Search results

I have been maintaining for 2 years now. I am currently 2 stone heavier than my original goal weight and 7 stone less than my start weight. Is that success or not? To me it is. I have struggled hugely with the lack of structure since losing the weight and have tried lots of different...

Hi guys. Some of you may recognise me from my previous visits to this forum. I reached goal just under 2 years ago on a combination of Lighter Life and Slim and Save. I lost over 9 stone and got to my goal weight of 10 stone. I struggled with maintenance. I think one problem with the diet...

Sorry - I wasn't trying to say that the OP should take the same approach as me - I was just explaining what I was doing calorie wise. I often end up having more like 1600 calories a day so I thought that the subject was appropriate. Thanks for the congrats! You're going great guns too - 73...

Hope you don't mind me jumping into the middle of your thread and introducing myself! I lost lots of weight (over 9 stone) on a VLCD a few years ago and since then have put a couple of stone back on again. I don't want to be back to my lowest weight (I was very skinny) but I would like to be...

deleted

That sounds great! Still have the pack though even if you don't want it :-)

Glad everything is going well with you Clinquant. The weight will catch up with the inches... I know what you mean about it be fine sitting the whilst other people eat - I've done lots of that during the diet and I found it surprisingly easy.

Yep - lipotrim has all of the required nutrition in 3 packs but on SnS you need 4 - it'ss the same overall calories though.

Sorry I haven't been around much recently guys. My hubby came out of hospital yesterday and is on the mend now thank goodness. It's been an interesting week for me. I was already geeting into some bad habits before he went in - particularly around my eating patterns. When I was large I used...

Hi guys. I've been MIA for a little while due to hubby being in hospital. I'm hoping he'll be home early in the week. Ended up having to eat something off plan the day we brought him in as I was starving and hadn't eaten that day. Am now trying to get back into ketosis...

Be careful Em as Slim Fast isn't a VLCD and won't put you into ketosis. That means that you could end up feeling hungry and you should also make sure that you take vitamins etc to ensure that you're getting enough nutrition. An alternative would be to do a VLCD - with packs which contain the...

Sometimes I find that if I eat most of my carbs together in one meal it can knock me out of ketosis, even if I stay within the daily limit. Give it a go and see how your body reacts.

Noodles - I think there's a sister forum site to this one which deals with weight loss surgery (including skin afterwards) and you might find more people on there with experience of this.

As long as you stay within the carb allowance you should be fine. There's a tool on the SnS website which you can use.

Great news on the weight loss Clinquant! I think the Beck book contains a lot of good ideas - if you can pull them put of the way in which it is written!

Thanks guys. I think for me the thing which makes a difference is being able to go on to forums and share where I'm at but also see where other people are. Thinking about their issues and sharing my thoughts if they end up possibly being useful really helps me as it gets me to think all of...

:-)

Congrats on the jeans and good luck for the ribena!

Welcome Kayroo! And well done all of you weight loss queens!

Get the beautiful coat in what you want your goal size to be. It's a big motivation. I have a goal jacket which I bought which is beautiful and I love it when I wear it. It goes on now but it's tight - should be able to wear it again soon!

When I was losing my 9 stone I used to buy bras a size too small and use bra extenders initially to reduce the number of bras I had to buy whilst on the diet. I stayed at the same cup size though so that was doable for me.

Thanks guys. I'm happy enough. I haven't had any packs today - eggs and ham / ham salad / seabass salad. I think I'll just accept that whilst I'm away I'll keep in ketosis and not each too much volume wise and sort out having packs again when I'm back. I think the fact that I only have 6 lbs...

I quite enjoy aqua classes - as with everything - it all depends on the person taking the class. Give it a go and see what you think. The most important thing is that you enjoy what you do - then you'll keep doing it.

That's great :-)

I should make it clear that I'm no where near achieving the chin up. I think I'm about 2 years away - but I'm working towards it. Fitness goals have replaced my weight loss goals and help me to remain focussed.

Yep - swimming is great for the arms. Yes, by strength exercises I do mean weights and such like. There are a number of machines at the gym - or you can do bicep curls / lateral raises / shoulder press etc with free weights. Kettle bells are also excellent. Leg muscles can be toned with...

I've just finished the first day of my conference - and I haven't had a pack yet... I had 2 eggs and a piece of ham for brekkie (provided at my hotel), ham and salad leaves for lunch (free at the conference) and I've jsut had 2 eggs as a snack at Pret. Now obviously these are really good...

I wrote a big reply to this yesterday on the train and it was lost :-(. So here goes... I think that 6 lbs makes such a big difference for me because at this weight all of my spare fat is on my stomach and also 6lbs is a far higher proportion of my body than it used to be. It is quite good in...

Mine still have loose skin - but much better than it was. I do lots of strength exercises for my arms and legs. That helps I guess by increasing their size (!) but in a toned way. Over time the skin does improve. But I'm 44 and was obese or morbidly obese for my whole adult life until a...

It sounds like you've been having a really tough time Spangly. Many of us who have weight problems also seem to not be good at looking after ourselves. We look afterr everyone else but our needs come last. Which may well lead to comfort eating / drinking when the stress gets too much. You...

I can drink a lot more fizzy water than I can plain water - strange but true...

Definitely! As I'd been obese or morbidly obese for the whole of my adult life I'd never been able to wear knee high boots that weren't from Evans or some such - I wore them everywhere for a while!

Being able to wear knee length boots was one of my mini goals on the diet! I think I was around a size 16 when I found that I could.

Yes - it's difficult to know quite where to stop. This time I have a weight which I would like to be but I dont actually know whether it'll be right as I have added a lot of muscle in the last year. So what I'm doing is going by size - once I've lost the excess on my stomach (!) I'll stop...

I agree about the few lbs. 6 lbs at this point makes a huge difference to the size of my stomach! I think it's because that's where most of my weight is at the moment. I did try to go back on SnS at the end of last year to shift the extra stone but I couldn't do it - I kept rebelling. This...

I didn't do the SnS refeed - I did the LL one - so I can't remember how long the SnS one is. There's a link to it though in a sticky in this forum. I didn't continue to lose weight during refeed and I don't think that you should assume that you will. It's more likely that you'll put on a few...

When Ilost the 9 stone I didn't exercise on plan. After I reached goal I took up exercise with a vengence and absolutely love it now! I'm back to lose 1 stone which I put on whilst working out how to maintain. This time round I am still exercising and my weight loss is slower - but I'm...

That's an excellent weight loss! I STS this week. Am happy though as I'm feeling smaller! It'll all sort itself out next week I'm sure. :)

STS at weigh in today. Not a problem as am feeling smaller and I'm happy! Off to London today for a conference for the week. Should be fun. I've bought more shakes (yuck!) and chicken noodle soup (ok) as they're the easiest things to have whilst away. I might be a little chicked noodled out...

I don't have much of a sweet tooth either - but it's strange the things you crave whilst on the diet - it really helps you to understand your relationship with food better if you spend time analysing it.

There are some hints and tips on the main forum (rather than is 100% sub forum) in the stickies. Good luck on your journey!

Hi 25y - sounds like you're getting everything under control. I look forward to seeing the rest of your journey!

Today has been a good one! Lovely weather, fantastic roller derby training session followed by a jacuzzi, and a lovely seabass fillet and stir fry for my dinner. Yum yum! Weigh in day tomorrow (I moved it to Mondays) so fingers crossed...

Well done all! I weigh in tomorrow so fingers crossed...

Welcome Seelinnikoi. Why not consider us all your diet buddies? You could come on here and share, give your opinion on our posts and perhaps join such threads as the October challenge. Have you started a diary in the diary sub forum? When I was doing my main weight loss I found that setting...

As regards unusual bleeding - that's caused by hormones which are stored with your fat when it was first stored. They are released as the fat is used and your body reacts to them. You might have high levels or low levels - just depends how much was round when you stored the fat. The faster you...

3 stone is definitely doable in 12 weeks. You may lose 4 as you'll have your first week in that time too.

You might want to think about Dukan Clinquant. He has a phase for straight after you've lost the weight and before you are maintaining long term. The length of e phase depends on the amount of weight you've lost, which makes sense to me. From a book point of view lots of people like the Beck...

Done Fran81 10lbs (0lbs lost, 10lbs to go) Cheekychick81 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) xxmariexx 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Sammy33 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Millie 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Honeydip18 20lbs (0lbs lost, 20lbs to go) Weasey 10lbs (0lbs lost, 10lbs to go)...

Why thank you kind munchbunch :-) My husband has always said I talk alot!

LOL - hardly! I just like to live a happy life!

I'd say watch out for the mint choc shake as I didn't like it at all - don't assume anything will taste the same as Cambridge. Everyone's tastes differ though. I'd suggest that you order the taster pack (28 packs for around £28) which will give you 28 different flavour packs to try so that you...

You are right that when people you don't know very well make comments then it is harder to deal with - you're not likely to sit down with them and talk it through. I actually tend to feel sorry for these people. What on Earth is so bad in their on lives that they feel the need to behave in...

I think that we have a duty of care to those around us. We have chosen to make a change in our lives and on a VLCD those changes occur quickly. Other people haven't chosen this change but it is forced upon them. Some will react positively and some will react negatively. There is little that...

Yay!

She is doing better thanks. I've been very remiss in writing in my diary lately! All going well though. Except that this morning I had to rush to a meeting and had forgotten to have breakfast so I had to have a chicken noodle curry soup as it was the quickest thing to make and take will me...

Yuck - tomato soup for brekkie! I'm almost out of oatmeal but seem to have an abundance of Spicy spaghetti and chilli - something strange has happened... Think I might have to order some more oatmeal as I couldn't stomach the others for breakfast! Also, I'm away in London next week so will...

I started doing LL and did only that for about 5 months. Then I discovered Slim and Save and I ordered some packs to see what they were like. Both LL and SnS are 4 packs a day so it was easy to swap around. I much prefer the SnS savoury meals to the LL ones (which are truely gross!) although...

I lost 130 lbs with a combination of Lighter Life and SnS. I've never done Cambridge but from what I understand all of the VLCDs lose at a similar rate - around a stone a month.

I didn't quite make my target - but only a lb off so I'm happy. (I did weight in today though rather than my normal Friday weigh in to gain some extra time!) Lyndzi76 - target 14lb (11lb lost, 3lb to go) Fran81 - target 14lb (7lb lost, 7lb to go) My-year2012 14lb (6lb lost, 8lb to go)...

That makes sense honeydip if this is your first week - just wanted to make sure you were OK! Good luck! Hi jennylouise and welcome. Hi Clinquant - I've added you below too. :) Fran81 10lbs (0lbs lost, 10lbs to go) Cheekychick81 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) xxmariexx 14lbs (0lbs lost...

Oooo - I could do with somewhere to keep my handbags - maybe I should get an exercise bike too?! Only problem is my hubby would probably insist on using it ;)

Are you sure honeydip? That seems like a really high target. I'm looking to lose 10lbs by Halloween... Fran81 10lbs (0lbs lost, 10lbs to go) Cheekychick81 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) xxmariexx 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Sammy33 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Millie 14lbs (0lbs lost...

My mum is a feeder. When I was down to see her earlier this week she kept trying to get me to eat more than one protein meal/fruit/cake. She knows how this works but just can't help herself. It's because she wants to show her love through food so she gets quite annoyed when I refuse it. When...

You can do nothing at this point about your weekend but you can do things about future weekends. You can consider whether it's worth coming off plan or whether you'd rather just carry on with the weight loss. You can consider low carbing if you do come off plan so that you stay in ketosis...

I didn't realise that 20-40g is normal for someone low carbing. Some of the packs are more carby than others - for example, the spag bol pack has 20.5g of carbs in it - whereas the spicy spaghetti pack has only 12.5g. If you ate 4 spag bol packs in a day (all be it I don't think many people...

I'm not sure. You do need some carbs and the packs are deliberately engineered to have carbs in them. I don't know what the minimum level is though.

Are you putting your milk into the planner? If so it will be included in your 50-60g of carbs. Why do you try to not have your first pack until 10am? I have mine for breakfast as sson as I get to work - about 8am. I would eat it earlier if I got up in time to eat before I have to leave for work!

Well done cheekychick!

Soangly - of course you can be a member - it's your thread! I'm doing the protein meal - I just don't talk about it on this thread in case people don't want to hear about it... You've not been that well and your bloatedness and slower weight loss recently could be your body dealing with that...

:-)

Some people are sensitive to carbs - try keeping them below 60g and see if that helps.

Maybe some core exercises then? You can do those in the privacy of your own home.

Oh - and that 10lbs you say you keep losing - some people can lose that in their first week on this diet...

You may well feel hungry for the first few days, but once you're in ketosis that hunger will go. If you find cups of tea help with your hunger then remember that you can have things like mint tea which don't need milk. Do be slightly careful of your milk as it does contain natural sugars and...

Lightheadedness can occur on VLCDs due to lower blood pressure. You might want to add some salt to your savoury packs. Also, when lightheaded you could clench your thigh muscles a few times to move some more blood into your brain. The diet shouldn't make you sick. I'm guessing you've got a...

If you want to exercise then I'd suggest avoiding the cardio. Why not do some gentle swimming or some core exercises? You cold go to a pilates class or something?

My approach is to cut out the cardio work I do at the gym but I still do the core work and strength work. I don't do heavy weightlifting though. Sometimes our weightloss will be slower if you exercise - but I'd rather have slower weight loss and stick with the exercise I love.

There's also the option of Slim and Save - which allows some milk and a small protein meal every day as well as hot meal packs/bars/shakes. I don't know much about shake that weight I'm afraid.

Yep - calories are fine (Atkins also works with ketosis but is much higher calorie) - it's carbs which affect ketosis. Steak and salad will be fine - careful of any dressing on the salad though. I would normally have a large bottle of sparkling water - feels like a nice drink to have.

So sorry to hear about her arm. You could beat yourself up about making the wrong decision last night. Or you could give yourself credit for insisting on her going to a&e today. Also, don't be angry at your other half - he's just trying to do his best too - we all make mistakes. If she had...

Have you measured Spangly? That might help. I find protein sizes difficult to estimate when I'm not at home too - I just assume it's less than I think it is!

Thanks Spangly. My mum is not well but is ok thank goodness. It's nice to be able to see her and talk to her to assess how she is though - rather than trying to do it fromm 300 miles away.

I'm quite all or nothing too! For me giving up food was a really powerful part of the diet. For the first 6 months I did 4 packs a day - no milk and no veg. I needed that I think to give me the opportunity to break my addictive behaviours and renegotiate my relationship with food. It's all...

Skinny girl - don't worry about taking vs giving - I find supporting other people really useful in getting me to think things through and setting my ideas on a better path. I honestly don't think I'd have been as successful on the diet had I not engaged so much on forums - both giving and...

Oh yes - I had the table refusing to go flat and all of the problems that created... The last couple of times I've flown I keep doing and undoing my belt and putting my tray table up and down because I can't believe how easy it is now!

I'm sitting in a service station towards the end of my 300 mile drive today and realised that I hadn't updated my diary on someing which happened yesterday... I was making space in a drawer and I came across a flight seat belt extension. Now I 'accidentally' kept this after one flight to...

Well - when I first started the diet 3 things happened in a two week period: 1 - My diabetes medication was put up from 4 tablets to 5 and the extra tablet had to be something other than metformin as I was taking the max amount. 2 - I heard about the Newcastle experiment where they put people...

Thanks guys. The hunger is OK now (after pilates - maybe relaxation made a difference?!) and I'm glad that I made the decision to travel down tomorrow. I won't actually get to see her tomorrow as it's a 6 hour drive plus stops and the hospital is another hour on top of that and I wouldn't get...

Hmmm. My mum was taken into hospital last night - as I found out when I phoned for a chat and my dad said they couldn't talk because she had to go in. It then took me until 10am today to get hold of him to find out what was happening. I live 300 miles away so it's a bit difficult to pop...

Lol! At least the dog seems to enjoy the bars!!

Sounds like you have answered your own question - stick to it 100%. I did that on my birthday. We were away in a hotel and I sat and watched my hubby eat in a restaurant whilst having only water and coffee!

When I'm arguing with myself about whether or not I want to eat something I find the most useful thing is to ask myself whether I want the food so much that I'm willing to die (from diabetes issues or other weight related health problems). Generally the answer is 'no' and the argument is over...

Yay Slinkyson/Lyndzi/Fran! Who will be the first to reach their September goal I wonder?! (Spangly already met hers I think but then she increased it again!)

Hope you're feeling better soon Spangly - keep up your water intake. At least it might explain the bloating you've been feeling. Clinquant - You could always have a small <edit - removed food specific references!> or something like that. It would be yummy and decadant and not harm your diet...

Well done Lainey and Sammy on your weight losses - great result!

Thanks guys :-)

Skinny Girl - sounds like you're having trouble. Are your clothes feeling loser? Have you measured? It may give you a better guide whilst weighing is difficult. Coud you perhaps weigh in Boots or something? We all know that sticking 100% means that it will be working for you but I can...

Being employed by family does make things more difficult. Take some time for yourself and walk away from the job if that's the right thing for you. Take care of yourself xx

Good luck with your maintenance! Remember that you're not alone with it. When I started to maintain I dropped off the forums and so didn't have many people in the same situation to share thoughts and feelings with. You can always post in the refeed/maintenance bit too.

It's a great sign that despite all of the pressure you are under you are not even tempted to come off plan. It really bodes well for future maintenance. I'm sorry to hear that you're under so much stress. I've been in a situation where I was working so much on a 9 month programme that it...

I just realised I haven't updated with this week's loss (weigh in day Friday) so here goes (sound of trumpets and such like).... I lost half a pound! I'm actually smiling as I write this because although the weight loss was low I'm feeling so much smaller. My clothes are looser and I can see...

Hmmm - can't say I've had that. The last time I was on the diet though I became overly interested in other people's food for a while (I think it was around week 6) I kept wanting to look at it and smell it. Luckily I managed to be subtle about my tendancies!

Well done Clinquant! I'm feeling good today :-) I went to roller derby training and looked a bit better than last week in my shorts - then I went for a jacuzzi at the gym and looked a lot better in my swim stuff than I did a few weeks ago when I last went. My stomach is noticeably smaller -...

That's a great result! It'll obviously be lower from now on (still higher than other diets though) but what a great start! :-)

Good luck for your weigh in. If I was you I wouldn't set a time limited goal though. You cant do anything to make it happen and if it doesn't you'll br disappointed which could tempt you to use food to comfort yourself. I'd suggest having lots of small goals and ticking them off as you get...

Yay on your 3 lbs! I lost 0.5 lbs this week. Think how much worse it could have been! I'm happy though - my clothes feel loser and I've been through this process before. I know it'll all work out.

You can bulk buy the bars. Just click to see bar details and you'll see the options. They're more expensive than when buying all of the packs together though.

I'm currently 11 stone 7.5 lbs and I want to get back to 11 stone. I originally went from 19 stone 4 lbs to 10 stone. I was too thin at 10 stone and I've put on lots of muscle since reaching goal and going fitness mad so I think 11 stone will be about right. It's great that you kept the 2...

Officially the plan says you should only have one a day. It's up to you to decide what makes sense for your lifestyle and ensuring you're happy with the level of carbs you're having.

You can have more than one bar in a day. My problem is that I always want more if I have a bar - let alone if I have more than one. Rather than put temptation my way I tend to avoid the bars now.

You do need a certain level of carbs and so that packs do contain them. A chicken salad has far fewer carbs than a pack. It's all about balance I guess.

I order the 1 month 5 a day pack as it's cheaper. I avoid the bars now as I find them too nice and they call out to me...

Only lost half a lb this week. Clothes are feeling looser though and I'm a happy bunny! Lyndzi76 - target 14lb (9lb lost, 5lb to go) Fran81 - target 14lb (3.5lb lost, 10.5lb to go) My-year2012 14lb (6lb lost, 8lb to go) TrueBlueAngel 9lbs (0lbs lost, 9lbs to go) Safia 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs...

Your boss sounds like mine Spangly! I ended up telling him that he was part of the problem (very nicely of course!) and he's been much better since. Still random in his decisions though... Good luck with the job change - could be the start of something wonderful! Trust to the process. I've...

No but yes... I lost over 9 stone on the plan and finished in June 2012. Since then I put on 2 stone whilst I was working out how to maintain. I've been maintaining without putting weight on since November 2012 and I feel like I can do that successfully now so I've come back to the diet to get...

The main thing is to avoid having too much vitamin A. You could take pregnancy multivitamins as they don't contain any.

Often when we don't feel well we'll eat for comfort - so coping without that will be tough. You could try spoiling yourself a little in other ways.

Let's hope your knickers aren't so big that they fall down too!

I haven't been on Exante but from what I hear there's a lot more choice on SnS and the ability to have a small low carb meal every day makes it a very different prospect. I did a combination of LL and SnS.

Yes, it's the same as other VLCDs. First week weight loss varies but tends to be high due to losing the glycogen in our liver in addition to the low calorie/low carb.

Going to the coast sounds like a lovely treat! Hope you work out a good place to go. I think maintenance is a journey. It's about trying different things and seeing what works for you. I felt like I was holding on by my finger nails for a long time - lots of control and slips and control. I...

Hmmm - that's an interesting thought. I have cut back on my exercise but what I'm doing/have done this week is: Sunday - 2 hours roller derby training - skating but also learning skills so it's not 2 hours of skating (if that makes sense) Monday - Bokwa class (didn't intend to do this but...

That's a great idea Clinquant! What a lovely way to treat yourself! I treat myself all the time so I don't have a deficit in that area... I'm good at spoiling myself - my special skill set ;)

OMG - I am SOOOO hungry today. I've just had to have my lunch pack having fought against it for quite a while. It is definitely physical hunger too. Could I have knocked myself out of ketosis? I've put on 0.5 lb so far this week too even though I feel smaller. Oh well - just have to carry on...

The week is going well for me in terms of sticking to the diet. I'm really hungry today though - I've just had my lunch pack and there's lots of the day to go yet! I also had a sneaky weigh in this morning and have put on 0.5 lb! Not bothered though as I'm feeling smaller. I've still got two...

Hope your parcel gets collected early. Coffee at the trafford centre sounds like a nice idea - perhaps a bit of window shopping for goal sized clothes...

You can buy choc wafers from SnS - haven't had them myself. I think they're higher in carbs. Also, you can make chips out of swede from the allowed veg allowance. I don't know how to make them though. I'm sure someone will come along with more useful detail than me! Sorry!

That's your nuturing parent talking. The one that wants to comfort you and make you feel better. Could you spoil yourself in other ways today? A lovely hot bath? Some time to read a book? Some time to yourself? Going clothes shopping? Talking to friends? Having a facial? Getting your...

You lost 15 lb in 2 weeks and stuck to it 100%. If you could go back 2 weeks and tell yourself that would happen you'd have been really happy wouldn't you?! It means you're more likely to have a good loss this week too. I had a sneaky weigh in this morning and I've put on half a lb! But I'm...

Well done Lainey! It's great when you face a challenge like that and beat it. It also makes you think differently about those types of occasions in the future too - To maintain I always eat before a party where there'll be food and never during. It's surprisingly easy. I like to see what food...

You know it's low enough carbs - you lost 15 lbs last week! You've said that your trousers are getting noticeably looser on your legs - so you know you are losing inches even if your body isn't necessarily losing them in the place that you would choose! A week of lower loss is likely to be...

I don't know about the rest of you guys but I'd like to thank Spangly for starting this thread! It's great to have a place where we can talk seriously about our issues with food and get support and great ideas from each other. So thanks to Spangly and to all of the rest of you who have...

Spangly - It's really interesting to hear what you say about impatience and anger at yourself. That doesn't sound like your rebellious child to me but more like your critical parent. The one that tells you what you should be doing, how everyone else does it better and how much of a failure you...

That's up to you! Personally if I haven't met my goal yet I'll have a sneaky extra weigh in on the 30th to see if it helps!

Welcome Marie and hello everyone else. I've been strangley quiet today because I actually had to do work at work today (!) and I've been out at the gym and Starbucks this evening - it's a hard life! Another day on plan - hooray!

I wonder how many carbs are in a caterpillar? Is it in the slim and save tool?!

That's great - you'll have a beautiful dress to aim for! Hang it on the outside of your wardrobe so that you see it often...

Yum - I love my cooked veg too! The mushrooms sound good. Yesterday I had steamed green beans abd steamed asparagus with my spag bol pack - it was lovely!

Oh - and there's also a Christmas challenge sticky thread on the main forum if you're interested (just in case you haven't found it yet).

Really thoughtful post. Good luck on your journey!

I love my salad and raw veg. If I feel snacky during the day I have some of my raw veg allowance - yum!

There's a Slim and Save Diary firum und thhan main SnS area. You can creat a thread of your own in there and other people can read and comment. It's up to you. I found it a good place to mull on things I was thinking about.

I spread mine out by about 4 hours depending on what I'm doing. Often 8am/12 noon/4pm/8pm. But on a Monday for example I'm at the gym in the evening and so tend to wait until 10pm for my last pack. It doesn't really matter - it's about what suits you and your lifestyle.

Hi Huseyin - good to have you on board! I also lost quite a bit on LL (in combination with SnS) and am back to get rid of some extra weight I managed to aquire whilst learning to maintain! Hope you have a great first week. Have you started a diary?

This isn't a one time fix - it's a cycle. Each time we go through it we learn and improve. Does it matter if it takes 100 cycles if we get there in the end? You are here, you're 100% and you're addressing your issues. Not just physically but mentally too. You deserve a big pat on the back for...

Nixxy - it's half way through the month and you're much more than half way to your September goal - that's great! Look forward to seeing good things from you next week!

Be careful of negating compliments Sammy! I used to say things like "I've still got lots to lose" or "there's a long way to go" when people said that I'd been losing weight. It took me a while to realise it was that I didn't accept the compliment - maybe I felt I didn't derserve it or...

Sounds like you're doing great! Enjoy the milky coffee. I spent ages trying to work out the cause of my stomach issues when I got to goal and reintoduced food but it all improved over time and I've been fine for ages now.

It's tough - it really is. Food is about so much more to us than just fuelling our bodies. We associate certain foods with comfort, happiness, love, etc. Then we use it as a coping mechanism when we're stressed / unhappy / bored. You are not unusual in this. One of the wonderful things...

Ah - it's so lovely that she's trying! Perhaps she could treat you with a nice peppermint tea or something rather than food?

Well done on your 100%! It's amazing how this diet changes things like how nice a ham salad is... When I go out for food now (when maintaining rather than whilst I'm on the diet...) I will have a chicken salad, or small steak and salad, or fish and salad - with dressing on the side. I...

Sometimes reintroducing certain foods after a period of time without them can cause stomach issues - it did for me. It all settles down in time though.

I agree that this is a diet and shouldn't be a way of life. After I hit goal I struggled for quite a long time trying to work out how to maintain. From June 2012 to November 2012 I put on 2 stone. Since then I maintained and I have now worked out a method for maintaining which works really...

For your lunch on Monday I would suggest ordering a big salad with the dessing in the side and with egg maybe? I was vegetarian when I started losing weight and when I was moving into maintenance I decided to stop being vegetarian. It was a very hard decision as I had been vegetarian for over...

There's a book by Dr Beck called something like 'The Beck Diet Solution' which uses CBT therapy techniques. CBT works really well for lots of people - although I personally prefer TA. Food is about so much more than fueling our bodies - and that's why we have so much trouble sorting out our...

Probably best to drop SnS a mail to ask - or they often have someone online on their site to answer. They're very quick at answering questions.

Good luck! I didn't switch from Cambridge but I did combine SnS with Lighter Life. There's no difference in pack quality - but don't expect the packs to taste the same as each other - a chocolate shake from one will be different from a chocolate shake from another - so don't order just those...

Think about why you came off the diet. It sounds like you're not keen on the packs you had left and that you rather like the cheesey pasta! Use this as an opportunity to learn. If you'd had some packs you like would you have lapsed? If not then make sure you always have packs you like in...

Well - it's been great for my health! I started at 19 stone 4 lbs with type 2 diabetes for which I took 5 tablets, a statin and an asprin and my sugar was still out of control. I was unfit and starting to get other health issues to do with my weight. Today I am 11 stone 8 lbs and I don't take...

It's not greed that makes you want to eat those things. It's feeding an emotional need for you - it could be providing comfort for example. If when you were young your mum would give you something sweet as a reward for being good or to show that you were loved (for example) then you can...

Maybe they accidentally charge you 70p for the broccoli or something? (Perhaps I have an underactive imagination...)

Wow! Over 1.5 stone in 3 weeks! You must be chuffed to bits! Hope something happens on the job front sooner rather than later.

Yay! 7lbs in my first week. Lyndzi76 - target 14lb (4lb lost, 10lb to go) Fran81 - target 14lb (1lb lost, 13lb to go) My-year2012 14lb (3lb lost, 11lb to go) TrueBlueAngel 9lbs (0lbs lost, 9lbs to go) Safia 14lbs (0lbs lost, 14lbs to go) Bucksfizz (0lbs lost, 10lbs to go! Sammy33 - Target 14lb...

In my first week of project 'lose the maintenance excess' I've lost 7 lbs to get to 11 st 8 lbs. Very pleased with that! Only 8 lbs to where I want to be! (although I'll probably go 4 lbs under for glycogen weight - so 12 lbs to go really). Where am I with my goals? 11 st 10 lbs - done 11 st...

Yes you can. You can do 4 packs one day and 3 packs with a small protein meal the next.

That's great Embo!

Don't be ashamed skinny girl - maintenance is really tough. It's all about learning and moving forward. Good luck!

You could keep some of your veg allowance for thise hungry moments. Yesterday I had oatmeal for brekkie, chilli for lunch, bar at around 4, salad when I got home from work and then chicken at about 8. The salad was like an extra meal. Alternatively you could keep some of the veg for snaking...

You've had a fabulous loss in your first two weeks - you must be chuffed! Good luck for your weigh in on Friday - and for the job...

Yay!!! Well done Spangly! What an amazing loss. You're 100% approach has paid off big time!

Spangly!!! And you were worried about weighing in?!! What a fantastic loss! You must be cuffed to bits! :-)

Hope the op goes well Noodles.

That's one of the wonderful things about thinking about how to maintain. It is such a positive thing to do as it doesn't fill your head with thoughts of defeat but instead let's you solve the next problem. It's a really positive thing to do. Hope everything goes well and I look forward to...

Hi Noodles - good to see you and to hear that things are going well!

Thinking about how to maintain is never a waste of time. You need to find what works for you as everyone is so different. It took me a long time to find my approach. I have a friend who is intending to maintain using packs on the 5:2 diet (except in maintenance it's really the 6:1 diet as you...

LL is more expensive but comes with small group therapy. I'm not sure why someone would go with Cambridge - except that there's someone else to weigh in front of and they do tetras which people find useful. Personally if I were looking to save money I'd look at a VLCD like Slim and Save which...

Lol! When I first read this I thought you said that you were distracticting yourself by making babies!

That's how I felt before I started. I did 4 packs, no milk, no veg for the first 6 months. It really worked for me because I felt like I'd given up food. It allowed me to reassess my relationship with food and was a really powerful time for me. I then moved on to 3 packs and a protein meal...

I weigh most days - but I don't get upset about increases and I expect it to move up and down. If it might knock you off course then leave them alone!

Well I've been to the arena in Sheffield and Meadowhall too - but not the arena in Leeds... I've also been to Scarborough! I'm not originally from here (I'm one of those southerners - just the south generally - we moved around a lot) - but I'm married to a Yorkshire person so I think that means...

Looking forward to seeing your diary :-) Honestly - you can live on that! Once ketosis has kicked in you'll be on here asking if you really have to have as many as 4 packs a day because you're not hungry... (and the answer is yes you do!)

Leeds

Yesterday I had a great day and finished it off with a museli bar. I didn't even want my 4th pack but I'm a good girl and so I had it. Hmmm - it kicked off cravings for more bars. I managed to resist but it wasn't easy. I have now left a bar in my car, a bar in my handbag and a bar in my gym...

lol!

Yep - I've just started writing to it again so it won't be too far down in the diary forum. Called something like 'Weasey's journey to size 10'. I also have a diary type thing in the maintenance forum.

That's the wonder of ketosis...

Ooo - good one CheekyChick. Weighing less than my hubby for the first time ever was a huge one for me too.

Well done Lozzer on your 8 lbs! Great going!

Ooo - tough one! Good luck for Friday!

Talk to your other half about the support that you need from him and why it's important for you. Let him know how much you love him showing how much he cares for you through his cooking but that for the sake of your health you need him to stop doing it for a period of time. Perhaps you can...

Weigh in Spangly - worrying about it is worse than knowing. You should be hugely proud of your 100%. :-) Unfortunately for my cupboards I tend to use my energy in other ways whilst in ketosis... But if any of you feel like coming over and sorting my house out you're very welcome! I've...

Well done all you guys on your weight losses! Especially CheekyChick/Nixxy/Sammy/Rammy who have already lost the majority of the weight they wish to lose in September! Go you!

When I lost most of my weight I didn't do any exercise at all. I started once I reached goal. That worked really well for me because I could concentrate on changing one thing at a time. Now that I'm back to lose a stone I'm exercising because I don't want to give it up (!) but I'm avoiding...

What I liked most was being able to express my personality through my clothes for the first time ever, Although wearing knee high boots and fitting into a hotel bath robe were also big highlights!

If you've finished with your house and are getting restless you can always come over and clean mine. I'm so kind...

Thanks Lainey. I have to accept that I'll always have to be mindful around food and keep working at it for the rest of my life. When I first started the diet I'd have run in the other direction at the thought of having to eat differently and exercising regularly once the weight was gone. Now...

Gosh - that's changed since I did SnS before. Chewing skills are good!

Well done guys for not caving. I had my first potential wobble today. I think I should avoid the bars as I find them very morish - which is bad. I resisted but only just. 100% - I think we should all be proud!

Wow Sammy - declining biscuits! Way to go! I had to decline a banana today - it's tougher with 'healthy' foods because people don't understand why you can't have it. I was starving this afternoon and someone who has previously provided me with a banana offered me one and I had to say that I...

Hi Embo. For me this diet is 100% or not at all - I'm not good at allowing myself to go a little off plan... Monday has been treating me well so far. Busy at work so that was good. My oatmeal looked shocking this morning as I forgot to take an appropriate bowl to work and had to guess the...

Well done guys!

Hi guys - thanks for the comments! I'm doing wonderfully today thanks. Good day at work and I've just done an abs class. Am eating chicken salad and will be meeting friends for pilates later - then (of course) Starbucks! Loving it! (I wouldn't recognise myself and what I now enjoy from...

It is difficult when you're close to goal and people tell you to stop. I'd just tell them that it was important for me to get to goal and that I was aiming for mid range healthy BMI so therre's no need to worry about my health. It was important for me to know that I'd achieved the goal I set...

I think there is a difference between strange creepy men attention and compliments from people we know. It can be difficult to accept compliments. I used to deny them all the time. Like someone would say 'Have you lost weight?' and I'd reply 'a bit' - or they'd say 'you've lost lots of...

On LL the break week is actually exactly the same as the other weeks except that you add around 500ml of skimmed milk everyday. That increases the daily calories without adding in other food. I did all of my breaks like that.

Thanks Lainey. :-)

Lainey - The thing that surprised me when I lost weight was the amount of letching that a number of men do. I had never experienced that before and it wasn't pleasant. For example, having to put my bag on my legs to stick the creepy guy at the next table staring at them. It didn't phase me...

Fantastic handling of the cake scenario! (And the 800 calorie one did look nice - but not 800 calorie nice!)

Glad to hear you so positive. :-)

Isn't it strange that we can continue to watch things like Masterchef and Great British Bake Off whilst on this diet?! I love them too! The chai tea latte thing - it's difficult when someone has bought you something and ou don't want to disappoint them. I'm so pleased that it all worked out...

Sounds like you're doing great! See Spangly's post in the 100% forum if you're interested in the description of all the different approaches I tried when maintaining. I think the main thing is to pick something you think will work for you and commit to it. If you find it isn't quite right...

Well done for surviving the coffee shop. I quite often have a bottle of fizzy water and a black americano. Not sure why I have both but I enjoy it and don't feel like I'm doing without. I also like the fact that many coffee shops put the calories for their cakes on display - I won't mention...

3lb is a great week! On what other diet would you be a little disappointed at 3lbs?! It's a fantastic loss and to be celebrated. On my second week of doing the diet (the first time - when I lost 9 stone - rather than this time when I want to loose 1 stone and am not even a week in yet) I only...

@Clinquant - Fantastic loss!! So pleased for you! A week at 100% is a great achievement. I saw so many people disappear after Christmas. Most of them seemed to be intending to have planned breaks. Some people can go off the diet and get back on without trouble but I don't think that's me...

I think you're spot on Spangly. It's about having fun and doing what you feel like. There is no 'should' or 'ought'. When I was doing the diet before I didn't exercise at all. At first it was because I didn't want to and later it was because I was advised not to because of the calories I was...

Just got back from Roller Derby training. I'm soooooo loving it! Today we learnt to do backwards lemons, jump and hop. We also did some pack work. One of the people there helped me with my skate technique so now I've got something to practice. We measured how many laps we could skate in 5...

I borrowed the phrase from someone else - I love it though!

So - I'm back again to get rid of a spare 15 lbs. Started a couple of days ago and am already down over 5 lbs but I know most of that is glycogen - still pleased though! I started at 12 st 1 lb and want to be at 11 st 0 lb at the end so I may go down to around 10 st 10 lbs to allow for...

I've been having a think about some other things which I think have helped me to stay on track... 1) I got a new job in February. Nobody there has ever know me as larger or knows that I used to be larger. I wear nice suits to work and quite enjoy myself with my clothes. Somehow all of this...

So sorry to hear that you're finding it tough. TOTM can make things even more difficult. But you got through the last few days when you've had a bad TOTM and you're in our first few days of the programme - which are the toughest by far. You should be immensley proud of what you've done! I...

@Clinquant - The matenance stuff you point to looks really interesting. I'm definitely going to have a good sift through it! Thanks for the link. Love your story with the film instead of the food too. I guess it's about learning to treat ourselves with other things - new coping mechanisms...

Honk x 2

Great loss!

Good luck on your journey! And keep us all updated.

Three cheers for supportive husbands! I have found myself today watching the clock to work out how long it is to the next pack! Only 15 mins now...

Yep - ketosis and autumn - not a good combination!

Lol! Not quite that drastic! There's a sticky on the forum talking about which packs people like. From my point of view I'm not keen on shakes. I have oatmeal for brekkie (people tend to either like oatmeal and hate porridge or the other way around...) and I like the spicy spaghetti and...

I left my husband to sort himself out! But then we both work full time so it was never my job to cook every night anyway. Lots of people do continue cooking for others whilst doing the diet though. Because there are meal packs you can still sit down with your family to eat - for example, you...

:-)

There's a book on Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Diet-Friends-Shrinking-ebook/dp/B002EBDPFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378539882&sr=8-1&keywords=game+on+diet - or you can google 'game on diet'. Effectively you score points and then can be in teams with your friends and compete against other...

Thanks Starlight - I guessed that but at least it means if anyone is thinking about the diet they won't be put off by this thread.

Is it really true that you can't have a night out without alcohol? I had loads of great nights out without drinking. Other people may have a problem with it but that's their problem. If they care for you they won't mind. Many people do choose to come on and off the diet but I'm not sure that...

We should definitely write one! I tried all sorts of things. I took up with a personal trainer (well two actually - long story!) which made a big difference to my fitness levels and also gave me something new to set goals around. Achieving small goals was really important to me through my...

You can go out without breaking the diet. You can have chicken and salad, or a small fillet steak and veg, for example. Also, I always drink sparkling water rather than alcohol.

Sounds like you're dealing with it - I wouldn't wait to get back on it until tomorrow though - there's no time like the present.

I think there's a distinct lack of support once you reach goal. Very few diets actually cover this for anything beyond a few weeks and there's a dearth of self help books in the area. I really struggled for a long time with how and what to eat. I tried all sorts of approaches - and I'm really...

Hi Spangly - hope you're well. Can I join in your bootcamp?! I'm back to lose the excess 15lbs before it becomes larger... I'm thinking I might find it tough to restrict myself again though - fingers crossed!

You wouldn't have been the first! One of the things you can do with the vanilla one is make it with hot coffee - then it's a kind of latte.

Ok - so I'm back to lose the extra 15lbs I'm carrying since reaching goal over a year ago. So - I'll have my first week loss and then a couple more weeks... I'm going to aim for 10lbs. Lyndzi76 - target 14lb (0lb lost, 14lb to go) Fran81 - target 14lb (1lb lost, 13lb to go) My-year2012 14lb...

Hopefully just one of those things - fingers crossed for a hiccup free day for you!

I've never had a problem with coffee but if you're worried you could always try a decaf version. You can add as much water as you like to the shakes. You could also try hot mint choc with your chocolate pack by making a mint tea and then using it as the liquid in your choc shake and using a...

12 lbs in the first week is fine. After that it would be dangerous. That is because a good chunk of that is the depletion of the glycogen store - which only happens once at the start. The diet is healthy. All of the vitamins/minerals/protein which your body needs is included in the packs...

I think the councelling is really important. Since I reached goal I've been having personal therapy too (not thro LL) and that has really helped me to get to a point where I can maintain.

Oh - and on the cold thing - once you're in ketosis (which does happen quickly for some fortunate people) you may well be cold. It's because your body is saving the calories it has for heating the important bits (generally your organs) and not the extra bits like arms and legs. Also, if you are...

Did you get any of the meals? You might find them a good alternative. Personally I'm not a huge shake fan. Although this time I have ordered some choc mint ones (weren't available when I did this before - hope I like them) which I intend to make as a hot choccie drink using a hand blender. I...

Sorry no - have you had them a lot since starting?

Welcome back! I'm also back - with 15 lb to lose this time though rather than the 130lb I had to lose the last time! So far so good - but then I only started today...

Time for another update! I'm now maintaining really easily. I no longer count my calories on a daily basis. I eat 5 times a day and make reasonable choices at those points but don't keep a total of what I'm having. I happily choose protein and salad/veg as this is the kind of stuff I most...

Refeeding is the period at the end of a VLCD when you slowly move back to eating normal food and increasing your carbs. This should be done in a controlled way to give you the best chance at maintaining but also from a health point of view.