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I am not convinced that I am risking my health by having a single drink. The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data', and to me, all the stories of "one drink nearly killed me" are extremely easily explained by: a) the fact the effects of alcohol are notoriously unpredictable even when on a normal...

I agree. It's about recognising that you can't drink the same amount that you did before you started this diet - your ratios of water:fat in your body compartments has altered, you've not got enough "padding" in the form of food in your gut to soak up alcohol, and your cells are using a...

Hmm. I should probably be quite concerned about my level of alcohol tolerance that I happily managed a bottle and a half of wine last week with no ill-effects at all. On the other hand, I was eating barbecued meat at the same time, so maybe I can convince myself that it acted as a sponge...

Actually, I found a recipe online on how to make your own noodles - just google "how to make shirataki noodles" or "how to make konjac noodles" and you'll get several recipes that tell you how to do it. Looks kinda simple - just need konjac fibre powder and some slaked lime and you're away...

I ordered from them recently - they cancelled it because they were out of stock until mid-October. Not pleased!

Love them. I just stir-fry them with a little soy sauce, but once I start eating proper food again I imagine that I'll be still using them all the time. I imagine that any of the dishes I make using ho fun noodles can have these substituted in. Just seem to be rather difficult to get hold of at...

I know exactly what you mean - this happens to me every time I hit the weight that I'm currently at (and I notice that we're the same height/weight, so I do actually know your pain.) I think I start relaxing on myself because what I see in the mirror every day no longer mortally offends me...

Don't be silly - it's an easy enough mistake to make, especially if the phone app doesn't actually give you fair warning! I don't imagine that anyone was actually upset by your comments, and if they were they have far bigger problems in life than Minimins will ever be able to help with.

Magic Pants: a girl's best friend.

Is it your TOTM? I'm definitely hungry-for-no-reason when my hormones are doing their things (as well as retaining huge amounts of water) so it may be reasons other than body rebellion that are causing you cravings right now. Either way, you've handled it sensibly, so I wouldn't worry about it...

You lose it at the same rate from all the main fat deposited areas (thighs, bum, tummy, etc), it's just the tummy is where the most noticeable amount of fat is stored so seems to be hanging around longer than the rest. Give it time, it will go!

Saving money on body lotion due to there being less body in need of moisturising! Plus what everyone else has said... ... though I must confess, I'm also hoping (but not necessarily thinking I'm going to be getting) that my breasts are going to shrink down and I'm not going to look so top...

Brilliant effort! I can't imagine what it be like to step on the scales and have 11 come up - though knowing that it's been done by so many others (including yourself) makes me think that I might manage to get there sometime. You must be feeling on top of the world right now!

It's not so much the carbs (low calorie is usually low carb) but the fact they have citric acid in as a preservative - some people are sensitive to citric acid and it's enough to kick them out of ketosis. That said, the orange and chocolate bars also have citric acid in, so tiny amounts are...

Classic case of misery liking company. She's obviously decided long ago that she's going to be fat forever and there's nothing she can do about it; having others decide that they don't want to be fat forever and making efforts to lose weight sabotages her justification to herself for why she's...

I'm only just finished week 3, but I started my AAM yesterday because my skin is really struggling with this diet. I've never exactly had the clearest skin in the world, but it has improved over the last few years... right up until I started Exante TS! Of course, it didn't help that I've just...

Wow. I've had one day on AAM and my skin is already feeling a little less angry and sore. I still want to cry every time I see my face, but at least it's improving over what it was. I guess taking in the amount of nutrients needed to survive is not the same thing as taking in the amount of...

I think actually that I may break my own resolve to weigh every day because I now know that the numbers aren't going to be moving at all for the next two weeks because of my body doing a camel impression... ... though of course, that means that in a few weeks when the TOTM has TTFO, there is...

Fantastic effort - inspirational, especially since I've noticed that you've lost what I'm pipe-dreaming to potentially lose in total by the end of my diet. Knowing someone else has managed it helps me to think that maybe I can too... Good luck for the final lap!

Don't worry, this is happening to me as well, in a really big way. To the extent that I almost thought about phoning in sick to work because of the state of my skin - it's looking so shameful! And none of it's healing all that quickly, which is just making it look worse. Have decided instead to...

So, I'm a daily weigher - lot's of reasons why including the fact that I just like to keep an eye on things. Am also on day 20 of 100%, not a single cheat (not a boast - I honestly haven't felt the need to) and I've even being managing to get down 2-3ltrs of water a day. Scales haven't shifted...

I must say that I chain-eat sugar-free Polos on day and night shifts because I'm so paranoid about my breath - I've not had any adverse effects from doing so, but I can't speak for everyone. And I must also say (having worked some 13hr night shifts recently) that this diet is a god-send -...

I must say that I've noticed a significant slowing of my skin's ability to heal since being on the VLCD - and that's just minor cuts and scrapes, let alone a surgical wound! Twelve weeks may seem like a long time, but a slow-healing wound could take much longer than that to heal judging by how...

It's true what everyone's said, this diet really does work. It's so satisfying to be quickly and consistently seeing that the effort that I have put in is being transformed into smaller numbers on the scales and looser clothing. I think the reason I've never done well at losing weight before is...

Sorry to hear you're having such a stressful time of it - I hate moving house, and really do look forward to the days when I'll be able to stay in one place for longer than a year at a time. As for the opinions of people at work about your appearance - a) you have already set in place the...

I'm glad you don't feel guilty, and you shouldn't! You've achieved so much by staying 100% for 50 days, and like LED says, one day off isn't going to hurt - but letting one day turn into 2/3 days at regular intervals is. This is NOT a morale victory for you family, and don't give them the...

Also, just because his body's making ketones doesn't mean that all of the areas of the body that need them for energy have managed to fully switch to using them as an energy source. The brain can sometimes take up to 5 days to make the change, so he'd still be feeling headachey and hungry...

A lot of factors will come into this. Assuming that all people losing weight are on 100% (i.e., all are having 600cals/day and nothing else) 1) Basal metabolic rate - the number of calories your body needs to burn just to keep you alive, which based on height/weight/sex/muscle mass. So, a 6'2"...

^^^ This. Plus I cheated and started the diet on the last shift of a set of night shifts, and so it was hard to figure out which were diet-induced symptoms and which were me being tired and cranky and sleep deprived after a set of nights. Just finished day 12 on 100%, and really haven't...

Fantastic effort - you must be feeling really good about yourself right now!

The muscles that control the eyes are of a type the relies mainly on glucose/glycogen for energy; when these muscle start running out of their source of energy they won't work as well and so your vision goes blurry. So the bad news is that yes, it will probably reoccur, because the entire point...

I've just realised that maybe my monitoring all sounds a little obsessive, but I'm doing this very deliberately. I think part of the reason that I always end up putting weight on after every time I've lost it is because I'm not obsessive enough after the initial weight loss. You know, "I've...

I'm monitoring both at the same time. I log the daily weights on my 'Hacker's Diet Online' page - I find the graph with the line showing my weight going down day in, day out to be really motivating. It also gives me an average numbers of: 1) weight that I have definitely lost (rather than...

Right, I can now see the photos, and so I can now say "My word, it's almost like you're a completely different woman." I imagine you're probably feeling like a completely different woman. And you were definitely completely rocking that dress at the wedding. Good luck for the final stretch!

Another two Honks, for today and yesterday. This is starting to feel good!

My mother and father are both obese. Neither of them really have any sense of portion control or healthy eating, and I long ago gave up trying to get them to see what it is they're doing to themselves. I was an overweight teen, and my mother was always pointing out how fat I was when I was...

From the Exante FAQ: When should I take the products? Each meal replacement can be taken at the most convenient time for you, but we would encourage you to time your meals in a way which enables you to develop new healthy eating habits that you can use into the future to manage your weight. You...

I think as long as you're consuming 3 packs within each 24 hour period, it probably doesn't matter too much in terms of when you have the pack. The whole point of being in ketosis is the benefit of not feeling hungry all the time, therefore whenever I have felt hungry I've taken it as a good...

I think I've got the opposite problem to most people on here at the moment; I've got an exam next week that I am failing to do any work for as I keep distracting myself from the books by focusing on the diet. On the plus side, I'm having no problem sticking to the diet. On the downside, I'm...

My OH hates cauliflower. You may just have succeeded in making his life a complete misery. Cheers!

I've really enjoyed the taste of all of them so far, but I think I was expecting to really hate them, so was so surprised to find that I didn't that I have probably overcompensated my assessment out of sheer relief. That said, the chocolate I'd probably say was my least favourite, and for me...

To be fair, it says a lot about my complete lack of sense of fiscal responsibility that one of the reasons that I was happily able to justify Exante to myself was that I realised I'd only be spending in a month what I currently spend a week on food and alcohol. Well, going to need to afford the...

Hah! I forgot about the financial trials of being a student. The most successful diet I've ever been on was just after I'd left Uni. It was called the "Rent or Food" diet. Quite easy to stick to, actually, especially over the winter months.

Goals can be really helpful for some people, but they have to be done right. First off, never set yourself a goal that that you can fail to achieve, and classically these are the ones that involve time limits - y'know, "lose 3 stone by Christmas". Then, when Christmas comes around and you've...

I've not experienced those symptoms at all. For some people it can be normal to feel flushed after eating hot or spicy food stuffs, though if this is the first time it's happened to you I'd be concerned. To be honest, I strongly urge you to check in with your GP about your symptoms, because it...

To be honest, I wouldn't necessarily do anything different with your diet, the preparation needs to be 100% mental. If you did want to start changing food intake to prepare, then I'd recommend doing the Simple Solution (3 packs + 600cals) in order to ease yourself in rather than starting one...

I must admit, all this post has inspired me to do so far is get to 50 posts so that I can see the pictures in order to be inspired to keep on the diet. Must... not... spam... (Am looking forward to seeing your achievements soon, Cybill!)

I think that's your answer right there. If you know that one evening is going to result in you feeling negative about yourself for a significant amount of time after, (and therefore potentially having a negative impact on your attitude toward the diet) then it probably isn't worth it. I...

I didn't meet my fella at my heaviest, but I was overweight and I have put on a stone since we've been going out. He really doesn't seem to have a problem with it - he's honest when he says that if I was a lot heavier (you know, lost waist definition / gained multiple chins) he wouldn't find me...

Completely agree, Katie, and I was meaning to make that point about needing to learn new ways of coping with food in my post but I obviously got distracted by something shiny instead! Bunny hops: If you're at the stage where you feel you can start adding real food™ back into your diet, you...

In all honesty, I think part of the reason that I'm finding this diet as easy as I am so far is because I've unwittingly been preparing myself for it. I started eating less and less carbs about a year ago - no big, conscious decision to do, more of a gradual and subtle change. I just noticed...

Of course, the important thing to focus on is that people /do/ give up smoking and never pick up another packet - and you can do the same with carbs. What you need to do is find something to replace the role of carbs in your life, but of course in order to do that you need to be able to identify...

I think carbs are a bit like cigarettes - even when you're no longer physically addicted to them (as evidenced by lack of hunger and being in ketosis) you're still psychologically addicted to them. And as with quitting smoking, it's the psychological need that's going to drive you to...

You're too nice! All my OH got was "I'm not eating any more. Deal with it." Admittedly it's slightly easier for us since we're not yet living together, but considering we're both a) foodies b) who like their beer it is going to be making our social life a bit odd for a while until he gets used...

... Cauli rice? ...Courgette spaghetti? *salivate* Seriously, why has no one told me about any of these amazing things before now? I love cauliflower and courgettes. I also clearly have issues.

My family are also the type to celebrate anything of any significance with a large amount of food; and since parts of my family are from the Far East, that food isn't just carb-loaded, it's greasy as all hell. My birthday and Christmas are coming up, and I expect to still be on TS for both of...

Lisa, if it helps to makes you feel anymore positive, I can assure you that I've had absolutely no problems with craving or food withdrawal since starting five days ago, so it's not set in stone that starting the diet will be a battle... ... though in the interests of honesty I should admit...

I would say something along the lines of "what's the worst that could happen", but actually, now that I really think about it, that's really not helpful! Given the choice between Godzilla rising out of the North Sea and destroying everything I know and love OR weighing myself in front of people...

In addition to Scanbran's points (and extremely good advice in how to cope with the situation), what I'd say is that once you start breaking a rule you've set yourself, you'll keep on breaking it, and for each subsequent time it'll be for something less important. Child's birthday: Extremely...

It really is so encouraging to see that people who've been on the diet more than a month are getting such great results! Makes me feel a lot more positive about managing it myself...

I don't know if maybe it's because I haven't eaten anything for four days now, but that pizza sounds delish! I've always had quite a strange set of taste buds though so it's probably just me. Either way, am going to nab that recipe for later on when I'm actually allowed to start putting real...

Good luck! Though at the risk of sounding a little negative... if you're going to start taking two TFRs and a meal, you may not be achieving the required nutrition that you need (that's the whole point of TFR, after all). Why not start today with 3 packs plus one healthy meal, so that you start...

I think the monthly AAM in Exante is them covering themselves because they don't have counsellors as a part of their service who can spot a problem developing (malnutrition-wise) before it becomes a real problem. By recommending that every 4 weeks you eat a balanced meal for a week before going...

a) Why bother asking a question if you think you already know the answer? b) Are you a Type 2 Diabetic? Because if that paper is actually correct (and this is the thing, it's a hypothesised report, NOT a study) then that would be the only situation in which that paper is relevant. c) One paper...

Caffeine is not a sugar and so cannot cause your blood sugar to go up. It could be that the energy drinks you're drinking have a high sodium content, which causes your body to hang onto extra water to compensate. So while you may have lost weight as fat, the scales are telling you the same...

Try shopping in different places - I've got a classic hourglass figure and so never bother shopping in places like H&M or TopShop for jeans because they seem to make them for the 'straight up and down' brigade. But the same mark, some of my friends find the jeans sold by places that I do shop...

Four HONKs. Feeling rather pleased with self, and long may it continue...

I've got to be honest with you, I'm enjoying it so much I may well put myself out of ketosis just so that I can put myself back in ketosis. Ketones. Worse than crack, I'm tellin' ya.

Excellent! There's nothing quite like deciding to do something to make you feel better about the world and yourself. By starting to take control of your life, you'll find yourself... taking.... control.. ... ... of your life. Okay, so that sounded better in my head than it does on paper. Do...

Hehe! If these noodles are anything like what I hope they'll be the problem may be finding a way to stop me sharing the recipes with you! What I'll be thinking: "If it hadn't been for these guys I'd have never of found these most wonderful creations; the least I can do is share with the the...

OH EM GEE, I can't believe I've never heard of these before! I'm a complete noodle addict, have been since I was a kid. There's a small possibility that these things may be the best thing that will ever happen to me! Now have to exert a bit of self-control and not order 500, just in case I...

Definitely exercise - the more lean muscle you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate needs to be to keep your body going, and that's in addition to the extra calories you use up from gaining the lean muscle in the first place. Win-win!

In turn, thank you for the realisation that when I say "nice jeans" they don't actually have to cost the earth in order to do the job. I was going to buy something from Oasis or Fatface because they tend to fit my body shape and so in theory their smaller sizes should probably fit the the...

Of course you can, you've just got to stop fearing failure and make a promise to yourself to make the change. Set a start date enough in the future that you've got time to "say goodbye" to all your current bad habits, but not so far away that you can kid yourself by extending it indefinitely...

This is going to sound perverse but I noticed a difference from day 2 in that my belt was loose wearing the same pair of jeans and on the same notch in comparison to the previous day. This difference was 100% due to water loss (was probably a camel in a previous life), but it was a nice bit of...

Oh, and as for where you can get it, the stock aisle of any large supermarket in my experience. There are quite a few varieties as well (reduced salt/vegan/organic/etc...)

I'm a salt-craver rather than a sweet-craver, and have been drinking the Marigold Boullion for years for that exact reason. It's also a fantastic stock and I've always added it to soups/sauces to make them a little more interesting. Yet to do that to any of the Exante soups, but it's nice to...

Also new to the VLCD thing and day 4 for me - so nice to see there's someone else out there who seems to be excited about it as I am! I've now tried all the shakes, bars, and all but one of the soups, and have yet to come across anything that's offended me to the extent that I can't eat it - in...

Daily weigher, because I'm a mathematically minded person and regard weight as being a variable rather than a static concept. So, by weighing daily I can get a picture of my average trend rather than focusing on what the number today is - even if it's up on yesterday, as an average I'm still...

A general rule of thumb to remember is that if the body is having to go through any kind of stress (be it just TOTM or a nasty cold) it will retain water as part of its physiological response to what it needs to deal with. Remember: water is heavy, and if your body is holding onto water then...

I'm in a line of work that means I constantly am receiving feedback (both solicited and unsolicited) from colleagues and members of the public about... well, pretty much everything including (despite the fact it has nothing to do with my ability to my job) my appearance. This is the kind of...

The important thing is not so much where you measure, but that you measure the same bit each time. Whatever you think of as your waist, measure it, note the level and when you measure again after a few weeks, make sure that you measure at the same level. Then you get an accurate picture of how...

Hehe! I'm one of life's problem solvers who also has a sincere belief in doing to others as I'd have done to myself. Problem 1: I need to stick to a diet. Problem 2: Need to help him to stay off the fags. Two-in-One Solution: Mutual guilt trip!

Don't be nervous, be excited! You've decided to make a change and are now going through the steps you need to go through to get there. This place seems to be an amazing source of support (have only been looking at it for the past couple of days since starting Exante) however I would recommend...