Total Solution I can't take being a slobby student anymore...

Chengdu

Member
Hi hi!

I started following TS properly this time after struggling to cope with doing it at home over Summer as my mother proved to be too much of a diet saboteur. I started keeping a diary on my computer but I figured I would share it here as this seems like a great place to get support from other like minded people.
So:

Day One ~ Putting it off until tomorrow (a mission statement):

Due to the fact that I only moved into my new uni house yesterday and I’m yet to go out to the shops to track down a notepad, I’ve decided to start writing down on my computer about the fact that I’m starting properly on the Exante diet tomorrow (partially because I can’t afford to buy any food, lol). I thought I could use this to set some goals for myself. I don’t want to be unrealistic as I know that there’s no way I can be a size 12 by Christmas. The biggest thing I’m hoping to achieve is simply being able to stick to the diet regardless of any weight I lose. I’ll admit that the last 12 months were quite possibly the most depressing days of my life so far and as a consequence I gained about three stone. I want this academic year to be a complete contrast to the last year. I want to lose weight. I want to excel myself academically, get out of bed before midday and have the best damn time that I can. I’m 20 years old, I live quite a privileged life and I am fortunate enough to have super supportive friends and family who want me to be happy. So, here’s to the next twelve months.

Day two:

Well, I’m at breakfast on day 2. Not experiencing much of a problem physically so far apart from feeling a little light headed. No headaches, stomach pain, intense hunger etc. The only thing that is happening (and this happened to me when I followed Exante for a week over Summer) is that I seem to be constantly thinking about food and eating. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to stop having these thoughts but I hope they don’t last the whole time I’m on this diet or it’s going to make it super hard! Having read through a couple of threads on internet forums, I am of the understanding that major food cravings should start to dissipate after the first week or so but that’s not to say that they’ll leave me entirely.

Following this diet here in Plymouth should be a little easier for me to stick to because I can’t cheat if I don’t go out and buy food, it’s as simple as that. At home obviously my parents aren’t following the diet so there’s always going to be food kicking about. I don’t know how people manage to do it when they’ve got families with children and other halves to feed! It must be an absolute nightmare. All I am pushing myself to think at the moment is that if they can do it then so can I! It’s fine at the moment as I’ve tucked myself away in my room and so I’m not having to watch people going back and forth from the kitchen with food but when I go into uni it’s going to be hard to watch people going to the canteen even just for coffee and a biscuit! I will just have to make sure I always have bottled water with me and just keep reminding myself why I’m doing this and what I can achieve if I put my mind to it.

Day three:

Nom nom. Chocolate milkshake. I can’t tell if this stuff is actually delicious or if everything just seems about as appetising as it can possibly be at the moment. Seriously. I pulled out a can of chilli soup from one of my packing boxes today and even that looked so wonderfully delectable. Perhaps I’m just craving savoury. Who knows?

Anyway, day three is here and happily I’m still not feeling a great deal of physical effects. I had a little bit of a grumbly tummy this afternoon but I sated myself by having a bar and to be honest I’m feeling pretty ok. No headaches, nothing! I feel pretty grateful in a way because I’ve read about other people getting some really bad side-effects from vlcd in the first few days. Hopefully I haven’t jinxed myself and I’m not in for a torrent of pain tomorrow.

I’ve worked it all out and all told if I carry this diet on for 74 days then on the 75th day it will be my 21st birthday and I think I may break the spell on this occasion. I don’t want to remember my 21st as the one where I didn’t eat any food or drink any alcohol. That said, I may have a change of heart and simply arrange a party for when I go home from uni for Christmas. We’ll see! If I get a job over the Christmas period then I may not feel like/be able to party hard anyway so I may decide to just have a nice birthday-y day and just keep up my hard work. Time will tell. :] It might be an idea if I feel as though I can trust myself to be sensible about what I'm eating. Not sure if it's wise to go from very few calories a day to a complete blow out but I'll research that a little more nearer the time.
 
Hey chengdu,

the cravings go away, worst thing may be a little bit of tiredness but you will be fiiiiine! And I'm sure you will do brilliantly at uni. It's amazing how much more time I have on my hands since I started this...which makes me reflect on how much of time was consumed (haha) with food!

Good luck!!
 
Aww, thank you, hen!

I'm definitely feeling tired earlier in the day but the flip side of that is that I'm able to go to bed earlier so I don't have to lie awake thinking about eating and it means I'm waking up earlier too. All in all, I can't complain! Just fingers crossed I can get through my cravings!
 
same here! LOL I sleep through as much of it as possible! Tell ya what though this is a great time to take some time on yourself while away from home and take charge of your life. How much weight are you looking to lose?
 
Hey!

I'm sure you can do it - and so many people on here have had fantastic successes with Exante.

You should join us in our "student slimmers" thread - there's a few of us doing different diets (though I'm not sure there are any VLCD ones) and discussing the challenges of dieting at university.

What do you study? I've just gone back to do my master's, and I'm loving it :)
 
Hey well done on the great start :) just wanted to pop in and say hi and good luck :D
 
Thank you so much guys. It's really my day to have you all reply to me and give me encouragement! xx
same here! LOL I sleep through as much of it as possible! Tell ya what though this is a great time to take some time on yourself while away from home and take charge of your life. How much weight are you looking to lose?
I'm deffo looking at this academic year as a chance to have a fresh start. After last year I'm really looking to be as positive as possible about everything. I'm looking to lose around 8 stone in total which is quite a lot but I'm optimistic about it. Little steps!

Hey just want to say massive good luck :) great oppurtunity to start exante , fresh uni year fresh start :) what aree you studying ? keep up the good work xx
Thank you so much. :]] I'm studying psychology and I love it! I'm really hoping this will be the year where everything falls into place for me.

You should join us in our "student slimmers" thread - there's a few of us doing different diets (though I'm not sure there are any VLCD ones) and discussing the challenges of dieting at university.
That sounds great. I shall definitely check it out, thanks! It'll be nice to chat to some fellow students in a similar boat!

Hey well done on the great start :) just wanted to pop in and say hi and good luck :D
Thank you, lovely! It is genuinely super appreciated.

Eee! You guys are all so nice! :D
 
Aw, cheers hen!

Right we're nearly at the end of week one. Both excited and dreading getting on those scales at the same time! Here's a couple more journal entries from this week.

Day four ~ In which I feel unfit:

Today I did my first proper bit of walking for a good month or so and by jingo did it tire my out. Ok, so I admit it wasn’t helped by the heat today or the fact that I’d only had water and a bar before I went out but I can’t help but feel it would have been multiple times easier if I was a bit less bulky. Hopefully things will get easier as I start walking back and forth to university every day over the next few weeks as it’ll probably be more exercise than I did all over the Summer and most of last year but I’d love to factor in some other stuff to help bring my overall fitness levels up. I did some Zumba classes over the Summer so I may try and find a good one here in Plymouth. I also wouldn't mind giving yoga a go. Is that a bit mental? I just can't get over the idea I have in my brain of some super-stretchy, washboard-stomached woman telling me I have bad posture and that my chakras need aligning in her soft yoga-y voice.

Day six:

I didn’t write a diary entry yesterday simply because of the fact that nothing interesting happened!

Today, however, something a little interesting has happened and it is this: I have got no energy for anything whatsoever.

It’s really weird. I just feel completely drained. I’ve tried drinking more water and even had a small glass of Coke Zero to see if that made any difference and nope! Nothing. I have to walk to the Post Office in a bit to pick up a letter. I don’t really want to do it but I have to as I need it for a job interview tomorrow morning. Who knows, maybe the walk will wake me up a bit? If not it might knacker me out enough to sleep really well tonight and I’ll feel more perky tomorrow. Fingers crossed! Can't believe it'll be 7 days done by the end of tomorrow. My mother keeps insisting over Skype that my face "looks less puffy". Somehow I think she is just being kind but still if I keep this up maybe I will notice a difference in the way I look too. I suppose it's hard when you see your own reflection all the time. I'll just have to keep hold of all my measurements and photographs to serve as a reminder. Day 6 down, another 68 to to go until my birthday. It's going quicker than I thought it would!
 
Day nine:

Argh. Not a brilliant couple of days. I've stayed 100% TS, that's fine. Still in ketosis and no hunger pangs to speak of. However, I don't know if it's the diet or just one of those things (although, I suppose common sense would rule that it is probably due to the diet) but my TOTM was one of the worst I have ever had in my life. I have never been particularly heavy in that respect but yesterday and the day before I find difficult to describe. I don't really want to go into TMI but someone may have an insight so I'll give some details (if you're a bit squeamish you might not want to read on).

Basically I lost an awful lot of blood and I don't want to seem melodramatic but I wasn't able to leave the house for those two days (I tried and got about twenty yards down my road before I had to strategise the quickest route to a public toilet). I got through a whole box of tampons and had to make sure I sat on a towel so I didn't stain my bedding or furniture. A lot of clots and every time I moved I leaked and had to change. Luckily it has all but stopped today but it was just really unusual for me.

Over those two days I had a lot of dizzy spells too. I was fine whilst sitting or standing still but if I stood up too quickly I got really light headed and woozy. On one occasion I think I came very close to fainting (I had ringing in my ears and felt the same as the couple of times I've passed out as a child) so I sat back down and it passed after a couple of minutes. So, now I have the trouble of assessing whether it was the TOTM or the VLCD that gave me the dizzy spells. I'm guessing it's the former though because it doesn't seem to be so bad today. I still got a bit giddy walking upstairs to my room but it's not happening when I just stand up and stuff. Also, I've been sticking to the diet letter for letter, getting plenty of water, two shakes and one bar a day. I had an extra pack yesterday to see if it'd help with the wooziness. Not sure if it did or not.

I'm going to try and book an appointment with the medical centre for next week just to check I'm alright and see if there's anything that can/needs to be done (I can't really afford to be trapped in the house again same time next month) but most likely won't be able to see anyone until Monday so I thought I'd post this here in case anything similar has happened to anyone else or if anyone's got any advice.

On the plus side, I'm feeling mostly fine today and am starting to get settled in with following Exante now. :)
 
Hi hun,
Just been reading your diary and you're very motivated. Excellent!
Re: the period, I started Exante 8 days ago and a few days in I had a bleed which I haven't had for a few years!! I posted it in my diary and had some fab replies. Apparently it's normal for a VLCD to play havoc with your hormones in the beginning. Perhaps if it doesn't settle down or is as bad next month I would go and see about it.

Keep up the good work and I hope the dizziness settles too.

Ali xx
 
I'm on day 8 (I think..or maybe 7!) and having a very heavy TOTM. Not quite as bad as you've described but usually I barely even notice so this is pretty extreme for me. So you're not alone!

Keep up the TS, sounds like you're doing great :)
 
hey just read ur diary i love how motivated you are, keep it up. as for the periods i,ve had similar experiences tge last time i tried exante but not as bad. im sure u will be fine when ur horemones calm down a bit x
 
Thank you for all your replies, lovelies. I'm glad to know it's not just me who is experiencing some irregularities. It just freaked me out a bit! Two days following that and I'm feeling an awful lot better than I was. I can go out and do some walking today which actually makes me a bit happier as the sun is shining here in Plymouth. Hope the weather's nice this weekend for you guys too!
 
I'm on day 11 and I'm still having quite a few giddy spells. Definitely going to go and see the quack this week and I'll let you know what they tell me. x
 
maybe get some advice like you say. although i know some will probably say to stop the diet. As for TOTM i seem to be having periods every 2 weeks atm its getting abit silly! i spend a whole week spotting then a whole week bleeding. then 1 week off thn it starts again!. its silly! but this past 3 weeks what with eveything going on ive been abit hit and miss and in and out of ketosis. and that is ment to play havvoc with totm xx
 
Some GP's are not supportive of VLCD as they don't understand them! The drop in daily calorie intake is bound to make you a little light-headed but you are getting all your vitamin and minerals.
Hope you get your monthlys sorted and the GP is open minded.

You are on a journey to improve your health and confidence and he/she should respect that.

Take care xx
 
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