By Anneke Hak
The Go Lower diet tells you that you can lose weight by eating real food, you just have to retrain your brain when it comes to the choices you make. We tested it out to see whether you really can change the habits of a lifetime, and lose weight at the same time.
How does it work?
When you stop eating starch and sugar the human body starts burning excess fat to provide itself with energy. This natural process is called Ketosis, and there's no faster way to burn fat. The Go Lower plan provides you with enough food to send your body into this fat-burning process, ensuring that you lose weight quickly and effectively. Food is sent to you in vacuum-packed bags, which can be stored for just over a month, and all you need to do is buy your vegetables to put with your main meal.
The menu
When I first took a look at my breakfast for the month, my heart sank. I was given breakfast clusters, made from nuts and seeds, and compared to my normal breakfast portions they seemed miniscule. However, I was surprised to find that they actually filled me up until lunch, and taught me a lesson about my usual portion sizes.
Lunch is a choice of soup, or salami and salad. The soups were actually really enjoyable, and tasted great and the salad and salami made a welcome change from soup although you do have to buy your own salad which can sometimes be a little inconvenient. Dinner consists of your choice of the meat provided and a vegetable option which again, you have to purchase yourself. I particularly enjoyed the chilli beef, which you can have served with sour cream as rice is a big no-no on the plan, and the sausage casserole was also delicious, so much so that felt I was being naughty eating it! The Go Lower diet also gives you some great ideas for side dishes, my particular favourite being the cauliflower cheese made with crème fraiche.
Snacks
Snacks are provided on the plan. You can help yourself to a cereal bar a day, or some pork scratchings. There are also some ‘bad' snacks, which you can have once a week, which were things like brownies, and low-fat chocolate bars, great if you've got a really sweet tooth.
The positives
I was warned that when my body went into Ketosis I would feel lethargic and possibly a little depressed, but I actually felt much more energetic and positive which might be due to having more of a structure to my diet. Another positive about the plan is that it helpsto change the way you think about food. It suggests dishes if you're going to eat out with friends, avoiding starch and sugar, and based on different foods from around the world, which is really helpful even if you're not doing the plan. You also have a consultant helping you every step of the way, so if you need any special help, or run out of anything you can call them and get some help.
The negatives
Although the Go Lower diet plan promises to fit into your life easily, there were some drawbacks. I can imagine that if you don't lead too much of a hectic lifestyle then the Go Lower plan will work for you. I found that I was eating at 4:30 in the afternoon so I could go to events after work and/or catch up with friends. You should also try not to drink on the plan, so if you're someone that depends on a glass of wine after work it's probably not for you.
Did it work?
The Go Lower diet definitely worked for me. I set up a goal of losing about half a stone, and found that within two weeks of being on the plan I needed to give my body a bit of a rest as the weight loss seemed to be happening so rapidly. By the end of the month I had lost 9 lbs, and coming up to 2 inches from around my waist. I felt more active and had retrained the way I felt about food, realising that eating less starch and sugars needn't be a chore and you can still enjoy food which helps you follow through with your goals.
For more information on the Go Lower Weight Loss Programme visit www.golower.co.uk or call 08008620099
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