A real hunger to shed a few pounds
?
Helen Bushnell tests Diet Chef.
I AM one of those girls who always feels likes she needs to shift a pound or 10.
Normally while tucking into a chunk of chocolate, or sipping a glass of calorie-laden wine, I will generally moan to bored friends how I need to beat the bulge and fight the flab.
However, I have to admit I have never been a fan of diets, simply because I enjoy my food too much and the idea of starving myself to a few sizes smaller has never sounded appetising.
Then the chance to try Diet Chef came up and I thought it looked a bit different to other fad diets.
It brands itself as Europe’s premier diet delivery service, and promises to help you drop a dress size in two weeks.
What caught my eye is that it includes dishes not normally associated with the word diet, such as lasagne and chicken curry. It also features snacks like popcorn and chocolate-chip oat cakes – bonus!
From a list of around 70 breakfasts, lunch, dinner and snack options, you pick out your menu for the week, and then it is all delivered to your door. Another bonus for me was that the meals were easy to prepare.
As far as diets go, it looked like one I could just about handle.
The packages also includes a DVD of Pilates techniques from celeb fitness trainer Caroline Sandry to follow to aid weight loss process.
The diet is based on providing 1,200 calories a day - I decided to follow it for a week to see how it shaped up.
Monday: weigh in: 10 stones 12 pounds
Breakfast: pink apple and cinnamon granola
Lunch and snack: lentil and vegetable soup, caramelised onion oat bites
Dinner: chicken korma
I was surprised how nice the granola was, but thought the portion was pretty small. The soup was quite filling and very tasty – quite impressive. Onion bites were yummy. Chicken korma, while it might not have quite matched a takeaway curry, really wasn’t so bad considering it wasn’t fatty. It was guilt-free eating.
Everything was easy to make, so far so good.
Tuesday:
Breakfast: chocolate granola
Lunch and snack: strawberry milkshake and fruit and spice oat biscuits
Dinner: pork sausage casserole
Again, granola was good. Milkshake was far too sweet tasting. I found I was gulping it down as I was starting to feel quite hungry by this stage. It wasn’t as filling as the soup, though, and I was soon reaching for the oat biscuits.
Again, at night, the casserole was tasty enough combined with garden peas but I missed not being able to have a spot of tomato sauce. At night, I went against the rules and had a hot milky drink, but didn’t actually finish it. It’s little extras like that I find I’m missing.
Wednesday:
Breakfast: maple and pecan granola
Lunch: chocolate milkshake
Dinner: chilli con carne with garden peas
By this morning, I feel the diet is starting to affect me. My head feels fuzzy and groggy and I feel like I haven’t slept a wink. Am feeling quite shaky too. I drink coffee to give me a pick-me-up and I start looking forward to my next meal as I’m relying on it to provide a boost.
Hopping onto the scales, I find I’ve lost three pounds so the diet is clearly working. Only problem is I feel so famished I’m drinking my lunchtime milkshake by 11.30am. I’m a bit disappointed by the grainy and slightly salty, metallic taste. I find it very hard to stomach. Looking at the nutritional information, it contains 203 calories, five grammes of fat and 22 vitamins and minerals.
I’m starting to give myself the goal of sticking this out until Friday.
A friend pops over for a glass of wine, but it’s annoying that I have to resist.
Thursday:
Breakfast: strawberry porridge
Lunch: butternut squash soup, chocolate chip oatcakes
Dinner: baked potato and smoked salmon salad
In the morning, I’m feeling quite shaky, weak and just not myself. Even after lunch, my stomach is churning with hunger. By mid-afternoon I’m already looking to see what’s on the menu for tea and notice the lamb hotpot contains just 1.8g of fat. I’m in hunger pang city, feeling ill and know that meal won’t cut it. I get to the point where I’m feeling I don’t have the energy to do the things I need to do. I nip to the shop to buy a nice healthy but more appetising dinner of baked potato, smoked salmon, coleslaw and salad. Immediately I feel better.
Friday:
Breakfast: chocolate chip porridge
Lunch: chunky vegetable soup
Dinner: chicken and potato curry
Snack: oatcakes
I stick to the diet today, but I have to admit: I have added a few crisps to the day’s intake. I know it’s not the healthiest of snacks, and is totally against the diet rules, but by this stage I feel I’m giving up – and I don’t give up on anything easily. I guess the munchies have set in and I’m craving some calories.
Saturday and Sunday: What can I say, apart from the porridge breakfasts and soup lunches, I have to admit I’m no longer sticking to the diet dinners and have incorporated normal meals onto the menu. There is only so long a girl can go hungry! And feeling unwell, weak and shaky can’t be good for the health.
I have my final weigh in – 10 stone 9. At the end of the week’s diet, I feel good I have shed a few pounds.
There is no doubt the diet does what it says on the tin. However, I am now back to eating chocolate and drinking wine, and I’m loving it.
DIET CHEF - £39 per week for the package, available at www.dietchef.co.uk or on 0845 302 8303
***
