New year, new start? I'm not a huge believer in the whole new year, new me thing that floats about, but I am all for anything with regards to positive changes. I just find a lot of people put a ridiculous amount of pressure on themselves particularly where food is concerned - binge on food over Christmas then go completely cold turkey on carbs, booze, chocolate and anything that is deemed comfort food. That to me is the ultimate recipe for disaster because come March, (maybe even before) you'll fall flat off the wagon if you struggle with willpower. Some people it works for but the majority it doesn't.
So you've kicked off the new year and want to get fit, want to lose weight and generally want to feel so much better about yourself. That's a big positive so a huge thumbs up for that to start with, but now you don't want to go flat out and cause your body upset by doing too much too quickly. This is where so many of us slip up meaning we tend to fall off the fitness/healthy eating wagon straight away. A month or so ago Lighterlife got in touch with me to see if I fancied an eating challenge - no no not how many donuts I could eat in one sitting, but to try out their range of weight maintenance range in the form of their 5:2 Fast Diet Plan...
I did think Lighterlife was specifically designed for those who are significantly overweight which it primarily is, however this range has been launched with those in mind who want to maintain or lose a few pounds. It even has celebs like Jennifer Metcalfe from Hollyoaks backing it.
I've tested out other diet plans before which I've written about, and even though I'm a big advocate for clean healthy eating, sometimes we just don't have the time so convenience is sometimes the only option. However, being convenient and healthy? Rather a tricky mix for some folk and that is where I am most sceptical.
Right so other diet plans can really limit you which I did find when I tested Slimfast. You had to basically eat their food or it didn't really work, after you came off their plan - would the weight stay off? It didn't for me but I wasn't out to do that it was purely to test, but that did make me realize those sorts of diets are hard to maintain. The Lighterlife plan is a diet that follows the 5:2 plan. You eat a healthy diet for 5 days of your own accord, then fast for 2 days using their LighterLife products to the equivalent of 600 calories. I did this on a Monday then a Wednesday each week.
Firstly the idea of fasting actually scared me. I just kept thinking... how the devil am I going to resist other food temptations if I'm not eating enough?! Some how I did! The team sent me a box every week of their products and all I will say is what a variety! There is so much to chose from it's crazy, unlike your bog standard shakes, crisps, bars that come in one or two flavours, with Lighterlife you had loads to pick from.
We had porridge or shakes for the morning, then noodle pots at lunch or maybe even curry or soup, then dinner could be mac and cheese or shepherds pie - that's to name only a few! There was a mixture of sweet and savoury items and unlike other diet products they actually had flavor and tasted really good! My favorite was porridge in the morning and the spaghetti bolognese in the evening.
You're probably wondering what portion sizes you got? Well when I first empty the pack of curry into the bowl to make up, it did look rather pathetic. I did wonder at 6pm how was I going to get through watching my new episode of the Flash whilst only having this tiny bowl. Some how it was really filling which is down to the protein content. I actually rescheduled my food times to work around this. I love a little snack in the evening whilst working or watching a film so I'd have porridge, then lunch would be noodle pot, then dinner and then one of the snack bars. You could juggle it around to suit you.
I can't tell you honestly if I lost weight or not, because part way through I got poorly then had to go away with work. However, I found the whole thing to be really workable on a ongoing basis and whether I lost weight or not I certainly felt far better about my looks. Husband pointed out I looked slimmer and my skin had somehow cleared up. You are meant to drink lots of water on a fast day so perhaps that was why. You can still live normally and incorporate this into your lifestyle, so I still had cups of tea and coffee but tried to cut back and have a fruit tea instead. Personally I'd love to try this all again now I'm better and test if it really works to shift those Christmas pudding pounds! By far this is the best plan I've done or heard of, people find fasting gives your body a chance to catch up with itself so if you're looking for a weight maintenance or weight loss this could be the one.
