It’s Monday. The wedding is on Saturday. If you have left it this late, you will doubtless be a friend, rather than a bride or groom – although a panic stricken soon-to-be-wed who thinks he or she has run out of time has been known.

Either way – if you think you have no time to fit into that dress – or waistcoat – think again. By sticking to our five-day plan you can lose a pound a day, tackle bloating and shed the excess fluid that leads to puffy hands, ankles and feet.

Quite literally, everything will look and feel better, from dresses and suits to bracelets, watches and strappy sandals.

BREAKFAST

Strawberry and melon

150g chopped strawberries
150g chopped honeydew melon
200g low-fat vanilla-flavoured yoghurt
1tsp dark agave nectar

Place the fruit in a bowl; add the yoghurt and then the agave nectar. Mix thoroughly and serve.

Breakfast super blend

100g halved strawberries
1 ripe peach, pitted and quartered, or 200g plain yoghurt
100ml skimmed milk
1tbsp oat bran
1tbsp dark agave nectar
10g chopped walnuts

Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz to preferred consistency.

Raspberry and ricotta breakfast wrap

1 whole-wheat tortilla
2tsp “fruit-only”, strawberry preserve
100g ricotta
100g sliced raspberries (or strawberries)
10g flaked almonds, toasted

Spread preserve on tortilla. Top with ricotta cheese and sliced fruit. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Starting from one end, roll tightly. Foil-wrap for easier eating.

Big brekkie

1tsp olive oil
60g cherry tomatoes, halved
Black pepper, sea salt
2 eggs
1 slice multigrain toast

In a small pan, add the olive oil and sauté the cherry tomatoes seasoned with a pinch of herb salt and some black pepper for 5 mins, adding a little water if the tomatoes begin to stick. Put to one side and brush a nonstick frying pan with oil and crack in the eggs. Fry to your liking and serve on the toast, with tomatoes.

Boiled eggs and sourdough toast

2 eggs
Slice of sourdough toast
Small serving of butter

Boil the eggs to your liking and serve with a slice of sourdough bread toasted.

Allow to cool before spreading with a small serving of butter.

LUNCH

Open crab sandwich

100g crabmeat (fresh or canned in water, not brine)
Dessertspoon chilli sauce
A little horseradish
½ tsp Dijon mustard
1 sliced spring onion
Squeeze of lemon juice
Sprigs of fresh parsley
Pinch of herb salt and ground, black pepper
A slice of sourdough or rye bread toasted
A clove of garlic (opt)

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl (keep in the fridge or take to work). When ready to eat, rub the toasted bread with the freshly cut side of the garlic clove (optional) and top with the crab mix.

Turkey and avocado wrap

A handful of watercress
Tortilla wrap
60g peeled, sliced avocado
100g lean, chopped, cooked turkey breast
2 chopped tomatoes
A chopped spring onion
A little freshly chopped chilli (optional)

Place the watercress in the middle of the tortilla wrap and place on top the avocado, turkey breast, tomatoes, spring onion and chilli if you like it. Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll, cut in half and serve.

Sweet potato and ricotta cheese

180g sweet potato
100g ricotta cheese
A chopped spring onion
A chunk of cucumber, chopped
Herb salt
Ground black pepper

Bake the sweet potato in a preheated oven set at 180C for approximately 45 mins or until potato is cooked through to your liking. Cut lengthways to make an opening. Mix the remaining ingredients and use to fill the potato.

Tuna and anchovy salad

A chunk of iceberg lettuce, shredded
A chunk of cucumber, chopped
100g tuna canned in spring water (drained)
3 fresh anchovies, chopped
4 slices of red onion
2 black olives, quartered
Pinch of herb salt
1tsp olive oil
1tsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp water
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 pitta bread

Mix the lettuce, cucumber, tuna, anchovies, red onions, black olives and herb salt in a bowl. Mix the oil and vinegar with lemon juice and water. Pour over the salad and serve with the pitta, which can be warmed through by lightly toasting.

Crudités with hoummos

A bundle of mixed crudités (strips of red, yellow or green peppers, celery, carrots, radish, cucumber and chicory)
A small wholemeal pitta
A 100g tub reduced-fat hoummos

Toast the pitta and cut into thin strips. Use along with the crudités to dip into the hoummos.

DINNER

Warm mackerel and fennel salad

1 finely sliced small fennel bulb (outer leaves discarded)
2 finely sliced spring onions
50g low-fat yoghurt
1 tsp lemon juice
160g new potatoes, boiled and sliced
110g fresh mackerel fillet
1 fresh egg
Salad for garnish
1 unwaxed lemon

Brush the mackerel fillet with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper before placing under a medium grill for 3 minutes each side. When cooked set aside.

In a frying pan add 1 dessert spoon of olive oil and sauté fennel for 4-5 minutes or until golden and then remove from heat and set aside.

Fill a small pan with salted water, add 1 dessert spoon of vinegar and bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, stir the water to create a whirlpool and gently break egg into the water and poach for 3-5 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Use a slotted spoon to lift the egg from the pan and place in cold water. Leave for 1 minute and then drain on kitchen paper.

Place the spring onion, yoghurt and lemon juice, with a little zest, into a bowl and mix with a fork. Add the new potatoes along with the cooked fennel. Break the mackerel fillets into chunks, discarding the skin. Mix the mackerel into the bowl and toss together lightly.

Serve by arranging a few salad leaves on a plate, top with the potato and mackerel salad and place the poached egg on top.

Fillet of haddock with a lime marinade

140g fresh haddock fillet
2tsp agave nectar
1tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 portion of boil-in-the-bag wholegrain rice (62.5g)
1tbsp freshly chopped chives
20g peas

Whisk together the lime juice and the agave nectar, along with a little sea salt and black pepper until the marinade has emulsified.

Pour over both sides of the haddock (or another white fish of your choice), and marinate for no more than 15 minutes. Then grill under a medium to high heat for 5 minutes or until cooked to your liking. While the fish is grilling, boil your rice according to the packet instruction. Once cooked, empty the rice into a bowl, add a touch of olive oil and the freshly chopped chives. Serve with the haddock along with simply steamed peas.

Fillet steak bruschetta

160g thinly-sliced fillet steak
1 slice of sourdough bread
A handful of watercress
1 small clove of garlic
1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced
Dijon mustard
1 sliced, pickled cucumber

Lightly toast the sourdough bread under a high grill, rub with garlic and lightly spread a little Dijon mustard, set aside. Heat a griddle pan and brush the slices of fillet steak with olive oil. Once the griddle pan is hot add the steak and cook for 20 secs a side, remove and season with salt and black pepper. To serve, build up your bruschetta by putting the slices of cucumber on the sourdough bread first, then the watercress and tomatoes and finally the steak.

Poached chicken with mangetout

150g skinless chicken fillet
50g mangetout
250ml chicken stock
½ tsp fennel seeds
3 strips lemon zest
6 whole peppercorns
150g new potatoes
1 dessertspoon freshly chopped parsley

In a smallish, deep-sided frying pan add the chicken stock and fennel seeds, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and then add the chicken breast, along with the lemon zest and black peppercorns. Poach gently uncovered for 10 mins or until cooked. While the chicken is poaching, boil the new potatoes, and when done grill for approximately 4 mins a side. Once the chicken has cooked, season with a little sea salt and black pepper, serve with potatoes and the mangetout mixed with 1 teaspoon of butter and the freshly chopped parsley.

Rustic courgette and red onion omelette

2 eggs
2 small courgettes, sliced
2tsp balsamic glaze
3 tomatoes, sliced
½ small red onion, sliced
4 basil leaves, chopped

Add 1 teaspoon of oil to a frying pan and sauté the courgettes and onion for 5 mins or until the onions start to go brown. Then set aside.

Whisk the eggs with a dessertspoon of water and season. Pour into a nonstick pan and fold gently as it cooks to make an omelette. Add the courgettes and onion to one half and fold over. Serve with the sliced tomatoes topped with the basil and drizzled with the balsamic glaze.

Herb salt recipe

Needed for both five-day and month-long plans. You can also use a blender to make herb salt by mixing the following ingredients:

2tbsp (8g) dried oregano
1½ tbsp (6g) dried marjoram
1tbsp (4g) dried sage
2½ tbsp (12g) dried thyme
2 tbsp (12g) dried rosemary
8 red dried chillies, chopped
80g coarse sea salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse for 5 or 6 times, 5 seconds at a time.

SNACKS

You can eat fruit as snacks between meals. Try to concentrate on berries, cherries, apples, nectarines and peaches along with oranges or pears which are all slowly-digested fruits.

They all give you fibre, which helps to keep you feeling full, plus lots of super-nutrients for a healthy circulation and skin.

For the five-day plan, stick to fruit as snacks and low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais if desperate.

For the one-month plan, during weeks two and three eat handfuls of mixed nuts when hungry; almonds are especially good. Try to stick to fruit in week 4.

www.amandaursell.com

EXERCISE

30 minutes of sit-ups, squats and press-ups daily will flatten your stomach and improve muscle definition in arms.

Rochelle Healy, trainer

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