Lose Weight for Christmas with Exante Diet

I’m no fan of meal replacement, you all know that, but they’re always the exception when some of the meal replacements taste awesome which is what I’ve found with Exante. Kelly originally reviewed Exante and found it a little lacklustre, however since then it seems that they’ve changed some of their things around.

My mum used to be a huge meal replacement fan and spent the majority of my teenage years swapping her meals for milkshakes, but the flavours were nearly always limited to just the three, Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry with the odd occasion where the company would add a special like Banana to mix it up a bit. I remember thinking that they’d pushed the boundaries at one time offering Cafe Latte in a tin which I would often nick out the fridge to drink as a regular drink (may have contributed to the size I am now in fact) but that’s as modern as they got back then. These days with Exante, they’ve pushed the boat to a whole new Quay – Lemon Cheesecake, Hot Chocolate and Ginger and Irish Cream flavours just to name a few, grace the shop and delight the palette. Take the powder, empty it into the shaker with water and give your muscles a workout in the meantime. Job done. I don’t like my shakes too thick so I always add extra water which in some cases can be a disaster as the flavour doesn’t carry well in some but these shakes cope well. Flavour was still pretty strong even when I thinned it out a little.

As well as the shakes they do a nice little range of snacks. I have to have something sweet on my diet or I’ll fail (as I so monumentally have demonstrated) so sweets, puddings and snacks are my go to just to survive. Choco Balls are allowed (although you can get them from the likes of MuscleFood too called Chocolate Protein Balls) are the dieters equivalent to Maltesers and they’re ok I suppose, although no substitute for the original. Bit less light and a bit crunchier than regular sweets, with much more protein. Protein rich diets are far superior to regular “diet” systems anyway as they promote feeling full as opposed to feeling light of pocket and still as chunky as a Yorkie bar so mixing in some protein elements are good in my book.

I usually eat Porridge for breakfast with added Flaxseed so I didn’t really want to deviate from it as it’s the one thing that keeps me totally full until lunchtime but they tempted me with a packet of Maple Syrup Pancakes dammit. You have to make sure that you spray enough oil into the pan though because if you have the pan too high they burn immediately. We made the mistake with one of the pancakes and manage to salvage the other one thankfully which tasted really nice and would make a nice alternative but as I only had one packet, I couldn’t find out if it kept me as full. Still, tasted nice with the addition of the calorie free sauce (which I have a cupboard full anyway being diabetic as it normally gets poured over soya ice cream, porridge, yogurts and anything else that needs a bit of a lift) again, I purchased mine elsewhere, but it’s a must if you want to lose weight, or just don’t want to add sugar to everything.

Puddings though are the best part of the meal and they’ve handled that quite nicely too – I’m not keen on the Tiramisu pudding though as it’s just like a gloopy cross between a milkshake and a mousse, and unfortunately although it smells divine it’s flavourless. However, the chocolate pudding is another matter. More like a salted chocolate cake, it’s a microwaveable miracle. Gooey in the centre, and not unlike the Japanese mug cakes that I made in abundance during my diet (albeit 50 calories less but still) it’s a dieter’s dream! I had a couple of packets put in the box for me and I’ve purposely kept one back to savour when I’m utterly desperate for something naughty so they must be doing something right. The same goes for their bars – especially the amazing Strawberry Jam and Yogurt Bar (I could eat this quite happily several times a day but for (if I remember correctly) 200 calories per bar it’s not for snacking as such but still very, very good for naughty moments.

The only things I have issues with on this diet. I hate the fact that they promote VLCD’s (Very Low Calorie Diet’s). This isn’t healthy in the slightest. Your body goes into starvation mode with calories this low and you’ll end up losing weight very quickly (which incidentally isn’t fat, it’s generally water) and becoming sick. Body organs don’t thrive being put through diets with calories as low as 600-700 per day. Look what happens when overweight people have gastric bypasses and bands. They are left with saggy skin and if they’re unlucky the body turns on itself, caving in to other more fatal diseases. This is no good!!! Diets below 1600 calories are pointless and in my opinion damage not only your confidence as you can’t maintain a decent weight loss any lower as there’s nowhere to go to negotiate a loss, and will cause more damage to your body than you think. Short term, ok, but long term NO NO NO.

The other thing that I have an issue with is the price. Why do companies feel the need to charge so much for diets? ExanteDiet have at least given some fairly decent deals with their programme, offering a BOGOF on their milkshakes and 60 products for £60 which is a lot more financially friendly than others I’ve tried though.

Sadly I didn’t get to try the main meals as I don’t do reconstituted packet food. I think a meal cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients is the best thing you can have on a diet. But if you have no choice and you just have to buy the whole programme, then I doubt you’ll be disappointed if they take as much pride with the main meals as they do with the milkshakes and snacks.

Right now you can get it on offer if you pop over to the site, and if you need to shift a bit before Christmas and don’t have time, then it’s a decent enough option for you to take.

Lose Weight for Christmas with Exante Diet

PMDD, Depression, Menopause or what?

Those who have been with us a while may know that I endure depression and anxiety now and then. Thankfully it’s not like it was back in 1997-2001 when it was each and every day, but now it’s more when I get myself stressed to the point I have panic attacks, have a sudden shock, forget to take my medication regularly or drink too much caffeine.

I get symptoms that tend to start with my knee aching.  That then leads on to having hot flushes as soon as we turn the light off at night to sleep, and then insomnia.

I’m now 43 years old, haven’t managed to have a baby as yet (we lost one back in 1997) and have tried ever since then with no luck and now I feel as if it’s too late.  I emailed our local adoption service at the council and received an email back, worded as if I were a criminal that “you’ve had dealings with Social Services and we need to know what this was in connection with before we even talk to you” or words to that effect.  That immediately took me by surprise because I personally have never had dealings with Social Services, however my mum has because of her dementia. So I emailed back explaining that I was my mothers carer etc and the other details and received an email back basically saying that if I have any illnesses and wasn’t “energetic” that my chances of adopting were nil.  Doesn’t matter that both myself and Andy have enough love to care, they were more concerned by the fact that if I couldn’t care for my mother how would I expect to care for a child with possible behavioural issues.  Erm… my mother is 5ft 6 and at the time took to swinging a 10lb concrete dog at me whenever she had the chance, not to mention calling the police if she didn’t get her way, and if I could cope with that for 3 years, I’m damn sure I could cope with a child who might actually have had, or have the same behavioural problems that I myself may have dealt with in the past.  I had behavioural issues all the way through my childhood which were probably caused through the head injury I sustained in nursery, but don’t mind me, move along.

But anyway I’m drifting. The whole episode of that made me feel horrible about myself to say the least. Plus the fact I’m already worrying about my sister (she is having issues with her heart at the moment) so that’s adding to my anxiety. It just feels like it’s never ending.

Worrying and being anxious always seems to make me either eat more sweet food or drink more coffee – neither of those are good for me at all.  Then the depression starts to creep in.  This usually occurs 2 weeks before my period too – this is where I’m beginning to think it’s more hormonal that makes me deal with things in a different way?

My periods have never been that regular, but the last few years they’ve been more regular than when I were younger when they were so incredibly erratic I ended up in A&E thinking I may be bleeding to death one month when about six months worth came at once.  So I definitely have hormonal issues.

OK, with me so far?  So I’ve been pondering. Is it PMDD (Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder) whose symptoms seem pretty much spot on, especially with the devastating depression just before the period which in all honesty stops me in my tracks where I’m scared to move for fear of crying, dying, passing out or whatever it is at the time.  Is it depression that I’ve been struggling with since 1997? Although I think this is more a severe depression which occurs once a month, and realistically I’ve coped with depression pretty much every day since 1997 although it has it’s moments.  Is it menopause? I’m 43 now, I get night sweats, my nipples discharge a clear liquid on or around my period and I do have occasional dryness down there sometimes. Or what? I’ve been “reading on the internet” again this morning and it seems PMDD could be the cause, however it doesn’t happen each and every month, it has for the last couple of months but before that it was now and then.  That could though be caused through losing weight when I felt amazing and nothing bothered me? All these thoughts go through my head, and so my brain never stops.  It’s never ending.  Until perhaps my period starts then I feel my whole body and mind just settle down. It’s literally like someone waves a magic wand over me, it really is!

While I’m writing this (in front of my light box for my SAD), grinding my teeth (I always seems to do that when I’m going through this bitch of a thing), I’m thinking about London Cheesecakes that Aldi/Lidl sell, and wondering when Andy will be back home (he’s taken Pea to the Puppy Parlour) AND also thinking about how I’ll feel tomorrow/tonight, trying to stop the bloody nerve twitching I get too when I deal with this.  See it’s a mind full of mush and it’s happening to me a little too often now that I’m in two minds whether or not to ask for some kind of hormone replacement (which I don’t think they’ll give me as I’m morbidly obese still).

Bottom end of the line is: I HATE DEPRESSION. I hate the way it makes me feel, I hate the way it stops me in my tracks when I’m enjoying my life, it just drops itself from a great height to poop all over me and I’m fed up with it. It has no place in my life anymore and it’s about time I dealt with it.  Diet day 3 now – I’m not giving up now as I want to beat it. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and all that.  We’ll see.

PMDD, Depression, Menopause or what?

Nosh Detox - Jacqui"s View

I struggle with my weight and have lost 8 stone eating healthily and exercising but put the majority back on. I then took a break from it and stuffed my face, however this last month my depression has gotten to the point where I can’t physically cope with it so it was time to put a stop to overeating.

Along came Nosh Detox, and kindly offered myself and Kelly a week’s worth of their revolutionary Pegan Diet.

This particular programme Pegan diet is based on Nosh principles which we find works very well with digestive issues and weight loss across the board.  It is a cross between Vegan and Paleo which is substantially healthy and all meals have good balance of plant based protein not relying on animal protein only ( as this more sustainable way to eat for the body and the planet).

Great idea. So we both filled in their client form where you state your likes, dislikes, allergies, illnesses and they then do the rest of the work designing a plan for you to eat.

My first delivery was scheduled the day after Kelly’s as she’s within the M25 and I’m not, so I was quite excited when Kelly sent me over photos of what she received. I loved the sound of some of it and although some of it looked a bit like rabbit food (they send you snacks too and some are simply amazing) it didn’t look too bad at all. Some of what Kelly received was pretty much what I ate on my diet originally to lose the weight. Delivery to Kelly was quite late at night but at least she received it, fully chilled and packed beautifully.

I received my package the next afternoon. Kelly had already started on her first day and said that it wasn’t too bad. When I opened my box, again chilled and beautifully packaged, I had a different mixture to Kelly. When they say eat the rainbow this was just what they meant – Breakfast the next day for me was going to be a chick pea one with a sauce so green, you needed sunglasses to eat it. It tasted divine. I adored it.

Lunch was a different matter on Day One as it was a salad with raw beetroot. Now as much as I adore Beetroot, I am not a fan of eating it raw at all, it’s horrible. But I ate what I could and then moved on a few hours later to the afternoon snack (which again was gorgeous). Dinner was again very green but was a Chicken Casserole. This was scrummy so by the end of the day I was in love with Nosh Detox.

Day Two and Three were pretty much similar (one morning I had grated sweet potato, raw cashews in a hazelnut milk and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten) but Day Four and Five just let me down. Watery tomato soup, a quinoa salad with a very, very oily dressing that literally made me gag (sorry ND) but the dressing turned me off what looked like a brilliant salad full of colour. I prefer vinaigrette based dressings and rarely use oil in any dressings at all so this was a big shock to the system. I’m afraid to say once I used the dressing on the dish, I took one mouthful and had to throw it away.

I think the fault of these things lies within their client form. It would be nice if you were shown a sample menu and ask you to choose which types of food you like out of those menus, then compile the diet around that. I can’t fault the diet as such as it’s very nutritious and sustainable but for me the price pretty left a sour taste in my mouth. £317 for a week’s worth is a little excessive, especially as you are told it is tailored to you when both Kelly and I received near enough the very same menus just in a different order. I did enquire about why the price was so high and I was told by the always helpful Sarah, that

Price for the programme covers the cost of chefs tailoring your day meal plan specific to each client i.e any dislike / allergies, delivering to your address and having personal support throughout the programme. it is quite the logistical operation to get all varies details together and delivered to your door.

As much as I understand that you are paying for an individual program, I don’t know if it failed on our part for not giving enough information or their part for not asking enough questions. I think it’s a fine line between the two. Still, in my opinion £317 is still far too much to pay for just a week’s worth of food considering when I was on my diet last year eating very similar, our monthly bill would be around £250.

Did I feel better on it and lose weight?

Well, do you know, I felt ok. It was nice to try some other ideas and combinations and realise that you can create sweet dishes without the need for sugar and sometimes just vegetables alone are amazing, but by the end of it I feel quite sick. I actually couldn’t stomach finishing some of the dishes as it was just too liquified, and eventually every memory I had of each meal rolled into one. I wasn’t that keen either or eating it cold or just warmed through so I never actually felt like I was eating anything hearty. So very sad as I had high hopes for it. Portion size is fabulous simply because it’s near enough all vegetables and they’re low in calories, I hardly felt hungry at all. Did I lose weight. I did, I lost a few pounds but that might be because I just didn’t pick as I usually do and what I did snack on was a lot healthier than a couple of biscuits.

What it’s proved to me is that balanced diets work, but before you agree to try one that you order online, ask to see at least some of the things that you will be eating as on the site there are no menus with images of the actual food and I think that lets it down big time.

Would I do it again? No, although it’s a fabulous idea only eating food that is sustainable, it’s not a diet that I could live on day to day.

Jacqui

Nosh Detox - Jacqui"s View

Brew Barrel Review

We’re getting all the niceties ready for Christmas and I’m sure you are, but if you’re stumped about what to get your Mr, then how about a Brew Barrel? If you’re guy has never tried to brew his own, or is put off at just how difficult it sounds, then fear not. Brew Barrel is super simple and takes just two weeks to provide you with enough beer/lager for him to ring in the New Year.

Andy loves making his own beer. He’s tried to make it traditionally with hops, malt and a huge container (including a floating thermometer) to the Cheesemaker bag so when I mentioned Brew Barrel his ears pricked up and he wandered over in my direction to spy the website I had open. We were offered to trial a personally styled Brew Barrel, so went through the list of goodies they have listed. You choose the beer style, then the hops and finally the flavour. We chose, Lager: Mild: Honey: Cascade.

It arrived within a few days by courier (result) and we set about pulling the kit apart and arranging everything ready to start boiling water needed, syphoning off cold water from Virgin Pure (they say you can use tap water but bottled water might be better. Virgin Pure is filtered so thought we’d give that a go). Andy added all the water needed, added the hops and the flavour. We were then told to turn it upside down for 30 seconds and leave it to rest for a few days. After then we had to rest it in the fridge for 5 days. Only then could you remove the air from the barrel by pushing the little red valve on top, then proceeded to pour out a pint.

It was a little fiddly to pour the pint out as the handle at the front wouldn’t pull out correctly, and although we removed the air the pint still poured out with such a force Andy ended up with a pint of head initially. Once it settled down we had a lovely pint of almost clear lager. Now I don’t normally drink but I just had to try it as it was our first personalised concoction. It was gorgeous. The overwhelming taste was honey, followed by a flowers. It was so nice I drank the whole pint. It’s like a very light lager that you can drink at any time. There wasn’t any “iron” taste which usually hits the back of my throat when I’ve tried lager for reviews, this was very creamy and totally delicious. It was so incredibly easy to follow too I can see me buying Andy another one for Christmas as even I could do it. Not complicated at all.

It’s a lovely little size too and fits in the fridge quite easily and comfortably, we left it on the side in the kitchen at first, then Andy put it into his beer fridge and drains a pint out for lunch pretty much every day since.

€29.00 for the basic kit, and a few extra euros to buy extras to make your barrel truly unique. Worth it? I should say so, we loved making it and Andy loves drinking it. Top notch!

Brew Barrel Review

Oh Baby London Great Sale now on

Xmas is nearly upon us and a lot of parents and other family members always get kids new clothes to wear for xmas day or for presents. Normally I find it hard to find anything really decent and cheap but this year ohbabylondon has come in handy as at the moment they have a massive sale on. No small discounts either, you can find items massively reduced. Some items which originally were £32 are now £5, and £48 down to £10 – I think you get my drift. The clothes are extremely well made as well and sizing is good most of the clothes go up to age 8-9yrs and if you don’t like buying on line you can also go to the store in Brick Lane, London as they have a great choice in the store as well.

If you are looking for the perfect xmas outfit this year then make sure you visit them. I promise you won’t be disappointed and your kids will love the clothes as they are so stylish and different they will be the envy of their friends.

Get those lovely treats for the little people in your life. Lots of bargains to be had.

Oh Baby London Great Sale now on

I"m finally Back

Eeek I’ve realised it’s been a while since I did a blog post but I’ve been so busy with things lately I’ve barely had time to sit down. I’ve decided I’m going to start making some time for myself even if it is just an hour a day to start with. For the past couple of months I have been a bit depressed as had a lot going on healthwise with depression and my weight problems BUT I have decided to do something about it.

I’ve been trying to sort stuff out with Lauren with her health problems and school things. She is in a PRU (pupil referral unit) but she is in it for behavioural problems. She has been there since January and let’s say since being there even though it is the wrong place for her we have finally got answers, some which we have been fighting to get acknowledge for a long time too. They have found out that Lauren has a severe learning disability, she has with a mental age of 4-5yrs (she’s 9). She still can’t read or write but I’m sure one day she shall get there and achieve the same academic levels of her peers. At the moment we are in the process of trying to get her statemented again and her school she is in now is 90% certain she will get it and finally get admitted to the correct school for her that will help her and she will stay there till she leaves school at 18.

So as you can see we have been going through quite a bit with Lauren. It’s been a constant stream of form filling, meetings and other things so I haven’t had time to write any blog posts but I’m sure you all don’t mind as Jacqui does such a good job on posts she keeps you all going.

Right, as I said I will be doing a blog post about my weight and what I have done about it so I shall have a post up tomorrow for you all to read Hopefully it gives some of you some inspiration if you need to lose weight.

Take care

I"m finally Back

Christmas 2015 with Hotel Chocolat

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without chocolates and as usual Hotel Chocolat have come up trumps with the amount of Christmas themed choccie goodies for us to buy our loved ones.

I chose a few little gifts this year rather than a larger box so there will be something for everyone saving the regular “I don’t like truffles, and I don’t like cremes” conversation that you will no doubt have sometime Christmas Day when Auntie April passes round the box for everyone to choose from.

Hotel Chocolat have quite an extensive Christmas Collection so let’s take a look at a couple in more depth to whet your appetite:

The Elf’s Stocking:

A super cute little stocking filled with white vanilla bells, caramel trees and milk chocolate santas. Priced at just £10 it’s perfect for little ones in your family or for secret santas where you have a maximum of £10 to spend. Stocking is made of cotton and includes a little hook for you to hang up over your fireplace for when Santa pops in.

The Christmas Chorus:

A glorious gift bag with 4 taster selections. Coconut Snowballs, a Christmas Duo of Nutmeg Praline and Christmas Mess; Milk Dizzy Praline and Santa’s Slab. The coconut snowballs are my absolute favourite being a small truffle filled with creamy coconut liqueur. Much like a cross between a bounty bar and a spoonful of condensed milk. Just £12, it’s a lovely little selection and perfect for one (if you don’t want to share).

The Mint Box:

Mints are my thing. Never a week goes by without me asking Andy for a box of After Eights or other chocolate covered mints, and so this I thought might be the answer to my prayers. £10 a box and described as being a “journey through mint”, sadly I think I missed the bus. They were not a peppermint flavour but were more akin to a wild mint that you pick for a Sunday roast. I think it’s the only time that I’ve felt a little disappointed and sadly this box let me down. The chocolates themselves look stunning, as does the majority of the Hotel Chocolat selection but the flavour was such a let down in this box. Saying that though, if you do like a very lightly flavoured wild mint flavour, then these will be perfect.

If you’re looking for some chocs to splash out on rather than buying the regular stock that you see piled 10 high in local supermarkets then Hotel Chocolat is the place to go online.

Jacqui

Christmas 2015 with Hotel Chocolat