A review of the latest weight loss aids from tablets to teas.
Slim Sip
Over the last few weeks many of my readers will know I have been trying to shift the pounds.
It’s not easy as I have a desk job and I have zero will power. Everyone brings cakes and chocolates to work and I simply cannot resist. Whenever I am on a diet I always seem to be hungry. It is all in my mind I know!
One thing I have been trying to do is drink more water. I actually like water but inevitably when you are on a low fat diet with minimal treats water seems to be pretty dull after a while. That’s where this products come in. Slim Sip is a water flavouring that is high in fibre and helps aid weight loss.
It is simply a powder that comes in handy sachets that allow you to add it to glasses of water or bottles or water on the go. It dissolves in the water and gives an orange flavour. Because the supplement it high in fibre when you drink the water it makes you feel fuller so you eat less!
It also makes the water fizzy, which always curbs my appetite!
I found that I had to drink the water pretty soon after I put the sachet in otherwise it went a little jelly like. If anything is made me drink more as I had to drink a glass within 15 minutes of putting the sachet in. No chance of nurturing the same glass of water all day.
The taste was really nice, not to overpowering when added to a pint of water, of course you can have it stronger by adding less powder/water ratio.
It is recommended that you drink a sachet 30 minutes before a meal, three times a day with a box lasting 10 days, you cannot go wrong.
One other thing I know you will want to know, how many calories?! It’s just 9!!! Totally worth it if you eat less come breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I have been using the sachets with every meal for 5 days then I cut down to twice a day as I am trying to eat smaller meals and less. It means the sachets go further as well and last longer.
Over all I am impressed. It makes a change from water and it has the benefit for making me feel full. It helps my digestion because of the fibre as well.
If you want to try Slim Sip then you can buy it direct from www.highstreettv.com
Oteatox Detox Tea
My diet and fitness regime is back on track and as a boost I wanted to try a detox te
a program. I choose Oteatox, a range of morning and bedtime teas used to cleanse the body.
I have found that my diet has stalled in recent weeks, I tend to lose then gain and lose and gain in a pattern not differing much more than 1 pound. I have heard great things about detox teas so I wanted to try them plus I love tea!
Oteatox is a range of teas for morning and bedtime packed with vitamins and antioxidants that promote digestion and increase your metabolism. This is one of the first senna-free detox teas on the market. Senna is a laxative inducing supplement and contained in a lot of detox teas, but not this one!
I have tried some senna teas before and not liked the taste so I was excited to trial Oteatox. The taste is really nice. It is not to strong and the morning tea is refreshing. I used to have lemon in water but teabags are so much easier and quicker to make. The tea contains Egyptian Lemon Yerba Mate, Lemongrass, Hibiscus, Dandelion Leaves, Dried Ginger, Nettle Leaves and natural Ginseng.
The night-time tea taken before bedtime is a great way to relax. This blend uses only natural herbs with a combination of honey bush, rose hips, linden flowers, lemon verbena, sumac berries, lime leaves, spearmint, sweet orange peel and sun flower petals for a unique and aromatic tea drinking experience.
The ingredients in both teas have been linked to lowering cholesterol, improving emotional wellbeing, boosting your metabolism and improving sleep to name a few.
The bedtime tea has a comforting flavour and aroma which really relaxes you in the evenings.
Over the course of a week the detox worked wonders, I felt more cleanses in the morning which meant I tried to eat better and drink more water. Later in the evening I looked forward to my bedtime tea as a wind down. Over the course of 10 days I lost 3 Ibs and for me that that is brilliant! I have lost 2.5 stone so 3ibs in a week is really a big deal!
I will be using these again, it was a great kick-start back on the wellbeing wagon!
Oteatox tea bags are just £5.95, read more about them here http://www.o-teas.com
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Slim-Nite
On my journey to be a skinny Minnie I have been trying lots of supplements in the form of drinks and tablets.
Two main things we are always told and that I stick by are that you need to drink plenty of fluids, preferably water to aid weight loss and secondly that a decent amount of sleep really can help you loose weight.
If I don’t sleep well I am tired, grumpy and most of all hungry the next day. I reach for high calories, convenient foods like biscuits because I need energy. I have been working on my sleep pattern and ensuring I exhausted my mind and body so that when I do get into bed I can drift of until the dreaded alarm.
What I didn’t realise is that sleeping can aid your weightless not just because your mouth is shut! But via the right mix of supplements.
I came across Slim-Nite, supplement from Power Health which contains three essential amino acids which aid weight loss whilst you sleep.
The amino acids are:
Ornithine and Arginine; key amino acids natural ground in the body that play an important role in your metabolism. They stimulate a surge in the release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which helps cells to break down stored fat as well as preventing future fat storage that occurs overnight.
Carnitine; Recent research suggests that carnitine is a normal constituent of the body where it plays a vital role in converting stored body fat into energy by transferring fatty acids across the membranes of the mitochondria of the cell where they can be used for fuel.It speeds up the transformation of fat into cells, where it can be more efficiently.
So what could be better, a tablet that helps you lose weight in your sleep! I took three, as recommended, before bedtime, with a glass of water.
I have to admit I was worried that all this hard work my body was doing breaking down fat I would be pretty exhausted in the morning. Instead the tablets effect on my metabolism meant I felt lighter and more energetic. I think this is because my body was able to digest my dinner instead of slowing down and storing it as fat.
Carnitine has the added benefit of being able to reduce fatigue, as well suppressing appetite.
Slim-Nite is gluten, lactose and yeast-free and contains no artificial colours or preservatives and zero added salt or sugar, making it the perfect accompaniment to your healthy lifestyle.
My weight loss journey is still ongoing but the more I lose the more hurdles and dips I seem to come across. My weight plateau and I sometimes need a kick start to lose some more pounds yet again. During the 30 days I tried Slim-Nite I lost 5 pounds. It does not sound much, but as I have lost 28ibs already it was a good achievement, It means I am just 12 ibs of target (just! It is going to be tough). I will continue to use Slim-Nite to help me on my way.
Available to buy on www.powerhealth.co.uk, RRP at £11.39 for 45 capsules
Formoline L112
Over the last few months I have been dieting and exercising. Although I eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg I do believe you need a treat every now and then or diets can become soul destroying.
My weight loss started off magnificently losing 6 Ibs in my first week. As usual with all diets it has slowed down and I am now losing on average 1-2 Ibs a week which I am more than happy with. I am aware however that will come a time where even that is a struggle.
Now I am at the stage where I need a boost I thought I would give Formoline L112 a go.
Formoline is the number one slimming supplement in Germany and has been around since 2007. If German slimming is like its engineering I am on to a sure fire winner! It works by reducing the overall calorie intake from food – specifically from dietary fats - removing them from your body before they are digested, and results show a possible weight loss of up to 7kg over a 4-week period.
It is really easy to take as well, no horrid tasting drinks or shakes and it can be taken discreetly to avoid diet questions. Simple take 2 tablets twice a day with ½ pint of water at meal times which have the highest fat content.
For me these meals were lunch and dinner. Usually I would have a sandwich for lunch with some fruit and yoghurt to follow. Dinner is usually a mix of vegetables in a stir-fry, or quiche or my favourite pasta!
I didn’t expect much from the tablets as I do not eat masses of fat but I was told they act as a dietary fibre as well and I might feel fuller for longer. It is also totally safe to take and doesn’t make you rush to the loo!
I did not notice much difference in my first week. No side effects which was great and I had the same energy levels and moderate hunger. I resisted the temptation to check the scales mid-week and was surprised with I found I had lost another 2ibs by the end of the week.
Moving forward I plan to use the tablets less but as a backup. It was my birthday at the weekend so this was the perfect time to use the tablets when I was going out for meals with friends and family. I meant I can enjoy a nice meal and not feel guilty. So rather than take the tablets twice daily I know check my meal plan, upcoming events and choose when to take them.
Overall I was very impressed and will use them again and again
The Gene Diet
I have struggled with my weight all my life. I say struggled, but really it is a matter of self-control! It would be less of a struggle if I had some!
I have tried every diet under the sun, from the honey and paprika liquid only diet (yes that’s exists) to more well-known plans like Slimming World. I have been 6.5 stone and 13.5 stone, I have literally eaten my own body weight in my lifetime!
I thoroughly blame my day job! As a teen and in my early twenties I was a happy and healthy 9 stone but gradually laid on the pounds from sitting at an office desk under artificial light all day. Office snacks, treats and constant cups of tea have done nothing for my cellulite.
This summer I decided to take some control, sign up to the gym and cut out the snacks. The first month went well loosing half a stone and then it plateaued and I was lost again. Feeling defeated means I am likely to put the weight back on.
I say a diet, it’s not really, and that is the key part. Laura Williams, a once couch potato like me, devised an eating plan based on your DNA. I was given the chance to trail this and it’s made a massive difference to my life.
It starts with a mouth swab you can do at home, then post to the lab for review. Within a couple of weeks I had a tailored eating plan for three days with recommendations for food choices and lifestyle.
In a nutshell the plan tells you what foods to avoid and what foods to increase to benefit your diet and wellbeing. On top of that it recommends the type of exercise you should do for the best results. It resonated with me completely. After weeks of eating vegetables and fruit why was I not losing any more weight? I lost count of the number of times others at Slimming World had dropped pounds from measuring their mayonnaise and I haven’t lost an ounce.
Laura reviewed my DNA and found the main points below:
I need to monitor saturated fat intake (yikes that’s the butter out the window)
Watch my portion sizes (yet again, my eyes are bigger then my stomach)
Longer endurance walking or running is more beneficial for my weight loss then short bursts of exercise
Increase my protein intake
Laura gave me a three day eating plan and for the first couple of weeks I stuck to this purely because I am lazy, it was easier to follow the diet then think of alternatives. I also changed my gym plan, rather than power walk on an incline for 10 minutes and then run for the gym exit I set up the treadmill to walk not run and a longer distance.
The first two weeks seemed to reboot my diet and I manged to drop 4ibs. Since this time I am now down a total of 1stone 8ibs, with 7ibs of that prior to the Gene diet I am really pleased. I am aware I am not massively overweight, but my BMI has reduced from 31 to 26 and I have some work to do but the improvement have changed my day to day life.
I have more energy, do not get out of breath so quickly, and feel so much more confident and best of all I have chucked away all my ‘fat’ clothes!
You can find out more about the Gene diet visit www.my-gene-diet.com
Slim Kitten Teatox.
I am a sucker for a cuppa. In fact I am known to take my Yorkshire tea bags on holiday along with my mini marmite so I can get my daily fix.
I am usually a builder’s tea girl and can drink up to ten cups a day, terrible I know. However I cannot stand coffee!
We all know that tea, especially green tea, can be good for you in moderation. I do not tend to like fruit teas, no substitute for a real cuppa, but I was willing to try SlimKitten's Morning and Bedtime Teatox, after all it says it will help me lose weight.
The teatox set includes 7 morning teabags and 4 bedtime teabags in two handy lock tight bags.
Instructions said to drink a cup of tea infused with 17 nutritious natural herbs for breakfast then every other night have a cup of bedtime tea.
The tea contains Yerba Mate, Chamomile, Hibiscus, Rosa Canine, Siberian Ginseng, Orange Peel, Tamarind, Lemon Grass, Ginger, Raspberry, Blueberry, Cranberry, Centaurea, Eucalyptus, Fennel and Pimpinella. It all sounds wonderful but does it taste ok?
Surprisingly yes. As instructed I poured boiling water on the tea bags and left for 5 minutes for a medium strength. It had a slight spicy but refreshing flavour and not at all horrible. I tried leaving the bag for longer (10-15 minutes) but I have to say it was too strong for me and I advise removing the bag and mixing well with a spoon, otherwise you can get a bitter taste.
The SlimKitten's Morning and Bedtime Teatox website https://www.getnutriplan.com/ says that the tea will stop you feeling bloated, make you feel refreshed and awake, reduce sugar and carbs cravings and boost your immune-system. I have to say it pretty much did them all.
The night time tea does make you go to the toilet, which for me is a blessing as this is always an issue. It has reduced bloating for this reason and I feel more awake after my morning tea. Having a healthy tea in the morning also has made me feel more on track for a healthy day. I was to make sure I eat and drink well all day, start as I mean to go on. Unlike normal tea the night-time detox does not keep you up all night needing the wee every few hours which is a bonus as well.
One other bonus is that I didn’t not have any adverse effects or skin outbreaks. Sometimes detox products have caused an outbreak or skin rash but I had neither using this.
I will definitely try this again, a great detox kit before or after an event or holiday.
Chris James 3R Cleanse.
Growing up I must have spent 80% of my teenage years dieting, cutting food groups, trying faddy diets and new exercises. In more recent times the shift has changed to more healthy living, a lifestyle of healthy foods and choices rather than crash diets. Part of this is the detox phenomenon.
Cleansing the body of toxics like alcohol, sugars and artificial flavours is said to do wonders for your body and skin! The only thing that puts me off of most detoxes is the requirement to eat nothing but air and drink water. I cannot possibly detox that much!
The 3R Cleanse from Chris James Mind Body is different. You are encouraged to eat and make the right food choices through the day and integrate a range of healthy sachets packed full of vitamins and minerals into your meals.
The 3 R’s stand for;
Remove: first day you eliminate and unnatural products from your diet like refined and processed foods
Restore: day two you stick to raw foods like vegetables, nuts and salads
Rejuvenate: day three you eat smoothies and soups to restore the body
The 3 day kit is manageable as it is a detox for 3 days! Not weeks. It is good for a recovery after an event or holiday or a detox before an event like a wedding, holiday etc. Or just when you need a boost.
The kit contains 9 sachets to be added to smoothies, soups etc. and a recipe guide to help you make your way through the detox program.
The sachets, powder that is added to juices etc., contain natural products like organic Pumpkin & Chia seeds, Golden Flax, Turmeric, Ginger Root, Dandelion leaf, and Prune Fibre. These ingredients are anti-oxidants and great for the body.
The detox guide has a host of recipe ideas such as muesli, soups and sweet potato salads. It shows you how to include the sachets into your foods but they can be taken in fruit juices to keep it simple.
The guide also has a quick ‘rules’ section so you can see the foods allowed and those not allowed including drinks and condiments. It means those who want to keep things simply or continue the detox have a good foundation to do so.
I picked the best time to do this detox. The sun has been shining and I have really been enjoying the salads and fresh foods. I have to say I was not too excited about the last day. The first two you have salads, soups, porridge and muscle to choose from but the last day is for smoothies and soups only. I am not one for liquid diets so this worried but I have to say it was a breeze. The guide included loads of recipes for smoothies and soups, they were filling and delicious and by this stage I didn’t feel hungry so it was a lot easier. Also knowing it was for one day helped.
I would definitely do this cleanse again. I feel like my bloating has reduced along with the extra pounds I tend to carry on my thighs. I also feel like my skin is hydrated and clearer.
Satiereal®
This year I am blessed to have been invited to a wedding in Dominican Republic. I have known about this upcoming event for over a year but as usual I wait until the last few months before and panic because I won’t fit into my bikini or have anything to wear that I feel confident in.
I have tried for the last few months to reduce my intake of food. Mainly this involved cutting out snacks but I am an emotional eater and if I am happy, sad or just in a bad mood I will want to eat.
This time round I have had a helping hand. I have been taking Actislim Satiereal® which is based on a saffron extract which is clinically proven to reduce your hunger.
I was a little sceptical at first. I have tried all the tricks in the book. Drinking a pint of water, distracting myself, having a filling breakfast etc. etc. but I admit snacking is one of my favourite things to do.
These tablets come in easy to swallow capsules and you take them once around 9am then again around 1pm. This is perfect for me. Usually these types of things you need to take before you eat and yes you guessed it I usually remember after I have stuffed my face. Let’s face it when you are hungry that’s the only thing on your mind.
So what’s the magic ingredient? It’s Satiereal which originates from Saffron. The chemical helps to stabilise your levels of serotonin (the chemical in your brain that makes us happy, satisfied, full, etc.). For example when you eat chocolate serotonin levels increase rapidly they then fall just as quick and that’s what makes us feel down. These tablets control these levels so we feel happier and more content.
The first thing I noticed was an increased energy level coupled with more alertness and I didn’t feel the need to eat to keep levels up. I am guilty of reaching for chocolate when I feel tired or low in energy but I have not been tempted once in the 2 weeks I have been trying these.
It definitely reduced my hunger. This week I was at a trade show and I was aware that it might be a long wait between breakfast, lunch and dinner. However it did not affect me at all, I didn’t feel the need to snack nor did I overeat when I did get my meal.
Overall first impressions are great. I hope to track weight loss over the next 4 weeks in the run up to my holiday.
Actislim, launched in 2016 is the first supplement in the UK to incorporate Satiereal®. Priced £29.95 for a month’s supply of 6o vegan-friendly capsules, available from health stores nationwide and www.healthy2u.co.uk.
Lepicol Lighter
The more weight I have lost the harder I am finding it to shed the pounds. My stomach has shrunk but I still have crazing’s which is natural and I can still over eat.
I am looking to try some natural products that will assist in my weight loss rather than any strict new plans. One such products is Lepicol Lighter.
Lepicol Lighter is a sachet form of fibre that you mix with 1-2 glasses of water or juice before a meal. The product is high in fibre and contains 7 strains of live bacteria. One of these is Chromium which is an essential mineral that helps maintain normal blood sugar levels. It also contains glucomannan a plant fibre which helps with a low calories diet and lastly psyllium husk which helps assist with normal bowel movement.
You can take these sachets up to three times a day approx. ten minutes before you are due to eat.
The main attraction with this was that I could use them when I felt I was having a hungry day. Usually around my menstrual cycle I feel more hungry than normal, by hormones and blood sugar can go a little crazy and so these assisted in my diet and my moods.
I had a pack of 30 sachets which will last approx. 10 days. However I didn’t feel I needed to take them every day and before every meal. Instead I took them on days when I felt I might need a boost, felt more hungry or times when I thought I needed a bit more willpower not to overeat.
I found the product had near to no taste when I missed with squash so it was easy to drink. It mixed in well and did not have a chalky consistency so it was pleasant to drink.
You can buy Lepicol direct from their website here
http://www.lepicol.com/products/lepicol-lighter/6218