I am a huge advocate of breakfast, especially breakfast that is fit for kings and queens. As the old adage goes: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” I try to maintain that ratio, but in our house, it’s 3 meals a day eaten by kings (and queen bee, which is me).
Enough of the old analogies and onto a very interesting challenge set by Britmums and All-Bran, called the #RealMums All-Bran 5-Day Challenge, which is all about embracing our tummies and the way we look. I must admit that my tummy always feels good after one of my ‘heartstopper bagels’ in the morning (if I told you what was inside those bagels, you wouldn’t believe me). But, perhaps, a bowl of All-Bran every day for 5 days might just be the healthier option and reduce the bloated feeling I get by lunchtime (yes, I wonder why I hear you sayβ¦)
I’ve never been a fan of cereal, it looks and feels like cement and I’m hungry after an hour (or less sometimes). My husband, on the other hand, is a cereal fiend and I was lucky that I got to try out just 5 bowls of the All-Bran cereal that week. I literally had to hide them from hubby, so that I could complete the challenge!
Table of Contents
What’s the reason behind the #RealMums All-Bran 5-Day Challenge?
90 to 95 percent of the ‘happy’ hormone serotonin is actually made in the gut. But, one studyΒΉ showed that out of 1,000 women in the UK, a whopping 52 percent of us experience digestive complaints, such as bloating or gas, at least once a week. And, eating fibre every day is one of the simplest ways to combat this, resulting in happy tums all around.
So, All-Bran decided to help real mums, like me, who don’t really find the same amount of time to look after ourselves as we look after our children, and offer us 3 different tasty All-Bran flavours to try out for 5 consecutive days to see whether eating regular fibre does indeed give you a happy tummy.
Bring on the tummy love!
The #RealMums All-Bran 5-Day Challenge
1. Try out the All-Bran cereal for 5 consecutive days and document the results.
The Kellogg’s All-Bran Cereal and Flavours
Golden Crunch
Red Berry Crunch
Chocolate Wheats
How did Motherhood Diaries get on with the 3 different flavoured cereals?
Kellogg’s All-Bran Chocolate Wheats
The Chocolate Wheat flavoured All-Bran cereal was the first one I tried and I did expect it to be quite sweet, but it really wasn’t at all. The cereal is made with natural shredded whole wheat bran and brings out a very chocolatey taste when dissolved in hot milk. I prefer a crunch to my cereal though and, although I felt quite good after my bowl, I limited this cereal to just 1 of the 5 days, as it wasn’t my favourite.
Kellogg’s All-Bran Golden Crunch
I absolutely loved this cereal and had a bowl of Golden Crunch for 3 of the 5 consecutive days of the All-Bran challenge. The cereal contains lots of tasty multigrain clusters and provided me with the crunch I wanted, coupled with that sweet honey taste that can only be complemented with ice cold milk. A super favourite and one I will buy again, no doubt.
Kellogg’s All-Bran Red Berry Crunch
The Red Berry Crunch is also made out of multigrain clusters, but with a dried berry twist. The red berries were tasty, but this cereal reminded me too much of the other cereals I’ve eaten β and forgotten about β in the past. This was my hubby’s favourite and I was afforded one bowl out of the whole pack. My poor boys didn’t even get a look in!
The 5-day progress
Day 1 β I had a bowl of Kellogg’s All-Bran Chocolate Wheats, and although I felt better that I didn’t stuff myself with the normal stodge I have at breakfast, I didn’t feel much different, except I had an emptier stomach. I always wake up with a flat belly that slowly grows by lunchtime, but I did notice that my belly stayed flatβ¦ for an hourβ¦ I was hungry by 9 am and ended up having a slice of bread. I couldn’t stomach another bowl of cereal, I had to slowly wean myself into my new cereal diet and allow this tummy to adjust!
Day 2 β I had a bowl of the super scrumptious Kellogg’s All-Bran Golden Crunch, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the taste. I thought that the Golden Crunch version tasted miles better than the Chocolate Wheats and I found it very easy to wolf the bowl down in 2 minutes flat. I felt better, lighter and more energetic. Was this psychosomatic, as I knew that eating a bowl of cereal was better for my tummy than a bagel with 4 different types of meat in it? Or, was the fibre actually helping my gut? Let’s move on and see.
Day 3 β I had another bowl of the oh-so-tasty Kellogg’s All-Bran Golden Crunch and I had definitely started to notice that I wasn’t getting bloated by lunchtime now. I felt more energetic and my mind was sharper. I also didn’t want to have my morning coffee, which was a HUGE surprise, but by 11, I caved and opted for a strong cuppa. I started exercising again this week, and I normally have a cup of coffee 20 minutes before my exercise to provide me with that extra energy. But, I didn’t need it and, although, I didn’t sail through my Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred DVD, I certainly felt more spruced up after a healthy breakfast.
Day 4 β I noticed that there was one bowl’s worth left of the Kellogg’s All-Bran Golden Crunch, so I snapped it up, giving the kids the Chocolate Wheats version instead (it’s chocolate, they thanked me for it). I realised that I could quite easily eat this cereal every day if it tasted this gorgeous. I was starting to get used to cereal in the mornings and I didn’t crave my busty bagels anymore (how quick your body gets used to change, eh?) and I had a flat stomach all the way through the day. I even braved a tighter top than usual at playgroup and lots of mums commented that I had lost weight. Nope, no weight loss, just loss of a pregnant looking belly due to stuffing myself with so much rubbish!
Day 5 β I was almost sad that the 5-day challenge was over, but as I could see that hubby had pretty much chomped through all the Kellogg’s All-Bran Red Berry Crunch, I thought I’d better try out that flavour before it’s gone. The red berries reminded me too much for the normal cereals I’ve tried in the past and I’m not a huge fan of them. But, this bowl was more pleasant, having left it to the last day of the challenge to try it out, and my tummy had already gotten used to more bowls of cereal than I’ve had in 2 years! During the day, I drastically changed my diet. I stopped the carbs after 4 pm because I really enjoyed the flat tummy and bundles of energy. I enjoyed being regular too (I’ll leave that comment right there), and I felt great after exercise. It’s amazing how much a less bloated belly makes you feel thinner, more confident and more vibrant.
After taking the challenge, I wholeheartedly agree that I had at least 95% of serotonin flowing through my gut that week and, boy, did it feel good! Not only did the challenge teach me that fibre is a key ingredient in any diet, but it’s changed my eating habits, not opting for the heavy carbs in the morning and enjoying some fruit in my cereal instead, to encourage, not only a lighter version of me but spur me on to get more healthy and exercise to lose more weight.
I’m definitely a convert, but only for the moreish Kellogg’s All-Bran Golden Crunch cereal, they are truly yummy in my tummy! I feel a song coming on, “Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy⦔
Take the All-Bran 5-day challenge and keep us posted on how you get on!
*1. Source for all research findings included in this post: Kellogg’s All-Bran Save our Stomachs European Research Study (2014) conducted by Edelman Berland. The full report is available upon request.
*This post is an entry for the Real Mums of All-Bran Linky Challenge, sponsored by Kellogg’s*
miss a new post!
Don’t forget to tailor your preferences, so you just get the posts you want to read!
Follow Motherhood Diaries on Facebook (Facebook Recipes Page), Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn
If you’d like to share your pregnancy or parenting story, then please do share your story here. Don’t forget to read our Ad Policy
Leave a Reply