Can I come staright off SS on to normal diet?

[hypno1]

Hi,

I know it is recommended that you work your way through the different stages but what would happen if I stopped SS (after the weight loss I want) and then went on to a normal healthy diet and gradually worked my own way back up to 2000cals a day?

I don't have a bad relationship with food as such or a compulsion to eat. My weight gain is mostly due to stopping smoking and then having 2 babies in 2yrs with 2 c/sections so the weight has gradually went on as i've been inactive through the operations. Don't get me wrong, what I was eating wasn't the best either but I think alot of my weight gain was down to alcohol too which I am now off altogether and have been since before starting cd.

I want to go back to eating healthily and drinking in moderation when I do loose the weight but I would prefer to do it my own way and come off cd altogether. By gradually adding more calories.

Is that ok or would I just pile it all back on if I didn't work through the steps?

 

[YumyMumy]

well i know your not supposed to but the first time i SS'd for 6 weeks I switched straight to healthy eating and managed to keep it off, you would have to be really careful with food choices as glycogen will hit you fast xx

 

[ZoBo]

The sucess rate of cd is much higher if you do the steps.... If you are going to invest so much time & money into it, then it stands to reason that it would be better to finish it off properly.

The diet is designed to reintroduce your body to food in a way where it won't make you hold all the glycogen. If you go onto a different diet you may well end up putting up to half a stone on (depending on how much water you retain).

Plus you only have to stay on each step for 2 weeks, so it's not that much longer. You'll be so glad to be eating that it's like a novelty.

Good luck with cd. xx

 

[crazylilblondie]

I personally reckon you should work your way through the steps - they are there for a reason. Even if you are eating what you consider to be healthy and low calorie, your body will cling on for dear life to whatever you eat. Where as it finds it ALOT harder to cling on to chicken breasts and spinach

 

[DappyMare]

I think it's best to go through the steps, then start your diet of eating healthy, it's only an extra few weeks of having cambridge products. Only saying this as saw a woman who works near me do lighterlife lost loads then she didn't do maintenance and slowly put weight back on....i know i'll be doing all stages to make sure i maintain

 

[KD]

Like the others, I too recommend going up the steps. Even if you don't feel you need the psychological aspect of it, the physiological side makes it well worth it.

Firstly, there's the glycogen that will need replacing, and whilst staying on low calorie, it'll mean no weight gain in the process.

But more importantly, your metabolism will be running rather slow on a VLCD, and the plans give it a chance to get it back to normal.

Also, regardless of whether you feel you don't have any food issues or not, because leptin levels go down during a VLCD, once food is 'free' again, it can be pretty hard to get some control over it.

And lastly, you wont be used to eating very much at all, and if you do control it you may not really be getting enough good stuff in without the shakes. A gradual rise, using the shakes in the early stages, helps your body get used to larger quantities nice and gradually

 

[tillyfloss]

KD what a fab post, I put all my weight back on last time even though i didnt over eat as such from the off, your post sort of explains why it happened and I for one will def be doing the steps up... can i just ask though (sorry if hijacking post slightly) what sort of stage do you stop SS to go up the steps, and how does weight loss usually progress? Or do you ss all the way to end then do the steps just to maintain?
x

 

[curlywurly1234]

Hi,
i havent been at that stage yet as only on week 9 of ss but I personally am going to work my way through the stages.. i have heard of people leave and go on to ww or sw and then come back to finish off as it is a lot slower.. At the end of the day you need to do what is best for you.. but I personally would work my weigh through X

 

[KD]

what sort of stage do you stop SS to go up the steps, and how does weight loss usually progress? Or do you ss all the way to end then do the steps just to maintain?
x

By the time you get to BMI25, you need to be on 810. You can continue to goal on 810, though some people prefer to start working up the steps before then.

How much you lose going up those steps really depends. Some continue to lose whilst going up, some don't. As some find the step bit a real challenge (and a worthy one ), there can be some slips along the way. They are often close to goal, and the head plays tricks , so occasionally the losses aren't wonderful. You shouldn't gain though...well...assuming you didn't slip off the wagon and lay down flat in the road for the rest of the week

I think it's something that you need to play by ear when you get there, but the 810 (or above) at BMI25 is a must.