What is the LighterLife diet, what foods are restricted, is it safe and are there success stories?
WOULD you like to lose one stone every month, while receiving motivational messages and texts to keep you on track?
This is the promise behind the LighterLife diet plan, but the very low-calorie meal plans are certainly not for everyone. Here's the 'skinny' on the three stages of the LighterLife diet, if you're wondering if it's the one for you...
What is the LighterLife diet and how does it work?
The idea of the LighterLife diet is to slash your daily calorie intake and kickstart weight loss.
The deprivation technique is controversial with some medical professionals but it certainly works - and can be effective for those who are dangerously overweight.
Stage one:
Those with a BMI of 30 or above, meaning they are classed as obese, or severely obese if BMI is over 40, begin on the Total VLCD (very low calorie diet) plan.
This meal plan limits dieters to 600 calories per day, which is much less than the 2,000 cals recommended for women and 2,500 recommended for blokes.
It's a meal replacement concept, with dieters eating 28 LighterLife food packs per week - equating to four per day.
Despite depriving yourself in terms of calorie intake, those behind the plan claim dieters will get 100 per cent of their recommended vitamins and minerals from the food packs.
It's an easy plan for the dieters to follow because they don't have to calorie count - but beware of the hunger pangs.
Stage two:
Overweight people, with a BMI of between 25 and 30, start on the Lite LCD (low calorie diet) plan.
They can hope to lose half a stone a week - by eating between 800 and 1,200 cals per day.
Those on the LCD plan will eat three or four food packs a day, plus one home-made salad or healthy meal.
Dieters stay on the LCD plan until they reach their goal weight.
Stage three:
This is a version of the fashionable 5:2 diet, known as the LighterLife Fast, which is exclusively available in Superdrug.
This is used as a weight maintenance technique, or can help some people lose up to 2lb a week.
Fast two days a week, limiting yourself to 800 cals by eating four food packs, and eat normally for the other five days.
Is the LighterLife diet safe?
The first stage of the diet, the Total VCLD plan, is the most worrying aspect of it.
While the British Dietitian Association (BDA) say: "Rapid weight loss can be motivating, but it is unsustainable.
"LighterLife's very low calorie diet and its counselling component may work for some - particularly people who have struggled to lose weight for years, have health problems as a result of their weight, and are clinically obese with a BMI of more than 30.
"A very low calorie diet that involves eating 1,000 calories a day or fewer should not be followed for more than 12 continuous weeks.
"If you are eating fewer than 600 calories a day, you should have medical supervision."
Are there any celebrity success stories on the LighterLife diet?
Former Coronation Street actress and Loose Women panellist Denise Welch, 58, lost two stone in nine short weeks on the Total plan, before her wedding.
She has maintained her weight loss for three impressive years by following the Fast plan.
Denise, who went from a size 16 to a size 12, claims to have also seen improvements in her snoring, acid reflux and osteoarthritis since losing weight.
While Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe, who plays Mercedes McQueen in the soap, follows the LighterLife Fast 5:2 diet.
The 34-year-old, who chooses not to weigh herself, said she had a 'guilt-free Christmas' on the plan - which Jen has been following since early 2015.
She even brought in the New Year with pizza, thanks to her two fast days.