The Fast Diet! A new dieting craze.

Finally here is my review of the Hollywood diet. 

 A quick recap because I have been really bad at keeping up to date with blog posts!! 

Hollywood Diet

Recipe

 ♥ 1 cup low-fat vanilla soy milk

♥ 1 cup orange juice 

♥ 1 cup cranberry juice

♥ 1 cup yoghurt (plain) 

♥ 1/4 tsp. wheat-germ oil or 2 tsp. wheat germ

♥ 1/4 tsp.flaxseed oil

Blend all ingredients together, then divide into two portions (each portion is a full day's diet drink). Sip throughout the day, along with plenty of water.

I originally went in with the mindset that this diet would be easier than The Cabbage Soup diet that I have previously reviewed because it was a lot shorter. One of the main issues with The Cabbage Soup diet was finding the motivation to stick to it for 7 days.

You really do have to have a lot of will power to follow through with this diet. You have nothing solid during the two days and I found that extremely hard as it caused me to crave fatty foods such as pizza. A saving grace of the Hollywood Diet is that it is only 48 hours and the end seems like a realistic goal; by the end of your first day you only have 24 hours left and that is a comforting thought. It gives you the motivation to carry on. The last 24 hours can seem unreachable with diets that last a week or longer.

Fasting is always very hard especially when you aren't used to it. It's something that our ancestors did on a regular basis as food wasn't so readily available but through years of grazing our bodies feel like they can no longer cope on small amounts of food. 

During the two days I managed to lose 7 pounds which was brilliant for such a short period of time although since finishing the diet I have put 5 of those back on. Again like The Cabbage Soup diet I would recommend it if you have a big event coming up in a fews days just too shift those last final pounds but I wouldn't recommend it as a long term answer. 

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Following on from the idea of short periods of fasting I am now going to take on the Fast Diet. 

The Fast diet is the new dieting craze and everyone appears to be jumping on the band wagon with many newspapers covering it in their weekend issues.

The diet consists of fasting for 2 days a week (only consuming 500 calories for women and 600 for men) and then eating anything you like on the other 5 days ... Yes, you read right you can eat ANYTHING. 

On your 'off days' (when you aren't fasting) women can consumes 2,000 calories and men 2,500 but you can decide how to make up these calories. 

You could eat fish and chips (840 calories) or a cheeseburger (500 calories) or even a chocolate muffin (300 calories). 

Today is my first fast day and for breakfast I started with 2 eggs (180 calories) a dash of skimmed milk (15ml, 5 calories) scrambled in a non stick frying pan with no added fat. I then added half a red bell pepper (15 calories). I could have also added 50g of chopped smoked salmon (71 calories) instead of the peppers.

My breakfast came to 200 calories.

For dinner I will be making roasted vegetable salad. 

 Mix 10 cherry tomatoes (150g, 27 calories) with half a sliced courgette (50g, 9 calories) and half a sliced aubergine (75g, 11 calories). Scatter with basil leaves (1 calorie) and drizzle balsamic vinegar. Roast for 20-25 minutes. Serve with 2 tbsp Parmesan (20g, 90 calories).

 

What do you guys think of the Fast Diet? 

Has anybody got any healthy, low calorie meal recipes?

Charley x

Fad Diet Review: The Cabbage Soup Diet part 2 & The Hollywood Diet

I intended to post this straight after I finished the diet but I have had the most stressful week house hunting but here it is.
:)

Sorry for the delay!

♥

So I have finally reached the end of my 7 day Cabbage Soup Diet!!!

Ok, it's confession time ... 

I cheated a little bit. 

Well it wasn't cheating - why as a society do we attach such a negative word to eating or drinking something we want?

I ate the soup everyday and I followed the daily plan but I did drink alcohol. 

I had three glasses of white rum and a glass of vodka. 

BUT even with this little 'cheat' I still lost 6 pounds by the end of the week.

I found it really hard to be motivated to carry on with the Diet but I think a really important thing I learnt from my little 'cheat' night is that even if you have one bad day/evening whilst trying to be healthy you shouldn't give in and eat/drink rubbish all the time.

It's OK to eat food you want.
McDonalds or a pizza isn't bad for you if it's eaten in moderation.

I hope that when I finish trying out these fad diets I will be able to keep up a healthy life style. This diet really opened my eyes to healthy meals as I am a self confessed junk food addict!

After eating normally for a few days I have put 4 pounds back on and many critics suggest this is because the weight lost is water.
I would suggest that this diet is useful if you have a special event coming up and you want to shift those last few pounds but if you want long term results you should always opt for a healthy lifestyle and slower weight loss.
But I guess if it was a long term weight loss plan then it wouldn't come under the fad diets umbrella.

♥

The next diet I'm going to try is the Hollywood diet.

I'm going to make the juice myself although you can buy it on Amazon.com for about £20.
The diet should only last 48 hours and consists of drinking the juice throughout the day and a lot of water.

The site I am using claims you can lose 8 pounds within the 2 days.

I personally think it will be hard not to eat for two days but I also think because it is only a two day diet it is easier to feel motivated and I'll be less likely to give up!

♥

Recipe
♥ 1 cup low-fat vanilla soy milk
♥ 1 cup orange juice
♥ 1 cup cranberry juice
♥ 1 cup yoghurt (plain)
♥ 1/4 tsp. wheat-germ oil or 2 tbsp. wheat germ
♥ 1/4 tsp. flaxseed oil

Blend all ingredients together, then divide into two portions (each portion is a full day's diet drink). Sip throughout the day, along with plenty of water.

I promise I will review this one as I go along!
I will start on Monday.

Charley x

Fad Diet Review: The Cabbage Soup Diet

It's January and that means lots of News Years resolutions and the renewal of gym memberships. Most people will have made the promise to lose weight and by February many gym memberships will become an expensive walk on the treadmill every two weeks.

Another tactic some will use is to try and starve themselves to lose as much weight as possible or begin a fad diet and give up after two days. 

So many times I have trawled through the internet to find quick ways to get that celebrity figure but I feel that nothing gives you enough information or reviews the negatives of putting your body through the diets. 

For the next few weeks I am going to try some of the most popular fad diets and see which ones actually make you drop ten pounds in a few days. 

Along with reviewing the weight loss I will also keep you up to date on how I feel about the diets. 

♥

The Cabbage Soup Diet

This diet was given to me by our family nurse and is used when a large amount of weight needs to be lost quickly. It is said that it can make you lose about 10 pounds in one week. (The diet should not exceed 7 days.) 

I love cabbage so this diet actually sounds tasty to me (although I can imagine only eating cabbage would taste very bland and I would probably find a lack of people wanting to spend time in a close proximity to me). When I told my friends the title they all pulled the same face and then gave me that look that said 'rather you than me' but don't be put off by the name it isn't just soup made of cabbage.

♥

Ok, so the basic rules are you can eat as much of the soup as you like with some versions even claiming the more you eat the more you lose. You can only drink water and are advised to drink a minimum of 4 glasses a day, sugar free fruit juices are allowed on certain days.

 

Recipe

 ♥6 large onions, chopped

♥2 green peppers, diced
♥ 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
♥ 250g mushrooms, sliced
♥ 1 bunch celery, chopped
♥ 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
♥ 3 carrots, sliced
♥ 1 package dry onion soup mix
♥ 1 or 2 cubes bouillon (optional)

♥ 148oz can of low sodium V8 juice (optional)

♥ Salt and pepper

For added flavour: Cayenne pepper, curry powder, mixed herbs or any other seasoning.

I only eat red peppers so I didn't use any green peppers in my soup.

1. Use spray oil to sauté the chopped onions in a large pot.
2. Add the green pepper pieces and heat for a minute.
3. Add the chopped cabbage leaves, sliced carrots, celery and mushrooms.
4. Sprinkle over a little cayenne pepper or curry powder.
5. Add 12 cups of water and any additional stock cubes and V8 juice.
6. Cook over a medium heat until the soup and the vegetables are tender and the soup is the right consistency.

♥ 

Daily Plan

Day 1: Unlimited cabbage soup and fruit (excluding bananas). Water and sugar-free fruit juice to drink.
Day 2: Cabbage soup and additional vegetables. One jacket potato with butter for dinner. No fruit at all.
Day 3: Unlimited cabbage soup plus any fruit and vegetables you choose (excluding potatoes or bananas).
Day 4: Unlimited cabbage soup and skimmed milk. Plus up to eight bananas.
Day 5: Unlimited cabbage soup and 565g of beef and 6 tomatoes. Drink 6-8 glasses of water today to flush extra uric acid from your body.
Day 6: Unlimited cabbage soup and limitless beef and vegetables (excluding potatoes).
Day 7: Unlimited cabbage soup with a little brown rice, vegetables and sugar-free fruit juice.

♥

Like any female I Love, Love, Love!!!!!! Chocolate!

My other addiction is tea.

I am now on day three of The Cabbage Soup diet and it's safe to say I am missing my Tea and chocolate biscuits.

I feel like a drug addict going cold turkey.

Although this has made me realise the reason I could stand to lose a few pounds is because of my chocolate addiction!

Day one was a slight shock to the system, especially after pigging out over Christmas, the diet doesn't provide you with many calories.

Yet saying this, one of the bonuses is that you can eat as much of the soup and fruit/veg (whatever applies to the day your on) as you want.

Day two I was feeling more hungry but did enjoy experimenting with vegetables, being a student I usually live off pasta and foods that are quick to make so making a meal out of veg has encouraged me to eat healthier when I am no longer dieting.

Another disadvantage of being a student is that I have been surrounded by people eating pasta and with it being one of my favourite meals it has taken a lot of will power not to cave and give up on the diet. (Although I may have stolen one cheeky piece from my flatmate)

I can safely say I am getting pretty bored of the soup. I had to force myself to eat some earlier as I was so hungry.

I just keep thinking of the final goal and I know I would only feel guilty if I didn't lose any weight due to my lack of will power.

So far I have lost 3 pounds in two days which suggests I am on track to lose nearly ten by the time I reach the end of the diet.

My Dad's promise of bringing me some chocolate biscuits on my seventh day is another thing helping me pull through.

I speak about this diet as if it is a chore and to be honest it is hard work but it has made me realise I don't need as many calories as I am consuming on a daily basis.

I have been busy house hunting and that has helped me keep my mind occupied but had I been sitting around at home all day I think I would have given up by now.

♥

4 days to go.

Wish me luck.

Charley x