Yambabe
Bad Girl
I've decided it's time to do it properly.
I've been eating at weekends for the last 6 weeks or so and that's been going OK, but having given it some thought I don't think I've still got the mindset to do TS properly any more so I've been pondering on where to go next.
I've done a fair bit of research and reading on the refeed procedures for all the VLCDs and I'm going to steal the Cambridge option for now I think, using their 810 plan as a basis for slowly adding food back in on a regular basis. I also want to start really boosting up my activity levels and having the extra calories should allow me to do this with no risk to my health.
Current plan is to keep a food diary (I use a free tracker website called Sparkpeople and will also be making notes in my blog to start with) and have approx 800 cals per day as a mixture of packs and foods for the next couple of months, then move up to 1000 cals when I get to BMI 25, 1200 cals for a little while after that and then around 1400 cals which should in theory be my maintenance level.
I have my Exante shakes, soups and bars and I also have some packs that I've ordered from the Avidlite site, I've got low-carb muesli and porridge (at approx 120 cals each), shepherds pie meal (200 cals) and some bars (185 cals). I also have some Slimfast meal bars (210 cals).
Each day's menu will depend on how I feel. I may just have 4 packs some days, I may have 3 packs and a couple of snacks, I may have 2 packs and a proper meal or I may only have one pack with a couple of small meals and snacks.
I'll be using the WS allowed food lists as a guide most days, with the addition of a few extra veg (mushrooms, carrots, onions, peppers and tomatoes) and occasionally some cheese. I'm intending staying fairly low-carb but not necessarily in ketosis as I also intend to have an occasional glass of wine or baileys!
I should still lose around 1lb or so a week so not as quick as I've been so far but if I stall or get frustrated I will still have the option of going back to TS for a couple of weeks to give myself a bit of a boost.
Although my weight goal remains the same at the moment I may change it as I get a bit closer to it, as my actual goal is to reduce my body fat to 25% rather than to depend on a figure on the scales that I have basically plucked out of the air on a whim when I started on Exante. Currently my body fat is around 35% - that's down from a scary 59% when I started!
I'll still be around to offer advice, encouragement or occasionally insults to you lot though!
Wish me luck, I'll let you know how I get on.
I've been eating at weekends for the last 6 weeks or so and that's been going OK, but having given it some thought I don't think I've still got the mindset to do TS properly any more so I've been pondering on where to go next.
I've done a fair bit of research and reading on the refeed procedures for all the VLCDs and I'm going to steal the Cambridge option for now I think, using their 810 plan as a basis for slowly adding food back in on a regular basis. I also want to start really boosting up my activity levels and having the extra calories should allow me to do this with no risk to my health.
Current plan is to keep a food diary (I use a free tracker website called Sparkpeople and will also be making notes in my blog to start with) and have approx 800 cals per day as a mixture of packs and foods for the next couple of months, then move up to 1000 cals when I get to BMI 25, 1200 cals for a little while after that and then around 1400 cals which should in theory be my maintenance level.
I have my Exante shakes, soups and bars and I also have some packs that I've ordered from the Avidlite site, I've got low-carb muesli and porridge (at approx 120 cals each), shepherds pie meal (200 cals) and some bars (185 cals). I also have some Slimfast meal bars (210 cals).
Each day's menu will depend on how I feel. I may just have 4 packs some days, I may have 3 packs and a couple of snacks, I may have 2 packs and a proper meal or I may only have one pack with a couple of small meals and snacks.
I'll be using the WS allowed food lists as a guide most days, with the addition of a few extra veg (mushrooms, carrots, onions, peppers and tomatoes) and occasionally some cheese. I'm intending staying fairly low-carb but not necessarily in ketosis as I also intend to have an occasional glass of wine or baileys!
I should still lose around 1lb or so a week so not as quick as I've been so far but if I stall or get frustrated I will still have the option of going back to TS for a couple of weeks to give myself a bit of a boost.
Although my weight goal remains the same at the moment I may change it as I get a bit closer to it, as my actual goal is to reduce my body fat to 25% rather than to depend on a figure on the scales that I have basically plucked out of the air on a whim when I started on Exante. Currently my body fat is around 35% - that's down from a scary 59% when I started!
I'll still be around to offer advice, encouragement or occasionally insults to you lot though!
Wish me luck, I'll let you know how I get on.