Thread: How much weight did you lose with exante?

Hi all,

New to MiniMins. Just started Exante today - I have about 8st to lose, eek! I was just wondering if anyone had had any success with this diet - how much weight did you lose and how fast? I got referred to this by a friend who lost about 2 stone in 2 months, but they had way less to lose than me so I'm hoping to lose 8st in 4 months (mainly because I can't afford more than £400 worth of Exante!!) Would this be doable? Also, how important is the Food Break Week really? Do you think I could just skip it?

A think a stone a month (after the initial big loss in the first two weeks) is probably the best you can hope for. You can see from my signature and weigh-ins how much I have been losing and I have been very very strict. Albeit I have a lot less to lose than you and am starting from a much lower BMI.

Even those with much more to lose however, seem to hit about a stone a month.

I've never done a food break by the way.

I think 8 stone in 4 months might be a little unrealistic hun - maybe 5-6 stone if you stay on track!

If you work it out exante isn't actually a lot of money - I think it works out about £25 a week - which is about £3.50 a day... I couldn't even buy lunch for £3.50! i'm actually saving money

Hi - I think 2st per month would not be healthy (half a stone per week, every week!) and not realistic on this diet. Most people seem to even out at around 14-16lbs, once the initial big loss is done.

Exante does save me money but is pricey if you still have to shop for others on top of that (feeding 3 instead of 4, for instance, doesn't save you THAT much - you can't buy 3/4 of an onion!). If I cook for my OH then it's more budget friendly to freeze the portion I'd usually eat and then he can have it the following week, when my shopping bill will be less.

I haven't lost as much as I thought I would, despite being 100%, but I have taken the food break. I enjoyed this as I got to experiment with low carb recipes I'll use after the diet - important as, like you, I only plan to be on the Total Solution for 4 months and need to start feeling comfortable with how I will manage afterwards. In addition, I've been doing strength training for 6 weeks now and have definitely gained muscle, if you do anything similar then the scales may not reflect the amount of fat lost (though body fat % monitor or a tape measure would).

I would recommend setting yourself realistic expectations and feeling proud, rather than unrealistic and feeling dejected. I'd also recommend the food break week as a lower loss in the short term could lead to healthy eating habits and no regain in the long term, in particular if you need to carry on with weight-loss via usual diet/exercise once you come off Exante.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies!!

Yeah, I think 8st in 4 months may have been a bit unrealistic when you put it like that lilah_81, but I suppose a stone a month is still great to get me on track!! I'm a student living in university halls at the moment which is why funds are a bit tight :\ I was also wondering about food week because I'm in catered accommodation meaning I get my meals cooked for me and the only appliances I have to make meals with myself are a microwave, a toaster and a kettle, so I'm just wondering how I could make healthy low carb meals with that. Not going home until next weekend though, so it's killing me not having a scale to see how much weight I've lost, especially as I'm supposed to be in the 'initial big loss phase' right now

Ahhh, so you've basically already paid for your (catered) food and Exante is on top of that. Tricky, as you have less control over what you eat in that situation. That said, and this is only my personal opinion, I think it might be even more important for you to experiment with cooking before you come off the diet so that you already have a few ideas in place when the time comes. It might be a bit overwhelming to come off the 3-packs-a-day regime and straight into catered food, with the anxiety of how you can make that work for you.

So, first thing is to get used to the Exante life and not worry about food breaks just yet. Deal with the less than fun part of going into ketosis & come out the other side, get hold of a cappuccino frother or food blender to help make soups/shakes palatable, read up on what flavourings people use (tabasco, marigold bouillon) and tips (ice cubes/coffee granuals in shakes). And pat yourself on the back for starting this!

Then, when you feel able to think about food without salivating over all the stuff you're now not eating, try and check out a few of your uni menus. Is there anything on there that you can eat? Can you ask for meat/fish without the sauce/dressing? Vegetables or salad? Omelettes, stir-fries without the noodle/rice/potato on the side?

It will be a challenge to cook for yourself given the lack of equipment but you can improvise! Steaming is your friend. Lakeland do microwave steam bags - zip up your chicken, fish, veggies and go... Large Zip ’n’ Steam Bags in microwave cookware at the home of creative kitchenware, Lakeland You can also poach or scramble eggs in the microwave - really, I'm sure there are many microwave recipes out there, prob worth a bit of a trawl through Google. To save money, you can maybe take what you can from the canteen and then microwave what you need to make it a proper meal.

For now though, keep positive and all the best with the first week!

Oh, and I've just seen that we're the same height with roughly the same goal weight. What I've been telling myself is that, whatever my ideal final target is, what my health realistically needs is for me to get to a BMI of 24.9 (approx 10st). So although I want to lose 4st on Exante, I would be glad of 2-and-a-half stones... then the rest can come slower via more standard methods if needed. It's easy to get caught up in the idea of perfection, but it's ok to aim for 'ok'!

Thanks for taking the time to write those tips lilah, they were really helpful!! the zip bags look a little on the pricey side for only 20 though, I'll see if I can get a cheaper version from tesco or something... Also, I am vegetarian, so my meal choices are again limited. The canteen does salad options, but I'm scared I'll get bored with the same old lettuce, sweetcorn and cucumber affair everyday (I have IBS which means I can't have raw tomatoes or peppers, my life sucks I know). I also only have a fridge to keep food in, no freezer Unfortunately, I would absolutely love to be 10st but I have my heart set on becoming an actress (which of course, in the horrible world we live in means you need to be almost anorexic), which is why I've been trying to lose weight since I was about 12, and always failed, but this time I'm determined to make a proper go of it as I'm 18 now and time is running out!! Also, I've only ordered the shakes and bars pack as they seem to be the easiest to make - how does everyone feel about the flavours? The chocolate one was the first one I tried and it genuinely nearly wanted to make me give up Exante lol! Strawberry was a bit nicer, but I'm drinking the vanilla one at the moment and I have to say it's absolutely delicious! MILES better than I'd expected; or maybe that's just because I'm getting used to the flavours? I've tried both the bar flavours (choc orange and toffee nuts and raisins) and I like the flavour but the texture is horrible! Is it just me, or does anyone else get like a burning in their throat when they swallow the bars? I'll definitely order the soups and porridges next time as well, as I've heard good things about the porridge, but not about the tomato and basil...

i'm close to 8 stone now, should easily surpass that before christmas. i've had a few months off and meals whilst on plan. i'm a strong believer that a bad relationship with food is what got me obese in the first place so i've taken my time with it with the odd treat now and then.

wow, cometojoy, you've def got some stuff to figure out with the vegetarian, low-carb, IBS friendly, microwave only requirements! I've no doubt that there is a way though, if you're creative enough to search for the right cuisines and ingredients. Keep working at it, build in daily exercise (no too much cardio while on Total Solution) and you'll get there. 18 leaves you bags of time!!!

I know, hopefully i'll find a way around it... you dont have to be TOO strict while on food break week right, just as long as your meal isnt more than 600 cals? And i wish 18 was young - in the industry that's more like being 30 :\

lol - I promise you, it isn't! The actors I know from uni all got more auditions & work as they hit 30! They're not super skinny either

400-600cals & low fat/carbs

bad news - exante is NOT mixing well with my IBS so I'm gonna have to have to switch to the Simple Solution :\

Hi Cometojoy sorry to hear your IBS is playing up hun hope it eases up soon. xx
I got 8 stone to lose as well and would really like to lose up to 2 stone by xmas too, im on day 3 and feel good, I am finding the forum brillent, everybody on here is very supportive and great for motivation, they are helping me a lot to keep on track.
We can do it Cometojoy, keep motivated xx