There’s no hiding for a midriff bulge when the sun comes out. So in the nick of a time I get asked to trial a new meal replacement supplement.

I know that nutritionists are not in favour of this kind of fast-track dieting but it does work for me – simply because it takes away the guess work of calorie counting and the temption of eating whatever else is in the fridge. When I was a journalist on national newspapers I lived on Slimfast (and champagne) and I stayed a svelte size 8.

But Almased is somewhat different in its ingredients from most meal replacements. It’s mainly soya (non-GMO), probiotic yogurt and honey enzymes plus vitamins and minerals. It’s the No1 meal replacement in Germany and very popular with athletes because it contains lots of protein, mainly in the form of protein which helps build and retain muscle – this is usually the first part of the body to loose its bulk during a low-calorie diet.

When I saw honey on the label as one of the major ingredients I thought this cannot be good as its a sugar and one that would cause an unhealthy glucose spike. But the honey enzymes are the active ingredient in the fermentation process of the product and its low GI so helps support healthy blood sugar and insulin levels, while the prebiotic has a beneficial effect on digestion and the immune system.

Almased is supposed to work fast – it’s possible to loose about 10lbs in almost as many days. That’s if you replace three meals which the manufacturer does not recommend. Taken with water is has about 180 calories in each meal shake. You can mix it with skimmed milk but then the weight loss is slower.

I am ambivalent about the taste – it could not be described as delicious or mouthwatering – but what meal replacement shake is? But it did taste OK and worked on reducing my appetite so I did not feel hungry at all. This is because it is very high in protein and one meal replacement can keep you full for four hours and helps promote the satiety hormones leptin and ghrelin.

It was easy to stay on this shake for two weeks and I did loose 5lbs – but that was because I did stray on a couple of evenings. I also had lots of energy and felt great so its something I would do again.

Almased costs £22.96 for 500g (buy at pharmacies and online) which should last a week if you replace all meals with a shake. There are recipes and case studies online here www.almased.co.uk