LighterLife 5:2 Diet - My Experience

I have been trialing the LighterLife Fastpacks as part of a 5:2 diet programme.  Overall my experience has been mostly positive.  I found I lost an average of 2-3 lbs a week if I ate well for the remaining five days of the 5:2 plan and I found that I felt pretty satisfied during the 600 calorie fast days. If I ate a bit too much on the five days I maintained my weight and didn't put any extra on.  It is very easy to follow and is an effortless and fuss free way of ensuring you get all your RDA of nutrients without exceeding the calorie count.

You can take a look at my earlier posts on the LighterLife 5:2 plan and on the LighterLife fastpack food.

I liked how convenient the plan was, you can choose which days you want to fast on and you can even take the Fastpacks with you away from home (kettle and microwave access is needed for some food preparation).  It works well around the family as you can eat together five days a week, making a dieting mum less of an issue for impressionable youngsters.  You can also work around special occasions where food is on the agenda, so you don't have to miss out on any events because you are on a strict inflexible diet.

The only negative I found was that I increasingly found that I missed fresh food. As my five day diet improved, I found the call for 'real food' did too. Don't get me wrong, the food is not at all unpleasant. In fact it is all really well flavoured.  But as a vegetarian much of my regular diet consists of fresh fruit, vegetables, pulses and lentils so the fastpacks are quite different to what I usually eat when I'm on a health kick. But I kept telling myself it was only two days a week and the benefits were clearly evident from the onset.  And so the convenience and reassurance of the programme outweighed this minor negative.

I'm not very keen on shakes as meal replacements if I'm honest.  Although these are quite filling, they just feel like a drink to me - not a meal.  So I was impressed to see LighterLife Fastpacks having the variety and including the meals which gave me the psychological benefit of having something proper to chew on for my dinner.  I was pleased that both the carbonara and bolognese are veggie friendly and tasty.

What the 5:2 diet did really well was give me the discipline that I sometimes lack when it comes to making decisions about eating.  Knowing that I could get by and not be hungry on 600 calories made me reassess my food intake.  This has lead to me being far more pro-active about healthy choices.  I have found the LighterLife Fastpacks to be a good short term solution for a 4-6 week diet that is incredibly easy to manage and which provides all the necessary nutrition. It is good to kickstart a healthy eating regime or to lose a few excess pounds before a special occasion.  It is also a really useful tool for ideal weight maintenance.

One thing I would like to see is a variety Fastpack box available.  At the moment the packs contain four of the same product.  It would be nice to see a day's food with a porridge, a soup, a meal and a bar available to purchase as a unit. That would make it more accessible to anyone wanting to do a one off short term 5:2 programme and try a variety of the foods available.

I thought the spaghetti bolognese was a really good diet meal that I would be tempted to enjoy as a low calorie lunch in its own right.  Also the Toffee bars would make a great everyday, low calorie and nutrient rich snack for when my sweet tooth needs sating.  So these products have potential to find their way into my diet even if I'm not doing the 5:2.

There was only one time that I really struggled which was the week when Freddy was really ill.  I was stressed, hadn't slept for nights and felt lousy.  Restricting calories when feeling like this did not work, leaving me feeling worse and very irritable. Commonsense really tells you that at times like this the diet has to take second place to simply getting yourself through a hard time.

And if I ever have to remind myself why it is important to keep my weight down and eat healthy I just need to look at this before mugshot photo.  I know selfie #2 is a bit blurred but the lack of extra chins is still clearly evident!  The LighterLife Fastpacks were just the kick start I needed after the excesses of Christmas and helped me avoid the comfort eating that often accompanies the miserable January weather.

For more information on LighterLife and the 5:2 Fastpacks go to www.lighterlifefast.com

Fastpacks are available in Superdrug stores and online.

Diet Chef Review

Diets can be a very complicated business as you try to choose suitable food, count calories, negotiate tricky recipes, cook separate meals for yourself, measure out portions and try to keep your meals interesting.  It's easy to get bored, begin obsessing about calories or feel like you are missing out on something. No wonder so many diets fail!

Diet Chef is an online company that does all the work for you so you don't have to worry about the numbers or even think about what you need to cook.  Providing a calorie-counted, portion controlled breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack everyday, they take all the effort and thought out of dieting. You just need to pick your meal choices from over 100 dishes on the website which are then delivered straight to your door in a monthly hamper.  At just £6.43 a day, a Diet Chef plan costs little more than grabbing a latte and a muffin at a coffee shop or buying lunch out.  

Diet Chef wants to make busy mums across the UK feel good about themselves and their bodies by providing a nutritious, healthy affordable and convenient meal plan. When I was offered the chance to trial a month of Diet Chef meals as a way of giving me a boost this summer, I was all too happy to take part. I have struggled recently with my weight as I was eating a lot of high calorie foods in an attempt to boost my energy and keep me awake.  I was permanently tired and lethargic and after a bad dizzy spell and some bouts of breathlessness I went for a blood test which showed I had anaemia.  I've been given iron which has improved my condition.  I am no longer feeling exhausted all the time and I have energy again.  However the result of eating rubbish and doing nothing for months has taken its toll on my body. A month long diet plan is exactly what I need to feel good about myself again!

As a vegetarian, I wondered how appropriate the Diet Chef plan would be to me, but I needn't have worried.  There are lots of veggie options for both lunch and dinner including soups, shakes, curries, pasta dishes, salads, risotto and chilli. It was easy to pick out 28 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks.  The variety will ensure I don't get bored eating the same thing everyday. I was honestly impressed by the range.

Ordering is easy and I found the customer service by phone and email to be good and the delivery quick.

The food is all prepared by their chefs and comes in long life packaging which means they do not need to be refrigerated.  This makes it easy to pop a lunch into your bag to take with you if you are away from home. It's all very convenient, when it comes to the meals, you simply heat and eat.

Breakfasts consist of granola, a breakfast bar, muesli or porridge.  Pink Apple and Cinnamon Granola or Vanilla and Banana Porridge make the day start well!  I add low fat yogurt to the granola. Lunch can be a hearty soup, a shake or a pasta salad.  I was extremely impressed with the varieties of veggie soup: Minestrone, Butternut Squash, Carrot & Butternut or Parsnip and Chilli to name a few.  The variety of dinners really impressed me.  Trays or pouches of calorie counted and portion controlled Macaroni Cheese, Veggie Korma, Mushroom Stroganoff, Spelt Rissoto or Tarka Dal will keep me very satisfied.  I just add a portion of vegetables, rice or salad to bulk out the meal.  It's so easy.  So far I have had two days of meals and everything has been very nice and tasty.

I'm not a big one for snacking when I'm on a diet but to know I have some cereal bars, popcorn and oat bite snacks on hand in case I ever get the urge is very reassuring.  A portion of fruit, a handful of nuts or some carrot sticks are also good for snacking.

If you follow the plan you consume 1200 calories a day (plus any extras for the vegetables, fruit, salad, drinks etc. that you add.)  This will lead to a healthy 2 lb a week weightloss.  The health benefits of even a 10% weightloss are enormous.

I really like not having to think about my food.  It's all here, ready to eat.  I know that if I stick to the plan I'll be half a stone lighter by the end.  It really is very easy and a good way to lose a few pounds ahead of a special occasion.  Diet Chef literally does all the work for you making it easy to diet however busy you are.

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Website: http://www.dietchef.co.uk   

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DietChef 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dietchef  

Special K Cracker Crisps Review

Guilt Free Crisps That Don't Compromise On Taste

Just because you are trying to cut the fat and calories from your diet, it doesn't mean that you don't still want to enjoy the occasional snack.  At just 95 calories a serving and with 3% fat, this potato and wheat savoury snack will satisfy your cravings for crisps without leaving you feeling guilty.

In Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar, Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream and Chive flavours they are available in individual bags or in a sharing box.

We were sent some of the Cracker Crisps to try out.  They were quite moreish and flavoursome.  My husband called them "Skips for grown-ups!" which I think sums up the texture quite well.  We had a sharing box to try out and you have to resist the temptation to scoff the lot in one sitting if you are watching what you eat and find yourself alone with a box.  21 crisps is a portion and the box contains five portions worth.  With the kids helping out, we enjoyed the snacks while watching TV and they were a good alternative to regular crisps or savoury snacks.

Find Special K Cracker Crisps in the Crisps aisle in all major supermarkets and convenience stores, priced at £1.99 for a 100g box or 60p for individual bags.

Love Life You Count

The new Waitrose LOVE Life You Count… range, including tasty breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacking options, is the simple way to watch what you eat – and relish every mouthful.

The range is based on the principles of healthy weight loss - eat a bit less and move a bit more. Selecting products from the LOVE Life You Count... range at each meal occasion will make sure that you eat around 500 fewer calories than you normally would, which, when combined with our regular exercise, should help you to shift any excess pounds.

The new range boasts lower fat versions and calorie controlled portions of favourites including a tasty Macaroni Cheese, creamy yogurts and indulgent chocolate puddings. With brightly coloured calorie counts on the front of the packs – you can literally count the calories as you do your shopping.

I was treated to some of the products to try out.  I was very impressed with the packaging which clearly showed the calorie content and nutritional details of each and every product.  This made it easy to see exactly what each product contained.  If you are trying to stick to the recommended 2000 calories a day for a woman, the information made it very easy to tally up your intake.  It keeps it simple yet really informative.

The range is very extensive and covers both chilled and ambient products so you can find a Love Life You Count...option in most aisles!  There are quite a few veggie options which is really pleasing!

This is what I thought of the products that I tried:

• The Soup in a Cup makes a nice hot snack, perfect for this chilly weather and at only approximately 60 calories it is not going to contribute too much to your daily intake!
• At just 44 calories per serving the Cottage Cheese is a great filling for a jacket spud for a wholesome lunch.  The Macaroni Cheese was  pretty good, but I prefer a more vegetable based meal meal that would contribute towards my five a day and would be less calorie heavy.  It was good comfort food though.  
• The Chocolate Sponge at only 198 calories is a lower calorie alternative to stodgy puddings if you want to indulge your sweet tooth.  They are not as good as a luxury cake oozing in cream, but they are a fraction of the calories.
• The yoghurts were good and creamy and fruity.  A good light dessert or snack.    
• The cereal bars are under 100 calories and are quite filling.  I liked the flavour varieties on offer and the kids enjoyed them.
• My favourite product overall was the Crustless Cheese Quiche which was delicious!  As the thick pastry crust was not present, the calories were reduced to just 277 calories.  It was moist, cheesy and full of flavour.  Perfect for lunch with some salad.

The website contains lots of information to help you to adopt a healthy lifestyle, with meal planners, exercises and recipes.  You can also catch up on news from three people including sportsman Sir Matthew Pinsent, who have taken on the Love Life Challenge.