HELLO to the Jenny Craig Meal Plan Diet!

Although it may be snowing outside and my thermal socks are seeing a lot of use, my thoughts are straying to my post-Xmas travels to New Zealand and Australia, where bikini season is in full swing! I am also well aware of how Christmas indugences usually cause us to put on a little bit of winter insulation, which I do NOT need after my summer going super-size in the US!

To both prevent any further weight gain and also in a bid to start losing a little of that which I've gained, I have embarked on the Jenny Craig weight loss program, which you can read all about right HERE.

The program is basically a three-pronged attack the help you either lose weight, maintain your current weight or re-educate yourself on what (and importantly; how much) to eat in order to have a healthy balanced diet.

Firstly (this is the main thing for me), you are provided with the right foods in the right amounts in the 'Food' part of the plan. I received a HUGE box of goodies containing all my meals and a few snacks to last two weeks, delivered direct to my door. It was strangely exciting to rifle through my planned diet, and it got me excited to try all the delicious-sounding meals (more on that later).

The contents of my stomach for the next two weeks!

Secondly, you are put in touch with a consultant who is like your go-to person if you have any problems, need to confess a slip-up or need advice on how to handle a potentially dangerous situation (I had a Big Night Out planned, but I tried to counter-act my many vodka/diet cokes by dancing for 5 hours, skipping my daily 'goodie' and drinking lots of water). My lovely consultant Alison is thus helping my tackle the 'Mind' part of the program, I've spoken to her twice already and feel like I'm doing pretty well!

Thirdly, there's little point in putting the right fuels in your body if you don't supplement that with exercise to help boost your weight loss and your mood, hence the 'Body' part of the program. The calorie content of the diet plan is according to your level of activity, mine is 1200 per day (not including 'free foods') but I've been walking loads and I danced until 4am on Fri night/Sat morning so I'm getting in some workouts, kind-of!

Now, the Food! Breakfasts are packets of flavoured porridge, tasty wheat flakes or muesli, and you add milk and fruit. Lunches are almost instant (soups, noodles, instant potato, salad pots etc) with salad, but often require you to be near a microwave or kettle. I've managed to fit the plan into my erratic schedule so far by eating my tuna pasta salad while shopping instead of my potato and croutons, and I chose soup during a lunch out because that's what I was supposed to have anyway. Dinners are very tasty so far, and include curries, lasagne and roast chicken- not typical diet foods by any means, but these are calorie controlled and you get the amount your body needs, but can supplement your portion with vegetables or salad. You also get a delicious snack like the white-chocolate and caramel cereal bar, which I LOVE, and eat fruit and yoghurt between meals too, though I've found it tricky to fit in so many food breaks (surprisingly!)

Chocolate Coated Wheat Flakes- YUM!

I have a couple of meals out to navigate whilst on the plan (which are allowed but you must try and be mindful of your choices) so we shall see how I deal with those! Watch this space for my grand review of the whole program and my experiences overall, but for brief updates check my Twitter and the Jenny Craig Facebook Page, where I will be posting regularly! Wish me luck!