Lisaberry's life after Exante thread!

[Lisaberry]

It's a bit quiet in here isn't it? Well, I don't mind talking to myself!

sooooo, since last Friday I haven't had any Exante products. It was a really scary thing to do but I managed to maintain for the first 5 days and lost 0.75 today so I'm hoping that as long as I carry on as is my weight won't shoot up!

Im probably on averaging between 600-800 cals a day at the mo and I have also started running 3 times a week. I also track everything I eat on my fitness pal and have a fitbit to record how many steps I take.

im trying to follow the Whole30 as much as possible. I downloaded the book 'It Starts with Food' that says you should only eat things that are actually good for you. So, no wheat, grains, dairy, sugar or processed stuff for me, just meat, seafood, eggs, veg and fruit.

Dinners so far have been:
Lamb medallions with cauliflower mash
slow cooker beef stew with cauliflower mash
home made pork, apple and mustard burgers with salad
Egg fried cauliflower rice with avocado, mushroom and left over pork burgers.

Today I bought a spirelli which turns veg into spaghetti strips so I am making 'spag' Bol for tea tonight, can't wait!

My running is going ok but I am not a natural runner. I am doing the couch to 5k challenge and I even ran in the wind and rain today!

off to do the school run in a mo so will update more later!

[lisa denise]

Hi Lisa, yes another Lisa here. I only just started Exante on Tuesday properly (had a bit of a practice run on Monday). Anyway, something I find I'm constantly thinking about is how I will deal with the time when I get to go back onto 'proper' food.... Because at the moment, the idea of 'real' food seems glorious - it's not so much that I am starving hungry, but just miss the taste of things.... So I keep thinking to myself I will definitely alter my eating habits so that I get into 'good' eating habits when I finally go back to eating 'fooood' - so, I think that's the thing - try and make your new eating habits GOOD!! So well done so far!!!! I have a long way to go yet.... !!!!

[notsoskinnymarge]

I love cauliflower mash
I cant wait to hear how the courgette spaghetti goes
Have you tried celeriac chips... They are very yummy

I'm not a runner either Lisa.... I have to admit I would rather stick my head in a blender than run. But I wish you well with yours
Good luck with maintenence

[notsoskinnymarge]

I forgot to ask.... cauliflower rice... Is that where you grate, and then microwave ?
And, does your family eat the same as you ?

[jael001]

Lisa if you're just getting into running I'd recommend a blog that I follow, Runs for Cookies. She's really inspirational, she lost 125lbs and took up running and she's even run a marathon now. I dont run, the thought horrifies me, plus my boobs are too big to run, even in a sports bra, but one day I might get them reduced and then we'll see, but I follow her blog because she's just lovely and I love reading her journey.

[Lisaberry]

Blimey, doesn't time fly! I've been sooo busy this last week, learning a new role at work and a school friends wedding.
unfortunately a free bar resulted in me drinking. Whoops! My weight has stayed the same luckily but with Easter coming up I have decided to go back to Exante for another week or so as a way to avoid the eggs, hot cross buns and all the other goodies! I don't want Exante to become my fall back when things go wrong but I have maintained my weight since I came off so I am confident I can maintain long term. I know I came off Exante 2 weeks too early so I'm seeing this as my trying to finish what I started.

Marge - yes I grate fresh cauliflower and microwave for the rice. It's great stuff! My family have been eating adapted versions of the same. I'll have courgette spaghetti with the Bol, everyone Wesley has real spaghetti. I have cauli mash with casserole, everyone else has real mash. I made amazing pork burgers that hubs had with burgers and chips and I had salad.
ive never tried celeriac. I've picked it up and put it down a few times in Tesco, I'll be sure to try that soon!

The courgette spaghetti is AMAZING! With the Bol I made the other day it was brilliant, you wouldn't miss spaghetti at all!
if you are on Instagram have a look at my profile leece_ford as I have put pics on there. The spirelli was expensive but sooo worth it!

jael001- funny you should mention that blog as its the one running blog that I am following, such an inspiration!

the weather has been dire here, I'm going to borrow MIL's cross trainer so I still get some exercise until the park dries out a bit. Not sure where we will put it mind you!

hope everyone is having a good day!

[Lisaberry]

Thought I'd ramble on here a bit more to stop me thinking about food.

When I first came off Exante I couldn't eat more than 600 ish cals a day, didn't need to snack and felt quite happy eating plain food. As the days went by my appetite came back and started getting closer and closer to 1200 a day. It felt like I was being a pig but 1200 is still considered cals for weight loss? It was nice at work to have some protein for breakfast and actually not be climbing the walls to eat something by half 10. My lunch of turkey and veg actually gave me the afternoon sleeps like I'd eaten loads. It was a very strange feeling. I always find work days sat at my desk for 12 or more hours so hard and even while in ketosis I always felt hungry at work. I'm fine at home but work is so hard.

the paleo diet is really good but I did find myself missing sweet stuff. I think just logging everything on mfp, avoiding carbs as much as possible but allowing myself things that keep me sane (like sweeteners, I like sweet coffee and living without them is just something I don't want to do), keep up the exercise and weigh weekly will be good long term. I just need these last few bloomin pounds off now and I'll be a happy bunny.

Im not even hungry now but I want to eat. Grrrrr!

[Lisaberry]

I'm struggling to stick to TFR. I had a bar at 12ish and a carbonara at 4ish and the thought of nothing but a shake until tomorrow is pretty depressing. Only have 4.75 pounds to go is a lot harder to live with than it seems. I know a week or two on TFR would sort me out but it seems impossible. I so wish I could just get on with it.

[Samcg]

I'm struggling to stick to TFR. I had a bar at 12ish and a carbonara at 4ish and the thought of nothing but a shake until tomorrow is pretty depressing. Only have 4.75 pounds to go is a lot harder to live with than it seems. I know a week or two on TFR would sort me out but it seems impossible. I so wish I could just get on with it.

Hey Lisa,
You have/are doing so well. Try and keep at it, you are so close.

I know what you mean though today ... I've not been well the last few days and had a lot of stress. Woke up this morning with a terrible migraine and its taken me all day to get through it.
I have had a shake and a bar & drank 3ltr's ... I am so hungry and feel very fed up.
X

Sent from my iPad using MiniMins

[Lisaberry]

Thanks Sam. Are you feeling better now? You are doing SO well!!

i failed again and ate. Nothing 'naughty' but it wasn't a shake.
I dont want to be doing the Hokey Cokey with Exante so I'm going to stay off the shakes for a bit I think. I'm thinking I should give it 4 weeks and if I'm not at my target by then go back to shakes. I think I need to give my body more than a week to adjust to eating.ill keep tracking on mfp but I don't think it's worth trying to do the shakes at the mo. my heart isn't in it.

[notsoskinnymarge]

Hi Lisa, this is a hard diet when you are in the zone, and a million times worse when you are not !!
Your plan to stay off exante for 4 weeks sounds great, and you wilk be less likely to feel that you have cheated.
Good luck

[Lisaberry]

Thanks Marge. Yeah, I don't want to feel like a failure every day so I will stay off them. I have considered doing 2 shakes and 1 small meal but even that is mo than I can probably stick to right now.

i was bad yesterday. I started off really well, went to my mother in laws and she had done a buffet, full of your usually naughty things. All I had was some lettuce, prawns and a wee bit of light salad cream. Mum had made a big fruit salad to bring so I even avoided all the Puds and had that. I then had a lovely time watching the boat race, gutted that Oxford won lol as I went to Oxford Brookes and one of my exes went to Oxford and was a coxon with boat race dreams. He never made it mind you. Still, Oxford Brookes had a great boat team and the amount of hours I spent by the Isis back then means I always cheer for Cambridge. Poor guys.

Anyhoo, I get home, all angelic and then the crazy part of me breaks loose. Hubs had left all his and the kids OPEN chocolate on the table. One little nibble turned into another and before I know it I was ramming it in my face. GAH!
topped that off with my first slice of toast for 2 months. I felt awful. Just about stayed within my calorie allowance on Mfp but my stomach felt hideous and I couldn't sleep! I ended up watching 'The Race to Size double Zero' on youtube until I fell asleep.

so...today! No more chocolate and certainly no more bread. It does not agree with me. I'm making spag Bol for everyone for tea, I will be having courgette spaghetti - I love that sooo much, it's amazing. Love my spirelli already. Hubs has also promised we can pick up the cross trainer today so I will def be going on that later.

its looking a bit grey here today. We were hoping to go to the New Forest today for a nice walk and to let the kids ride their bikes but I'm not sure now.

[jael001]

Dont beat yourself up about it Lisa, sometimes we need that blow-out to realise that the food that we've been craving really isnt as good as we imagined it would be and to know how sick it makes us feel afterwards. Hope you get to have your walk in the New Forest. We haven't moved this morning yet, it's very grey and I have no idea what we're going to do, dont want to go anywhere near shops.

[BeeBeeSee]

Hey Lisa, I know it's been a little while since the last comment on this thread but I wanted to ask about Exante. I have been thinking about going on it to kick start me as it were. I know it's not really a maintainable life style to be on meal replacements, but I have a lot to lose and thought it would be great to lose the first couple of stone and then stick with a normal but calorie and carb restricted diet.
But it's the reintroducing of food that worries me a bit. Is there any support as such with Exante itself? Do they give advice at all? And how have you been doing these last two weeks?

Bee xx