I've made no secret of my struggles with weight over the years.
As a quick reminder - at age 18 I weighed in at 8 Stone 13lbs (Too light for my 5'9 height really, as I looked quite skeletal) and had always had a fast metabolism.
At 18, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease - a condition that effects the thyroid gland function - and was medicated for the condition with steroid based medication.
From then on, my weight has fluctuated dramatically.
Most of the time, my thyroid gland runs underactive making it very very difficult to lose or maintain weight.
On a couple of occasions in the past 12 years it has run overactive, and during these times the weight literally fell off me.
But obviously I can't allow my thyroid to stay overactive (as tempting as it is!) as it can be extremely dangerous - so the medication is needed, and then the weight piles back on again.
At the moment, I'm at the heaviest I've been.
BUT there is a slight difference right now - I was recently taken off my medication on a trial basis to see how my thyroid handles it.
This means that I have a window of time where my body should be running just like everybody elses - no medication interfering with it, and my thyroid levels currently show as normal.
This means that - for the first time in the last 12 years - I should be able to diet like any other person and lose weight.
Usually the medication and thyroid imbalance counteract any hard work I do with healthy eating, and I will gain weight regardless of how strict I am with a diet - but right now, this shouldn't be the case and I really want to take advantage of that.
Yes it may end up being for nothing if my thyroid goes wrong and I'm put back on the meds, but I really want to try.
So - last week, I started a new healthy eating routine.
I am using My Fitness Pal to monitor my calorie intake, and I am using principles of the Slimming World diet to help me make sensible food choices.
But I wanted to do something a little more for an extra kick too.
So when I was offered the chance to try out LighterLife Fast I was really excited to give them a go.
Most of us have heard of the 5:2 diet - where you basically eat a normal, healthy diet for 5 days a week and you fast for 2 days - sticking to 600 calories.
LighterLife Fast products are designed to help you on those fast days - you choose any 4 of the LighterLife Fast products to eat on your fast days, so that your calorie intake will be correct.
You can choose from vegetable soup, spaghetti bolognese, pasta carbonara, shakes, or snack bars.
Personally I have loved the vegetable soup and the Nut Fudge bars are really yummy as a mid-afternoon pick me up! I swear they are just as yummy as a Mars bar!!!!
On my first week of the 5:2 Lighter Life Fast plan I have lost 4 lbs, which I am really happy with.
I am setting myself small goals, and my first is to lose half a stone before our little planned trip to Cornwall on 17th May - this gives me just over 3 weeks to achieve my goal.
My eventual goal is to lose 3 stone 7 lbs over all - but an amount like that sounds too overwhelming, so breaking it down in to mini goals makes it seem more achievable to me.
To find out more about the LighterLife Fast products available exclusively from Superdrug, please click HERE.
I will be reporting back in 3 weeks time to let you know how I got on with my first mini goal! Wish me luck!
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