Day 1 - Fat Fighter

Hello! How are you? Feeling a bit weary? Pull up a chair and I'll stick the kettle on. Fancy a bit of cake?

I'm Marie, 34, and I'm embarking on a crusade to lose some weight. Perhaps you'd like to keep me company?

So anyway, I'm overweight, I have no willpower, and I've decided to recruit an ally (geddit) in my fight, so I'm starting the Alli 6-week challenge today. Why Alli? Well, in common with a lot of my friends, I feel like I've trawled my way unsuccessfully through a number of diets, and all I have lost is money and my faith in my willpower.

I also realised that the only time I have lost weight successfully was when I was forced to; when I was pregnant with my daughter Sofie I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and forced to control my diet for my health and that of my child. I did, and I ended that pregnancy mere pounds heavier than when I had conceived. So for me, perhaps the key is being compelled to stick to a diet, rather than relying in willpower alone.

Why is Alli a threat? Well, it's a proven aid to your own slimming efforts, but it is known as much for its possible side-effects (also known as 'diet-related treatment effects' if you're the manufacturer, also known as 'sharting' if you're a sniggerer) as its efficacy. I so do NOT want that to happen to me, so hopefully by holding my digestive system to ransom in this way I'll stay on the straight and narrow, diet-wise.

When taking Alli you need to watch not only your calorie intake, but your fat grams - for my weight I can have up to 12g of fat in any one meal without experiencing 'diet-related treatment effects'. 12g does not go far, especially not when cheese is one of the great loves of your life. In fact, I'd lose weight a lot easier if you could just carve slices of what must be pure cheese-fat from my thighs and place them on a cheese board with some grapes... sigh...

So, that's the plan. Stick around and find out how I do, eh?


Weekly weight:

10st 9.2lbs



What did I eat today?

A bowl of Mini Shredded Wheat and semi skimmed milk

A Boots ham sandwich, Shapers prawn spirals and a Shapers caramel/choc bar, washed down with diet coke (I ate out today, and bought a few extra Shapers things to last this week)

My snack was a choc/raisin Shapers bar

Beans on toast, with the toast spread with extra light Philadelphia



Exercise of the day:

Shopping, while pushing a buggy



Product of the day:

Alli 120 capsule pack. Variously available, but I bought mine online for £59.99 at Boots. Gulp. That would pay for a LOT of cake...