Supermarket slimming ranges: do they work?

If you've ever been tempted by the supermarket slimming ranges, you've probably wondered whether they really work.

To find out how slimming and healthy they are, we put two readers and their favourite shops to the test.

Claire Willis-McNeilly, 24, a telecommunications PA, lives with her boyfriend Simon, 32, a line supervisor for a shipping company in Romford, Essex. Claire, who is 5ft 6in and weighs 9st, has lost 21/2 stone by sticking to Tesco's Healthy Eating range. She says:

Although I wouldn't say I had a weight problem when I was younger, I was certainly overweight and my puppy fat never really disappeared.

My main problem was that I picked at food throughout the day - crisps, biscuits and chocolate bars - and I never exercised either.

Six months ago, I weighed 111/2 stone and felt very frumpy. I was only 23 and I realised I'd have to do something to get my confidence back.

When I first tried foods from the Tesco Healthy Eating range, I expected them to be pretty dull - but in reality they tasted rather good. Because I knew the range was low fat, I never actually counted calories.

What really helped was the fact they were complete meals I could put in the microwave. When you have a busy lifestyle, dieting is difficult and it's all too easy to go for the junk food option.

When the weight started to come off, I was thrilled. I also joined a gym and started swimming each week.

People tell me I must have a lot of willpower - but I don't honestly feel like I'm dieting. I just feel I'm eating more healthily.

Lyndel Costain says

One of the reasons Claire was keen on this range was because it was low in fat. She should be careful, though. Products that say they're 'low-fat' or 'fat-free' are not necessarily low in calories. Extra sugars, refined carbohydrate and thickeners are often added to boost flavour and texture, so calorie content may be only a little bit less thank or similar to, that of standard products.

An '85 per cent fat free' claim means the food is actually 15 per cent fat - so not low fat at all. But Claire has done very well. When she was 111/2 stone, she had a BMI 27, which made her overweight. By sensibly changing her diet, she managed to drop down to a BMI of 21. Sensibly, she includes all the treat that so often get dropped from diets - such as wine - so she doesn't feel deprived.

For the next and life-long stage of weight maintenance, she really ought to start making her own lower-fat, calorie-aware meals and sandwiches.

Like many of us, Claire doesn't have much time to spend in the kitchen - but she could cook from scratch at weekends. It's easy to do a stew or casserole which can be frozen and then defrosted later in the week.

To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in kilogrammes by your height in metres squared. 21-25 is healthy, 25-30 is overweight; 30-plus is obese.

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