Summer’s over, and despite best laid plans (which are invariably dreamed up reading health mags, and involve yoga on the beach, eating salads, playing tennis in the sunshine and the like), it might be that perhaps I’ve gained a few more (cough) pounds than I’ve liked. So, it’s back on the weight loss train for me – and I thought I’d share some of the things I’m doing to speed up the process.

Exercise is no small part of successful weight loss, so I decided to join in with Sweaty Betty’s amazing get fit for free campaign during September. You can head to their site here to download a free calendar with some great ideas for exercise, healthy eating and mindfulness. (You can follow my progress on Twitter and my Facebook page!)

One of the main activities is a free workout from Hiit Girl, which you can find on YouTube here. I’ll keep you updated with my progress in The 30 Day Sweat Challenge – are you in?

I’m also continuing to run with my favourite health app (besides My Fitness Pal), Zombies, Run! I have another Color Run coming up this month and really need to get in shape!

When it comes to weight loss, though, the key is reducing your calories. I decided to go with a kickstart on the Boossh diet, which is a VLCD (very low calorie diet) that you can purchase online. There are various plans, but I’m following the Blast, where I’m eating four Boossh meals a day.

The weight loss on this is incredible (because it’s low carb and low calorie), but I’m certainly not going to stay on it for longer than a couple of weeks. Firstly, because the initial weight loss is mostly water and isn’t sustainable, and secondly, because, as you may have guessed, I love food too much… The above shows you what you can eat in a typical day (basically, four packs), and you can also add in skimmed milk, vegetables, protein and a snack.

Although Boossh is restrictive, you can get creative with it. The above meal is a soup pack mixed with less water and baked to create a flatbread, topped with a poached egg, which is part of your allowed protein. One of my favourite discoveries is Walden Farms calorie free “pancake syrup”, which is like some kind of witchcraft. Drizzle it on top of a white chocolate pack made into ice cream by blending it with ice, and you have a diet ice cream sundae!

I’ll keep you all updated as my month progresses! Is anyone else fighting the battle of the bulge after some decadent summer holidays? What’s your favourite way to get in shape? And, do you have any weight loss goals in mind? Me, I can’t wait for glitzy Christmas and New Year parties!

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