My experiences with the Lighter Life programme

Right, so just briefly because I don't have much time!

Here's yesterday for you:

Wednesday 26 March

No run - boxecise later

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

8.15
1/4 cup (UK Cup) of porrided with dried figs and mixed dried fruit
10.30
1 cup (UK Cup) of grapes
12.40
Homemade vegetable soup
1 wholewheat pitta
Small salad of mixed lettuce
14.30
Apple
15.45 (really hungry by this point despite my apple?)
1 cup (UK cup) of Fruit n Fibre
Soymilk
17.00
Small pot of plain soy yoghurt with grapes

18.00 - 19.00
Boxecise, including:
60 crunches
15 press-ups
25 seconds holding the plank

19.30
Banana
20.45
1/2 block of tofu with broccoli and cherry tomatos, couscous and 1 wholewheat pitta
1 12g bag of pineapple slices (33 calories)

Now, Phase Two and My New Goals...so I'm seeing losing the 8 1/2st as the first phase of my mission to become freaking awesome. I've got the initial bulk down. Now, Phase Two will be getting totally fit and toned. I want a flat stomach. I am desperate for a flat stomach. I have the remanents of my apron however, which I think will ultimately mean I will never reach this goal but hey, I can try, right?

I'm considering asking my doctor for a tummy tuck. He might say on your bike but it's worth at least asking. After all, I'm a 22 year old girl with the rest of my life ahead of me, I should not be walking around hampered by this unsightly droop. I'm gonna ask about the bingo wings and boobs while I'm at it! Hehe.

So yeah, anyways, Phase Two: become rock solid. Now, this is why I'm so concerned about what I'm eating and stuff. A is totally in to sports and sports nutrition and has about a million books on the subject but obviously he's not an expert on what vegan fitness freaks eat. He tries to give me advice, like eating more often and in small amounts...hence my habit of eating some little every few hours - I try and go with a main meal every four hours then a stack two hours in between...so 8.00 breakfast, 10.00 snack, 12.00 lunch, 14.00 snack, 17.00 snack (still at work, so meal is impractical but as you'll have seen I keep getting really hungry at 15.30), 20.00 dinner.

So I've posted the whole of what I've eaten since reintroducing food to a couple of fitness websites asking for advice. I'll just wait and see what they say I think.

My New Goals - now, here's the biggie. A and his stupid atheleticness has decided that he wants to do the three peaks challenge and asked if I wanted to do it to. Hell yeah, I said. I've finished the whole "not eating for 8 months" thing, I need a new challenge!! I'd be well up for the training etc. Building stamina, running up hills, walking for hours on end. If it gets me looking freaking hot I'm there. The only problem is, I am being realistic? I am REEEEEALLY gonna be able to climb three mountains in 24 hours? I'm willing to give it a bloody good shot and train etc but being frank, is it too much for me to take on? I don't have a clue. I don't wanna hamper A and be a cry baby. Obviously he's a lot fitter than me and will probably run up the mountains. You can only go as slow as your crappiest person though and I don't wanna be the crappiest one!

So yeah, three peaks challenge...possible new goal.

Bike riding! That's another. I want to start riding a bike. I think my mum used to use my dad's bike, so I want to see if I can get that out of the garage and maybe start pootling around instead of using my car. Go out in to the forest or something. Rock it. Apparently it's good exercise?

I'll have to think of some more but those two are my main plans at the moment.

Other things I wanted to say about The Real World (think of it as The Real World Rules):

I'll be weighing myself on a Tuesday morning from now on. Yesterday I was 10st 4.5lb 26% body fat.

Erm, trying to stay away from sugar, aspartame (google it, I'm sure you'll find sites claims it's satan himself), refined carbs (white bread, white pasta etc), caffeine...basically anything that's overly processed. Wanna keep it whole foods, baby!

Can't think of anything else now. Well, I best get on with my work now. It's already gone 9.00! Oops!

Anyway, if you have any advice, guidance etc lemme know. I need all the help I can get.

Well, I promised I'd write up what I've eaten since the Saturday I gave up Route to Management. Here you go. Please let me know what you think. I have no idea whether it's too much, too little, not enough protein (I imagine so, sigh) etc. I started off not writing the times when I ate but as the days go on I started jotting down times too.

Saturday 14 March

5K Run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Vanilla Shake

Pumpkin soup, salad and small portion of chocolate cake (1/3 of a slice)

Salad with okara and mixed beans

Handful of grapes
Spoonful of peanut butter
Stick of celery with mustard

1/4 cup soup mix with 2 teaspoons of swiss bouillon

2.5k walk

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Sunday 15 March

2.5k Run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
40 crunches
15 press ups

Handful of grapes

Small bunch of grapes
Apple
Handful of berries

Picking at pasta, couscous and textured vegetable protein while cooking

1 wholewheat pitta filled with couscous
1/2 pitta filled with chickpeas

2 hour walk

Mixed bean salad with okara

Fruit salad with two teaspoons of plain soy yoghurt

10 minutes on the rower

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Monday 16 March

2.5k Run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Porridge with fruit salad

2 teaspoonfuls of plain soy yoghurt

Small pot of plain soy yoghurt with raspberries

Wholewheat pitta with couscous and lettuce

3x pepper sticks
3x carrot sticks

CD case sized tub of pepper and carrot sticks

2 spoonfuls of couscous

1/2 block of tofu with cinnamon, 1 banana, 1 apple and small handful of grapes mixed with tablespoonful of plain soy yoghurt and drizzle of maple syrup

Tuesday 17 March

No run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

5 grapes

2 small squares of Green & Black Maya Gold

Wholewheat pasta with textured vegetable protein, tomato, mushroom, mixed beans and sweetcorn

Small tub of plain soy yoghurt with 18 blackberries

2 small squares of Green & Black Maya Gold

2 teaspoonfuls of plain soy yoghurt
Handful of grapes
3 dried apricots (you will see alot of this particular food item!)
4 carrot/pepper sticks

Tofu, carrots, green peppers, chickpeas in mustard, parsley and corriander
Small mixed lettuce salad

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches
20 sit-up toe touches
50 alternate toe touches

Wednesday 18 March

2.5K Run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

10.00
1/4 cup (UK cup) of porridge
1/2 fruit salad

13.45
1/2 tub of pasta salad with tomato, mushroom, mixed beans, pepper, textured vegetable protein

17.00
Small pot of soy yoghurt with grapes
2 small squares of Green & Black Maya Gold

18.00
3 dried apricots
4 slices of apple
4 teaspoonfuls of plain soy yoghurt

20.30
1 wholewheat pitta with couscous containing celery, onion, carrots, chickpeas and lettuce
2 teaspoonfuls of yoghurt
2 teaspoonfuls of peanut butter
4 teaspoonfuls of apple sauce
(PUT THE GODDAMNED SPOON DOWN WOMAN!)

30 seconds holding the plank
30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
30 crunches
50 alternate toe touches
10 ball lifts (lying flat and passing a gym ball from your hands to your feet, down to the floor and back up again)

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches
20 sit-up toe touches
50 alternate toe touches

Thursday 19 March

2.5k Run

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

8.00
1/2 cup (UK cup) of Fruit n Fibre
Soy milk

11.20
1/4 fruit salad

12.10
10 Calorie soup
2 carrots worth of carrot sticks
4 broccoli florets

14.00
Tub of raisin shredded wheat

17.00
Small pot of plain soy yoghurt with dried apricots
2 small squares of Green & Black Maya Gold

18.15
2 tablespoons of plain soy yoghurt
3 teaspoons of apple sauce

20.45
Pasta in tomato sauce with pepper, mushroom, onion, tomato and broccoli with tofu
Small mixed lettuce salad
4 teaspoonfuls of plain soy yoghurt
3 dried apricots

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches
50 alternate toe touches

Friday 20 March

No run

30 crunches
20 reverse crunches
20 crunches

7.45
Small handful of Fruit n Fibre and raisin shredded wheat

10.30
1/2 cup (UK cup) of Fruit n Fibre
Soy milk

14.00
4 peanuts
Wholewheat pasta with tomato, mixed beans and sweetcorn

15.45
1/2 fruit salad

16.30
3/4 cup of soymilk
2 peanuts

17.00
Small pot of plain soy yoghurt
dried apricots
2 small squares of Green & Black Maya Gold

18.45
Wholewheat pasta with tofu, peppers, mushrooms, onions

23.15
10 Calorie soup
CD case sized tub of pepper sticks and broccoli florets

Saturday 21 March

30 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Brighton Vegan Fayre - tried pratically every vegan food under the sun

Can't remember what I ate. Loads basically.

"Proper meals" included:

Breakfast - two slices of white toast, one portion of beans, one portion of plum tomatos, half a portion of mushrooms
Lunch - Spicy mexican bean burger in white bun with side salad and fruit smoothie
Dinner - 1 apple, 1 banana, grapes, soy yoghurt
Had some Love Potion No. 9 Conscious Chocolate too (Raw vegan chocolate: http://www.consciouschocolate.co.uk/chocolate.htm) Maybe a 1/4 of a bar?

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Sunday 22 March

2.5K Run

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches
50 alternate toe touches

7.30
2 apples

10.45
1 slice of brown toast
1 portion of baked beans
1 portion of plum tomatoes
1 portion of mushrooms

12.45
2 handfuls of grapes and strawberries
3 handfuls of mixed dried fruit (raisins, currents and sultanas)

16.00
Wholewheat pitta with carrots, broccoli, mushroom and Cheezly mature cheddar (http://www.redwoodfoods.co.uk/products/cheezly/index.html)

16.45
Hot chocolate with soymilk

18.00
Handful of grapes and strawberries

Picking while cooking:
Textured vegetable protein, veg, wholewheat pasta

20.45
2 wholewheat pittas, salsa, plain soy yoghurt, mixed mexican beans with veg.

21.00
Square of Conscious Chocolate

Monday 23 March

20 seconds holding the plank
40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

8.15
Porridge with dried figs and apricots

10.20
1/3 iced finger
6 dried apricots
6 grapes

12.00
Homemade vegetable soup with wholewheat pitta

14.40
Apple

15.20
2 dried apricots
4 grapes

17.00
Small pot of plain soy yoghurt with strawberries

17.20
1 dried apricot
3 grapes

20.30
Tofu, pepper, carrot, mexican beans and Cheezly mature cheddar
2 wraps
Salsa and plain soy yoghurt
1 square of Conscious Chocolate
2 handfuls of mixed dried fruit

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

Tuesday 24 March

2.5K Run

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches

8.20
1 dried apricot
1 grape
1/4 cup (UK cup) porridge with dried figs and mixed dried fruit

10.40
1 cup (UK cup) of grapes

12.00
Wholewheat pasta in tomato suace with tomato, pepper, onion and textured vegetable protein
Small mixed lettuce salad

14.40
Apple and handful of grapes

15.45 (I was really hungry here)
23g packet of Rice Krispies Multi-grain Shapes (85 calories)

17.00
Small pot of plain soy yoghurt with grapes and strawberries

20.00
2 peppers stuffed with couscous, carrot and cucumber sticks (cooked by A! How sweet!)

23.00
Half cup of dried fruit
2 tablespoons of plain soy yoghurt
teaspoon of swiss bouillon

40 crunches
30 reverse crunches
20 crunches
50 alternate toe touches

Well, that took far longer than I expected and now I've run out of time. I wanted to tell you about Phase 2 and My New Goals. Oh well. It will have to wait. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it. =)

So...haven't been keeping you guys as in the loops as I should have been. A lot has happened since my last update.

I posted those pictures on the Monday and me and A went and looked at a flat on Thursday. We really loved it and were keen to rent it, move in, buy kettles. The usual. My parents were more than happy to lend us the deposit because I'm pretty sure they want rid of me. Anyway, so all of a sudden my finances are being scrutinised and everyone around me is telling me I don't need to do Route to Management and I can't justify spending so much money when I really need to be focusing on saving to move out. I'm bored of eating tofu and lettuce by this point as well, of course.

Part of the just wants to give up the programme and start living normally again but part of me is really worried about eating. Preparing a whole day of food seems like an impossible task with far too much organisation required.

The Friday and Saturday are frought with flat related stresses and arguments. Me and A get our wires crossed and bicker pretty much constantly.

I decide, however, that everyone around me is right. I do need to save and Route to Management is far too expensive. Not to mention long, inconveniently timed and largely irrelevant to me. Unfortunately, being practical won the day here. I want to move out. I have to save. Cognitive behavioural therapy didn't really have a chance. I conclude that while it may be a challenge, I will give it my best shot.

So when I meet A after work on Saturday, we go to a vegan cafe nearby and I have a sweet potato, pumpkin and coconut soup with a little salad. It was nice, I felt normal. Confused, very worried but normal.

We made a plan of what I was going to eat until Tuesday and then went shopping. My jaw dropped at the price of fruit as I discovered, sadly, that I wouldn't be eating strawberries and blackberries for breakfast in the morning. I wouldn't be eating a mountain of dried fruits either. Smartprice apples it is, then.

It's been pretty much the same ever since. I have learnt a lot in the past week: I can generally half a portion I make myself, being bloated makes my stomach stick out, I cannot keep apple sauce in my kitchen without eating half the jar. I gave mushrooms a shot and they weren't too bad. I retried marmite too and whilst I still maintain it looks more like something a plumber would grease his tools with than a food product, it's not as awful as I remember. I don't love it or hate it now, I just find it curious.

My diet is mainly fruit and veg now along with some pulses, grains and tofu. I write down everything I eat along with the time. I have forgetten my book today but next time I write I'll type up a sample, so you can see. I still have to wrestle with picking. Yesterday, for example, I made a big batch of lunches to take to work and I was constantly putting bits of carrot and pepper in my mouth. I keep having to say to myself "You are not a human dustbin. If you have made too much, throw it away. You don't have to eat it.".

The worst thing I can do in the kitchen is pick up a teaspoon. If I pick up a teaspoon, I am automatically in the cupboard looking for something I can nibble: soy yoghurt, swiss bouillon, peanut butter, apple sauce, marmite. I don't even know why I do it. Just put the bloody spoon in the dishwasher, put the apple sauce down and close the cupboard door! Is it that hard? Why continue to put the spoon in the jar and then in your mouth???? WWWWWHHHYYY???

I also think about food pretty much constantly despite not really getting hungry that much. I'm always looking at the clock assessing when I last ate and when I can eat again. Yesterday I actually set myself a challenge of not eating for two hours. That's how bad it is. I mean, of course, I was only picking on strawberries and grapes but how am I ever going to get hungry enough to eat a proper meal if I just pick on stuff all the time?

So yeah, obviously not "cured" by Lighterlife. I don't know. I still feel like I'm out of control, I'm battling my demons and I'm hideously worried that I will get fat - which is why getting bloated horrified me because it gave me a big, bulging belly and my glorious size ten jeans felt tight.

I am exercising more - not excessively but...frequently. Just running most mornings now instead of half. I do 90 cruches (that's 60 normal crunches and 30 reverse crunches) in the morning and evening. I'm dying to get a flat stomach but A almost delights in telling me that I'll never get one without losing the layer of fat above my muscles. Er, gee, thanks...so basically what you're saying is I should have stayed on Lighterlife?? A says I should just eat right and work out, which triggers a plethora of questions - do I eat right? Should I eat less? Do I snack too much? Do I exercise enough? Do I do the right exercises? It's okay for him, he already has stupid muscles and a stupid flat stomach.

Anyway, just to give you a taste...here's my morning so far:

6.20

Run 2.5k

40 crunches
30 reverse cruches
20 crunches
20 seconds - plank

8.20

Cup of soymilk
Porridge with dried figs and apricots

Simply put:  I am not fat any more.

Please find the fruits of my labour below.  Boxecise, running, lighterlife - I couldn't have done it without you.

(Note the upper arms...nanny bye byes still need work)

SEPTEMBER 2008

NOVEMBER 2008

TODAY - 9 MARCH 2009

An eventful week ladies, an eventful week indeed!

Lemme start from the beginning, eh? Okay, well I was given a whole mountain of work by my boss at the beginning of the work and so running around like a mental at work. I got a bee in my bonnet about busting the hell outta this mountain and threw myself into getting the work done. At the same time an assignment had been set by the people who run my lawyer-study-course-thing (don't worry, this does get lighterlifey in a minute, I promise. Stick with it.). Now, I knew about this and was expecting it but what I wasn't expecting was for the assignment to have four freaking parts. Not only that but these four freaking parts all had separate parts. So I didn't have one assignment, I had, like, twelve. Oh ffs.

Now, while all this was going out I was drinking bucketfuls of decaff coffee and this was making me get up to pee in the night, like, four or five times. Yeah, it was pretty annoying.

So by Tuesday evening I was a bloody mess. I had a pounding stress headache, I'd done double the work I normally do, I was freaking out about my assignments, I was so fucking tired it was untrue and I'd left my phone at home. ARGH!! I can't survive without my phone. So anyway, I went to group and I said to my counsellor basically "I'm really stressed, I have a massive assignment - please can I just get my foodpacks and go home and study?" and she very courteously said yes and tried to make me feel happier.

So I went home and pretty much tore my dad to shreds for saying hello to me and my mum said to me "God, what's wrong with you? You look awful." And I said something along the lines of "work, assignment, not sleeping, tired, no energy, stress, forgot phone". She said I looked really pale and like something was wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it. I told her I was just incredibly tired and that it was probably from rushing around.

Anyway, another night of crap sleep and then oh my days - Wednesday afternoon I was like a corpse. So, so, so tired. Not just sleepy tired but that sunken-eyed, drag-yourself-about-but-your-limbs-don't-want-to-work tired. I kept putting my icey fingers (remember I am always ALWAYS cold at work) over my eyes and just sitting there. I felt so tired I wanted to cry. It came on at about 3.30 and just didn't go. I perked up around home time and I managed to take my sorry ass to boxecise but I did slack off quite a lot. Then in the evening it kicked in again and I lost all my patience, bickered with A the entire night, then cried, cried some more and eventually slept. God knows how he put up with that actually. I tried to explain it to him but "All I ever am is tired and cold. I am so fed up with being tired and cold." didn't really cut it. (Did I mention my parents had gone away and turned the heating off? So even though I put it on constant and whacked up the thermostat it still wasn't coming on and so we were just living in an ice box?)

Thursday and more of the same. I decided to take Friday afternoon off as holiday. I couldn't take the whole day off because A was still staying over and would be relying on me for a lift. I figured I could just slob out and try to rest - go to bed, watch some telly, nap. By this stage I thought it was getting ridiculous. Who takes time off work because they are so tired? I did twig something though on Thursday. I seemed to be getting tired about two hours after I'd eaten something. So the 3.30 tiredness was from my lunch and then the evening tiredness was after dinner. That's why I managed to pull myself through boxecise - because it's an hour after eating and so I still had some energy.

Now, I'm no nutritionist but I decided it was something to do with my blood sugar levels or something like that and so in bleary-eyed, zombified, miserable state I got out my foundation book and started reading about Milk Week. A lady in my group told me she'd done one the other week because she felt awful and it really helped her. I wasn' t sure if it was worth it seeing as I'm gonna finish in two weeks time but I thought I'd just get the low-down on it anyway. You have to drink two litres of soymilk a day on Milk Week. It's way less for cow milk but you guys should know by now I'm not putting that stinky cow protein in my belly.

Two litres seemed like an awful lot. The book assured me though that the flavour would not be 'watered down' though. (Oh how I'm trying to stifle a snicker here...read on, you'll see what I mean.)

So, Thursday night. A was still over but basically I just fell asleep super early. No coupley naughtiness going on. I think he understood though because I totally wasn't being myself at all.

Friday rolled around and I was tired by about 11.00. Fucking absurd. Tired is too weak a word. It was like mind-crippling, soul-wrenching, tear-inducing exhaustion. That's what it was. I was exhausted. Devoid of energy. I'd totally had enough. I was sat at my desk thinking about going to Asda on the way home to buy herbal sleeping tablets so I could get home, knock myself out and just sleep all weekend.

Fuck it. I thought. I don't care if I only have a week and a bit to go. I can't spend another week like this. This is misery. I'll just do Milk Week. I don't care if I put weight on or get kicked out of ketosis. This is stupid. This is unbearable. I'm a fucking zombie.

12.00 rolled around and I jumped in my car and bought two litres of Smartprice soy milk. I nixed the sleeping pills idea. Too expensive.

So anyway, that's where I made my first mistake. The first time you try something you don't wanna be trying the pikey version. Smartprice soymilk tastes like shit. Had a taste, grimaced, sighed, had another taste, gagged, kicked myself for spouting all this vegan shite. Saying that I did end up drinking about a litre in an hour. Really stupid idea by the way. Made my belly feel like it was going to explode. After that I went to bed and tried to nap for a few hours but couldn't. I had the awful beany aftertaste of Smartprice soymilk in my mouth and I was dispairing at my actions. I considered nipping Milk Week in the bud right there and then because the Smartprice stuff tasted so bad but for the sake of my health I decided to carry on.

I made a batch of my own soymilk, figuring I could just use that instead of the Smartprice shit but fucking hell, it's a lot of effort. My soymilk had a a more earthy bitty taste but luckily no beany after taste.

Anyway, I made a strawberry milkshake with the Lighterlife prescribed 500ml of soymilk feeling safe in the knowledge that that amount of milk wouldn't impaire the flavour. Lighterlife lied. I couldn't even taste the goddamn foodpack. It was just a soymilk chugfest. No food flavour at all. Urgh, I thought, so basically I'm gonna just not eat for a week. I'm just gonna be swilling milk constantly.

Now, Saturday morning comes around and I'm soldiering on. Like I said, I made a batch of my own soymilk but it took bloody forever. I went out with my dad and didn't get home until the afternoon and so had missed two foodpacks. I decided to eat them together with 500ml of milk and just down the other 500ml that I should have drunk. I had two chocolate foodpacks with the 500ml and whoa, that was delicious. My soymilk was infinitely better than Smartprice's (no shit) and two foodpacks was just heaven. Seriously, I could eat two chocolate foodpacks and 500ml of my soymilk forever. That made me feel better about my choice and to be honest I was starting to perk up energy-wise as well.

The whole drinking-lots-of-milk thing did make going out all day a bit of a military operation though involving lots of flasks and cups with millilitres marked on the side. It was worth it though, I got through.

My dad bought me some Alpro Soya soymilk while we were out in the morning after I exclaimed that making two litres of soymilk a day was ridiculous and the promotional claim of five minutes cleaning time of my soymilk maker was "clearly false advertising" and "a fucking joke". Alpro Soya soymilk tastes good. SO MUCH BETTER THAN SMARTPRICE. Don't drink Smartprice soymilk, seriously.

Alpro Soya soymilk in coffee is delicious.

Sat here now on Sunday, having had shit soymilk, good soymilk, homemade soymilk, disappointing foodpacks and delicious foodpacks I can tell you that I feel so much better. I went for a run this morning for the first time in ages and I felt energised and happy...not run down, deathly and miserable. I had another of my 500ml homemade soymilk with two choc foodpacks this afternoon and it was fantastic. Alpro Soya milky coffee really is devine. I'm gonna carry on with my Milk Week until Wednesday, when I will resume normal service. I'm glad I decided to do it and stuck with it even when it seemed like a belly-bloating challenge.

So, if you are thinking of embarking on a soymilk Milk Week, here's my advice to you:

1. DON'T BUY SMARTPRICE SOY MILK. It has an awful beany aftertaste that is revolting.

2. Yes, you have to drink 2 litres a day but ignore Lighterlife's suggestion of 500ml with each foodpack. You can't taste the foodpack at all and you feel like you're not eating anything.

Instead, use about 200ml with the foodpack and use a good electric hand blender. It will taste all yummy and creamy.

I would suggest putting the left over 300ml in hot drinks between that foodpack and your next one. (*coughs* Alpro Soya *coughs* coffee *coughs*) Or just drink it on it's own - which isn't a problem if you're soymilk is decent but if it's Smartprice, you're fucked!

3. Strawberry foodpacks aren't great for mixing with milk because they are quite weakly flavored (even if you only use 200ml of milk). Banana and chocolate work well.

4. If you combine two foodpacks you can get away with 500ml of soymilk.

5. If you're making a hot drink with soymilk, put the milk in first and slowly add the hot water while stirring the drink. Don't use boiling water, let a cool a wee bit first. It's de-lish.

You will feel better though! It will give you the pep you've been missing.

To be honest I guess it's not surprising that after eight months of what is basically starvation my body crapped out on me. I'm only 10st something now and I'm jogging, boxecising etc - I guess there's just not much more fat for my body to eat away at. Eight months is a long time.

I'm glad I'm doing Milk Week and I do feel better for it. It was a bit of a hassle to start with but I'm in the swing of things now! =)