow, then any headache you have today is in vain.

Think about what your average caffeine intake is on a regular day and try and have a similar amount of drinks on a diet day too. I normally incorporate my normal skinny latte and two cups of tea into every diet day. But you do need to count the calories so if your normal caffeinated drinks are too calorific for a diet day then you need to swap to something else. Any coffee drink without milk has negligible calories, think Americano or Espresso. If you prefer a milky drink then make sure you use skimmed milk and don’t overdo the milk. Also worth trying are drinks such as green tea, which is mildly caffeinated and, of course, diet colas are an option.

Drink	approx caffeine content
Espresso, latte, Americano, Cappuccino (small or medium sizes containing one shot of espresso)	75mg
Filter coffee or flat white coffee	110mg
Instant coffee	90mg
Tea (will vary with brewing time)	50mg
Green tea	40mg
Diet coke	42mg
Coke/Coke zero	32mg
Pepsi Max	69mg
Diet pepsi	35mg
40g (1½oz) bar dark chocolate	6mg

As a general guide, your caffeine intake should be below 500mg per day. But if you are sensitive to caffeine or suffer from headaches, restlessness or anxiety you should consider dropping this to less than 250mg. If you have trouble sleeping, try not to consume any caffeine after 3pm. This is because caffeine has a half-life of eight hours. If it is consumed after 3pm, it may still be affecting you at 11pm. For the purposes of the diet, you should be trying to maintain your standard consumption of caffeine so as to maintain a feeling of well-being over your diet day.

Light-headedness or dizziness can be a problem, particularly on your first diet day. This is your body ‘rebelling’ against the diet and saying it can’t cope when really it can! In fact, studies have shown that tests done on people suffering from a ‘blood sugar crash’ have actually had normal blood sugar levels. The first thing to do if you get a wave of light-headedness is to move about and get some fresh air if possible. The wave might well pass in 15 minutes.

If this is still your first week of the diet and you are finding that one or other of these symptoms is limiting your ability to function normally, then you should eat something small and filling. Ideally go for about 100 calories, perhaps a small banana or a Ryvita with a light spread of soft cheese. On these days you will eat 100 calories more in total – so that is 600 for women and 700 for men.

Don’t let it put you off, and you will find the next day easier. Your body adapts quickly and after two weeks it should no longer impact on your feelings of well-being.

Finally, if you are a new starter, the great news is your weight loss in the first week or two is at its most dramatic. After two to three weeks it will stabilise. So push on through, you will see the results on the scales almost immediately.