Losing fat is not just about how much you eat, but how you eat it. With Shane Bilsborough's eating plan, taken from 7 Days to Strip Fat Forever (Penguin, £5.99), you can eat carbohydrates, protein and even chocolate. Used with permission.

The new 7x7 Fat-Reducing Plan is successful, safe and extremely easy to follow. The diet works on the principles followed by many Asian cultures with populations that are lean and disease-free. It also recognises recent breakthroughs made by scientific studies on reducing the 'energy density' of our food. By following the plan you will not overeat, allowing your body easier access to your fat stores. But you will not go hungry, either.

The seven-day plan

Seven meals a day seems like a bit of a tall order, you may think, but it is the way forward in effective fat stripping. Cultures that exhibit very good health as well as good weight control don't gorge or eat to full capacity. The emphasis is on grazing. I spent over a year living in Italy, where I found that eating several small meals a day is quite normal. You may even have four courses in one meal but the amounts are always small, as in this plan.

The aim of the 7x7 Fat-Reducing Plan is to:

Eat less food more often, so as not to overeat or eat in between meals

• Keep fat intake down
• Increase fibre intake
• Reduce the amount of energy we eat
• Consume enough nutrients
• Lose body fat

The focus of the eating plan is to keep fat intake to a minimum, thus allowing your body to use its own fat stores for energy, and to increase fibre intake. It breaks your food into much smaller meals and speeds up your metabolism. The faster you burn this food up, the faster your metabolism will be, and the faster you will burn fat. One of the keys to success is to include vegetables or salad with every evening meal. You must eat these first and finish them before you eat the rest of your meal.

The 7x7 Fat-Reducing Plan

Monday

Breakfast

1 high-fibre muffin, with a scraping of margarine and Vegemite

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

½ - 1 pitta bread with salad & ham

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

1 small tub of low-fat yoghurt

Late-afternoon snack

1 apple

Dinner

Large bowl of homemade vegetable soup with 2 pieces of bread

1 glass of water

Dessert

Fresh fruit salad

Tuesday

Breakfast

Small bowl of oats, with low-fat milk

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

Bowl of spicy broth with 1-2 pieces of bread

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

1 slice of fruit bread

Late-afternoon snack

1 small tub of low-fat yoghurt

1 mandarin

Dinner

2 servings of pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, with rice

1 glass of water

Dessert

1 small scoop of low-fat ice cream

Wednesday

Breakfast

2 pieces of fruit bread, with a scraping of margarine and strawberry jam

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

Low-fat Caesar salad with 1-2 pieces of bread

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

1 pear or other fruit option

Late-afternoon snack

1 muesli bar

Dinner

1 small bowl of pasta, with seafood or lean mince sauce, with salad

1 glass of water

Dessert

Fresh fruit platter

Thursday

Breakfast

1 small bowl of low-fat cereal, with low-fat milk and fruit

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

1 salmon and salad sandwich or roll

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

1 muesli bar

Late-afternoon snack

1 small tub of low-fat yoghurt

Dinner

A small piece of lean beef, and 2 different serving of pulses, with vegetables and rice

1 glass of water

Dessert

1 small scoop of gelati (low-fat Italian ice cream)

Friday

Breakfast

2 pieces of wholemeal toast, with a scraping of margarine and jam

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

½ - 1 pitta bread with roast beef and salad

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

1 apple or other fruit

Late-afternoon snack

1 muesli bar

Dinner

Grilled or baked fish or chicken with steamed vegetables or a small bowl of pasta with a tomato-based sauce and salad

1 glass of red wine

Dessert

Fresh fruit platter

Saturday

Breakfast

Banana smoothie, made with low-fat milk

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

1 tuna and salad sandwich or roll

2 glasses of water

Mid-afternoon snack

4-5 rice crackers with low-fat tzatziki dip

Late-afternoon snack

1 small tub of low-fat yoghurt

1 orange

Dinner

Grilled or baked fish with steamed vegetables, or a small bowl of pasta with a tomato-based sauce and salad

1 glass of red wine and 1 glass of water

1 small scoop of low-fat frozen yoghurt

Sunday

Breakfast

2 Weetabix, with low-fat milk

1 glass of orange juice

Mid-morning snack

1 banana

1 orange or other fruit

Lunch

Your choice (but not chips!)

Mid-afternoon snack

1 small tub of low-fat yoghurt

1 muesli bar

1 apple

Dinner

Your choice (be sensible!)

Dessert

Your choice

As you can see, the plan does not dictate seven large meals that will have you bursting at the seams, nor are there complicated ratios of foods that require hours to prepare. Instead, there are seven opportunities to eat during the day.

Fish has been included regularly on the menu, but if you dislike fish, take some fish oil supplements every two or three days. Remember: fish oil taken in recommended amounts doesn't get converted into fat but rather into hormones that are involved in regulating your blood pressure.

The 7x7 Fat-Reducing Plan includes a variety of pulses such as red kidney beans and lentils. These foods promote healthy fat loss. It's important to try to include some in this eating plan once or twice a week. Include vegetable soup, with plenty of different coloured vegetables, at least once or twice a week.