WITH what feels like every other person jumping on fat jabs, it’s easy to forget that there are natural ways to shed the excess pounds.
This is exactly what one woman, mum-of-two Ami, achieved, dropping several dress sizes without Mounjaro or going under the knife for a gastric sleeve.
Many may assume that certain foods, such as mountains of ice cream and rich cheesecakes, are off-limits when trying to shed the excess pounds.
But according to Ami, who follows a vegan lifestyle, she was still able to scoff “sweet treats” during her weight loss journey.
The foodie, who goes by @broccoli_mum online, had spent spent the best part of 20 years struggling with her weight “and trying all manner of diets to try and get lean and healthy”.
“As a lifelong vegan, people are often surprised at that! But trust me, it is pretty easy to eat junk and gain weight while still sticking to a plant-based diet,” Ami said on her website.
Following the birth of her first baby, the mum decided that the yo-yo dieting had to stop.
“No more raw diets, or intermittent fasting, or Slimming World, or counting calories or portion control,” said Ami who didn’t want to resort to “crazy workout regimes either”.
“Nothing I’d tried had worked long term and I would always end up feeling guilty that I had run out of motivation after a few weeks or months.”
In 2020, the 5’2ft mum had hit her heaviest weight ever, at 12.5st, after becoming a parent and discovering the world of vegan junk food.
“Ben and Jerry’s being my go-to. I felt heavy, uncomfortable, under-confident, tired all the time and low on energy.”
After hiding behind black baggy clothes, Ami decided to take a really hard look at herself – and realised she was the only one who could make a change.
Whilst doing research, the UK-based mum started consuming more starches, veggies, fruit and legumes and realised that carbs were not the enemy.
“After the first month alone I felt incredible. And after six months I was down 40lbs and in the best shape of my life,” she continued.
To keep herself accountable, Ami also started posting the meals she was eating online, with her TikTok page now at over 162k followers.
Some of the “sweet treats” you can find on her platform include a lemon ice cream made of frozen bananas, dates for sweetness, as well as cauliflower and butterfly pea powder.
The 5 best exercises to lose weight
By Lucy Gornall, personal trainer and health journalist
EXERCISE can be intimidating and hard to devote yourself to. So how do you find the right workout for you?
As a PT and fitness journalist, I’ve tried everything.
I’ve taken part in endless fitness competitions, marathons and I maintain a regime of runs, strength training and Pilates.
Fitness is so entrenched in my life, I stick to it even at Christmas!
The key is finding an activity you love that can become a habit.
My top five forms of exercise, especially if you’re trying to lose weight, are:
- Walking
- Running
- Pilates
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
- Strength training
According to Ami, the low calorie cauliflower is a great way to add extra volume – and you can’t even taste the hidden veggie, she claimed in a video.
Another treat to satisfy the sweet tooth is Ami’s apple pie cheesecake, which contains chickpeas, oats, dates, tofu, maple syrup, apples and other vegan-friendly ingredients.
Despite shifting a huge amount of weight with her healthy recipes, the meals haven’t gone down a treat amongst TikTok sceptics who voiced their criticism in the comments.
One said: “You lost me at raw cauliflower!!!!”
“The worst thing I ever made. I did exactly everything and my blender was smoking…wasn’t impressed,” another chimed in.
“I don’t know if I trust this,” a third wrote.
Meanwhile, others disagreed with the sceptics, as they revealed they couldn’t wait to give the recipes a go.
“AMAZING!!!!! thank you for this,” one commented.
“Mouth is watering,” a foodie said.
