I've tried both, and I still do a bit of both to be honest, but as time goes on I'm veering towards S&S rather than Exante as I love the variety.
I can't really help you on the shakes, as I don't like shakes in 'real life'. The only skakes I have are the chocolate ones as a hot chocolate, and I think the S&S has the edge over Exante on taste.
The S&S 'meals' are really what sells their diet to me, I love the chilli con carne, the mushroom pasta, the macaroni cheese, and the spaghetti bolognese, and I have them all with some of the allowed vegetables.
Exante works on the basis of 3 products per day, where as S&S is 4 a day, or 3 plus a protein meal, and there's a vegetable allowance which is optional. I find that having the variety, and the option to add in a protein really works for me, and I know that many people find it a far more flexible VLCD than Exante.
Both diets are roughly the same calories, and you will be in ketosis with either one.
Hope this helps!
x
Hi I have in the past done exante and im just so sic of the pack so fancy a change and wondered if anyone has tried both and what the main difference was? are the carb low enough to put you in to ketosis?? are they really sweet??
My biggest regret is not finding S&S sooner and being very miserable on a mere 3 shakes a day for a 10 week stretch when there are easier options out there!
Hi, just to put the other side to this I've been doing Exante mostly but bought a few s&s meals to add variety. I found that once I introduced the meal packs and veg whilst yes it did add variety and alleviate the boredom, it did mean I started to eat more off plan. First just extra chicken and veg/salad but then this led to other bits and pieces and my losses slowed - as you'd expect. I'm now going back on 100% Exante to boost my losses.
Whilst I know that for many the variety of s&s and the option of mealpacks means they are less likely to cheat, for me it seemed to mean that I was more likely to cheat once some food was allowed.
I also much prefer the Exante shakes and the Exante bars - they are both much more filling than s&s. The bars in particular are much bigger but then they are more calories (only 3 Exante packs v 4 s&s). Lastly I think Exante works out cheaper because you do only need to have 3 a day, although there is less flexibility in how you can order the products.
I hope your diet works for you whatever you decide. Just wanted to put the other side!
Don't have regrets as it will have helped you. I did LT for 16 weeks (years ago) and survived on just choc shakes until I couldn't handle it anymore and I moved to calorie counting (S&S wasn't around then). I did manage to shift 5 stone though in that time so I had no regrets even if it was difficult sometimes. This time round I found S&S an absolute breeze compared to LT and I'm sure that being on LT has helped hugely with that. When people post that following S&S is difficult I find myself thinking "you sure - try LT!".
LOL! Maximum respect to you Bordersgirl, 16 weeks on choc shake alone and LT at that!! Totally agree im finding S&S a breeze too compared to other VLCD ive tried over the years. x
I think I could stay on this diet forever to be honest but I might get a bit thin (well I can dream ).
and said:Yep - I've never managed more than 5 weeks on LT... I also dislike all the flavours except the chocolate but I always used to get 1-2 straw, vanilla or soup per week just to have a change lol.
Soup crisps were a godsend this time