Curious about the foodpacks

Starlight

Starlight

Gold Member
Just something Ive been wondering about.... probably one of, if not THE biggest selling point for S&S seems to be the meal packs.

So, with that in mind, I wondered first how much like real food do they actually taste like?

More importantly does anyone find they actually hinder them. For me, part of the appeal of a VLCD is its very all or nothing. Its shakes/porridge/bars and thats it, no food, no meals no nothing. I cant help think that if I was having 'food' Id end up wanting more and then the slippery slope would start again.

Has anyone found that or avoided the food packs for that reason or are they so unlike conventional food they dont count or does 'eating' keep you on track

Just curious :)
 
I love the food packs it means I can add some broccoli and mushrooms and eat with my family x a huge bonus for me x


Taste well I like them all ...... The chilli looks smells and tastes like a chilli and to me is the best it's yummy x

The cottage pie is a little herby but very nice and the sort of consistency of mash pots,

The spaghetti Bol tastes nice but I like to add extra garlic and herbs x

Personally I think they are a huge bonus to the plan x
 
It actually helps me, it feels as though I'm actually eating, but watching portion sizes. The chicken/fish/veg in limited amounts help me deal with eating out as well (if I feel I have to). I've had far less cravings with this than CD and overall I'm very relaxed about the whole journey.

It gives me hope that I can deal with real food in the future, rather than food becoming a novelty in the future which has to be dealt with.

I think the tastes are good (for what they are) and I find the cottage pie fantastic for work, it's so easy.
 
I think they are great. I love all of them, and would buy them even if not on this diet. I wouldn't be doing a VLCD if there was no food option, my problem with food is portion control and choices- I'll choose a packet of biscuits for tea instead of a meal! The meals fill you up, you can chew them, there are plenty of people doing this diet with family to feed or eat with, so sitting down to a meal with your family and not exclude yourself.

The portion itself is perfect. I eat it, I sit a few mins then get on with my day knowing I've eaten enough. I don't think I've ever had a meal, before this diet, that didn't end in a pudding. Which could be a low-fat yoghurt up to an entire cake! I am teaching myself that I am full after a meal- if there is no possibility of food I just get on with my day, and now I know this is possible! I don't need to keep eating and eating, I won't suffer because I don't shove crap down my throat.

They are all similar, being made with soya, so still feel like part of the program not too cheaty. It's so good to have a choice, I know right now two weeks in if I didn't have a few choices I wouldn't have lasted this long. And that would have sent me to the supermarket, coming home laden with fatty crap and stuffing myself!

Believe it or not, they also are helping my cooking skills! Well, not cooking as much but food preperation and presentation. My idea of presenting a dish has always been either open packet then eat, or zap in microwave then eat, or cook then throw into biggest bowl available then eat. I find I'm getting out my nice plates and cutlery, even the shakes are looking good as I bought new glasses and straws! And I'm learning more about tastes, when you are limited to so few meals you try to make them different. Since I started I've bought a garlic grinder for the chicken soup, nutmeg and cinnamon for the oatmeal cookies I make and just tonight I bought garam masala to sprinkle on the soup!
 
Oh and they are also helping me with actual meals- I don't know how to phrase it, I just mean like having sweet for breakfast, savoury for tea etc. I'm currently able to have a shake for breakfast, a soup or meal for lunch, a bar mid-afternoon then another soup or meal for tea. Since I was 14 and first fending for myself food-wise I just eat whatever I want, so an entire meal could be a pack of french fancies and a bowl of icecream! I want and need to get into the habit of deciding what a meal is and getting all the vitamins etc that I need!

That probably makes no sense, difficult to phrase!
 
I find they make the diet easier to stick to (for me). I feel like I have had a meal having had a mealpack in a way that a soup or shake doesn't. I don't find they make me more likely to cheat, in fact less so I think. Having the veggies mixed in or on the side makes this plan work for me.

Ever had Beanfeast spag bol mix, the dried packet version of soya spag bol? That's what the spag bol and the chilli remind me of. It's fine. Hardly cordon bleu but perfectly acceptable when you're on such a restricted diet :). The spicy chilli like taste is what makes it I think, as I'm not keen on the cottage pie as it's very bland, and I don't like the texture really. Think packet mash potato swirled into the meat part of a shepherd pie. Some people like it tho!

I know there are some people on here who purposely don't have the bars or the mealpacks to have a break from food completely but I know that introducing food or careful refeeding is not my problem (having done it before). It was going off track a couple of years into maintenance and not reining back before things went awol that was my problem before.
 
I only really like the cottage pie and even then not That much. It's nice with broccoli though! Don't like chilli or spagbol. My staple is the crispy choc shake but not using all the milk suggested. X
 
Starlight said:
More importantly does anyone find they actually hinder them. For me, part of the appeal of a VLCD is its very all or nothing. Its shakes/porridge/bars and thats it, no food, no meals no nothing. I cant help think that if I was having 'food' Id end up wanting more and then the slippery slope would start again.

Has anyone found that or avoided the food packs for that reason :)
Click to expand...

Yes, that's me! Right now, I can't afford to let my guard down. I know I have triggers and having tried bars, bouillon and found they are definite triggers for me, I limit myself to a bar a day when at work, never at home and no meal-packs. The more I hear how yummy they are, the more I'm determined to avoid them. I think we all know or suspect what might act as a trigger, and I'm just trigger happy right now, so avoiding for those very reasons....I do dream about them tho, esp after Tara's photo...sad!
 
I have to jump in here too because I had free samples sent a couple of months back and truth be told even though I'm on exante (again lol!) I loved them! I had the same weekly loss as with exante and the chilli is lovely for the week I did it I used to mix the food pack with the chicken and veg allowance and it did me fine! The caramel shake mixed with coffee is to die for starlight! That I can promise you! But for me exante is the way forward at the min when I'm further along I will have the odd slim n save product as a way to refeed and re-teach me portion control xx
 
At first, I needed the discipline of just packs. But I know that I will go back into the real world at some point and the food packs are helping me to actually listen to my body' signals. I'm also surprised to find that I'm full on 100g of chicken rather than scoffing the whole bird!
 
Yes it's really surprising I found this also x same with the bars! They look so small but this is the beauty of ketosis!!

I'm also surprised that I have found do much will power to do this!!
 
shellreed2011 said:
I have to jump in here too because I had free samples sent a couple of months back and truth be told even though I'm on exante (again lol!) I loved them! I had the same weekly loss as with exante and the chilli is lovely for the week I did it I used to mix the food pack with the chicken and veg allowance and it did me fine! The caramel shake mixed with coffee is to die for starlight! That I can promise you! But for me exante is the way forward at the min when I'm further along I will have the odd slim n save product as a way to refeed and re-teach me portion control xx
Click to expand...

Oh I'm nt thinking of changing diets Shell not at all I was just curious on people's thoughts. I don't think having meals would work for me :)
 
I'm only gonna use them when it's time to refeed! I love the chilli and caramel lol xx
 
Starlight my lovely, I wonder if you would benefit from doing CD? I know you don't like paying more than you have to for this, but it's the extra support? X

Sent from my Nexus One using MiniMins
 
Divster said:
Starlight my lovely, I wonder if you would benefit from doing CD? I know you don't like paying more than you have to for this, but it's the extra support? X

Sent from my Nexus One using MiniMins
Click to expand...

Extra support? What makes you say that Div? Why do you think I need extra support :confused:

Not sure I see the point in paying someone to weigh me when mum does it for free lol
 
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I think sandy was just being curious I don't think she needs extra support I think she needs a round of applause for supporting everyone else while she's doing the diet too lol
 
Because we all need extra support at times dont we? Someone we can go to each week face to face, that knows what its like being on a vlcd, just thinking about long term for you thats all. I know exante is great, but I know when I struggle I need more than a friend or family member, an outsider can help in other ways xx
 
Awww thanks Charley. I have to be honest I cant stand the whole weigh in palavar that classes/councellors do. I really like the Exante packs so would be awful hesitant to change. If its not broken dont fix it ;)

My mums a force to be reckoned with at those scales lol and I have Minimins for people who understand and I have some nice shiny new text buddies too :)

Besides you should see how much Exante stuff I have lol My pal came over last night and gave me 42 vanilla shakes, 10 bars and 18 soup to add to my collection lol

Im completely focused on my diet, the scales are going down, Im addicted to the porridge ;) Its all good :)
 
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