Your experience of LCD or VLCDs please

[Member786488]

I’m currently eating around 800 cals a day in an effort to kick start some weight loss.

I’ve read around this and it seems to be ok to do for between 8-16 weeks (only on day 5, can’t see it lasting that long tbh) but when they end, and you go onto maintenance, don’t you find that you effectively put weight on, even if in calorie deficit, because you’re eating more, and hopefully weigh less?

I can’t see how it’s possible to keep losing, or even maintain easily and without becoming very demotivated and therefore going off track?

can anyone enlighten me? I’ve lost weight so many times (gradually though) but it’s always gone back on. I can’t see a way of keeping it off.

for info I eat very well, mainly vegetarian, low carb, cook everything or raw. No real sugar, UPFs etc. My downfall is wine - too much and it all goes to pot. 🙄

What is your height and current weight if you don’t mind me asking? It would put those 800cals in perspective.
i think you have answered your own question with already not seeing it last as long as you have seen recommended, so it’s not sustainable? 5:2 might be a good option for you: 5 days in maintenance calories and 2 days at 800 calories. All of these can be worked out with a calorie calculator online.
But, and I hate to say it, the booze really won’t help. If you can totally knock that on the head, 800cals everyday just won’t be necessary and you can have a more realistic amount for food.

I lost a lot of weight on a vlcd but it led to bingeing. I've never had a problem with it before so it was definitely set off by the diet.

Thanks for your comment.

5’9” and 95kg atm. Heaviest was 110kg, lightest 80kg but it was hard work getting there. I’d be very happy to stay at 85, so want to lose 10kg or around 2 stone.

I only really eat between 2-6pm, and I don’t really get hungry as the food is good when I do eat. I’ve had this pattern for quite a few years and I’m happy with it.

yes I’ll lose if I don’t drink wine, but it’s not something I want to give up forever.
I realise I can incorporate it into a calorie deficit though, so hoping that’ll work although it hasn’t yet …

my query is really around deficits in general.

Presumably as one gets lighter, one needs less food anyway. If I’ve been on a ‘diet’, any diet, even 5:2, for a while and so restricting eating, doesn’t logic suggest as one gets lighter one needs less, so a restricted diet should become more restricted to cope?

when a goal weight is finally achieved, presumably you’d be eating less than when you started dieting just to maintain?

Not necessarily, ideally you would eat to the maintenance calories of the weight you want to be and then you would lose until you hit it so no further restriction needed. That’s very black and white though, and if you have more to lose it’s going to mean a very big calorie deficit that isn’t sustainable for most people - I guess if you have tried different diets, that’s what’s happened with you and it’s just not sustainable. If you pick a sensible deficit, 500 cals or even less a day, and stick with it long term then the weight will come off slower but you can keep at it. Then you eventually get down to maintenance of the weight you want to be at BUT that’s also tricky to stay in and work out, it needs lots of tweaking.
VLC just makes your body feel awful, tired and prone to quitting or binging.

Thanks @ToastyBreads , I will increase in a bit, just need a kick start.