Week 4 - PLAN H

 By: Unknown    11:34  No comments

Another week has gone by and I'm now more than halfway through the PLAN H experiment. My weight is now down to 52.2/52.3 (over 3 kilos lost) and I'm really happy with that figure. I'm actually not even really that sure I want to lose much more weight, maybe just another half kilo but I feel really good and healthy and I've dropped more than a dress size. 

It actually feels like I'm now in maintenance phase rather than diet phase. The result of feeling like I no longer feel need to lose weight is that I have been sneaking in a couple of extra nuts or a little piece of dark chocolate here and there. Last night I actually had cake! I've decided not to feel guilty though. I think it's impossible to completely avoid food you love for 8 weeks, or at least maybe it's impossible for me, however, the main thing is that I'm not resorting to bad habits and eating 3 chocolates instead of dinner or a packet of crackers for lunch. I've basically simply learnt how to eat properly.

Also - NEWS FLASH - last Sunday they sent me a brownie !!!

One of the best things about PLAN H is how varied the food is, I think it's so easy to adhere to because at no point do you think - "oh crap this again!" I've had different food every lunch and dinner and nearly every snack and breakfast, over 4 weeks that's quite remarkable. For prices and more info read last week's post .

This dish below was really innovative - bolognese but with thin strips of courgettes rather than spaghetti.

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Week 2 - PLAN H

 By: Unknown    11:30  No comments

If you missed my 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, I have taken up a challenge offered to me by the PLAN H team - to follow their diet for 8 whole weeks and eat only what's given to me for the day.

Week 2 Gone By

So it's been two whole week and I MANAGED (ok I ate one tiny tiny piece of dark chocolate, a few extra strawberries and a couple of cashew nuts on diff days but I don't think these disqualify me). 

What I Like

The food is good, some dishes I obviously like more than others but it's all very tasty and feels genuine, not like something mass produced.

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It's always different - I've only had one breakfast repeated - all my snacks, meals, breakfasts have so far been in some way different to another.

You occasionally get desert - a form of apple and cinnamon crisp desert thing and a drizzle cake were given on two separate days last week AND I once got a pancake for breakfast.

You get pasta - a lot of diets forbid pasta and I would die without pasta - still haven't got any bread  or chocolate though.

Photo by Kurt Paris

Diets are better when shared - the hubby started his diet long before this challenge started but I was somewhat sabotaging it for him over the weekends by insisting we go out to eat, and suggesting chocolate late at night etc - now instead he's eating PLAN H food with me on weekends and he's been losing weight steadily once again.

What I Dislike

• As I mentioned in last week's post, they are flexible with likes and dislikes but if you're a fussy eater like me, chances are you can't have told them everything that's on your dislike list and sooner or later along will come a snack that you don't like. Saturday afternoon along came pineapple which I really don't enjoy. The hubby keeps strawberries in the fridge, so I just had those instead.
• Not eating out - eating out is one of my favourite things to do, also, sometimes if you've planned a whole day out or are going to a party straight from work, it's an inconvenience to have to stop somewhere and eat before - but then this is a reality of any diet I guess.
• Weekends are still much much harder - sitting down to watch a movie seems strange without a big bowl of popcorn or crisps. No trips to the Qormi baker and subsequent bread for breakfast on a Sunday is still a sad affair.
• No Bread, No Chocolate , No Crisps :( I have actually not crisps for two weeks now - wow.

The Best Part 

I'm now down to 53.5 kg. from 55.5 and barring a tiny piece of dark chocolate on Sunday afternoon I haven't eaten any extra sweets / crisps in two weeks which I know is definitely a good break for my body.  Six more weeks to go !!

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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

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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

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