Does Kim Kardashian’s social media diet really work? A mum-of-two gets snap happy to find out
THIS all started when a fellow school mum texted me congratulations on my pregnancy.
Not being with child, I asked why she thought I was…
Turns out my son George, five, had been telling the world I was having another baby – an assumption made from my wobbly mum-tum.
Since having George five years ago, then Harriet in 2013, the weight has definitely crept on.
Nightly glasses of wine and the kids’ leftovers haven’t helped.
I’ve tried every diet – even the maple syrup one – yet I’m still a size 14 and weigh 11st 7lb at 5ft 10in.
That’s a stone heavier than my pre-children weight when I was a steady size 12.
Then I saw Kim Kardashian West sharing every spit and cough of her weight loss following the birth of her son Saint last December, via Snapchat – the app that shows pictures for 10 seconds before they disappear into the ether.
After stating she wanted to lose the 3st 8lb she’d gained during pregnancy to get down to 9st 6lb, the reality star documented everything, from measly meal portions to exercise selfies.
Then in August she posted an image of her on the scales weighing 8st 13lb, captioned: “I haven’t been this in years!!! 5lb to go!”
It made me wonder whether her method could work for a mere mortal like me.
Apparently so, according to clinical exercise physiologist, Dr Paul Innerd.
“Research has shown that visually tracking food intake and weight loss progress often results in a better chance of success than attempting to lose weight alone,” he explains.
So armed with a phone full of filters and a witty quip for any would-be trolls, I decided to embark on a two-week Snapchat diet.
WEEK 1
With the aim of eating three fresh, wholesome meals a day, plus limited healthy snacking, I swapped my usual two slices of buttery toast and Marmite for a big bowl of chopped banana, grapes and strawberries.
Then I took a deep breath and posted a picture to my massive following of 33 friends with the caption: “Diet Day 1 breakfast: Can Snapchat help me? We’ll see...”
I could almost feel everyone damning me as the thief of all social media fun, as my pathetic bowl of fruit flashed up on their screens.
As the day went on I uploaded more shots, including a healthy ham and egg salad for lunch and chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner.
I’d normally have had a big sandwich with a packet of crisps for lunch, followed by a pasta dinner – not forgetting my evening nibbles of chorizo and Parma ham.
I quickly discovered all of my Snapchat friends were watching as their names popped up on the screen.
But instead of feeling inspired, I just felt weird.
Why on earth would they be interested in something so boring?
The next morning, I realised how powerful sharing my food pictures could be.
Knowing I’d post everything I ate gave me time to consider if a pile of cheese wrapped in chorizo was such a good idea if I wanted to stay on target, especially as others would witness my piggish failures.
So instead, up went endless pictures of poached eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken breast for lunch and seafood and wholemeal pasta dinners.
As the days went by, I realised I needed to follow in KK’s footsteps and post a bikini pic.
But while she’d oiled up and posed in a nude designer one, I just looked pasty in my £10 Primark number, sucking in as much as I could while keeping an eye out for errant hairs.
But the minute I posted it, I received my first ever Snapchat feedback. “You look fantastic!” said a friend.
I was chuffed.
If praise was on a larger scale – à la Kim – I could imagine it becoming quite seductive.
However, with the ups come the downs.
A footballer I’d once interviewed (who Snapchat pulled from my contacts and I added to bolster my piddly following) was watching my progress – until the bikini pic.
Then he removed me as a contact! Was it that bad?
Further disaster hit as the weekend arrived and I decided to go offline and cheat, failing to snap my Friday-night cocktails.
Saturday was also a write-off, with very few updates as I spent the evening at a friend’s inhaling Doritos and drinking prosecco. Oops.
WEEK 2
My failed weekend showed me that the Snapchat diet is all or nothing.
Going offline is easy but it harms progress.
With that in mind, I decided to document the good, bad and the ugly.
Anything “naughty” – like wine or some of the kids’ chips – went on record and I paid my penance with a run around the block (also posted).
I even snapped sad-looking snack plates of prawns and drinks of soy milk (albeit in a wine glass to make me feel better).
It was also time to face my worst fear and post the dreaded scales picture.
I finally did it on Day 8 after hitting 11st 4lb, having lost 3lb, which helped confirm my hard work was paying off.
But knowing 20 people were looking at it still made me feel ashamed at how flabby I’d got – especially as nobody said a thing in response.
After that I made an effort to upload more positive posts, such as putting hearts by my favourite meals or smiley faces on my apples.
If I got off the sofa to exercise, whether it was 30 minutes on the treadmill or a bike ride, I made sure everyone knew about it.
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Meeting a couple of friends (AKA followers) later in the week for coffee – well, green tea in my case – they did express concern at how little I was eating, given that most days breakfast was just a couple of poached eggs.
Their words made me feel a little worried that I was starving myself, but I was also secretly smug that others were impressed by my discipline.
After that, I snacked more on fruit but still felt hungry, especially as I’d eaten my last meal by 5pm compared to my usual dinnertime of 7pm, which would be followed by snacks until bedtime.
By the end of week two, I’d lost an impressive 7lb and hit 11st on the scales, as well as losing an inch off my bust and waist.
Plus my whole attitude had turned around.
If you work hard, it’s OK to fall off the diet wagon occasionally.
There’s something about the tracking of progress combined with social pressure that works.
I feel a bit lost without the structure of Snapchat spurring me on, so I’ve decided to carry on until I reach that golden 10st target.
Maybe I’ll do Kim K proud and post a belfie.
Mieka's stats
Before
- Size 14
- Bust 35in
- Waist 30in
- Hips 42.5in
After
- Size 12
- Bust 34in
- Waist 29in
- Hips 41.5in