Week 7 : PLAN H

 By: Unknown    05:37  No comments

This was the last week of my 8-week PLAN H challenge. Yes, I know the pic says week 7, but that was because I started the posts after a week had already gone by. I've already elaborated on how much weight I lost and how I'm now in maintenance phase - you can read all about my experiences here and here and here. For today, I'm going to answer a bunch of questions you guys have been asking me all throughout these 8 weeks. If you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about...catch up here

Are the portions small?

According to the hubby and I, they're actually quite large. If you're used to 150g pasta portions, then these will feel smaller but they are really more than adequate in size. I put up some photos in this last post that clearly show the entire portion of a main meal. It also depends on what the meal is, e.g. personally I'm much happier with barley than couscous because the couscous portions tend to be smaller and I'd rather have more food.

Do they deliver every day?

Yes, except for Sunday. Sunday meals are delivered on Saturday. Otherwise, it's cooked fresh daily.

Can you arrange delivery times?

Across these 8 weeks I was in the middle of a bit of a few whirlwind life changes (more on that to come) and there was fashion week, there were night shoots - so I probably drove them crazy asking for different times and locations. However, they actually met all my insane requirements, a fact which, to be honest, surprised me.

Can you choose your meals?

At the start of the plan, you will give them your list of items that you don't like or can't eat. They will adapt and change certain dishes to suit your requirements. Also, at the start of the week you get the list of daily main courses (lunch and dinner) so you can opt for eating the same meal for lunch and dinner for instance or ask for something to be altered slightly. I'm a notorious fussy eater and really didn't have any problems in this regards.

Can you choose your snacks and breakfasts?

Well, I was never given a choice to choose from but I never really gave a list of things I wouldn't eat or want in my snacks. The snacks are mainly fruit, nuts and seeds, banana bread, lots of dips, greek yoghurt, carrot muffins.... These are all things I like so I didn't need to be a fussy snack person.

Isn't it too expensive?

First of all, you can see the prices here. This is a debatable question that needs to start off from the basic calculation as to how much you are currently spending to feed yourself. This varies drastically from person to person, there are people who eat pastizzi daily and people who order chicken salads from restaurants every day for lunch. The good thing about Plan H is that it cuts down on your grocery and cooking time and expenses. There is relly no need to buy yourself any groceries if you're on this plan.

Do you get the recipes?

Yes, you do. There's a facebook group available when you sign up and a lot of recipes are already available, but you can also request a new recipe that's not on there.

But what about my husband/partner/wife?

Well, I guess if you need to feed another person anyway, then maybe part of the attraction (saving time) is gone. I think they might offer some type of discount for joint deliveries if your significant other is interested, but I don't really have full details about this, so best to contact them.

Would I do it again?

Well, actually, I've decided to keep it for a while longer - Mon-Fri. I've lost the weight I wanted to lose so I don't think I need to be on it 7 days a week, plus my weekends are a bit erratic and if I'm out for a whole day, I've found it difficult to either carry the food with me in a cooler and find a place to eat it or wait until I get home to eat it. Also, I do love eating out and that way it's easier to be good Mon - Fri knowing you'll get to cheat on the weekend.

I've decided to stay on it because it is simply too convenient and too fool proof. Prior to being on Plan H, I had found myself in this dangerous cycle of obsessing over how many calories I was eating, yet pigging out on chocolates and sweets frequently. I desperately wanted to stop eating those sweets, I really wanted to lose 4 kilos and the whole thing was really weighing me down.  I was constantly obsessing over what I ate and what I was going to eat and bla bla bla. I know I wasn't overweight, I acknowledge I was still thin but it's all about the size you're used to being and what makes you feel comfortable and I wasn't.

I've read that diets give you cravings and in my case that had happened. I don't know why Plan H is different because it's not like they give you burgers and chips after all. Maybe it's because the menu is so varied (I think in 8 weeks I only had my mains repeated three times), maybe because it's really tasty and interesting, but it doesn't feel like a diet. The truth is, that whilst my cravings for chocolate never went away (I think that's just a myth), they did lessen. I didn't feel unhappy or deprived, yes there were times I wanted a burger but not every day.

What's next for the blog?

When I started writing about PLAN H, I wasn't sure how you guys would respond, but the interest was actually overwhelming. This made me realise that whilst my readers, yes, are into fashion and shopping etc, they'd also love there to be more lifestyle-related articles some more personal ones. So I'm starting a new series called CLEAN LIVING. This weekly series will focus on exercise (I spend a large portion of my time at a gym so it makes sense), including what to wear to gyms and workout gadgets, healthy food, new restaurants, more updates on plan h - you get the gist. Occasionally, the series might cheat a little and talk about living options that aren't all that clean :) 

Let me know if any of you want anything specific to be on this series

Read More

WEEK 6 - PLAN H

 By: Unknown    01:00  No comments

It is now closing into the end of Week 6. My weight is now down to 51.3 my starting weight was 55.5/56  SO I REACHED MY GOAL WEIGHT. Since I don't really want to lose any more weight, I have been allowing myself an odd piece of dark chocolate here and there, or a few almonds or strawberries after dinner. If you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about...catch up here

However, the great thing is, that I'm really managing to refrain from eating junk and on the one day where I worked from 4 am till 9 straight and got super, super hungry, it was nuts and extra food I resorted to, not sweets. 

I started this whole thing out as an 8-week challenge, the idea was that I would stick to it and it only, for 8 whole weeks. I didn't complete it, in the sense, for example, last week I went out to dinner and there were times I ate chocolate. However, I think the initial idea was too ambitious and also not really necessary. Plan H teaches you how to eat healthily, how to control your portion sizes, what kind of foods you should be eating but there's a time and place for everything and on certain days, I think it's ok to be naughty.

A lot of people have been asking me about portion sizes, it seems many are scared they'll be left feeling hungry. I find them more than adequate, the male ones are larger of course. Here are a couple of photos that show the entire portion so you can judge for yourselves.

I realise that a lot of you have a lot of questions re Plan H, so next week I'm going to write a Q&A post, send me all your questions and I'll answer them in next week's post.

Read More

WEEK 5 - PLAN H

 By: Unknown    01:43  No comments

It is now closing into the end of Week 5. My weight is now down to 51.6/51.8, my starting weight was 55.5/56  so that's a bit more than 4 kilos lost in total. Since I continued going to the gym throughout these 5 weeks, I think it's actually as though I lost more but my body is more toned and muscled - my thighs have lost about 2 inches and I'm down about 2 dress sizes.

Now for the scary and most difficult part - maintaining it. Whenever I've lost weight in the past, that chocolate and junk food addict inside of me starts to rear its ugly head and suggest I cheat a little bit here and there, I'm trying to control it, only a couple of titbits here and there, till now my willpower is holding up.

The real test, however, will come at all the weddings and parties I have over the next month and also multiple travelling plans to Italy. I'm clinging to the hope that now though, even if a day comes along where I'm completely naughty, I'll know how to return immediately to sensible eating and the damage will be minimal. 

My favourite things about PLAN H

• The food is yummy
• They are really flexible with delivery times and locations, although I think I've probably been their worst client in this regard.
• The meals are never repeated - it's a never a case of "uff this again" so it's quite fun to see what's on the day's menu.
• Wholesome and genuine, no cheap products or bad quality produce, everything is nice and fresh
• NO GROCERY SHOPPING
• NO COOKING

Here's a Sample Day Menu To Get An Idea of What I've Been Eating

• Breakfast: 
• Breakfast muffin (179 calories)
• Morning snack: 
• Greek Yogurt with Fresh Fruit (145 calories)
• Lunch: 
• Mozzarella, Tomato and Couscous salad (363 calories)
• Afternoon snack: 
• Bean dip and Crackers (120 calories)
• Dinner: 
• Chicken, Lentils, Tomatoes Summer Salad (398 calories)

 For prices and more info read last week's post.

Read More

Week 1 - PLAN H

 By: Unknown    23:30  No comments

Last week I wrote a bit of a long post updating you on some life changes I had decided to make so as to downsize the stress and the side effects of said stress. One of these was taking up the challenge offered to me by the PLAN H team - follow their diet for 8 whole weeks.

What is Plan H?

Some folks didn't quite understand the concept so let me elaborate:

Every single day, Every morning, you receive a BAG OF FOOD - 

• Breakfast
• Morning Snack 
• Lunch
• Afternoon Snack
• Dinner

Total Calories in One Bag - 1200 (women) 1800 (man). There is also an option for 1500 calories if you wish.

Everything is cooked fresh daily and the emphasis is on good nutrition - so no added sugar, no highly processed carbs, minimal fats and a good balance of all the things your body needs - like vegetables, fruit, dairy, protein, nuts .......

Some people I know have gone on this diet 5/6 days a week and had 1 or 2 cheat days. My challenge is 8 whole weeks, 7 days a week - yes ostensibly 56 days of no chocolate or junk food.

Week 1 Gone By

So it's been one whole week and I MANAGED. I have actually not eaten chocolate or crisps for an entire week which must be come kind of personal life record. The only times I cheated were with an extra couple of strawberries, I can never get enough of these, but otherwise I stuck to eating only what's in the bag and drinking a combination of water / wheat grass and green tea.

What I Liked Most

• The portions are larger than I thought they would be, so the best thing is that you're not hungry. Previous diet attempts had me restricting food intake such that I was always hungry and thinking about food. This last week, there were times when I ate simply because I had the food to eat rather than because I was really hungry.
• The best things are the snacks and breakfasts - I mean there's hummus dip with carrots, popcorn, greek yoghurt with fruit, carrot cake muffins, quinoa muffins. It's also different every day, so it's quite exciting to open the bag and see what there is.

Snacks and Bfast Slideshow

What I Found Hardest

• They're quite flexible and adaptable at catering to your likes and dislikes but you're not getting bread and chips, so if you're used to a highly processed carb diet and a certain amount of 'naughty food', you'll have to learn how to do without.
• Events and parties are hard, the good thing is you're not hungry but just looking at all that party food and cocktails... it's not easy.
• Weekends are harder - maybe because I had 4 different catered events this weekend or because I'm used to indulging myself more over the weekend but I experienced more cravings and some irritability this weekend. The good thing is that the hubby is doing this with me on weekends so we get to support each other.

The Best Part 

I'm actually already down to 54.4 kg. from 55.5 and I've lost a whole inch off my thighs and hips, the hubby thinks my skin feels smoother and I look leaner and healthier. I don't know if I'll manage to not cheat for the entire 8 weeks but these results are most definitely very helpful in encouraging me.

For more info here's their facebook page

Read More

The Start of A New Chapter - With PLAN H

 By: Unknown    04:11  No comments

In my eyes, I'm looking at today as a start of something new, a new chapter. For various reasons, I've decided to make some changes in my life, designed to combat the amount of stress I was suffering in the recent months and it's effects. All those who know me, know I like to pack my life up with a 101 things which is fine for the most part, but the problem is that when one of those things starts to stop being as smooth sailing and stress / unhappiness increases – your perfectly formed life pyramid might come tumbling down.

I've always prided myself on not resorting to food when stressed or unhappy but these last few months something changed.

• The fact that it was Easter with chocolates everywhere didn't help.
• The fact that I went to Italy twice also didn't help – it is the land of all the food I adore after all.
• The fact that I'm very bad at nutritional eating and usually use periods of fasting (which can be beneficial when done properly but shouldn't be used as an excuse to eat more chocolate after) also didn't help.

The last point, more than anything, is in my opinion the main reason as to why these extra 4 kilos can presently be found on my body and my jeans don't fit. I think my perceived 'control over my food intake' was fake and designed to fail eventually. No diet can be built on eating crisps, chocolate and sweets on a daily basis because the problem is that as soon as stress increases, these are the first things you'll reach for and if you're already used to eating them on a daily basis, then chances are you'll reach again and again and again. I mean I'm the type of person who counts 1 chocolate-free day as an achievement.

Enter  -------> PLAN H.

Plan H is a wonderful company designed to help you get on track – basically they prepare and deliver healthy, nutritional meals to your door (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner) every day and the whole pack weighs in at about 1200 calories for the women or 1800 for the men.

Out of the blue, last week, I received an email asking if I wished to collaborate with them for 8 weeks and it couldn't have been timed better. This last weekend was the last weekend of 'naughty food' (two huge dinner party events) and today I begin a new chapter of learning how to eat, learning how to say no and learning how to do without all the junk food.

I'll be posting weekly updates on what changes are happening to my body and you'll be able to see photos of all the food both on Facebook and Instagram :D The hubby will also be joining me on this venture on weekends.

My Goals are the following

• To lose weight – my current weight is 55.5 kg and my target weight is 51.5 but I'll be happy with 52 and / or my smallest sized jeans fitting once again (sometimes, when eating and exercising properly it is possible to lose inches without actually losing weight but in that case I'm not taking anything less than 2 inches off my hips :) ).
• To learn how big or small my portions should be - too big and u gain weight, too small you might eat chocolate or snacks later.
• To embrace healthy eating
• TO live without daily doses of crisps and sugar

In terms of whether I'll be exercising – well I always exercise about 3-4 times a week so nothing will be changing there.

For more Info check out PLAN H on Facebook

Read More