If you've been a reader of this blog for a while then you'll know that thanks to my diagnosis at age 18 with Graves Disease, I have been on a bit of weight journey for most of my life.
Depending on where my body is with my thyroid levels and whether or not I'm on the steroid medication at the time, my weight can fluctuate pretty greatly and over the last 18 years I've been everything from a size 8 to a size 24 to a size 16 and pretty much everything in between!
I've blogged before about how soul destroying and anxiety inducing it can be to feel so completely out of control of your own body and appearance, and this is why whenever my thyroid levels balance out and I'm able to come off my medication briefly (something that only tends to happen once every 2 years or so) - I see this as my opportunity to take hold of the reins for a while!
Last time this happened, I was able to lose 2 stone and get down to a size 16 by following a calorie controlled diet and so I've been determined to follow another structured routine this time and see some results. Luckily for me, I was contacted by a company called SoShape at exactly the right time.
SoShape offer a Smart Meal system with a bit of a difference to those that I've tried before...SoShape's Smart Meals are all designed to help boost energy and improve muscles, and are all 100% Vegetarian, Gluten free and GMO free. They are also super easy to prepare being ready in just a few minutes, and contain something for every taste from simple shakes and warming soups to quick and easy mueslis and tasty risotto and pasta meals. There are 22 flavours to choose from, with new flavours being added regularly.
There are three different programmes to choose from on the SoShape plan:
Reboot - A 5 day programme for detoxing and refreshing your body.
Remove - A 14 day programme designed for smaller weight losses.
Reborn - A 28 day programme designed for those looking for bigger results.
I chose the Reborn plan, and when my SoShape products arrived I was keen to get started.
The way the plan works is that you have 2 SoShape Smart Meals per day - one in the morning and one in the evening. And you then enjoy an open lunch - now by "open lunch" I don't mean you take yourself off the McDonalds and fill up on an extra large Bic Mac Meal obviously!! You need to be sensible and there are certain foods that SoShape suggest that you avoid (all explained in the guide book that arrives with your products) but as long as you are sensible, you can enjoy what you fancy for lunch.
If you happen to be going out that evening, don't worry - you can switch it around occasionally and enjoy your Smart Meal at lunch time and eat a regular meal in the evening.
I've been following the SoShape Plan for 3 weeks now, so I'm almost finished and I'm delighted to have lost 8 lbs. It's worth keeping in mind that I do lose weight slower than most people due to my health problems, so 8 lbs for me could easily be a lot more for somebody else!
Now I won't lie and say that every single one of the SoShape smart meals has been delicious, there have been one or two flavours that I haven't enjoyed much - but most of them I have found surprisingly tasty. The spag bol in particular is a favorite of mine and I really enjoy the Mint Chocolate Chip flavor too!
I tend to have a shake in the morning and a soup or one of the meals in the evening as this feels more like a sit down dinner, and I've found myself really enjoying eating a proper afternoon meal too - I am usually the type to skip lunch entirely and end up completely famished by the end of the day, so it's been nice to see how much more energised I feel simply by eating something healthy in the middle of the day. I've also felt far less bloated in the evenings too!
If you'd like to try SoShape for yourself, just visit the website and decide which plan and flavours are best for you - and don't forget to take advantage of my discount code:
SPARKLES10 get 10% off your 14 or 28-day Challenge, UK only!
You can find out more at https://uk.soshape.com/
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