From vlcd's to cc - comparisons

[Pingu6]

Hiya

Just wondering how many people have switched from vlcd to cc, and what problems if any they faced. My biggest issue is slower losses and my obsession with weighing daily. I guess it makes more sense to weigh in weekly or it would drive you mad as you can't expect huge losses as with a vlcd.
I like the fact cc allows youu to be flexible and feel less deprived, very important for someone with a borderline eating disorder

Wanted to know how you adapted and what are the good and bad points of making this switch.

Thanks

 

[Fattack]

Hi Crystal

There are indeed a few of us on here who have come from VLCDs and I look forward to reading everybody else's responses!

Personally, I lost the majority of my weight this time around on Cambridge - when I say this time around, I mean from when I was my biggest! I started out at around 210lbs, lost about a stone - two stone through weightwatchers and healthy eating over about a year. Then I went on Cambridge - on and off- for about a year. I kept losing, and then regaining, although admittedly, I did not do the plan properly and my Counsellor was not supportive - she was fine when I lost weight, but kept telling me that Cambridge was the ONLY way I would ever lose weight, that I'd always have a weight problem, and heaven help me when I had a tough week! Moreover, I'm in a long distance relationship and when I saw my boyfriend, I would go off Cambridge and eat like a little piggy and gain most of the weight back! Although I lost 3 stone in total over that Cambridge year / 18months, I did gain 1.5stone of it back - all of which I have lost through Calorie Counting since the beginning of the year.

Cambridge did teach me to appreciate food - I would have killed for even a salad on Sole Source! It also taught me a lot about myself and my determination. I can honestly say that my first stint on Sole Source I did not cheat ONCE. Not for those 10 weeks. I even went away to see a friend and took my shakes and blender with me! As I was a bit of a recluse, it suited me fine in so far I didn't have to think about what I was eating and it was, in a way, easy to follow. I had more free time because I didn't have to exercise or cook (the two things that I love the most these days!).

Obviously I'd rather have faster than slower losses, but not at the expense of my health. My body fat percentage was high when I switched to calorie counting, and on a VLCD diet you do lose muscle and wreck your metabolism a bit. I'm losing slower, but I'm currently the same weight I was when I was at my lowest Cambridge weight - and I'm a size smaller because I have much more muscle and less fat.

All in all, I'm glad I did Cambridge to shift me from morbidly obese to simply overweight, but I'm even happier that I'm now eating healthily and exercising - it's harder, requires more planning, and has slower losses, but as Vince Lombardi (an NFL coach) said - the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

 

[Pingu6]

:thankyou: for sharing your experience, I really admire your weight loss and changes you made, it's inspirational to me, I've been under the illusion the only way I can lose weight is by a vlcd but it's not good when I feel unwell with three kids under 5, need energy and muscle

 

[Big H]

Here's athread I posted a couple of days ago.

http://www.minimins.com/cambridge-d...cd-normal-eating-without-moving-up-steps.html

 

[goodthingsinsmallpackages]

I lost 4 stone on Lighterlife and I will always be thankful for that and I havenothing bad to say about the diet. I then lost another 2 stone calorie counting. I am now at goal.

I still go to lighterlife maintenance meetings every wednesday as I only like to get weighed on those same scales and I get on really well with my LLC and the other ladies.

The VLCD got the bulk of the weight off very quickly and I stuck to it 100% for 4 months, it wasn't as difficult as I thought but the CC was easier.

I didn't expect to CC or lose more weight after LL. I was happy after a 4 stone loss so started 'route to management' which is their refeed programme and I was so scared of gaining the weight back that I calorie counted evrything I was eating even though I knew I would be fine if I stuck to it properly.

I realised how easy CC was and how the weight was dropping off me still and I realised although I was very happy with the 4 stone loss, I was even happier with more.

Like fattack I realised that I was much stronger around food than I thought which has made it easy for me to not overeat since I have hit goal.

I will always be grateful to LL but if I was to gain weight back then I think I would stick with CC to get it off. I know I wont let myself gain more than 5lbs before getting it off (unless there are exceptional circumstances)

 

[PinkDaisy]

I have tried every diet on minimins lol pretty much but the only one i have stuck to is calorie counting, it is literally back to basics, i couldnt stick to cambridge i literally have no will power lol but so far CC is working wonders for me i lost 3.5 lbs week one and week two x

 

[Fattack]

Thank you for the kind words! If I may, I definitely think you should give CC a go given your situation, on a VLCD you really are operating on minimum calories and with kids to run around with you may just find yourself either exhausted, or find it very hard to stick to. Being around food is very, very difficult when on a VLCD in my opinion, and if I'd been preparing food for others I think I'd have caved - it was hard enough having to make my shakes in the kitchen around my family! And you WILL lose weight if you stick to your MFP calories

 

[scotminx]

I think switching from VLCD to CC is a good thing as CC is more akin to a lifestyle change and we should be picking up good habits that will stand us in good stead for remaining skinnimins! It does seem like VLCDs are good initial booster for those with lots to lose. Shame I haven't ever made it past day 1 but CC + exercise is slow but steady for me at the moment (and downwards is always better than upwards, no matter how slow!!). Wishing you luck on your journey fattack xx