A. You can have any 3 packs on the Lifestyle Plan and a low carb meal (Please see What can I have for my low carb meal on Lifestyle Plan? below). Only one bar permitted each day. It is also essential to have 200g of selected vegetables and 150ml of skimmed milk as well as drink 2-3 litres of water throughout the day. You are advised to take a multivitamin whilst doing a Lifestyle day too.
A. You should try and space your packs evenly throughout the day every 3-4 hours. This is so your body always has fuel to keep it going and you are eating often to keep your metabolism working. If possible, we advise to try and consume your last pack before 9pm to give your body a chance to digest properly before going to bed.
A. It is essential to have 150ml of skimmed milk and 200g of selected vegetables whilst on Lifestyle plan to ensure you are reaching your daily allowances. They 200g of vegetables is consumed/cooked weight where applicable. You will be able to access the full list of permitted Lifestyle vegetables via the meal planner. You may have 100ml of semi-skimmed milk or 50mls of whole milk if you would prefer. Or, you could even swap your milk allowance for 100g of fat free plain Greek yoghurt if you would prefer. Or you can have 100ml of unsweetened soya milk or 200ml of unsweetened soya milk, or 200ml of unsweetened hazelnut or unsweetened almond milk. The choice is yours.
A. You will be getting 75% of your RDA of vitamins and minerals from the 3 packs you are having but as its uncertain whether you definitely made up the last 25% from your protein and vegetable intake, you should take a multivitamin (without Iron unless instructed by your Doctor) to make sure.
A. You can have half a pint a day of Hartleys Sugarfree Jelly in any of the flavours. It must be made up from a sachet, you cannot use the ready-made pots or the cubes, only the sachets. One sachet makes 1 pint of jelly so you can have half of that a day. This is the only brand you can have, all the others have citric acid in them which is not allowed. If you are vegetarian you could potentially try to make your own jelly using vegetarian gelatin and the water flavourings. You may also have 500-600mls of Coke Zero or Dr Pepper zero each day too. There is a list of allowed fizzy drinks available on request.
You can also have unlimited amounts of what is known as Zero Pasta/Noodles/Rice or Slim Pasta/Noodles/Rice. The range is made up a vegetable called Konjac which can be added to the plan for bulking out both the savoury packs, and if desired the sweet packs too. Its recommended to rinse really well before cooking to make them more palatable, as they are tasteless on their own, and a bit of an acquired taste. They can also be added to soups for bulking purposes. The range can be purchased from most good health food shops or online. These can be added to the meal planner.
You can also have Oxo or Knorr stock cubes to make up as gravy or to cook your veg or protein in. bouillon which is a vegetable stock/drink which can also be used for cooking veg or the Zero/Slim range in for extra flavour, but must be added to the meal planner to account for calories.
You can have most dried herbs and spices, (full list on page 14 of the brochure).
A. The Meal Planner section of the website contains a database of every food item permitted whilst on this diet, whether it’s Simplicity or Lifestyle. There are separate databases with lists of allowed foods if you want to check the list that way. You can access it via Meal Planner.
The actual Meal Planner is a way of logging what you are having and it works out your total calories and carbohydrates for the day and tells you if you’ve had too much or not enough for that day. It can be found here.
If you are doing Lifestyle then the Meal Planner is a necessity. It’s the only way to make sure you’re getting the right amount of calories, carbohydrates fats and protein. It is also a great way of double checking you are in ketosis. The 100g weights of protein and 200g of vegetables are not set in stone on the Lifestyle Plan if using the Meal Planner, you can add more if your choices permit it. For example, if you plan your daily menu the night before you can add more veg or protein allowance, and as long as the numbers stay in the green you may have that amount without affecting your ketosis level. However, you must remember to also add your milk to the planner, and jelly and other extras you may have so that the numbers are accurate. It’s a great way to get the most out of the Lifestyle Plan.