Originally from Spain, PronoKal is a medically supervised weight-loss system that has been getting amazing results. Restricted to around 600 calories a day, it promises to help you lose weight fast – but how easy is it to stick to? I signed up to find out…

The diet low-down

Before starting the prescription-only diet, I must first meet the PronoKal doctor and dietician in Harley Street, London. After filling out forms on my general health, I’m greeted by Dr Edmonds who gives me a general check-up, takes a blood and urine sample and weighs me.

While not overweight as such, I could apparently lose 9lbs and be in the middle of a healthy BMI range. Declaring me healthy, he writes me a ‘prescription’ for six Pronokal meal replacements a day and off I go, piece of paper in hand, to see the dietician.

The dietician turns out to be very young, very pretty – and very slim. So slim, in fact, I can’t imagine she’s ever had to squeeze into her jeans. To her credit though, Vicky has tried many of the products and has an opinion on which (relatively speaking) taste the nicest.

The rules are simple: eat six replacement meals a day and approved vegetables from the list twice a day, along with the vitamin and mineral supplements provided. No alcohol, no milk and lots of water (2 litres a day) or herbal tea to drink.

Vicky then leads me to a huge wall of PronoKal boxes: apple and cinnamon porridge, chicken curry-flavour soup, mushroom omelette, Melba toast, chocolate pudding, chicken nuggets.

I’d like to say I felt like a kid in a sweetie shop but by now I’m wondering what I’ve let myself in for. I leave with two big bags of boxes – and more than a little trepidation.

Rachel Burge

Day one

My first day starts with porridge. I fill the measuring beaker with 60ml of water, add the sachet, shake and then microwave. The ping reveals a meagre-looking portion. Porridge for me usually involves a big bowl of oats, milk, sultanas, chopped banana – and when I’m feeling really naughty, a sprinkling of desiccated coconut and a dollop of raspberry jam.

It tastes pleasant enough but the consistency is odd – like someone explained to an alien what porridge looks and tastes like and this is what they came up with. It’s surprisingly filling as I’m not hungry again until three hours later – when a strawberry drink takes the edge off.

Next follows a visit to the in-laws. While the others enjoy a chicken casserole, I have a plate of ‘Group A’ vegetables (that’s cauliflower and broccoli to you and me). As they tuck into sponge cake, I have a toffee-flavoured PronoKal bar – which takes a LOT of chewing.

Once home, I’m feeling hungry and go straight for a sachet of faux chocolate pudding (made in the same way by adding water and microwaving). While small, it doesn’t disappoint.

Another jaw-aching toffee bar keeps me going until bed time.

Day two

The next day starts with porridge followed by a hot mocha drink as my morning snack. Having only had black tea or plain water until now, it tastes fantastic and is surprisingly filling – enough to take the edge off my hunger until lunch, which is a packet mushroom omelette.

Again, the consistency doesn’t fool anyone but it’s warm and tastes pleasant enough with a plate of grilled mushrooms and salad tomatoes. Later, I have Melba toast and a plate of cauliflower and broccoli – with orange biscuits and a toffee bar in the evening

I end the day feeling hungry – and a loud tummy rumble signals bed at 9pm.

Day three

While I’m not exactly looking forward to a bowl of pretend porridge, I’m surprised at how filling it is – enough to keep me going until my snack and chicken curry-flavour soup lunch.

I have a toffee bar before my usual circuit training class. After three minutes doing lunges with a 5kg kettle bell in each hand, I swap to 1kg hand weights (which results in some funny looks) but I get through the class OK, which is an achievement given how empty I feel.

Once home, I have a yummy hot coconut drink (I wonder why Vicky didn’t tell me about these?) and a chocolate pudding. I go to bed feeling peckish but not deprived.

Day four

I wake feeling tired and after the usual meagre portion of porridge and black tea I’m counting down the minutes to snack time.

Thankfully, the Tesco man arrives with aubergine, courgette, tomatoes and mushrooms. Lunch today is a feast of roasted Group B vegetables with Pronokal soup.

Feeling like I need a little encouragement, I use a ketone stick to check whether I’m in ketosis – which is the aim in Phase 1 of the diet. (You’re expected to lose 80% of excess weight in Phase 1, before working through to Phase 8 where you get back to eating a normal, healthy balanced diet).

It turns pink – which indicates ‘moderate’ ketone levels. Apparently, the body produces ketones as it breaks down fat in response to the absence of glucose/sugar. Combined with enough protein (in the form of the meal replacements) the theory is that my body won’t need to break down muscle tissue and will burn fat for fuel.

Day five

Strangely, I wakeup feeling less hungry than previous days – whether this is a side effect of being in ketosis or just a sign my stomach has shrunk, I’m not sure.

Following the usual porridge, I have a packet mushroom omelette with fried mushrooms (a tablespoon of olive oil is mandatory each day), half a courgette and 10 cherry tomatoes. I find it genuinely filling – so much so that I don’t have the next snack until 4.30pm.

I only have five meal replacements today but go to bed feeling fine.

Day six

Another side effect of being in ketosis is a feeling of general wellbeing – or at least so I’m told. I would like to report that I felt on a high, but the truth is I feel the same as ever.

Today I have porridge, an orange biscuit, Melba toast with lots of vegetables (wind is a side effect I do experience, unfortunately for the dog – who gets the blame) a toffee bar, omelette and yet more veg and a chocolate pudding.

I’m getting fed up with taking the supplements that are included with the programme, which add up to six salt tablets, five potassium, two magnesium, two calcium and a multi-vitamin throughout the day. If the packet meals don’t fill you up, these certainly will!

Day seven

I manage to stick to the diet again today – though am becoming a little bored with the same flavours and wish I had taken a wider variety of meal sachets with me.

I eat the usual six meal replacements – and have vegetables twice in the day. That evening, I go to the gym, and the scales reveal I’ve lost seven pounds in seven days.

While I’m pleased with the result and would like to lose a few more pounds, the desire for a cup of tea with milk in it is stronger.

One small cheat leads to another and by day eight and nine my resolve starts to crumble and a few little ‘extras’ find their way on to the menu. Although I had initially planned to stay on the plan for 14 days (with a target weight loss of 9lbs) I only make it to 10 days.

A mince pie on day 11 signals the nail in the coffin.

In conclusion

I lost seven pounds in seven days. But for me, the most interesting thing about the diet is the psychology of having a doctor ‘prescribe’ it to you – after all, these kind of protein meal replacements are readily available elsewhere. If you’re seriously overweight and ‘following doctor’s orders’ is the incentive you need to change your habits, it can only be a good thing though.

You’ll need discipline to stick to the programme, as it is pretty restrictive, but knowing you can eat every few hours makes it so much easier. And while the portions look small, they are weirdly filling – and most taste pleasant enough.

As well as regular progress meetings with the doctor and on-going advice from Vicky (who is endlessly patient and always happy to answer questions about particular foods), the programme includes the support of a personal trainer and psychologist. Both were very friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and while I didn’t call on their services much during the week, I can imagine that having them on the end of the phone or on Skype if you need support could help make the difference between failure and success.

As you might expect, it’s not cheap. The cost of the meal replacements work out at £120 a week at the beginning (ending at £48 a week during the final five phases of the treatment), with extra charged for visits to the doctor. Unlike similar programmes, there’s a big emphasis on keeping the pounds off once you’ve reached your target weight – with two years worth of free support included in the price to help keep you on track.

Link to web article: http://style.uk.msn.com/health/diary-of-a-dieter-pronokal-on-trial?cp-documentid=252775516

• Attend one of our recognised training courses
• Only doctors who attend the course are authorised to prescribe the PronoKal programme
• Don’t miss the opportunity to become part of a very worthwhile initiative as it builds on its success in Europe

The training programme will cover:

• Company introduction
• Concept of the protein diet
• The PronoKal® Programme
• Phases of the PronoKal® Programme
• Product tasting session
• Clinical history of the PronoKal® Programme
• The PronoKal® Programme and various pathologies
• Clinical cases
• Question and answer session

Next training seminars:

Wednesday 12 June between 19h00 to 21h30 at 2 Harley Street, London, W1.

Refreshments will be provided.

To reserve your place please call us on 0845 604 8834, 0207 631 1016 or email info@pronokal.co.uk