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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To do a meal replacement diet?

31 replies

tigerandcub · 27/12/2018 08:41

This is after many failed attempts at SW, WW, eating healthily, have failed!

I need a kick up the bum and I think a drastic diet is what I need.

OP posts:
proseccoaficionado · 27/12/2018 08:44

No. It may help on the short term but definitely no use on long term and it also messes up your body. Big no.

You need to analyse your lifestyle and make small changes.

GreenEggsHamandChips · 27/12/2018 08:44

It can give a diet a jumpstart but you need an exit plan from the diet.

Busybusybust · 27/12/2018 08:45

No. You’ll lose weight - but you’ll put it straight back on when you stop.

Purplejay · 27/12/2018 08:49

I did a Exante about 3 years ago for a month and lost 16lb. I did put it back over the next few months but that’s because I eat crap! It can give you a boost but then you need to continue health eating. It is hard work to stick to though. You have to be ‘in the zone’.

pinkdelight · 27/12/2018 08:50

I did one. It was great. For a few months until I got gallstones (agony ultimately leading to operation) and put the weight back on and then some. Going for sustainable lifestyle change now. Know how you feel but much as we wish it there are no shortcuts.

Butteredghost · 27/12/2018 08:52

YANBU. Sometimes you need a lock up the bum like you said.

GreenEggsHamandChips · 27/12/2018 08:54

Any way you losing weight if you return to your old eating habits you will return to your old weight.

I lost 6 stone over the course of 18 months. I did it through slimfast for a month and half then diet (logging all my food) and exercise. I kept it low for about a year then in the last year as eating habits started slipping and stress/comfort eating started happening.

That's not the fault of either diet. Thats the fault of my weak willpower.

The messing with your metabolism is any kind of diet but the impact of that really is small actually.

evilharpy · 27/12/2018 08:56

I know lots of people who have done Lighter Life, Cambridge or Slimfast and have all lost lots ofnweight quite quickly. Every single one has regained the weight (and some more than they originally lost).

GnomeDePlume · 27/12/2018 09:05

I lost an enormous amount of weight (about 7 stone) doing one but have since put it all back on.

It is a miserable existence while doing it. Going out for meals (work) was a pain, everyone else is tucking in and you are sat with a cup of hot water and a sachet of powder.

For about 6/7 months I lived on 700 calories per day. By the end I looked grey and drawn. My hair started to fall out.

What I hadn't addressed was why I eat too much and how to deal with that.

Foslady · 27/12/2018 09:07

The only thing that EFSA has said can make weight loss claims is a substance called glucomannon/Konjac fibre. This swells in your stomach to make you feel fuller, but even with that you need to eat a healthier diet and up your activity levels.
Meal replacements are a short term fix but you need to think ‘what then?’

Tatiannatomasina · 27/12/2018 09:08

Tried the shake diet, I was starving and put it back on straight away when I stopped. I now do low carb moderate fat and protein. Weight is coming off a treat and I am never hungry.

BikeRunSki · 27/12/2018 09:10

I work with a girl who has been on the Cambridge Diet for 2 yrs and 3 months. She has breaks for holidays. She had lost 7 stone, which sounds like a lot, but it’s less than a pound a week. Howeve, she likes it because everything is compartmentalised. There is no going back for more. Her DP eats “normally” but works away during the week, so there is rarely food in their house. She has 2 stone to go, abd seems to have had for ages, so I am not sure if it has affected her metabolism. She’s quite nervous about eventually stopping, so you definitely need an exit plan.

GroundhogWeek · 27/12/2018 09:30

I did Slimfast for six weeks as a kickstart and lost about a stone. I used it very much as a temporary starting point and used the time to come up with a more sensible long term plan which I moved onto and continued to lose weight. That worked for me. Currently pregnant and will probably do similar to start losing some of the weight I’ve gained this time round.

SydneyFrexkle · 27/12/2018 09:36

I did and lost a stone in 2 weeks. Kept it off too.

Don’t listen to the people that say you’ll put all the weight back on. THIS WILL HAPPEN WITH EVERY DIET IF YOU GO BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL EATING HABITS!

CookPassBabtridge · 27/12/2018 10:32

It works and it works quick. It only fails if you stop... the plan doesn't fail! I like them as they give no room for manouvre and I need rigid rules.

WishIwas19again · 27/12/2018 10:48

I did Slimfast for a month before my wedding and lost about a stone (2 inch off each hip according to my dress fitter!). I was really motivated to fit into my dress so good for a one off, but I certainly couldn't sustain it.

With Slim Fast you also had a healthy 600 calorie meal once a day (10 years ago so no idea if still same plan) which I enjoyed at night with my DH so didn't feel too much of a hardship.

My colleague did Lighter Life, paid a fortune but only managed a couple of weeks. Her lifestyle involved a lot of eating out/drinking/socialising which made her realise it had to be a total life change and she couldn't just fix her diet.

SharedLife · 27/12/2018 10:53

I did the Cambridge Diet and it messed me up so much. It completely ruined my ability to read my bodies hunger and satiety cues. I have put on a lot of weight since I stopped as eating was 100% no longer about hunger. My overeating and bingeing have become uncontrollable at times. Luckily I found Brain Over Binge and that helped a lot.

CandyCreeper · 27/12/2018 10:59

Theyre fine. I lost
loads with slim fast. Only put
it back
on when I got pregnant so will be doing it again in the new year.

werideatdawn · 27/12/2018 11:08

Wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. I have an acquaintance who did the Cambridge Plan, waxed lyrical about how much weight she was losing very quickly, I think 5 stone eventually. Within a few months she put it all back on and more, she looks bloated and unwell. Awful stuff.

AwkwardPaws27 · 27/12/2018 12:33

Following this with interest after a relative grabbed my lower abdomen and asked if I was pregnant on Boxing Day (I'm not)...
I've put on half a stone since I got married 6 months ago, and I'm a size 12 and 5'7",so losing a stone would make a big difference.

Larasshadow · 27/12/2018 12:47

What works for me is the 5:2 diet. So not eating much for 2 days a week (I stick to 500-700 calories) and then normal eating for the rest of the week. I've steadily lost 1-2 per week.

WonderTweek · 27/12/2018 12:57

My colleague is slim to begin with but does the Slender plan for a couple of months, gets thin, then starts eating normally and puts it all back on remarkably quickly. And then she's back on it eating her diet porridge and protein shakes in the office. She does get quite thin so it clearly works in that sense, but she is starving herself and not allowed to enjoy any food which sounds like a recipe for binge eating.

HariboLecter · 27/12/2018 13:23

Have you tried the My Fitness Pal app?

Eliza9917 · 27/12/2018 13:39

I'm going back on exante on the 2nd. I might do two products and a healthy low carb meal though as I'm going back in the gym too.

kitkatsky · 27/12/2018 15:54

I lost 2 stone on one but it was really hard. You can't deviate from the duet at all or you put on pounds overnight. You also absolutely can't drink. One glass of wine and you'll be sick and hungover for days. I also put on half a stone within 2 weeks of stopping but kept rest off until I got pregnant. I think it's far harder than you can imagine, but if you're going to go for it I recommend Slim and Save and having no carb meals at least twice a week so you can mix up the soups/ shakes etc. That'll help you stick with it longer and slim and save have a great website to understand what foods you can have/ not have. Good luck with whatever you choose and if you do it ensure you drink plenty of water!!