Day 1: James Duigan Clean and Lean 6 Day Tummy Transformer

First day over! I feel great considering my calorie intake was super-low (971 - I use myfitnesspal to track).

I ate the following... (note my veggie substitutions for chicken/baked white fish)

7am: hot water and lemon
7.15: 2 egg white omelette with spinach.
10.30: half pack of Quorn roast chicken style slices and 1/4 cucumber; green tea
1.15pm: lentil salad (no oil)
4.15: rest of the Quorn roast chicken style slices and 1/4 cucumber; green tea
7.15: a vegetarian bratwurst, baked, with steamed spinach and asparagus

I then went for a 25 minute cardio intervals session (brisk walk 3 mins, jog for 2 mins, sprint for one - repeat x 4) and when I got back went through my circuit.

at 10pm I made my own version of the Clean and Lean Serenity powder with:
heaped teaspoon of maca
heaped teaspoon of cacao
heaped teaspoon of psyllium husks
small cup of cooled camomile tea
small cup of almond milk

I took an L-glutamine pill at the same time.

I didn't feel hungry at all today, I feel great. I am sure I will get really bored of this plan as it's very repetitive and it's easy to feel enthused on the first day. The plan is clever because having, for example, a very large portion of cucumber twice a day keeps you full with hardly any calories. I like the prescriptiveness of the plan in that regard because I would never just take a huge hunk of cucumber to work otherwise! I also particularly liked the relaxing drink at the end of the day (my own recipe - ha!), the combination of cacao and maca, as well as the camomile tea, is very calming - which is much needed in my life at the moment - and I am now struggling to keep my eyes open. Good night :)

James Duigan Clean and Lean: 6 Day Tummy Transformer - introduction

Always in search of quick results, I've decided to try out the most extreme of James's plans. He says he gives this diet plans to models before a shoot. He admits that it's boring and repetitive but highly effective.

James gives specific options for each meal in the programme but they all look interchangeable as they are various forms of lean protein (white meat) and green vegetables.

Two key criticisms for the Clean and Lean programme emerge here:

• Not (really) suitable for vegetarians: Nearly every meal on this plan includes chicken or turkey. I have bought tofu and Quorn products to substitute, but these aren't technically 'clean.' Quorn is a mycoprotein (cultured fungus) that is high protein, low fat and has a chickeny texture. I have chosen the simplest Quorn products and the tofu is from health store brands so they are the closest to clean foods. This complaint applies to James's 2 intensive plans; there are a few nice vegetarian recipes in his books for his long-term programme.

• Plugging own products: On this plan I am told I need Bodyism (James's brand) fibre supplements in the morning, his brand of fish oil supplements during the day, and his Bofy Serenity shake at night. His products are outrageously expensive IMO - the Serenity powder alone is £50 for 240g! In contrast with my most recent example, the Perricone plan, where while Dr Perricone's products are recommended he explains the key ingredients or other brands that work, James offers no details on the ingredients that work or alternatives. Luckily I have some supplements on hand to substitute them with: psyllium husks as the fibre supplement, my own preferred brand of omega 3 supplements, and maca (or similar calming supplement - thats what I have to hand) and cacao powder to replace the serenity shake. It may not be quite the same but I'm not paying £50 for a small bag of powder!

Without further ado let's see the plan! The version given in the book is more specific; this is my summary and this formula is followed every day.

• Boiled water with fresh lemon or lime + fibre supplement
• 2 egg white omelette with steamed greens eg spinach/broccoli/kale
• 100g lean white meat + quarter of a cucumber
• Portion of white meat (chicken or baked white fish) with steamed greens
• 100g lean white meat + quarter of a cucumber
• Portion of white fish or chicken with steamed greens
• Serenity shake with fibre supplement

So much protein! So much bland greens! Argh! We are banned from oil which I find weird. James says this is the healthy way to lose a lot of weight but I've always believed healthy fat from olive oil, nuts and avocados help you lose weight. I won't knock this till I've tried it, though.

Then we have the exercise plan...

Days 1, 3 and 5: 

Morning cardio - 25 minutes of running intervals. I'm going to do this in the evening because I can't handle morning exercise

Circuits - 3 circuits of 8 standard exercises: push-ups, lunges, squats, tricep dips etc

Day 2 and 4:

Resistance training with dumbbells - 5 circuits of 8 exercises

I had better lose a few pounds by the end of this!!! In fact I'm hoping to look something like this...

James Duigan's client Elle Macpherson

Rosie's rule: Hydration

One of Rosie Huntington-Whitely's secrets for staying slim and having clear radiant skin is drinking lots of water. Rosie says she drinks 3-4 litres of water each day. This is a lot of water, but I find it's easy to drink 3 litres a day if you include herbal and green teas.

In the last couple of days I've been trying this. I order water multipacks to be delivered to my office, so every day I have a 1.5l bottle of Evian. I supplement this with 3 large green teas during the day, I have bought them in lots of different flavours (Twinings Mango & Lychee, Ginger green teas are lovely, and I'm also really enjoying the strangest one yet, Salted Caramel) as I'm not keen on the flavour of ordinary green tea. I always find a good selection in my local Waitrose! Then I drink a couple of glasses of water at home with dinner. I always try to make that the last thing I do before I go to sleep, and first thing I do when I wake up, is drink a large glass of water.

This is because sleep is very dehydrating for the body. According to James Duigan, in the Clean and Lean flat tummy book, when the body is dehydrated it is in a stressful state. This stressful state encourages production of the hormone cortisol whch makes our body hang onto fat.

It's also now widely known that what feels like hunger is often just thirst and drinking plenty of water can help reduce snacking. In addition, when you are drinking water this often, your tummy tends to feel full all the time. Drinking a hot drink like a herbal tea is particularly filling.

Rosie Huntington-Whitely

One of the most stylish, beautiful models around - with, of course, a killer body - is Rosie Huntington-Whitely. You don't need to search hard to find a lot of information on Rosie's diet and fitness regime - it's not a surprise that loads of fashion magazines follow what she does, because it's clearly working.

Rosie's slim figure and glowing skin come courtesy of Vinyasa Flow yoga, green smoothies and James Duigan's Clean and Lean diet rules.

For the next month I'm going to try all of these. Let's see if I end up looking like this: