Which VLCD do you recommend?

[ThePippy]

OK so I have done Lighter Life before, very successfully too (7 stone off in 6 months) several years and pregnancy's ago. Suffice it to say I would like to do it again and I know the in's and out's of the actual method, but as I have only done LL I was interested in people views on the alternatives in terms of niceness of the packs (which is all that matters really once you get past the "is it for me" questions). I am aware of Cambridge, Slim & Save, Exante and The New You plans. Anyone got any experience of these and have an opinion?

I did LL like you to lose quite a lot. Now I have less to lose - and less to spend! - I'm doing Exante. I like the shakes and bars and am doing the Working Solution where I get to have a bit of real food too. But I think in retrospect I'd probably have gone for Slim n Save if I'd heard of it before committing. You get four packs instead (instead of three with Exante) - same calories but more 'fixes' if that matters to you, and it's even cheaper. Not tasted the packs but the folk on the big thread (here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/1793487-Cambridge-Diet-Lighter-Life-Slim-Save-VLCDers-gather-over-here?pg=35) like them. Cambridge I would only consider if I had more than 2 stone to lose and felt like I needed the counsellor to keep me motivated. I think I've heard that Cambridge packs are nicer than LL's but may be mis-remembering - certainly get the impression that LLs were the least nice of the lot!

Thanks for the reply Pink - I have asked on that thread too now. I suspect the packs are all much the same TBH and at least with the online ones you are not committed for ages so you can switch to others more easily... when I did LL it was when you had to sign up for 13 weeks as a starting point..thankfully I got into it that time and 13 weeks turned out to not be an issue, but I have tried a couple of times since (stupidly not long after having babies which was totally the wrong timing) and that is just too much.

Thanks again xx

I ordered some slim and save for a friend and they were virtually the same as the Lighter Life packs but at less than half the price.

None of them.

Saints and slimmers - packs taste ok and cheaper than ll or cd

Any diet that does not teach you the healthy habits to keep the weight off for ever is a waste of money

Yes, thanks, we know the healthy habits that keep the weight off forever and yet it's bloody helpful to lose a MASSIVE CHUNK of weight relatively swiftly then you can maintain using those healthy habits that keep the weight off forever. Not that anyone I've ever met has managed that utopian state.

It's fine to be idealistic but clearly it's not that simple or we'd all be slim and healthy and keeping the weight off forever. And OP wouldn't be asking the question. I've not found it a waste of money. I've found it pretty life-changing to be honest. And good value compared to food costs.

I've done LL, Cambridge, and now doing Exante. In that order

Found that counselling for me the first time was helpful, but when I really put my mind to it I do fine without it and my purse is a lot happier

Exante is about £100 a month as opposed to £85 a week (LL) which is such a huge saving.

I've been doing it a few weeks and lost quite a bit so far. On my refresher day two after starting back after New Year (to coincide with return to work).

Good luck with whatever you choose! :)

Just realised my post was actually unhelpful.

To summarise - Exante = affordable, scrumptious food (they even had a special range of Christmas turkey / Christmas pudding packs over Christmas!). Website very easy to use and there is a forum for support. Weight loss results are good.

Delivery is also great; I ordered a few bits late Sunday night and they arrived this morning by DPD, who emailed me to give me a specific hour time window. V impressed with them.

I agree pink. I actually think most people who have a lot to loose are very well versed in exactly what is and isn't healthy. It's not the knowing that makes it happen TalkinPeace, and for people who have a lot to loose there are often other issues that simply can not be addressed when facing a massive weight loss target.

LL was life changing for me. It allowed me after many years failing on conventional diets (which taught me a lot about healthy eating) to finally shed the weight and feel ready to try for a family. I have achieved that now and feel ready to use a VLCD again, at least to get past the biggest hurdle of the first several stone.

I don't think people who have not had a lot to loose can really understand why normal diets aren't always the right choice for everyone thought tbh.

Thanks everyone for the info on the various diets. Good to hear from someone Tiffany who has tried a few as a comparison.

Thepippy
there are people doing 5:2 who have lost enormous amounts of weight, dealt with some of the emotional issues and are now maintaining - all without spending any money on supplements.
There are also people under BIWIs wing on the low carb threads who have achieved the same.

The final straw in my sister's kidney failure (before her transplant) was Slimfast.
I've also never seen evidence that those systems help people keep weight off long term.

On the other hand, getting your head around the issues means that maintaining within healthy BMI for 12 years is no great shakes.

Sorry about your DS. You must admit that's an extreme case and no reason for other people not to use VLCD. 5:2 didn't work for me - I can't chop and change like that and retain restraint and motivation. I'm happy for those who have lost lots using that method, including my mum, but VLCD works for me.

pinkdelight
How long have you kept your weight within the 18-23.5 healthy range using VLCDs?

It's my understand that the healthy range goes up to 24.9. I got into that range for two years after just four months on LL, then crept out of it - but nowhere near as high as before, only up into overweight not obese, so now I'm using exante for a couple of months to get down again. For the last year when my weight's been creeping up I've tried 5:2 but can't stick with it, likewise low carb and sundry others (tried SW in the past with little impact) and obviously all along I've been trying the general healthy thing but not stuck at it for one reason or another. Things change, sometimes you have bags of motivation, sometimes less than none. The strict parameters of this seem to work for me when I need it.

pinkdelight
the 24.9 limit still applies to white people,
for other ethnic groups, the new limit is actually 23
publications.nice.org.uk/assessing-body-mass-index-and-waist-circumference-thresholds-for-intervening-to-prevent-ill-health-ph46/recommendations

and for all people, waist being less than half of height is the really important measure.

It might be worth you looking up 'mindfulness' techniques to see if they help you maintain after doing a session of VLCD

Yep, am white so that's what I've been using, and we did work on mindfulness at LL counselling group so I use it but as I said, life gets in the way sometimes. Thanks for the steer and sure you're just trying to help, but ime it's not ignorance that leads people to use vlcd. It'd be different if the thread had been 'Is VLCD the right diet for me?' but I just felt it a bit patronising to drop in and berate the kind of plan OP had chosen.

Right, sorry for the diversion OP. As you were and good luck!