By Anna Trevelyan 
I’ve done it! 8 weeks on the Diet Chef trial for QVC and I have to say it’s certainly worked. I’ve lost 20lbs in 8 weeks on the plan, which was more than my original goal. After week 1 it was actually really easy; it’s amazing how quickly your body (and your attitude) adjusts.
I volunteered for the trial after my toddler started running up to me and driving his toy car over my stomach, shouting “hill! Hill!” (In case you’re interested, he now runs it over my feet which is a mini victory for me and my mum-tum).
Before I started I wasn’t feeling very ‘me’ at all. If you read my previous blogs, I’d succumbed to the (very fun) lifestyle of going out for regular lunches, eating on the go, drinking more wine than water and eating the wrong things at the wrong times (truly the dieters’ worst enemies).
My main worries were about how I’d cope, eating only meals that were delivered to me in packages. It made me realise how much my life revolved around food: enjoying hearty home-cooked meals together, going out for food, hosting dinner parties and meeting my friends for coffee and cake. For a lot of people not having to cook for two months would be a major plus, but I was worried I’d miss cooking.
I didn’t.
I still cooked (for other people), I still went out (but ate smaller meals) and I still went for coffee (but no cake). No one was offended when I whipped out my own meal whilst over at their house – if anything, it was a talking point about whether Diet Chef worked and how it was going (yes and well, thanks). I also feel like I’ve saved quite a lot of money. The cost of the Diet Chef plan is actually less than what I would normally spend on my own food for eight weeks, and I’ve certainly spent less by cutting out snacks, sugary drinks and puddings.
As a result I feel more comfortable in myself. I can fit into loads of my old (pre-baby) clothes, and I’m looking forward to buying some fabulous new outfits in the sales. The builders – who seemed to eternally be in our house, and whose biscuits I was unceremoniously scoffing – are now on their way out. I feel more healthy, less tired and more confident. I feel – well – more like me again.
Here is a quick pictorial summary of my last eight weeks:
In short, Diet Chef has changed my life for the better. There is no denying that it just works.
One of the most common questions from my friends and family was “surely you’ll put on weight again once you stop.” I like to think not. The main point of Diet Chef is to teach you portion control and calorie counting. I now know that I generally cannot consume the recommended average 2,000 calories a day as most of my job involves sitting at a desk (and I’m also quite short, which is apparently a thing too). I now know exactly how many calories I should be eating to maintain, or to lose, weight. I now know when I should and shouldn’t be eating, and how much. I have learned that you can eat what you like, but a little of it, and that treats need to be special treats – to be enjoyed once a week at the most.
See, I gave all my biscuits away, and the builders don’t come any more. Not only have a lost 1.5 stone of weight I didn’t need but I’ve also shed most of the building site detritus that constantly littered our house. It’s funny how much things can change in two months. Sorry, builders, but when you return in the summer it’ll be healthy snacks all the way. That biscuit barrel just ain’t big enough for the both of us.
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End of week 8 = 1.5 stone lost! That’s about the same as 42 packets of chocolate chip builder cookies!
Too old for Radio One, too young for Radio Two 