Cambridge Diet, Lighter Life, Slim&Save - VLCD'ers gather over here!

[SconeInSixtySeconds]

Welcome one and all to The New Thread !

Results for me on Slim and Save 10 weeks = 42 pounds!

:o

Week 11 is looking rubbish for me, but I have been (and continue to be actually) poorly.

Come and make yourselves comfy...

Morning all,
Quick question, what do you have for breakfast? It's day one for me and I only bought bars, soups and meals (I hate milk so no shakes for me ditto porridge) so I guess my only choice is a bar...
Any tips for how to spread the food out in the day?

Wow so many more new people to chat to! I felt awful last night was up for hours. But I'm feeling really optimistic today. Probably helped by the fact dp is starting his cabbage soup diet so that means no more tempting food!
Ellie - I have 4 packets a day on s&s but I wait until dinner time around 1 before I have my first shake because I'm not a breakfast person. I'm into the pattern of leaving 3hrs between packs.
Merry - how are you feeling today? What packs have you got to look forward to?
Cheesy - I stayed strong but felt rough last night. The thought of looking nice in dresses is keeping me strong.

Thanks Noswingpark, very useful and well done for staying strong - it will all be worth it in the end.
I just had my first bar, somehow I thought they would be more breakfasty (more cereal) and less chocolatey so not a good call for breakfast as very very sweet!
All in all, a really good bar but probably ideal for afternoon or evening snacks.
You live and learn I guess!

How many packs do you have a day Ellie? I think they all work on the same calorie content slim and save packs are about 119-130 cals. I'm just having the straight packs no veg at present, I need to concentrate that these packs have all the nutrients I need so therefore I dot need to think about anything else at present....its bloody hard!
What flavours had you got today?

I have 4 a day - my rough plan was going to be:
breakfast: bar
Lunch: soup
5 o'clock ish: meal
8.30-9: meal

but i guess I might need to swap the bar for something more breakfast like (unfortunately I am a breakfast person!) dare I say even an oatmeal or porridge with water (ugh).
I only have one week supply as I can be so fussy I can imagine myself not liking loads of the meals and reordering the same things over and over again.
That's the spirit, isn't it? :-)
I won't have vegetables for now either, I fear my nerve is not strong enough yet!

Sorry I forgot to answer your other question - today I shall try:
Mushroom soup for lunch
Cheesy pasta at 5
Mild curry for dinner
Such a random menu, haha!
I will be sure to report on taste :-)

summer I love your posts Your weight loss is incredible, really inspirational.

ellie my day usually looks something like this (LighterLife lite):

• I whizz up a shake (LL shakes use water, not milk) then have that either on the sofa or in a flask on the train into work, usually between 7am and 8 am. By the way I highly recommend investing in a decent flask for soups / shakes on the go. I got one from Starbucks for £11 and it's a lifesaver. Will keep soups hot for 2 hours min.

• Bar or soup around 11am

• Another pack around 2pm

• Dinner about 5 or about 7 if I'm at work. I have chicken and veg.

I think the trick for me is to not leave it too long between packs. Otherwise my blood sugar drops, I get grotty and feel rubbish and I am very tempted to snack or go off plan. Sometimes I'll have had my three packs by 12pm and then will snack on veg if I get desperate before dinner time. I try and keep carrot sticks, cucumber and peppers etc in the fridge which stops me pigging out on other stuff.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

So I met my CDC this morning, she was lovely! She weighed me and my starting weight is 15stone 7.6lbs!!!! Eeekk!!! BMI is 30.4 as I'm 5'11". Not good!!!

Am aiming to lose 60lbs, which would give me a mid to low BMI of 22ish.

Seems like such a long way to go...

I read in here someone was saying about the delayed gratification thing; very true and I need to remember that when I struggle.

Do you really not feel hungry when in ketosis though? That would be amazing!!

I had the vanilla shake fir lunch, whiz zed up with hot water and 2tsp of coffee - was lovely! Am drinking lots if herbal tea to rude me over until next shake.

Hello everyone
Started saints and slimmers on Sunday with my dh. No scales but he wants to lose around 2 stone and me around 4 stone (although we have no scales in the house and I wouldn't stand on them if we did!!!)
An 5ft 7 and size 16-18
Want to be an easy 14

Lost over 50lbs on lighter life 7 years ago which I maintained for a fair while.

Glad there is a thread to Help keep me on track! Tripped up a few times already but nothing too major - definitely feelin thinner already.

Here is the latest from me...
Had Cheesy Pasta for lunch (not soup) which is lovely but the pasta is definitely crunchy which is a little odd!
I am now starving!!!
Will have mushroom soup as soon as I can get off my work call (hehe) but cannot help but dreaming of a cup of tea and a biscuit!!
Just spoken to my friend who has juts lost 4.5 st on LL for motivation, really cannot wait for the hunger to subside...

Just had a delivery from saints and slimmers - which included chocolate muffins - and they taste like - chocolate muffins! Amazing

With these in my kitchen I might have a hope in hell of losing weight a just seen I really should be 10st - I haven't been 10 stone since primary school

Hello other new people!!

Anothernamechange - I would love a BMI of 30!

I've had a soup today and a bar later and either a shake or pasta carbonara...

I think I've worked out how these diets work long term though - the packs are enough to put you off food for life! Bleurgh!

Join - you must have great willpower - if muffins were an option for me I think I'd eat a weeks supply in one go! Surprisingly the shakes don't tempt me in the same way!

Xmas - sorry hope I didn't offend with talk of my bmi. Obviously we all have different starting points. I feel the sane when I hear people talking about 12 stone being big when 12 stone is my lightest weight in adult memory!!

Ellie - I heard with you pasta that you should try soaking it for 10 mins before cooking - less crunchy that way.

Thanks I will try!
Had mushroom soup, did not like at all (too milk-like but that's my issue), the flavour was good though.
Feeling kind of shivery and tired, could I be experiencing withdrawal symptoms already?
I thought it would be more day 3 or 4? Oh well...as long as it's a good sign.
4 months (assuming 1 st per month) seem an endless amount of time...sorry to be negative

Hi all! I've had a vanilla shake today which was lovely, then I'm having cheesy pasta for dinner, I tend to add the amount of boiling water to it and leave for 10mins. Then I heat it in a saucepan and add more water a spoon at a time and keep it heating for about 3mins, it Cooks the pasta perfect. I will have another shake before bed but don't think I can stomach a 4th.
I'm feeling a little light headed. I've cleaned non stop today and dusted off the exercise bike.
My start weight was 11st 6lb I'm 5ft 2 I'm praying I see that 6lb gone next week! I don't own a scales so I have to walk a mile to boots to get weighed each week!

Didn't offend at all another

Did you start today Ellie? Which plan are you following? I'm sure the symptoms will pass - drink lots of herbal tea to keep warm!

I am in the same boat as you - approx 4 stone to lose. It sounds like loads and as you say, 4 months is a long time. But if you were following a conventional diet it could take a year or longer!! So keep positive.

Oh good !

Noswing, thanks for the pasta tip - will try tomorrow

Anothername - yes, today is first day. Had a fennel tea as so cold, hopefully thats ok.
Trying to be positive, it will be really good to have you guys alongside this journey.

I asked my DH to pick up the kids from nursery as I wanted to give the house a clean before the weekend but he found me mug in hand in front of Friends and under a blanket! Oops...

Merry have you had nicer tasting packs today? I don't ever drink coffee but thinking of getting some to add to the strange crispy chocolate shake just to make it more enjoyable.

Hi all, may I join you? I did LL to lose 3 stone a couple of years ago. Maintained a while then gained and now want to lose about 1.5 on exante - too skint for LL now! Plus I found my counsellor a bit oppressive so hoping to feel a bit freer managing it myself (not bending the rules, just not having to go to him for my fix each week. And also having coke zero, little stuff like that really helps I think).

Anyhow, I just wanted to check something with cheesey who was saying about keeping the soups and shakes in flasks. I remember said LL counsellor telling us we should consume the packs when we'd made them up ie not make them up then wait an hour before consuming. Can't remember why but there was a reason and he was quite emphatic. Has anyone else come across this? Or was it just more micro management?

Ps: on subject of food packs, I ended up only liking shakes and bars on LL so have only ordered those on exante. Am tempted by the thought of the ready meals though. Does anyone know if the exante packs ate tastier (hopes and prays!)?

Hi pinkdelight, I'm doing slim and save and the meals are lovely. Not sure what options there are on exante but there is lots of choice with s&s. I haven't tried any soup yet (a bit nervous).

pink Hello, welcome. I've been told to make them up and 'serve' immediately too. However, I choose to ignore this sometimes for the sake of convenience. It's to do with the deterioration of vitamins and minerals in the packs if they are left for prolonged periods of time. Tbh I think this is to prevent people making them up and leaving them in the fridge for a couple of days, or freezing them rather than making them and then drinking them a couple of hours later.