650 kal a day

[Differentstarts]

For 2 months iv been on a vlcd consuming 650 kcal a day and lost 2 stone - AMA

Takeaways multiple times a week, share bags of chocolate, crisps ect, carb heavy meals that would feed a small village, lots of alcohol

I am a serial dieter who has tried everything and who has finally lost all the weight through healthy eating and exercise (under the Slimpod plan) and I am VERY skeptical about VLCDs. However, if it has worked for you OP, and you have a good maintenance strategy then I really hope it works for you long term.

I really fancy a burger now

Op, well done.

My sisters and I consume around 800 calories a day. We are all very active and in our 50s. We have never been overweight and have no health problems. All have been through the menopause with no symptoms and see a correlation for some women who are overweight who seem to have every 'menopause' symptom under the sun!

We don't deny ourselves flavours, we just eat small portions. None of us drink alcohol.

Mother and grandmother are/were the same.

As we get older we really don't need to consume as many calories. You might be young so following the advice to lose weight is the best thing you can do for yourself to have a long and healthy life.

It's extremely noticeable from seeing old friends we were at school with who are overweight and all the health problems they have had over the years.

You can do it and you will feel wonderful when you've reached your goal weight and it will be mentally as well as physically that you feel huge benefits of not being overweight.

I have a shake or mueli for breakfast, soup or a bar for lunch and a bag of crisps or chocolate then something like spag bol or cottage pie for tea followed by pancakes or chocolate brownie for supper. These are packet foods though not actual foods you would make yourself if that makes sense

Hardly any of that food has any nutritional value and your gp should be struck off if they think that's a healthy balanced diet.

Thanks for responding!

Have you had any counselling about why you ate that way? Also what do you see yourself eating in say a years time? Are you doing a specific plan like keto, volume eating etc?

I have to admit this is an interesting thread - I never knew the NHS recommended diets like this.

It's only for 12 weeks as a kick-start I needed results quick otherwise I had to go on statins and up my bisoprolol. I will be eating lots od fresh healthy food in 4 weeks

Iv been in therapy for ever for different things and have slightly covered eating within that. The reason I chose this plan is they don't just help you lose the weight and then abandon you, when you have finished the 12 weeks you move onto switch which is basically calorie counting and making healthier food choices

It's not actual food like your buy from a supermarket each pack contains 25% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals and you have 4 packs a day

They do them on plan its one of the packs 🤣

Thankyou and well done on your weightloss

But again, you're not supposed to - that's not the point of the diet.

The point is to get your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol (etc) under control under medical supervision before you start a brand new diet and way of life.

If it is it isn't a good one.

Massive congratulations for getting this far!!

You could have just taken the tablets and continued on the path to greater medical problems in the future, but it sounds like you've taken a harder initial step to really change your lifestyle and have a healthier long-term future (I'm not a medical expert, but I'm pretty sure even if you had to have your gall-bladder removed, that's a heck of a lot less risky than gastric band surgery, never mind heart attack etc.)

I can't see what the switch program looks like, but I hope it shows you some really tasty healthy options, and doesn't make a non-junk food diet sound like a punishment!

You also sound like a very upbeat and kind person from the way you've responded to posters, so I have every faith in you to go on and have a fantastic future - go you!!!

I hate how critical people are on this thread.

Overweight people are always told to go to their GP's and get help - OP has done exactly done and is, under close supervision, on a diet recommended by a medical professional, and apparently that's still not good enough for MN

That’s just simply not true. Yes, if you go back to your old eating habits and eat too many calories you’ll gain weight but over a period of 2/3 months as per extensive research by the likes of Dr Michael Mosley, what you’re saying just isn’t true if you then go on to eat at maintenance calories or a more modest calorie deficit you’ll maintain your weight loss. AND … it’s a shitty thing to say to someone.

Thankyou so much 💓

been there, done that, put it all back on and more when you stop (which you should do because it's terrible for you to do long term as all the plans tell you)

I have no intention of doing it long term it's 12 weeks iv already done 8 then I will focus on calorie counting and making healthier choices and exercising more. obviously if I go back to eating how I previously did then yes I will gain weight, like any diet

You eat muesli, soup, crisps, cottage pie and pancakes. And that’s 650 cals.? Sounds more to me. Unless the portions are minimal. Also it doesn’t sound very healthy from a nutritional point of view. Honestly I think you could eat far better than this, but I guess if it works for you then it’s your decision what you eat. I’m not sure why you posted though. Are you inviting comment? Or hoping it will inspire others? Or starting a debate on the merits of this diet.?

Your experience isn’t representative of everyone else’s experience.

Did they do any psychological assessments rather than just physical? I suspect a vlc diet would be dangerous for me because I think I’d become obsessed. I saw some of those behaviours in the lead up to my wedding and actually if i hadn’t had my honeymoon to reset, I might have taken things too far.

Also how have you managed to not be in a bad mood. I have friends who have done vlc diets and have been heinous to be around.

I'm not eating them things I'm eating packets of powder mixed with water that resemble them things. People can do what they want with their own lives I posted it as its something different and not an average way people are living their lives it would be pointless doing a ama about something 99% of people do

Iv been under the cmht most of my life so I'm covered in that area. I'm not in a bad mood as iv never felt so well. For years iv felt unwell, been in pain and had no energy to the point I was sleeping all the time. In just 8 weeks I'm mentally and physically stronger then iv ever been, I'm not sleeping in the day anymore, I'm not gasping for air going upstairs, iv reduced the amount of painkillers I take. I'm honestly a completely different person

I would literally pass out with that little calories.

I am a few stone overweight, I use nutracheck and lose weight by eating around 2000 calories a day. But I am quite active and have a busy lifestyle.