Two weeks after our slimmers first met a nutritionist, we check up on them to see how they're tracking - with some surprising results.
KEY POINTS:
Taking the first step on any new journey is always the most challenging. Many of us set out with great intentions to change our ways yet find ourselves struggling to take action. The secret to starting this journey is to have a clear goal and to know why change is a must.
Our body is like a complex symphony orchestra. Even when it is out of tune it is still making music. The first place I always start when looking to tune a body is the liver. It's your primary detoxification organ, responsible for the elimination of waste. When your liver is under pressure, the body prioritises the most threatening substances to be eliminated. If there are toxins left over, the body will lay down fat to store them away from vital organs. Once we have the liver in tune, the body can start to tackle the fat stores that had been previously locked away.
Kerre Woodham, 43
The meeting with Libby was very interesting. She's sent us all to have blood tests to try to work out what glands or hormones are working overtime and whether some need to be brought into balance. Excellent. I'm not overweight because I eat too much, it's because I produce too much adrenaline. Or not enough progesterone. Or something. I can be one of those women shovelling hot chips into my mouth, moaning that it's not what they eat, it's their glands. But a lot of what she says makes sense. She told us all to go off dairy and alcohol for a month, and the other two have followed her instructions to the letter. I didn't. I had loads of functions to attend. But when I turned up to our next meeting, the two girls had already lost kilos and were gleaming with good health. I was wan and puffy. Now my competitive streak has kicked in but I'm off to New York for two weeks. The fates are conspiring against me.
Tania MacKenzie, 35
I am an addict and, like all addicts, I've ignored the signs for a long time. My drug of choice is legal but also lethal in terms of weight gain. I've been drinking six-plus cups of coffee a day for so long I barely register the morning without it.
My weight gain can be put down to several things but one is definitely my over-indulgence in coffee.
So I quit - cold turkey. It's been hell, with blinding headaches and a cotton-wool head that wouldn't budge for days. But suddenly I look better, feel better and I've lost 2kg. I've also removed dairy from my diet and the strangest side effect of the two is that potatoes taste better. I've never been a fan really but suddenly boiled potato tastes amazing - and that's naked, no butter, no sour cream. I'm also drinking a herbal tonic to lower my cortisol; the stress hormone we release under pressure which also inhibits fat burning.
Kim Savage, 21
Isn't it the best feeling when a friend you haven't seen for months tells you you've lost weight? Even if the compliment does arise during an alcohol-fuelled reunion in the middle of a bar on a Saturday night. At this stage of the game, I'll take what I can get.
I've spent the past two weeks dipping my toe in the waters of Libby's recommended four-week dairy-free diet, but it's taken me that long to give up most of the foods I love. It's been surprising to learn just how many products actually have dairy in them. My saving grace is that the dairy-free diet is just a trial and in a month's time I'll be allowed a cheeseburger again. I'm hoping by that point I'll no longer want it.
Despite a few hiccups in my progress, Libby has helped me realise I pack on the pounds when I'm feeling unsafe emotionally. It might just be my exercise-induced endorphins talking, but I'm starting to think this nutrition stuff might actually work.
