VLCD/Meal Replacement on 1st Jan

[DelightfulCunt]

Hi everyone!

I’m starting a VLCD (Slim and Save) on 1st Jan and wondering is anyone starting too? Or Cambridge, Exabte etc and maybe we could keep each other motivated?

No haven't heard of that...I doubt I wear more than 33 items of clothing though, unless that includes underwear! So looking forward to getting more into clothes and beauty. I'm spending quite a lot of time browsing now..I might treat myself to a day with a stylist when I'm at goal.

Well, for the first time in years my weight begins with a 15 rather than 17...
I did cheat a little bit yesterday, trip to IKEA and I had meatballs, but no sauces or chips I had veg hash instead which I picked all the sweet potato out of and just had the beans.... hope I get away with that...

Well done bishop! That's amazing & just what I needed to hear so thank you.
Had my first blip day yesterday/today but I'm telling myself the first one in 6weeks is fine and I'll be back on it tomorrow. Hearing your progress has really helped.

So on a whim I ordered the Exante 4 week box at 10.30pm on Thursday. It arrived by 4pm on Friday! To prepare I ate low carb and low cal on Friday and started properly on Saturday. It’s going well so far.

I’m aiming to eat 3 packs, with the option of an additional 200 cal meal if I need it.

I’ve even made a spreadsheet organising things into groups to spread out the different types of products

My reviews so far:

Day 1
Banana shake: I made this with too much water so it didn’t have much flavour. But was ok

Apple and cinnamon porridge: Made exactly to the instructions with 140ml water and microwaved. Really really watery and a bit too sweet. Probably wouldn’t order again.

Choc orange bar. Nice and surprisingly filling

Day 2
Cherries and berries shake. Made with correct amount of water and ice. Better flavour and good texture even though I just used shaker.

Porridge plain. Again a disappointment, looks nothing like the picture on the website. Runny oat flavoured water.

Will have my bar at about 7ish

Hello,
I’m restarting Exante tomorrow as I need to lose a lot of weight for medical reasons so it needs to be quick.

I’ve started before and had good results but then fallen off- I am hoping this time that if I have an off plan meal it stays as just one meal and I get right back on it.

EL2019 I have never managed to get the porridge right either- I have no idea what I’m doing wrong as others on Instagram have said that theirs is creamy and lovely using Exante’s instructions but mine just seems to be sweet water with some oats floating in it.

Hi Dr Buckles, good luck with your start tomorrow. I’m hoping this thread keeps me on track!
I’m also doing a lot of work about mindset using the “Eating less” approach that I learned about last year. It’s all about dealing with addictive eating. I’m hoping Exante gives me a bit of space from thinking about and planning food for a few weeks and that I can learn better habits as I slowly introduce real food back into my diet.

Also I went bikini / swimsuit shopping today and let’s just say it was not a pretty sight! Those mirrors that reveal all of your back fat 😢. Still it gave me incentive to stick too it today. I’m hoping by the summer all that day is gone and my new swimsuit is much too big!

Hi EL2019 & Drbuckles, really pleased your joining us.
Loving the spread sheet, very organized. I've been a bit hit and miss for the last week as I've been ill but right back on it tomorrow. I've just had a good clothes clear out which has helped with my motivation.

Thanks. Good luck for tomorrow!

There are changes coming to the recommended daily calorie intake:

www.exantediet.com/blog/health-trends/diet-plans-increase-from-600-to-800-calories/?utm_source=email-mon-11-02-19-planchanges&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-mon-11-02-19-planchanges&affil=thgemail&ecrmcid=j9ENnaXm2bdYvNgne0D3p5K6o0AkOlL4&shae=TuCpGxmRp0yMsgtKpIvL0TleIB%2F24Yh3FmdlhzAqfyw%3D&sendTime=1549886400&widget_id=1289279

I have been off plan. I was trying healthy food only which didn't work. This was because I was trying to get DP on it too and only eat homemade food etc. I know I've been backwards and forwards but I'm back on this from today. We are picking up a new dog tonight and I'll have to be out at training classes and walking everyday.

My big coat doesn't do up so I'll freeze, I have fuck all to wear generally, I will probably get my letter through for my next fertility app soon (prob 2-3m time) and my wedding dress can't be let out at all, so I need to pull my finger out and stick to something properly. I CAN do it because I did it religiously for 4 months last year.

I know I've been full of shit so far but I really want to do it this time. I've spoken to DP about telling me this isn't good and that I should eat a proper dinner and telling me just one bit or just veg & chicken etc won't hurt and if he starts that shit this time I'll take the dog for a walk lol.

Good luck all new starters! After a frustrating first three weeks it's all starting to happen for me in week five so stick with it!

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome to the thread

Day 1 has gone quite well. I’m never hungry for breakfast but always want a snack at about 4.30pm (I don’t eat dinner until 7pm) so I just shifted the day back and had my first meal (lemon cheesecake shake- one of the best I think) at lunchtime and then a chocolate crunch bar at teatime and then pasta, ham and mushroom soup for dinner.

Glad day 1 went well for you DrBuckles.
I’m on day 3 of plan (or day 4 of Vlcd). I was craving boiled dggs this morning! It’s odd how our addictive voice sounds so reasonable, “An egg won’t break the plan. Just one would be fine. You don’t want to feel ill because you haven’t eaten...etc.” Was able to work through it.

Had chicken salad at lunch. I’m just not ready to be “out” at work! But get this. Normally I havd a large salad full of pulses and veg, big protein portion and I’m still hungry afterwards. Today I had a small salad (about 250ml) of lettuce, cucumber and tomato, a small pot of chicken breast and an egg. I couldn’t finish it! Not will power I was stuffed! I left some chicken, salad and half an egg. Is this what it feels like to be normal?

Food report:

Dinner yesterday
Chocolate coconut bar: Think this is one of the paste type bars mentioned earlier in the thread. It was ok, but a bit weird. I think I prefer the crispy bars.

Today
12.00 Real food chicken salad.

3.30 Chocolate shake. Like this even though I wasn’t in mood for chocolate. It was a nice taste. The problem of finding somewhere to mix a shake in a shaker in a large open plan office was tricky! I ended up hiding in a meeting room and hoping no-one walked in!

6.15 Butternut squash soup. Made it with 150ml of water as 200ml seemed like a lot. Flavour ok, but had the odd powder lump in it. Do people blend these as that’s not on the instructions.

So last night weng swimming and had half a lemon bar when I got home. Thought it was delicious (but everything is after swimming!)

Today I had
10.30 other half of lemon bar
12.00 small chicken salad
3.00 vanilla shake. Drank it while working so looked down and it had all gone! Need to be more mindful
6.00 Chocolate caramel bar. Ate this while so was feeling angry and stressed about something that happened at work.
6.30 wanted to crunch so had a bowl of green leaves with capers and a teaspoon of chimichurri dressing

I still have very strong urges to eat when stressed. Managed to do damage limitation today but something to work on.

Well done EL2019, realising your triggers and managing them is much easier said than done. What was the mindset stuff you said you did last year?
I've been back on plan today and it felt good. Little bit tricky about 5pm but we're on the downward slope towards bed now.

Timings all a bit weird today- didn’t have my first shake (cherry bakewell, don’t think they have done this one for a while) until 3pm so then went right through until 7.30 when I had a red Thai soup- really liked this one. Feel like 400 cals a bit low for the day so just having a peanut butter bar (I much prefer the ‘paste’ kind of bars than the crunch ones!).

One thing I really need to improve is my drinking- even if I don’t drink water I need to be getting fluid in and I’m really bad at it.

Nice to hear your updates EL2019 and rainbow, And I love hearing what other people are having pack wise.

fingers crossed for a good tomorrow for everyone!

I find it really hard to remember to drink water and not drink a million cups of tea

Today is tough and it’s only 10am! I think day 3 is difficult in general isn’t it but it’s also my non working day so routine is all out.

I didn’t sleep well as my tummy was gurgling- I didn’t feel hungry but it was so loud. and I’ve been to town where everything was tempting.

Just going to have some Exante pancakes I think and stick to my favourites today to get through, might even have an extra pack.

Hope you got through the dah ok DrB.
Rainbow the book I read was called Eating Less by Gillian Riley. It doesn’t tell you what or how much to eat. It’s all about breaking free from the compliance and rebellious mindset and addictive eating and replacing it with real choice. It’s a bit hard to explain, but I’ve found it very helpful. I’ll try and write more about it when I’m not so tired.

So yesterday I had another shake (chocolate orange, nice) so ended the day on approx 900 cals.

Today I was at a conference. I had a shake going in, (cookies and cream with not very cold water. Really see why people say use ice, it makes such a difference) then met up with a dear friend I haven’t seen for years who insisted on buying me lunch. I just couldn’t bring myself to pull out my shaker for my second shake so I had a burger patty (no bun), lettuce cucumber and tomato and about 10 thin chips. I left most of the chips which is unheard of for me. I estimate 350-400cals for lunch. Not brilliant, not the end of the world.
I had a paste type choc bar (double choc) on way back which was ok.
I definitely have been hungrier this evening. It’s amazing what a small amount of carbs can do to you. I had 2 slices of ham and a baby bell cheese this evening just to stop the hunger pangs.
Estimate of 850-900 cals today.

Which I know is over the plan, but previous to this I couldn’t stick to 1200 or even 1500 cals a day. I’m still eating at a deficit and haven’t binged. Also, I’ve definitely lost weight and my stomach is already looking smaller.

For some reason I'm feeling a bit hungrier in the evenings at the moment. Last night I chopped up a boiled egg and put it in my Indian Style Curry - was very nice and wasn't hungry for the entire evening.

I’m rather grumpy today. A couple of situations at work are annoying me, but more than they usually would.

Today I’ve had
Coconut shake. Ok
Lemon pancakes. Nice. Tried the raspberry syrup with them and thought it took away the nice lemon flavour.
Thai chicken soup. Nice to have something savoury. Not many savoury options in 4 week pack.
I also had boiled eggs and ham this evening to try to deal with cravings.

So I had a strawberry shake at 11.00. This was the first time I actually used a blender and ice. ONG it was delicious. Like strawberry thick shake.

At 2.00 I used blender and ice again for a white chocolate and raspberry shake. Nice, but not as good as strawberry.

At 5.00 had Indian style curry. Very spicy. I finely chopped some tenderstem broccoli and grated some carrot into it. Also had it with two hard boiled eggs. Tasty and very filling. I really like having a savoury option for dinner.

Omfg just saw myself in the mirror and can really see the weight loss. Hard to see in the pic but this tip is baggy... pink one is 2 weeks in, other one is today

Complete truth, start weight was 17 stone 1, today in 15 stone 9

I'm elated