Patchy progress for Diane

Tag: Milk Thistle Extract

In October last year, Diane Cooke embarked upon a new way of losing weight with the aid of slimming patches. At the time she vowed that she would give her honest opinion, good or bad, on this new product which has swept America and is making inroads into the European slimming market. Six months later she gives her verdict...

SIX months ago I attended an event at a Wilmslow hotel to launch a slimming product in Europe - the Jen Fe Plus Slimming patch, which, according to reports, has been a success in America.

The event was aimed at people who wanted to sell this product, but in response to a piece I had written about obesity, one of the "sellers" contacted me to let me know that the answer to the nation's blubber problem may well lie with these patches.

Naturally, I couldn't wait to hear more. Having previously worked as Women's editor of this newspaper, I had covered almost every diet book ever published, so I have a good basic knowledge of what makes people lose weight.

Despite being weight conscious myself, I have piled on the pounds since the age of 30 and I'm now a good couple of stones overweight, despite going to the gym regularly.

Not obsessed

My weight hasn't altered for around five years, so I've stopped the rot and I'm certainly not obsessed with getting to a size 10. I'm not a yo-yo dieter, I'm not a binge-eater, I don't have an emotional relationship with food and I don't suffer from lack of self-esteem, so I'm not one of those poor stereotypes the dieting industry loves to prey on. I am a victim of middle-aged spread, it's taken me 18 years to become two stones overweight, so I'm not expecting a miracle cure, but if one presents itself to me, I'd be a fool not to give it a go... so I did.

After writing the first article about the patches saying I was going to trial them and give my results, the Manchester Evening News received several letters and emails from people who seemed desperate to try them. I wrote to a couple telling them to hold on because I wanted to see if they worked for me. Naturally, like every slimming aid they're not cheap at £55 per month, although looking on the internet a 90-day supply from one seller has been reduced from £257 to £150.

At the Wilmslow event I met Christina Perry, from South Carolina, who was carving a successful business out of selling the patches in America, having given up a top job in a global technology company. She had also lost 50lbs after giving birth to her second child with the help of the patches.

I also met Jackie from Scotland, a self-confessed yo-yo dieter, who has lost a dress size and is now selling the products and also Tracey Hollowood from Sale, who has slimmed down from a 14/16 to a small 14 without changing her eating habits. Each one had another success story to tell, so I was keen to get started.