5.5 stone to lose. DIY shake-only diet!

[Started17June2025]

I've decided to start a thread as a bit of a progress/accountability record. I've had some past success with SW, calorie counting, IF but obviously nothing that worked long term as here I am 😂

My problem is my all or nothing mentality. I have a pretty significant sugar addiction, zero off switch when eating and at the moment I find eating just some food really, really difficult, more than ever before. Plus, I'm now pre-diabetic. Back up to pretty much my heaviest weight now and I've 5.5 stone to lose.

So, I'm not going to eat food at all. I need to take my problem out of the equation completely for a while. I'm going to follow a liquid only shake diet for up to 12 weeks. I'll see how I go as to duration but hopefully it will help me get my cravings and blood sugars more under control before I try eating food again regularly, in healthier portions.

After spending hours (days!) researching meal replacement shakes and trying a couple of starter packs, none of which i liked, I've decided to go the DIY route.

I've used Chat GPT to create a DIY shake plan which is 3 x shakes a day and apparently nutritionally complete, with the support of a decent multivitamin and omega 3 supplement. I went through several iterations because I need it to be simple, with simple ingredients to chuck in my nutribullet, to stick to. I know it's unlikely that the shakes will be perfect but I'm satisfied they'll be 'good enough' for 2 or 3 months and the lesser of two evils between DIY shakes and being obese!

So...day 1: Tuesday 17th June 25
Height: 5ft 5in
Weight now: 15 stone, 10 lbs
Target: 10 stone, 3 lbs - so 5.5 stone to lose

Anyone else doing shakes/liquid only diet?

It's great that your first couple of days went well, but you may still be in a slight state of euphoria because this is all new and you are all fired up. Personally I feel you would be better off if you were to eat at least one proper, healthy meal a day - lean protein and lots of vegetables. You need fibre, so incorporating a supplement such as psyllium husk powder might be a good idea.

Also, consider monitoring your blood sugar response, at least for the first few weeks. You can buy monitors from pharmacies. Read up on this - The Blood Glucose Solution by Dr Mark Hyman is excellent at explaining why we crave sugar and what it does to our system - and how to wean ourselves off sugar in all it's many forms.

Start of day 6 today and I'm still going...and I'm not finding it too bad at all tbh.

I don't like the shakes. Even the sweet ones...I think when I said the chocolate was 'lovely' I must have been on a start-of-diet high because it's not 😂 Most are just meh but the kale is actively awful and the spinach not far behind.

However, they're only 400ml which I can chug down in 30 seconds and I'm actually not bothered that I don't like them. I'm firmly in the mindset that this is my fuel, it's what my body needs, just get it down - so the taste feels kind of irrelevant to me 🤷‍♀️. I don't really have any urge to try and improve them, taste-wise.

And they are satisfying...I feel hungry in the hour before a shake but after it I'm satisfied for several hours so they do the job. Still feeling OK too. Not weak, not tired. I'm just going about my normal business.

I also went through and added up all the calories to check and the diet is around 1300 calories a day on average. So certainly low but higher than most VLCD or shake only diets.

I used Exante VLCD diet which they've since discontinued but can buy limited shakes on their My protein. The new you plan & shake that weight do similar plans and offer a mix of shakes, bars and meals. These are nutritionally complete contain full vitamins & minerals and the macros make sure that you don't go into starvation mode as long as have plenty in your fat stores to make up the calorie deficit.

I think they all have have an 800 cal full replacement plan for x weeks then add some extra calories food/milk for a week before redoing another batch which helps boost metabolism. Alternatively there's a 1200 plan where you can add in some normal food daily, you'd usually transition from the full plan into this before maintenance plan.

After the first week I didn't really get hungry and the sugar cravings went so it wasn't difficult to be around food/others eating. Part of the issue I have with typical diets is that it requires thinking about what to eat and then I feel restricted so having that distance for a while helped me and I could then see where things were difficult in terms of availability of healthy snack if out or social pressures as people feel less guilty if share treats.

Did it work for you in the long run @Anemoney? As in did you lose weight/keep it off?

Well. Week one complete and so far I'm thrilled with the results.

Start weight: 15 stone, 10 lbs
Week 1 loss: 10lbs 😮
Current weight: 15 stone

I know week one of any diet is usually great and it's mostly water weight etc but still...I'm very pleased 😁 All that water weight and bloat being gone does make a huge difference and my stomach is noticibly quite a bit flatter. I wore a top yesterday that I haven't felt comfortable enough to wear for at least a couple of months and it looked and felt good.

I went to the cinema at the weekend with some trepidation and watched/smelt the people all around me eating whilst I had a diet coke...but it was fine. I really does feel empowering and a relief to prove to myself that my enjoyment of things is not reliant on me stuffing my face!

Onto week 2 🙂

@Started17June2025 I think some of this is learned habit - we associate ‘trips out’ with food/drink - be it coffee and cakes, ice creams, sandwiches, pizzas -whatever and these places are set up to be like this because fast manufactured food is high profit - I’ve noticed that my slim friends just have a different mentality - they will go and have a sparkling water or Diet Coke and don’t automatically reach for ‘treats’

Yes definitely @Crikeyalmighty . And so much of the eating that goes along with the learned habits is just mindless and not even necessarily enjoyable. I enjoyed the film and overall experience just as much without it which was actually amazing to realise.

At some point, you will need to eat food again. And this is not dealing with the issues around it. Just postponing. WLI would help deal with the portion control/satiation etc

I don't agree.

I already know what my issues around food are.

I'm not an emotional eater, never have been. I don't need educating about macros or calories, good vs bad choices, move more or how to lose weight. I know all of the right things to do and to eat already, I've nothing I particularly need to learn. I know how to cook and provide a healthy diet, I have three fit, sporty perfect-weight dc that I cook for daily.

My food issue is that I like it too much and I eat mindlessly and far too frequently. For me, I think removing my 'ability' to do this is exactly the intervention I need, to try and break those horrendous habits I'd got into.

I'm really not interested in WLI's at all. Appreciate they're popular but they're not for me.

I use DietFuel Ultralean to replace two meals when I’m dieting. They’ve got good protein and fibre and aren’t bad tasting. I did it for a month with a high protein tea and have lost over a stone. Maybe have a look at those ones.

@Started17June2025 I’m identical to you in that I like food but good food - I’ve never really eaten shit , I know exactly what you ‘should’ eat and how much , I just ate too much ‘good’ food plus I liked half a bottle of a good white wine , 2 sometimes 3 times a week . It just crept on and on and I didn’t do nearly enough excercise. Unlike you though I’m not doing shakes because I am actually ok with strict calorie control and a bit more excercise- I did tryMJ for 5 weeks but really didn’t like the heartburn and felt like I had morning sickness 4 days a week. If I was going your route I would probably do 2 shakes a day ( I love the M&S chocolate Bol protein one) and some veg or salad and protein only at night, purely to vary it up. If you think you can hack it though it’s obviously down to you.

Although yes a lot of it is fluid, you still have to think about how there is 10lbs off your joints and your back and feet etc

A large percentage of your overall weight as well

How’s it going OP? I’d have thought shakes in this heat would be just what you’d fancy (if you’re in England! Don’t know about weather elsewhere!)

I’m just back from a week away and I didn’t think I was too bad food-wise but have still gained 2kg.

Well...I'm still going! Day 13 today. But definitely not fancying any of the shakes, even in the heat 😂. I just drink them as quickly as possible to get them gone tbh.

I can honestly say I've not experienced much hunger at all since I started though which I'm really, really surprised about. A shake really does fill me. The worst thing about it now is making the damn things and I'm sick of the sight of the nutribullet tbh. But, if that's the worst thing about it then that's great really. First world problems, they only take 5 minutes!

I have 'cheated' a couple of times - left the peanut butter portion out of the shake and then eaten it off a spoon instead 😂 It's amazing how much a teaspoon of peanut butter feels like the biggest treat ever 😁

Ah, 2kg will hopefully come off quickly @roshi42 , it'll be loads of water weight included that will whoosh back off!

@Started17June2025I am amazed by your willpower! You’re doing so well. I’d never stick to it… or stick to just one tsp of peanut butter tbh! I’m glad it’s working for you, even if it’s not satisfying - at least you know it’s not forever.

Yes, back on it post hols - onwards and downwards!

I'd be careful losing too much too quickly for skin stretching.

This doesn’t sound like a sensible diet

14 days now complete 🥳 and second weigh in done.

Start weight: 15 stone, 10 lbs
Week 1 loss: 10lbs
Week 2 loss: 4lbs
Total loss: 1 stone 0lbs
Current weight: 14 stone, 10lbs

As expected the loss has slowed right down on week 2 and I'm expecting it to slow again to maybe 2lb from next week. But I'm absolutely chuffed with how it's gone so far - getting a stone off in a couple of weeks was the kick-start I needed to keep going 🙌

Although it's liquid only, it's still between 1300 and 1400 calories a day - probably more like 1400 because I do have a couple of coffees with milk every day too. So I don't feel it's particularly drastic, it's 5 or 600 calories a day MORE than the NHS allow people on 3 month total diet replacement diets. Makes mine seem quite mild really.

So far, I have zero side effects. I'm not tired or weak or low in energy. I'm not constipated at all. My mood is fine. Sleep is good. So I'm going to keep going. Onto week 3 😁

Yes you'll probably average around 2lb a week which is perfectly reasonable.

I've finally lost 5 stone on mounjaro but I have done the shakes only diet but bought ones. I lost 2 stone in 2 months but then lost the will to live and somehow never found it again until now.
The only problem now is keeping it off.

This appeals to me. Im an all or nothing kind of dieter, I have no control unless I'm on a strict diet with rules. I've lost lots of weight on low carb diets in the past but they don't seem to work anymore. As soon as I'm back on carbs then hunger comes back big time
I don't know how to do the maintenance part of dieting either.

Well done OP. A stone off in 2 weeks is excellent.

Please consider what you are going to eat AFTER you’ve lost the weight. For the rest of your life beyond the shakes. You can’t live off shakes or go back to old unhealthy choices. And look at what you drink. I’ve seen so many friends complain about not being able to lose weight then drink Coca Cola (think we all know how much sugar it contains) or large glasses of wine. It’s about understanding the effects of everything you consume. And just making better decisions meal by meal. Good luck xx

I would try a Mediterranean type diet, coupled with intermittent fasting - brunch at 10-11 am, dinner 8 hours later, plus a healthy snack in between.

For instance:
omelette plus salad and a bit of extra protein (fish, chicken, tofu, cottage cheese) for brunch
chicken, fish tofu, halloumi plus lots of vegetables and a small amount of healthy carbs (lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, wild rice etc) for dinner
plus a snack of, say, half an avocado, a couple of carrots and/or an apple, a handful of berries + a few nuts, a boiled egg, et cetera

Important: try not to drink calories….. or at least only in moderation…

Oh I definitely will...at the moment I feel like I'm thinking about it all the time!

I'm still regularly cooking for the rest of the house and ds1 (17) is on a bit of a health kick himself at the moment. Not for weightloss, I think probably just because TikTok told him to 🙄 😂 But he's really into it and he's counting his macros every day.

In the spirit of being supportive, any meal I cook I've been weighing for him and plugging all the ingredients into My Fitness pal so I can give him the calories and macros. Other than earning me some serious mum brownie points it's been really useful to remind myself what one portion of chicken is, the calories in three eggs, what a portion of rice looks like etc. So it's on my mind a LOT at the minute.

And OT but rice...good lord. A weighed out portion of cooked brown rice is soooo small. I was genuinely surprised, i checked it several times (and yes, was using the packet cooked weight not raw). Tbph it's a wonder all my kids aren't fat, I'm pretty sure we've been feeding them x 2.5 of an actual portion of rice for years 😬 Even ds3 (8) usually has more than one portion!