10 Stone To Lose

Win an iPhone 5 | Free Competition to win an iPhone 5

2011-10-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

Win an iPhone 5 Free Competition to win an iPhone 5

ValueSlim - 1 week review

2011-07-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

We were recently sent a weeks worth of Valueslim to review. Which my partner Rob practically bit my hand off to review :-)

Valueslim is a weightloss programme which sends you a food hamper with all your meals and snacks in. You simply add your allowance of milk, fruit, veg, protein and iron as per the guidebook.
So what did we get in a 1 week supply of Valueslim?

Well these are the breakfasts. A good range and individually portioned which is great.
Despite the very small portions they are all really tasty and filling.
There weren't any that weren't liked.

Lunches were mainly a selection of different rices and noodle pots. Which were easy to make up and very filling again.
The Beef Cassava was similar in taste and texture to a good tinned stew. It was tasty but the meat used was a bit gristly. It made a nice change from the noodles and rice and with a bt of extra veg in was a very filling meal.
The Ravioli in Mushroom Sauce was suprisingly nice and quite moreish.

Dinners. Again quite a good range. Some of the food from the lunches and dinners are the same like the beef cassava and the ravioli.
The meals are all very nice and tasty and lovely with a bit of added veg.
The curry was particularly nice :-)

The snacks and desserts received were all really lovely.
The fruit cocktail has really big peices of fruit in and is so much nicer than the tinned varieties.
The little pots of fruit in custard were very tasty and quite sweet.
The yogurt coated fruit was really yummy and would be great for those with a sweet tooth.

Although a lot of the foods are well known brands with a valueslim label on - This diet would be really good for those on the go a lot with little time to prepare fresh meals.

None of the food needs keeping in the fridge and anything needing to be eaten hot can be microwaved.
The labeling of the food is clear - so it's easy to pick out meals.

I really liked that other than the milk allowance every day - there was no weighing, measuring or calorie counting needed as everything is already portioned up.

Depending on the way you order with valueslim the cost of all this works out under £9 per day - which for 3 meals, dessert and a snack - I think is really good value for money. The only things you'd need to buy on top of this are the milk, fruit, veg, protein and iron.

In the week that rob followed valueslim he lost 3.5lb's.

The score for valueslim - a remarkable 10/10 !!

Very very hard to find any fault/flaw or negative. The food is all very tasy, it's super easy to follow, all portioned out, a fantastic price for what you get and it works.

Having taken delivery today of a months worth of valueslim to continue reviewing - it is worth letting readers know that there is even more variety in the months supply than shown in the photos here. More reviews/posts about valueslim are to come!

Herbalife 4 week review

2011-07-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

My Blog Helper Louise has finished using the months worth of Herbalife sent to review.

She's had a very up and down month and struggled to get into the routine of it.

Start Weight: 13 stone 1lb

Week 1: 12 stone 11lb's (4lb loss)

Week 2: 12 stone 9lb's (2lb loss)

Week 3: 12 stone 13lb's wisdom teeth/pms problems (4lb gain)

Week 4: 12 stone 10lb's (3lb loss)

She also reported very bad pms in the 3rd week which meant she went very off track and ate a lot of comfort food such as chocolate. She also had problems with her wisdom teeth.

In total over the 4 weeks on Herbalife Louise lost 5lb's

Louise had the following to say about her Herbalife experience:

'The Herbalife Plan is good, but I feel it would get boring after a while. I really started to miss/crave things like bread and sweets.'

'Although the shakes are quite heavy on your stomach, they do keep you very full so you don't feel like snacking.'

'The Multi Vitamins and Fibre Pills aren't the nicest tasting things in the world but they have kept my energy levels up.'

'The best thing about Herbalife is the support you get with it. The Coaches are great and will help guide you through the plan and give you advice when you need it.'

FOOTNOTE FROM MYSELF:

I feel that Louise could have had a greater loss on herbalife if she'd shown a bit more determination and willpower - Giving in a lot on week 3 with wisdom teeth and pms problems meant a 4lb gain. If she had really tried to just maintain/stay the same for that week she'd have lost 9lb's which would have been a great loss for the month.

Having previously used Herbalife myself I found that after a few weeks you got into a routine and once you'd braved the bread/carb/sweet cravings off for the first 1-2 weeks they went away almost entirely. I think that by giving into her cravings/having the bad week - it made the bread/sweet cravings worse.

It is a little hard to give an accurate review and score because of the bad week/problems with willpower. But the weeks Louise did stick to it worked and i'm going to base the score on those weeks.

The score for Herbalife is 9.5/10

It loses out on that final half a mark due to price (prices are not listed on their site and it makes it a bit difficult for those browsing/comparing diets) and the amount of pills that need to be taken which make it quite a fiddly diet to follow.

You can find more information on Herbalife on the website here: http://www.herbalife.co.uk/

Distracting myself from eating by playing bingo!

2011-07-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

I find distraction techniques work best for me. When I feel the need to eat something naughty or binge - I'll take a bath, do some housework - or more recently

Play online bingo - I've discovered Jackpotjoy - With free bingo every day and a free daily game that i've had quite a lot of luck with. I've even had free money vouchers sent to me in the post :-)

How does everyone else keep themselves distracted from eating?

A Great Diet Day - 06/07

2011-07-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

Having totally fallen off the diet wagon for 2-3 weeks and putting on a massive 12lb's :-(

I am glad to report i'm back on track.

Although I reported a 2lb loss for the week just gone - I still had trouble sticking to plan entirely and hadn't been sticking to my diet. I had a Macdonalds and a few bars of chocolate over the week - so was suprised to lose at all.

Yesterday was a very good day.

I had a slimavite shake for breakfast and lunch and a calorie controlled ready meal for supper. With some fruit and fat free yogurt for snacks.

I'm still feeling quite tired and bloated and think thats due to the junk food i've been eating - i'm hoping lots of water, fruit and veg and sticking to plan will sort that out :-)

Blog Giveaway - Ending 30/07 - Win 1 of 3 Books to help you slim

2011-07-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

I've decided to really kick of my new blog with a new giveaway :-)

WIN 1 OF 3 BOOKS

This giveaway will end at lunchtime on the 30/07. It is only open to those in the UK.

The prizes are 3 books from my personal collection - they have been well read and are well thumbed.

The Books are: Jane Scrivner's Total Detox, The Harcombe Diet and Paul McKenna I can make you thin (which include a cd)

How to enter:

Follow my blog (either through the networked blogs or google connect boxes on the sidebar - either is fine) and leave a comment saying which of the 3 books you'd like if you win - You can enter for 1,2 or all 3 books - Just let me know in the comment you leave :-)

Good Luck - Winners will be announced on the blog the following day and cntacted by email and/or twitter so please leave a way to be contacted :-)

Zumba the Weight Off

2011-07-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have been using the fab zumba kit I was sent about twice a week on a regular basis now and totally love it. I still look like a fool using it and get the steps wrong and do them too slowly - but it's so much fun!

To read about the history of Zumba and find out exactly what Zumba is or if you've not heard of it before - checkout the Zumba Website.

THE KIT
The kit I received compromised of:

Total Body Transformation Guide: I love this little guide book, it includes tips, stretches, a recommended workout plan to drop a clothes size which also includes a meal planner and recipes to follow alongside zumba.

The different workout DVD's in the kit are: Basics - which takes you through each of the moves used in 3 easy to follow steps. 20 Minute Express for those needing a quick workout, Cardio Party which is a bit more energetic and really gets your heart pumping, Sculpt and Tone.

Also received in the kit was a seperate dvd with Live and flat ab's workout's on.

Contained in the kit are 2 Toning Sticks: They aren't particularly heavy and can be shaken to sound like maraca's. They really add an extra element to the workouts and are fun to use.

The Zumba Fitness Kit can be purchased from the Zumba Website and the kit I received costs £49.98.

I still think Zumba is suitable for people of all fitness levels - even total novices and beginners like myself. If you weren't able to get to step 3 of each move you could just do it at the step you can manage until you're able to master it.

I'd recommend a Zumba Kit to anyone :-)
A totally fab 10/10 from me!

A Green Tea to Help you Slim

2011-07-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

As a slimmer/dieter - I'm trying to ensure I drink the recommended 2 litres of water a day. Which I've never really managed. Squash has helped but still has calories, sweetener or sugar etc.. and always tends to taste a bit too artificial and sweet.
Herbal tea's are lovely but can be a bit tasteless.

So... Bring on the GREEN TEA
This fantastic Green Tea Blend from Natur Boutique is available to buy from DrinkHerbalTea.co.uk costs just £2.95 per box of 20 teabags + postage.
The bags are individually wrapped - so ideal to pop one in your handbag for when your out and about or visiting friends for a tea/coffee.
Containing a unique blend of Green Tea, Java Tea and Liquorice - this wonderful tea according to the site 'stimulates metabolism, burns fat, detoxifies, and hence helps to lose weight'
And it truly works - I've lost 4lb's in the last week through following a healthy diet and drinking this lovely tea!
Daily consumption of this tea helps to burn an extra 80 cals a day!
If that wasn't enough - Green Tea has about 1/5 of the caffeine from that in coffee - so makes a great change for those wanting to lower their caffeine intake.
I really love that the bags are individually wrapped - I take one with me always so if i'm tempted by a calorific drink I can just ask for hot water and brew my own healthy alternative. You don't even need a spoon as it has it's own string and a wrapper to throw it away in.

TASTE TEST - The tea doesn't take too long to ready - just pop a bag in hot water (not quite boiling is best for tea) and let it work its magic for a couple of minutes - you can use the handy string to help it swirl about and dispose of it. (No mashing or stewing or you'll ruin the taste.) With a lovely subtle flavour that leaves no bitter aftertaste it makes a very refreshing cuppa and a helpful way to my 2 litres of water a day!
I couldn't really taste the liquorice but there is a very very faint smell of it - which is quite nice.
This is most definitely a product i'd recommend to fellow slimmers and it gets a firm thumbs up from me!

First Post on a New Blog

2011-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well I've moved - From Confessionsofacompaholic to here. Much as I loved my old blog - It felt messy as I not only blogged about my weightloss but about my hobby of entering competitions as well.

So I've decided to seperate my weightloss journey to a shiny new blog :-)

To bring New Readers up to date so far - since the 1st of April 2011 I have managed to lose exactly 3 stone. So out of my 10 stone starting goal I have 7 stone left to lose.

You can read about my weightloss journey up til now here