Sadly, I turned 43 yesterday and still have no life thanks to the shit I have to put up with and which my family DOES NOT HELP with.

But while I can’t control that I can control my weight. After seeing the outfit pics of me from last year I knew I needed to get back to losing weight.

I was only thinking about it over Christmas and into the new year but I realised when it’s hot I don’t eat a lot and so a shake meal would be perfect for me in January.

I went to Chemist Warehouse and bought a two pack of Optislim VLCD (very low calorie diet) chocolate shakes.

The shakes are the best I’ve had and I’ve tried many other weight loss shakes. When mixed with a mixer they are smooth and have a touch of caramel to them. Three a day with at least 2 litres of other fluid got me through three days. On the fourth day I knew I needed some protein for my low blood sugar, so if you suffer from it, be careful. At home I will have a shake for breakfast, but if I’m going out, I’ll have a filling protein meal.

I didn’t have cravings for chocolate because I was getting it in the shakes, and since I’m rarely hungry in hot weather I was never really hungry. And I was over food anyway. With mum being sick the year before even I had gotten sick of shopping for it, cooking it, trying to come up with something we could both eat. It just wasn’t working anymore and so that’s another reason meal replacements are helpful.

My weight started at 96kgs/15stone/210pounds. The first week I lost 4kg/8.8pounds, the second week 1kg/2.2pounds, the third week the same. So in three weeks I had lost 6.5kgs/1 stone/14pounds.

The weight loss slowed down after that, a kilo here, a kilo there. I did slowly add some food in every few days. An omelette, some salad, I even regulated a junk food day once a week where we had whatever lunch we want. I never felt like I was going without and as I stated, I had no cravings.

The shakes did get boring after three weeks as I can never stick to one thing long enough, so I added the bars.

They come in a variety of flavours, choc cherry, caramel, fudge, mocha and cookie’s and cream. They’re dense like muesli bars, are coated in chocolate so you never crave it, and are filling enough for breakfast or dinner. I changed my days to a shake for breakfast, omelette, Lean Cuisine, or salad for lunch and a bar for dinner. The weight continued coming off albeit slowly. Mainly because the weather got cooler and I wanted more filling food. But I’ve tried keeping it healthy and try not to go overboard on carbs as I don’t want to gain the weight back. I even limited the chocolate I had at Easter. Mum and I shared two little bags of little mars and malteaser eggs, but on my junk food day so it blended in, and I got right back to the diet the next day.

My goal weight loss was 4stone/56pounds/26kgs but by now I’ve only succeeded in getting half way, which is still a good effort. 2stone/28pounds/13kgs in five months has helped immensely in coming off. I can fit back into some of my clothes, I feel lighter, I can move better, and I’m sure it’s helped my back issues.

I’ll try and maintain my weight over winter which will be hard as I’ll want food to fill my tummy, but I’ll have to stay away from carbs, so lots of meat and veggies. Plus, one thing that I realised, is that since this meal plan is low calorie, things such as cup-a-soups are good. I don’t drink tea or coffee so lots of chicken noodle cup-a-soup for me as fill ins. I won’t be having the shakes over winter as they’re too cold, but I will try and keep up with the bars for dinner or breakfast. I’ll add lots of eggs back in and try and keep my stomach full with good warm food. I also make a mean hotpot with meatballs and veggies.

Once Spring is here, or maybe I’ll wait until October or November when it’s warmer, I’ll go back on the shakes again and see how much more weight I can lose by the new year. I can’t wait to get back into my black jeans that I haven’t worn in many years, or some awesome dresses and skirts for summer.

Below: The top set of pics is me this time last year, and below that, is me wearing the exact same outfit just last Thursday. The weight loss is obvious. My jeans are now baggy (I need more holes in my belt) and so is that top. I’ve lost it from my boobs down to my knees, mainly around the stomach and hips. Hopefully I don’t gain it back in winter. As long as I stay busy I don’t get hungry and that’s a bonus, just not in freezing cold winter…