As you all know, I have been on my own little weightloss journey over the past 2 years. Well, I wouldn't call it little because I have lost over 2 and a half stone (36lbs to be exact). I went from a size 16 to a size 12. I am now at that tricky stage where it becomes more and more difficult to shed those last few lbs. I have been continuously monitoring my overall weight, fat percentage, muscle percentage, water percentage and bone mass using this Body Analyser Scale. It's important to know these percentages so you can see what's happening with your body. If you have been working hard at the gym, sometimes your overall weight doesn't change but your muscle percentage may have gone up and because muscle weighs more than fat, this may cause your weight to stay the same or increase. Similarly, depending on the time of month, your water percentage can differ, which also affects your weight. So instead of beating yourself up that you haven't lost a lb that week, these scales help you to understand your body's composition and identifies where you have made progress.
Just as a side note, I have a healthy, balanced diet and I go to the gym 5 times a week for an hour & 15 mins each session, mixing cardio with weights and other resistance work. I DO NOT believe in extreme diets as this is not a sustainable answer to weight loss. It's all about using common sense and thinking long-term.
My goal is to be a toned size 12 (I think that's a US size 10 but correct me if I'm wrong!). I don't think there is a universally perfect size because everyone carries their weight differently and has different bone structure. My bone structure and my immovable 34E chest dictates that I am supposed to one of life's curvier females which I am more than happy to be. My chest measurement hasn't changed a jot since I started so my body has decided I will forever be top heavy! I have about 10lbs to lose but this isn't a number set in stone as I prefer to judge things by how my clothes fit me.
Rodial contacted me recently to ask if I would like to try their new Crash Diet Kit which consists of fat burning dietary supplements, protein shakes and a body gel which claims to aid water drainage from the body. The kit has been marketed as a tool to help you drop a dress size in 10 days. The whole kit is priced at £149.00 so it's not cheap but any stretch of the imagination. For more info on the kit, please click here. I was initially wary of the name as it doesn't go in line with my attitude to weight loss i.e. anything with 'crash' in the title. This is what the kit looks like:
Now I know what you are thinking..."she just said she doesn't believe in diets and now she's about to try something called 'Crash Diet'!". Well, after reading the instructions to this kit carefully and researching it online, I quickly realised that the name 'Crash Diet' is rather misleading because these products are designed to be used as a SUPPLEMENT to a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regime. In simple terms, you aren't depriving yourself of food on this plan. You eat your normal healthy diet and use these products to further aid your weight-loss so you're adding to your diet, not taking anything away. This kit has been bashed by a few people online but as far as I can see, it's the same as guys drinking protein shakes to build muscle after being at the gym. So I asked myself...what do I have to lose?...Well, lbs hopefully! Here's a quick rundown of what each product is designed to do:
Crash Diet Smoothie Banana and Strawberry Flavoured Protein Shake - Each powder sachet contains 66 calories and can be mixed with water, skimmed milk or juice. It contains a combination rich in proteins and polyphenols to sustain your energy. You drink one per day before OR after attending the gym. Before exercise the protein shake will help preserve lean tissue (muscle) by decreasing muscle breakdown and will provide a small amount of energy. Post exercise the protein shake will aid recovery (even more so when combined with carbohydrate) as the protein will be available for energy and lean tissue regeneration.
Crash Diet Sticks Dietary Supplement - These 5g powders are designed to be mixed with 100ml of water and taken before a workout. It helps to speed fat burning, give you more energy for your workout and eliminate water rentention. They are rich in guarana, green coffee extract and green tea which all help boost your metabolism and burn fat. Meadowsweet, cherry stalk and ash leaf in the powder also have draining properties, helping the body get rid of excess water.
Crash Diet Intensive Two Week Body Gel - This gel is designed to be applied to the abdomen area after you have warmed the body up through gentle exercise and they claim it helps the body to drain excess water which may make you feel bloated. This is the product I am most dubious about to be honest because it's a topical remedy but I will keep an open mind!
I will be trying this kit over the next two weeks, together with my usual healthy eating plan and exercise. I will be monitoring my body as usual and I will hopefully be able to comment on which of the products is more effective. I must stress again that this IS NOT A DIET! I am merely adding these supplements to my usual regime which was designed for me by my trainer at the gym.
I will let you guys know how I got on with this in two weeks time!
As stated above, this kit was sent to me for consideration by Rodial and as always, my opinions will be completely honest.
