If somebody told me they’d eaten sausages for breakfast, prawn and crab macaroni cheese for lunch, and steak bolognese for dinner, I wouldn’t think they were on a diet, I’d think they were hungover.
But MS’s new line of Balanced For You healthy ready meals – designed to promote healthy eating, portion control and weight management – features tasty treats such as these, alongside other tastebud-tantalising delicacies such as creamy king prawn risotto; smoky pulled pork; chicken katsu curry; beef chianti ragu; aromatic lamb curry; prawn crab macaroni cheese…. do I really need to go on?
Surely you can’t actually lose weight by eating these kind of meals? Well, we challenged Katy Andrews, 32, (left) Clementine Wade, 33 (right, both pictured after trying the diet), to find out over two weeks….
The new MS Balanced For You dishes, such as this Superfood Beef Chilli Rice, are designed to promote healthy eating, portion control and weight management
But can you REALLY lose weight on a diet that allows you to promote delicacies such as this Balanced For You Prawn Crab Macaroni Cheese?
This is health food, my friends, but not as you know it.
Launched in January 2010, the range was developed alongside scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen, renowned for its ground-breaking research on effective weight-loss. All foods in the range are high in protein and can be included as part of a weight loss or weight maintenance diet.
MS has even created an easy meal planner to help you get started, track your progress and encourage you along the way.
But surely you can’t actually lose weight by eating meals like these? Well, we challenged two women to find out over two weeks. And the results may surprise you….
Clementine Wade, 33, North London, teacher
- Height: 5ft 8in
- Size before: 12 Size after: 10
- Weight Before: 10st 5lb Weight after: 9st 12lb
- Total weight loss: 7lb
Clementine (pictured left, before) admitted her eating had become haphazard and she wanted to lose 5lb – in fact she managed to lose 7lb in two weeks on the MS diet (right, after)
‘Since giving up drinking two years ago I’ve taken much better care of myself and have got into exercising, but I have a problem sticking to diets and so the last few pounds remain stubbornly resistant. Plus, I started a new job in September and went through a horrible break-up, so my eating’s become really haphazard.
‘The MS Balanced For You challenge appealed because I’d like to lose 5lbs and be that perfect 10 stone. I’d also like to learn more about food, about the feeling of being full, and regain a bit of confidence.
Clementine says she found the MS Balanced For You meals ‘seriously yummy’
‘I eat quite boringly with porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch, then eggs and beans on lots of toast for dinner – a day teaching teenagers mean I can’t handle anything more complicated! At weekends I tend to go a bit haywire and eat anything I want, which leaves my body feeling a bit hungover.
‘I snack a lot throughout the day: a punnet of grapes, four apples, endless rice cakes and enough nuts to make a squirrel really jealous…
‘Since I’ve never properly stuck to a food plan I found the MS diet surprisingly challenging at first. But I persevered and really stuck to it – apart from the odd spoonful of Nutella in the evening! – never going over my recommended 1,400 calories a day. I usually consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 calories.
‘Only being allowed three meals and two snacks per day, I realised how much I usually snack… It turns out I have a real oral fixation and need to have something in my mouth all the time; the amount of chewing gum I consumed on this diet would make Freud chuckle!
Clementine is pictured left before beginning the two week meal plan, which included three meals a day and snacks, and left, after just two weeks following it
‘Luckily the MS Balanced For You food is seriously yummy. The only difficulty was when I went on a date. Not drinking alcohol means I’m already slightly ‘odd’, but telling my date and the restaurant that my dinner was in my handbag was quite… interesting. Thankfully he was cool about it and encouraged me to ask the staff to heat it up for me, so thanks to Canteen on London’s Southbank for doing that! My date was impressed by how delicious it looked.
‘During the diet I ate porridge for breakfast, plus a yummy low-fat Greek yoghurt when I needed something sweet. My favourite lunch was the Crayfish, Asian Style Vegetables, Edamame Noodle Salad, but at school I really enjoyed having hot food – and got massive satisfaction from jealous looks as delicious smells wafted through the staff room!
The only difficulty in sticking to the diet came when Clementine went on a date – but luckily the Canteen on the Southbank microwaved her MS meal – and her date was impressed!
Clementine loved the traditional dishes such as this Balanced For You Lamb Hotpot, £4.25 375g
SAMPLE DAY ON THE BALANCED FOR YOU MEAL PLAN FROM MS
BREAKFAST
3 slices of grilled bacon (fat trimmed) on a toasted wholemeal pitta with 1 large tomato
or
40g Fruit Nut muesli, 250g low fat yogurt sprinkled with sunflower seeds
LUNCH
Balanced For You Beef Teriyaki Deep Filled Wrap
or
Balanced For You King Prawn, Hot Smoked Lochmuir Salmon, Quinoa and Couscous Salad
SNACK
MS Roast Chicken Pumpkin Seeds with sweet red pepper dip
or
Carrot and Coriander Fresh Vegetable Crisps
DINNER
Balanced For You Aromatic Lamb Curry with Rice and Lentil Pilaf
or
Balanced For You Superfood Cod Sweet Potato Bake
‘The MS dinner selection is amazing – which was why I enjoyed the diet; I learned that if I eat in proportion, I can eat so many different types of delicious food. But it just needs to be pre-portioned, otherwise I’ll eat it all.
‘I ate better on the diet than I normally would. The feeling of feeling ‘satisfied’ was unusual for me; I usually snack until I’m uncomfortably full. But after two weeks my body adjusted and I began genuinely feeling full.
‘My favourite dish was the Beef Red Wine Casserole; it’s really filling and massively satisfying. I also really liked the Tikka Chicken and Spiced Cauliflower Rice, and the Coconut Chicken Bowl. Essentially the ones with a good dose of carb really hit the spot. The Chargrilled Chicken Courgetti was also amazingly rich and felt like a very naughty diet food.
In two weeks Clementine (pictured after two weeks on the diet) lost 7lb and says she plans to continue with the Balanced For You meal plan
Clementine also really liked Balanced For You Spanish Style Chicken Cauliflower Rice, £4.25 385g
‘In terms of snacks I absolutely loved the 3-seed oatcakes. Seriously, I nearly had a tantrum when one MS shop didn’t stock them, so think I can safely say I’m now addicted. The crisps were nice too. I might like a few more sweet options to satisfy my sweet tooth!
‘The MS Better For You diet never felt like a diet; it was deliciously easy. And though the portion sizes gave it away, the content didn’t. It’s an amazing diet: in two weeks I actually lost 7lb! Boom!
‘I also have loads more energy, my clothes feel way looser, and it’s a much better option (financially-speaking) to personalised diets that deliver food to your door. I’m definitely continuing with the Balanced For You meal plan – I already have meals lined up for the next few days – and am totally recommending it to friends. Through all the confusion of diets, this one is simple, easy and delicious. I certainly won’t walk past this aisle anymore; it’s good quality food that really seems to work for your body.’
Katy Andrews, 32, Windsor, mother EFL teacher
- Height: 5ft 10in
- Size before: 16 Size after: 14/16
- Weight before: 13st Weight after: 12st 11lb
- Total weight loss: 3lb
Katy lost 3lb in just two weeks (pictured left before the diet, right after) as well as reporting that her clothes fit better and that she feels less lethargic
‘My boyfriend and I had our first baby five months ago and I’m still trying to shift some of the baby weight, which is tricky as I always seem to feel hungry at the moment! I also really want to get back in shape for an upcoming holiday to Thailand.
‘Even though I’ve never dieted seriously my diet isn’t too bad, though perhaps a little carb-heavy; I tend to eat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner, which is just so easy to cook after a long day. But I only drink alcohol every other weekend and I don’t really snack at all; that’s the one thing I’m not too bad at. I also try and go to the gym twice a week or so, and do some walking.
Katy and her boyfriend had their first baby (pictured with her before she started the diet) five months ago and she says she is still trying to shift some of the baby weight
The range includes dishes like this Balanced For You Asian Nourish Bowl, £4.25 360g
For dinner the MS Balanced For You range offers healthy versions of comfort food such as Balanced For You Chicken Arrabiata with Spiralised Vegetables £4.25 370g
Katy (pictured after the diet) says the meals really taught her how to control my portions
‘I was keen to do the MS Balanced For You challenge to make a general change in my portion sizes and try new foods and recipes – and I was so pleased with how it went. The food was great, with smaller quantities than I usually eat that were really easy and quick to prepare. It was extremely easy to stick to the MS diet for a whole fortnight; I was very strict 95% of the period – the only slip-up I had was one dinner out! The meal plan was also really easy to work around my baby.
Two of Katy’s dinner favourites were the Mexican Nourish Bowl and the Chicken Katsu Curry
‘The food doesn’t seem like diet food at all – everything was actually really good! – and I didn’t feel like I was denying myself nice food, just denying myself larger portions.
‘Breakfast was good: half a can of baked beans on brown toast (no butter!) set me up nicely for the day. Lunches were quite small but fresh, healthy and easy to eat quickly when I only had 10 minutes; I found favourites and stuck with them: Spiced Chicken with Quinoa Rice Salad; Lime and Lemongrass Chicken with Rice and Rainbow Slaw Salad; Harissa Chicken and Cous Cous Salad; Crayfish, Asian-style Vegetables, Edamame Noodle Salad; and the King Prawn and Rice Salad.
‘The dinners were delicious; quite small but a really good variety. My favourites were the Tikka Chicken Spiced Cauliflower Rice; the Mexican Nourish Bowl, the Smoky Pulled Pork Bowl; the Chicken Katsu Curry; the Roasted Beef Meatballs Spaghetti; the Asian Nourish Bowl; and the Beef Chianti Ragu – I even let my boyfriend have a mouthful of each meal and he was really impressed.
Katy (left, before, and right, after the diet) says she was impressed the MS Balanced For You food doesn’t seem like diet food at all
‘The breakfast and lunch portions were good, but I sometimes felt the dinner portions were too small, so padded them out with extra steamed vegetables, which helped me feel full. Sometimes I supplemented the lunch with extra carrot sticks and low-fat hummus, which would last for a few days. I also became addicted to the delicious oat biscuits, which helped me through a few hungry afternoons!
‘In just two weeks I actually did lose weight – three pounds, which is pretty good for just a fortnight, and particularly given I’ve just had a baby and am hungry all the time! I feel good, lighter on my feet and less lethargic, and my clothes feel better on me. And since this fortnight has been busy I probably actually did less exercise than usual, but still feel better.
‘Mainly, the MS diet really taught me how to control my portions, which is great, and three dinners for £10 is terrific value: one for me, two for my boyfriend. It actually works out cheaper than you would imagine. I absolutely plan to continue the MS Balanced For You diet, and would totally recommend it to a friend.’