Healthy Mama || Review - Gifted
Just recently my health has dropped a bit, with feeling a bit low mentally, to my blood pressure creeping up and just a general feeling of 'meh' that I can't shake but know it's largely weight related. As much as I try and just make better choices and snack less, the fact is that I'm still in a position where if I'm not consciously making an effort to lose weight I quickly turn to binges and gaining weight. Before Christmas comes along, I desperately wanted to just get back to feeling a little brighter, a little less sluggish and quite honestly look a little better as I don't like seeing what looks back at me in the mirror, especially when I feel sweaty and out of breath when I shouldn't.
Slim & Save contacted me to review recently, just at the right time actually on the day I found out I officially needed to get my arse in gear and lose some weight for my health again. This review couldn't have come at a better time and having tried this kind of plan before, I know it works really well for me and always gives me the confidence boost I need to kick start healthy habits. Bizarrely when I'm on some kind of plan I have no problem not eating certain things every day or snacking, it's just something that clicks for my mind and body, so I was excited to get stuck in for two weeks with Slim and save on their meal replacement programme.
If you're not familiar with this kind of diet ( I hate the word diet but needs must!) then for my plan it's essentially replacing my lunch and breakfast with three meal replacement products, followed by a low carb healthy tea. You can use only the products to make it simpler, but as I want long term results and also a few of my favourite meals, the mixture works for me right now. The products are low calorie but filling, comprising of meal bars, shakes and meals like spaghetti bolognese and soups. There are so many meal options in this range, I was pretty impressed! You can even have things like chocolate brownie and shakes like key lime pie, so it is something a little different and provides a lot of variety of flavours to suit your mood. The selection is a major plus for this brand over others as if you're planning on doing this for a long period, you can quickly get bored of repetitive meals so having a huge choice is absolutely brilliant.
Although I won't bore you with a full two weeks diary, it may help to see how I got on with my first week so I've popped a short diary below. In week one there's always the initial hunger, perhaps feeling a bit low or experiencing head aches etc while your body adjusts to its new regime, but it soon passes and it's well worth it.
Week one diary
Day one
Today I had four packet meals instead of three as I felt super hungry with the drastic change to my eating and this seemed a better option than snacking elsewhere. I was surprised that by the evening and bed time I still felt full after a healthy evening meal and didn't feel the need to eat again. Products: 2 X Milkshake, 1 X Choc meal bar, Chili meal packet.
Day two
This was a good day. I had three meals from S&S and a healthy low carb tea. I haven't felt hungry really and enjoyed my food especially the packet mix spag bol. Products: Shake, Spag bol, Soup.
Day three
I felt very hungry today, though I did stick to the plan I was very tempted as we took the kids out for Halloween and they had burgers and hot dogs with friends at a party. Anyway, despite the cravings I stuck with it and waited for my healthy tea. I had the S&S pancakes which I wasn't sure about, but ere OK... Products: Pancakes, shake, carbonara packet meal.
Day four
Today started OK with a choc shake for breakfast, but I stupidly forgot my second meal before work so by the time I got out mid after noon I felt very hungry week and tired after a busy day before and stupidly got a sandwich and cake from the shop for lunch as I needed something right then. This reminds me to leave a shake in my bag for emergencies! Although this wasn't a good thing, it could have been worse and I went on to have a healthy tea and tomorrow is a new day. Products: Shake
Day five
Feeling less hungry today, forgot to have lunch and as I was at work I had to grab something small from the shop. I didn't give up though and carried on the day as normal. Products 1 Shake, 1 Pasta packet.
Day six
I barely felt hungry at all today, it's amazing how quickly I've adapted! Products: Shake, Soup, Meal bar.
Day seven
I woke up with a real hard craving for toast and had a few bites from the kids leftovers, but as this is long term I didn't beat myself up about it and carried on! The rest of the day went OK but we did go out for a birthday meal in the evening. I had what I love but I listened to my body, stopped when I felt satisfied and didn't go OTT. Products: Soup, Shake.
At the end of week one I lost 6.8 pounds. I am very happy with this as I know I have had lots of normal things, less snacks and used the products to keep myself feeling full through the day. If I'd stuck to the plan 100% I would have lost more, BUT we did have one of the kids birthdays, I haven't got in the habit of sticking spares in my bag until now and I haven't felt remotely deprived so I feel this is a good result for one week on this plan!
In week two I stuck to the plan most the time, probably 60% and lost nearly 4 pounds, taking my total to ten pounds. For two weeks I'm very happy with these results as I know that this is a good amount of weight and it has felt very easy and fitted in with my life very well. I love my meals in the evening, so not having to eat separately to family is very important and this allowed me to do that, giving them slightly healthier options and being experimental with recipes which is just what we needed. I'll be keeping my left over products and using them for a new kick start after Christmas, as I know I'll be indulging, and that's OK every now and then. When I try this plan again, I'll be sure to always carry a spare bar or shake in my bag for those times things don't go to plan life wise, so I don't have to buy from the shop.
For me, this kind of diet is perfect if you need a quick fix for a special event, but also like me where you feel utterly hopeless at dieting and just need something simple to follow, that doesn't make you feel deprived or overly hungry. You do lose weight quickly and simply, whilst being well fed so it gives you a real boost. The selection of products was brilliant and although many do have the familiar 'protein' flavour in them, it's probably not something that would bother most people or even be noticed, I'm just conscious of it so kind of notice it, but it's nothing bad, just means that every now and then I feel some of the products taste a little similar. The stand out products for me were the chilli and spaghetti bolognese that were very delicious and a really good portion size, as well as the shakes which were all really tasty with only water needing to be added. I was also sent the shaker bottle which is a must have if you're mixing up shakes, but I recommend having a spare in your handbag with a shake or two in case like me you get caught out working late or forget to have food before you leave. The very fact that I forgot a meal speaks for itself as I'm constantly thinking about food normally! Also, for better results drink plenty of water! This time of year I really struggle with water, but you do definitely get better results and feel better during the process if you keep your fluids up. This is something I'll definitely need to work on next time, and wonder what my results would have been if I'd had even more!?
If you're in need of a simple easy plan to gently kick start your diet or follow long term to reach your goal, then I'd highly recommend Slim & Save as an option. Having tried a few brands now, this is a great one and probably has the nicest selection of meals with some that are genuinely really tasty. Although I'm not overly keen on things like porridge and soup, they were nice and if you're choosing your products you can get the ones that appeal to you and then go on to buy the ones you love.
See more at the Slim and Save website, for a full selection of meals and the different plans available. This is definitely a cost effective way to get what you need!
Have you tried slim and save before?
