The Thirteen Minute Diet

Eat every 13 minutes and still lose weight? This is the idea behind the 13-minute diet, so our writer investigates to see if it's too good to be true.

Little pickers wear bigger knickers. That would explain why I've put on a stone in a year when I've hardly eaten anything. Apart from that handful of crisps, that leftover bit of cake from the office meeting, um... that bite of the husband's pizza... oh, and the odd latte with sprinkles. Hmm.

The Burns Diet from Vitaline is a medically approved diet that's perfect for nibblers like me. It works on the principle that you can easily and healthily speed up your metabolism by eating every 13 minutes of the day, following a low carb, high protein diet.

Yes, you did hear me right: eat every 13 minutes. Don't get too excited, though, we're not talking Hobnobs, but fingernail-sized pieces of protein such as chicken ('burns') , or tiny pieces of pepper or carrot ('nibbles'). They fire up your metabolism and make your body burn fat at its maximum rate long after the 'burn' or 'nibble' has been digested, making you lose weight much quicker than usual.

Each person using Vitaline has an individual four-week plan designed to fit their metabolic rate and lifestyle. It's popular with women suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), who can find their symptoms become less painful after following this eating plan.

Call me sad, but I got so excited on day one that I got up at 6am to chop up a feast of 'nibbles'. Armed with my Tupperware box of pepper and an egg timer, I strode into the office feeling like a diet superhero! Yes, at last, a diet that I could do!

After breakfast of maybe toast and eggs or cereal and fruit, you start 'nibbling'. Brrrring! went my timer, making my managing director jump out of his skin. Snigger. By half eleven the timer was getting on my nerves too, but at least I wasn't hungry. Mind you, it wasn't all good. Eleven hours in and I would have sold my own grandmother for one bite of chocolate. Did I mention you cut out sugar completely on this diet? For sweet-tooths like me that's torture. Why doesn't someone make sugar-free Dairy Milk?

By day three, I had a corker of a headache and my colleagues had threatened to wrap the timer round my neck. Would have killed for a slice of Victoria sponge, though. Golden and moist... no, must stop torturing myself!

Day six and my resolve left me. Ate a mini box of Smarties. The shame. Luckily, Vitaline provides you with a diet advisor who gives you tips to keep you motivated. Mine (Kacey) suggested drinking hot water with lemon to help resist sugar cravings.

By day seven, I'd lost 5lbs! Hello, tight jeans! I'm back!

During week two, your diet changes. You get a bit more fruit, a glass of wine and different meal choices. You're encouraged to vary your diet as much as possible. But I have to admit, it's difficult to come up with new ways of cooking chicken and vegetables and you need to do preparation for lunch and 'burns' if you're used to just nipping out of the office for a sandwich. Luckily though, I lost another 2½lbs! After three weeks of the Vitaline diet, I'm just under 11 stone and the weight's still coming off. I'm impressed. I haven't been hungry, I've had support when I've needed it, and I've lost weight. I'm not going to lie though, dieting is blooming hard and, while this one is effective, don't trust yourself to stand next to me with an open packet of digestives just yet. I might have your hand off.

For more information on the Vitaline Burns diet, go to dietcare.com
Sufferers of PCOS can find out more on dietcare-pcos.com.

 

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