12 wks break?

[Linda5111]

I've just read the imformation sheet and noticed it states after 12wks ur supposed to take a 2wk break...whats that about? If I was 2 do that I don't think I could go back 2 the packs. Has anyone done this?and if so what sort of food did u eat in the 2wks? i'm a little confussed.

 

[Maka]

Hi Linda, I add a meal every 4th week. I eat about 100g of grilled chicken/fish/steak and 200g vegetables. It has helped to boost my metabolism and I find it easy to go back down to my packs at the end of the week.

I think that's what the break at 12 weeks is about.

I don't think you're supposed to go on a free-for-all binge, but more like upping your calories and re-introducing food (as part of the education into eating in the real world). There are other options for the break that you could look into e.g Cambridge.

Also, Rob has some suggestions on what to do then, so it's worth sending him an email.

 

[BordersGirl]

I've had a break after 12 weeks or sooner. I had a break after 6 weeks for a planned holiday and then a break for Xmas / New Year after another 12 weeks. I plan to take a break at Easter next. I think people vary in their thoughts re the breaks. I tend to use them for a special occasion and I have no problem getting straight back on track afterwards. Other people are more cautious and don't want to take a break in case they can't get back on it. Cambridge make you do a 810 week I think after 12 weeks and LL makes you do a milk week and add milk to the packs. It's just about increasing the calories to a more normal level to wake up your metabolism a bit and ensure that you don't go into starvation mode I think. There is a sticky at the top called add a meal that suggests meals to add during the 'break', although it doesn't have to be a break, it can just be a temporary step up.

 

[Linda5111]

Thanx 4 the info girls I get it now...so I think i'll add a meal every 4wks like I did when I was on cd, something 2 look forward 2 lol.

 

[Laurie]

I've had a break after 12 weeks or sooner. I had a break after 6 weeks for a planned holiday and then a break for Xmas / New Year after another 12 weeks. I plan to take a break at Easter next. I think people vary in their thoughts re the breaks. I tend to use them for a special occasion and I have no problem getting straight back on track afterwards. Other people are more cautious and don't want to take a break in case they can't get back on it. Cambridge make you do a 810 week I think after 12 weeks and LL makes you do a milk week and add milk to the packs. It's just about increasing the calories to a more normal level to wake up your metabolism a bit and ensure that you don't go into starvation mode I think. There is a sticky at the top called add a meal that suggests meals to add during the 'break', although it doesn't have to be a break, it can just be a temporary step up.

How did you manage at Christmas and new year? I plan to come off for a day or two near my birthday. I have a couple of meals planned out already. When you say off plan are you off as in eat what you want or are you extremely careful with what goes in your mouth. I suppose it's not too bad when you're strict and go straight back on it,

 

[BordersGirl]

How did you manage at Christmas and new year? I plan to come off for a day or two near my birthday. I have a couple of meals planned out already. When you say off plan are you off as in eat what you want or are you extremely careful with what goes in your mouth. I suppose it's not too bad when you're strict and go straight back on it,

Ha, I meant off plan as in eat what I wanted . I did go a bit mad over Xmas knowing that I was going back on this in the New Year so I wanted to taste everything I'd not had since starting the diet . I did lose all of my weight gain in 9 days after restarting though so not too bad and I'm more than half a stone below my pre Xmas best now. I find having a proper break planned actually motivates me, and I don't have trouble getting back on it. I would be more cautious if I thought that I would have trouble getting back on plan.

If you want to drink for your birthday then you'll need to introduce carbs before you start drinking, so at breakfast. Hence you may as well have your 2 day planned break, including carbs and just plan to get straight back on the diet on the Monday. That's what I would do but we're all different I know .

I'm also going to factor in special treats into my maintenance plan, so I will have them but I will need to compensate for them somehow just before or just afterwards.

 

[gunpowd3r]

I read that on the info sheet also that came with my bits i was going to ask as well what everyone found was the best way to have the break.
Got my partners birthday in about 8 weeks so not sure what we will do for that i don't fancy coming off plan so soon.

Could you have like 2 packs and a proper evening meal sort of thing? A bit like slimfast as i know you prob wouldn't be in ketosis if you had anything carby but you still at least be sticking 50% to plan so not straying too much and getting a taste for naughty foods lol and also you would be monitoring more what you had for your evening meal....

Or should the break be just that and completely go off plan for a metabolism boost?

 

[bluechick]

I was going to ask them same.

Also Im on the 3 packs and the sheet said I should add 100g of white fish or chicken a day. Emailed Rob and he said you should really for the correct protein amount if you are not having 4 packs.

Is anyone else adding the meat/fish if on 3 packs or just the veg as ive been doing.

 

[BordersGirl]

I sometimes have the protein and veg but mostly just the 3 packs and veg. I'm having the chicken tonight tho to add to the veg curry I made . I imagine S&S don't want you to do something that could make you ill but I would imagine that the protein content in 3 packs isn't a lot different to 3 packs of CD or Exante. I've never done either tho so don't know that for sure. I'm sure someone who has done those can comment better than me

 

[Linda5111]

I remember reading about this somewhere and its recommended to have no less than 42g of protein per day. some combinations of s&s fall just short of this but not by much.

 

[Cherry-Blossom]

For my break I plan on having a week off over easter when I'm back home with the family. Will allow myself some naughties but will certainly be keeping my portion sizes etc. in check.

As for protein I usually have some meat free burgers at least once a week.

 

[BordersGirl]

That's what I intend to do over Easter too Cherry.

Someone gave me a pack of diabetic mints this week (contain polyols) and I had them over the last few days. The carbs look horrendous but apparently polyols have no affect on ketosis so I thought they'd be ok for a treat. Well that's the only thing that's different and my losses this week have been abysmal so far (0.4lbs in 4 days). So no more mints for me. Of course it might just be total coincidence but I'm definitely not risking them again. Just thought I'd mention it as I know you have some of those low sugar sweets.

 

[Cherry-Blossom]

My losses have been fine as mine are no carb sweets from LCMS. And since I ran out I've been having a reeeeeeally hard time of it.

 

[weasey]

The 12 week break is to comply with NICE guidelines which say that you should follow a VLCD for a maximum of 12 weeks. That is because the longest study which they have considered lasted for 12 weeks.

Also, you really ought to have your protein every day. Three packs of SnS is not the same as three packs of Cambridge. Cambridge's packs have something like 200 calories in them and are guaranteed to have a third of the protein/vitamins etc. SnS packs have around 135 calories and are guaranteed to have a quarter of the protein/vitamins you need, which is why the full female VLCD is 4 packs a day. You can do 3 packs but you must have the extra protein and a multivitamin. If you don't get enough protein then your body may use your lean tissue (ie muscles) to generate some of your ketones. This is obviously not the result you want. Remember that your heart is a muscle.

You should have around 50 g of protein a day as a minimum.

 

[BordersGirl]

I think CD packs only have around 136 calories actually so 3 are on a par with 3 x S&S. I'm not sure about the protein content. Think I have some CD soups somewhere so I'll have a look. LT is around 480 calories a day (or it was when I did it). I think it's only Exante that's around the 600 mark (calories wise).

 

[BordersGirl]

Another question. Why would your body decide to burn muscles (heart) if you have a ton of fat to use? I thought it only used muscles when your fat stores were gone?

 

[Cherry-Blossom]

It would be less to do with burning muscle and more to do with if you didn't have enough proteins you wouldn't be able to repair muscle as efficiently therefore leading to muscle wastage. Then again that goes for every cell to some extent as they all need the amino acids from protein for DNA synthesis.

 

[Starlight]

I think CD packs only have around 136 calories actually so 3 are on a par with 3 x S&S. I'm not sure about the protein content. Think I have some CD soups somewhere so I'll have a look. LT is around 480 calories a day (or it was when I did it). I think it's only Exante that's around the 600 mark (calories wise).

3 S&S packs are on a par calorie wise with CD but not with nutrients etc. 3 CD packs are nutritionally complete

 

[Linda5111]

Googled how much protein per day and it goes by how much u weigh & how active u r...so I need tons lol.

 

[weasey]

Sorry - slightly wrong. Didn't mean to say that muscle is used to produce ketones but rather to produce glucose. There is a certain amount of glucose which is needed by your body every day and if you don't eat enough protein when on a VLCD then your body will use your muscles to produce the glucose.

From Ketosis and Muscle Loss | FitnessLowDown.com

During starvation the body goes into ketosis and begins to use fat for energy while burning up muscle to create enough glucose to provide the energy the brain needs. This process changes over time but to sum it up, during starvation your muscle becomes a source of glucose. This IS muscle loss.

However, it also says

What this means is that if you are consuming the adequate amount of protein on a ketogenic diet you do not experience muscle loss. If you are consuming enough protein in your daily diet the body will use that, instead of muscle, to create the necessary glycogen your body needs.

So how much protein is enough? From Ketogenic Diet Summary

Ketodiets also naturally spare lean muscle mass, far more than normal diets, when adequate protein is consumed (50-150g/day minimum, 1g/lb bodyweight recommended).

I'm not trying to upset anyone with this - I believe that VLCDs are very safe - or I wouldn't be on one! However, it is important that you get enough protein every day.