With summer having finally arrived (allegedly anyway) a few of us will be looking to shed a few pounds in time for the holiday season, particularly as research has found that around 62 per cent of the UK adult population are overweight or obese. While hitting the gym and watching what we eat is certainly one route to success, for the time pressed a quicker solution could be on-hand in the form of Germany’s number one diet programme, Almased, which has recently been launched into Boots.
Almased claims to offer users the experience of healthy and sustainable weight reduction, while also improving overall well-being. Today, typical diet-induced weight loss can result in 12-25 per cent muscle loss. Clinical trials by leading European Universities have however, shown that consuming Almased for the purposes of weight loss results in the retention of muscle which is vital for physical function and long-term weight management.
Almased nutritionist Katie Hipwell said: “Latest government figures show that approximately 62 per cent of the UK population are either overweight or obese. In fact, trends predict that by 2050 over half of the UK population will be obese.”
Drawing on research undertaken by Almased earlier this year, out of 2,000 adults interviewed, nearly two thirds admitted to starting 2016 by dieting. Unfortunately, by the 12th week, 80 per cent of those surveyed, failed to maintain their healthy diet. Key reasons for such high failure rates included continual hunger (40 per cent), the preference for unhealthy foods (40 per cent) as well as an inability to keep motivated (33 per cent). The solution is to set realistic targets that are easy to follow, with sustainable lifestyle changes that are not just short-term.”
While Almased’s claims might appear to be too good to be true, the proof of the pudding is in the eating (although not literally pudding in this case) so one of the FMCG team volunteered to put the 14-day programme through its paces with pleasing results. Here were her thoughts:
“I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the shake. I was expecting it to be unpalatable but in fact I quite liked the taste, although I did add a touch of oil as the instructions suggested. Equally surprising was the fact that I was not noticeably overly hungry and I also seemed to sleep better, which I’m not sure was related to the trial or not.
“It was a very simple programme to follow and the instructions and meal ideas were well-thought and clear.”
So what was the end result?
“Overall I lost seven pounds and around four per cent in body fat. I’d certainly be willing to try it again in future and would recommend it to others too.”
Almased offers both a 14-Day and Long Term Plan to help users achieve their weight loss goals and is now available in 800 Boots stores nationwide.