If you have done a diet after VLCD what was it?

[Smallerme]

I'm not planning on staying on exante forever, I've definitely decided to do it up until the end of April, I might go further than that but for me setting achievable goals on it seems more realistic and not too far away. I also want to finish off my weight loss on a more conventional diet as I feel that will help me in my approach to food. I have lots to lose still so this might be months down the line. The furthest I see myself going on VLCD is June, my sister's wedding.

So I wasn't thinking much about switching just yet, however day 2 in Beck is to choose two diets. I need to sort out a back up. It makes sense to me, if one doesn't work out, you have a back up plan. For those not around a few weeks ago, I've started this originally with a theme of 12 diets for 12 months, to see which approach suits me best, knowing if one is working I will stay on it for longer. So my new motivation for end March/April is Beck and my OutFit sessions, not changing the exante but still having a new motivator iykwim.

I've been looking around the forum, and was thinking about dukan, but then thought it might cost a lot. I have 3 children and a budget that hasn't got a lot of stretch and will have less so come April. Then I wondered about Atkins but really not sure on that one. I was contemplating Rosemary Conley but don't have a local group, petrol costs are pretty prohibitive at the moment for travelling far. Wondering if my back up should be calorie counting 1200-1400 a day, or try weightwatchers. I was thinking low carb might be better if I was coming of exante though. It's important for me to have a good back up plan, so what did you do if you swapped and more importantly, did it work? Obviously if I came of VLCD I would expect a little gain and slower losses so that in my mind is definitely a diet that still works.

 

[Mum2Two]

My BMI is now 24.4(I think) from being on Exante. I have 4 weeks of packs left. I was planning on doing 1 week of 3 packs and 1 meal, 1 week of 2 packs and 2 meals and 1 week of 1 pack and 3 meals....but now I've decided to add an extra week so I'm doing 2 weeks of 3 packs and 1 meal (if that makes any sense at all! Lol).

I'm planning on starting Slimming World when I finish. I can't go to the weekly weigh-ins, but my dad does so I have borrowed his booklets for meal and snack ideas. I've made notes of about 3 weeks of different breakfasts, 4 weeks of lunches and 5 weeks of dinner ideas.

I'm just praying that the way I am planning on weaning off Exante is right because I really don't want to pile the weight back on again.

I'll let you know how my weaning process goes it you like? I'm starting it tonight with my first meal

 

[Blue Butterfly]

I think when I come off exante I will either follow the slimming world plan or just do my own healthy eating plan and look for healthy recipes/ideas on the sw board.

 

[spyro2008]

diets dont work in the long run so if you want a healthy relationship with food i would invest in a paul mckenna book 'i can make you thin' or beyond chocolate by 2 sisters (forgot there name) anyway they both have certain rules but dont tell you what to eat. i think that if you choose a conventional diet you will end up getting fed up of it and give up, plus they cost so much. most of the time you end up eating more food than you should.

 

[Miss Mac]

I haven't tried anything yet, still have a long way to go on Exante, but Im thinking Atkins might be best for me as carbs totally bloat me up. Before I started Exante, I used to get pains in my stomach from trapped wind/bloating etc and it always seemed to be follong a carb based meal. Since I have been on Exante, it has been 100% better so I think I might have some kind of intolerance to lots of carbs. This is the reason I am thinking of doing atkins, I think you just have to go for the diet that suits you best due to your circumstances, way you like to eat, foods you like to eat etc.....x

 

[SummerRain]

I am going to go to watching cals with an emphasis on low carb. Calorie counting is the old faithful and I can tell you the amount of cals in anything roughly lol. I also use an online counting site that has seen me through losing 3 stone before. I know that way I can eat balanced as well as accommodate for "treats". I plan to do this after this last 6 weeks on exante ts then re-feed.

 

[Lilacdragon]

I'm going to do the gi diet it doesn't ban carbs and I don't want to go on another restrictive diet as long as you do exercise it's very easy to do

 

[Beaut x.]

I'm planning on doing a dairy and wheat free diet (after reading a book thats put me off!!!) It's by marisa peer...with veg and nuts etc xx

 

[Mum2Two]

I'm planning on doing a dairy and wheat free diet (after reading a book thats put me off!!!) It's by marisa peer...with veg and nuts etc xx

My eldest daughter is wheat and dairy free, but that is because she has allergies to them. She also has allergies to soya and all berries!

 

[Beaut x.]

My eldest daughter is wheat and dairy free, but that is because she has allergies to them. She also has allergies to soya and all berries!

The poor thing ! My friends like that....don't actually know what food she is allowed to eat.
What sort of foods is she able to eat then? xx

 

[Mum2Two]

She eats a lot of fruit, veg and meat. Everything else she has is 'free-from' which we buy from Tesco, Morrisons or Holland & Barret(sp). She has gluten free cormflakes with formula milk for breakfast (she's only 17 months so still gets it on prescription). For lunch she has fruit/jacket potato with beans & salad/free-from Tesco fruit loaf and Pure (everything free) butter/jam sarnies with Tesco free-from soft muffins/free-from Tesco sausages and prescription bread (Genius do a nice soft one..all the others are really hard and fall to bits when you put spread on them)..things like that. Then for dinner she has beef casserole/shephards pie (made with her formula milk and pure spread)/free-from pasta with tomato sauce and chicken/free from sausages, potato shapes and beans/jacket potato with beans and salad/Tesco free-from fish fingers with veg/fish and veg/Tesco free-from burgers/home made chicken nuggest and onion rings with Morrisons free-from breadcrumbs. Thats all I can think of at the minute! Lol! Watch out for sausages and burgers though because they contain wheat and check as many tins/packets as you can! Oh..she snacks on fruit/dried fruit/carrot and cucumber sticks with homous(sp)/jelly/special ice-cream. Erm......there are more but I'm stuck now! Lol!

 

[Beaut x.]

She eats a lot of fruit, veg and meat. Everything else she has is 'free-from' which we buy from Tesco, Morrisons or Holland & Barret(sp). She has gluten free cormflakes with formula milk for breakfast (she's only 17 months so still gets it on prescription). For lunch she has fruit/jacket potato with beans & salad/free-from Tesco fruit loaf and Pure (everything free) butter/jam sarnies with Tesco free-from soft muffins/free-from Tesco sausages and prescription bread (Genius do a nice soft one..all the others are really hard and fall to bits when you put spread on them)..things like that. Then for dinner she has beef casserole/shephards pie (made with her formula milk and pure spread)/free-from pasta with tomato sauce and chicken/free from sausages, potato shapes and beans/jacket potato with beans and salad/Tesco free-from fish fingers with veg/fish and veg/Tesco free-from burgers/home made chicken nuggest and onion rings with Morrisons free-from breadcrumbs. Thats all I can think of at the minute! Lol! Watch out for sausages and burgers though because they contain wheat and check as many tins/packets as you can! Oh..she snacks on fruit/dried fruit/carrot and cucumber sticks with homous(sp)/jelly/special ice-cream. Erm......there are more but I'm stuck now! Lol!

WOW!! Didn't realise there was that many foods you'd be able to have!
At least you've found out now, rather than later. Things might improve later on xx

 

[Mum2Two]

When she first developed the allergies, we didn't know if a single food she could have! We spent hours at the supermarket reading every single packet. It's taken us almost a year to put a large list together of what she can have. The food was pretty plain and basic for a while but there is no stopping me with cooking for her now!

Feel free to PM me if you have questions about anything

 

[Smallerme]

I think I'm pretty much settled as having atkins as my back up plan after spending time looking at lots. Makes sense to me to keep in ketosis to move onto the next phase of weight loss, probably easiest time to do it I guess too as I'll already be used to it.

 

[irish molly]

Hi. Just to give you my experience. I did TFT or six months and then switched to a GL plan to maintain those losses and lose some more. I switched to GL a year ago. I have lost an additional 29 pounds and find it a great healthy way to live. I never feel deprived or hungry unless I'm eating the wrong foods.
Read anything by Patrick Holford or Nigel Denby or rick gallop. No special foods or supplements are needed in fact I eat more cheaply now as I eat a lot of beans and lentils etc.
Lots of luck.

 

[Watergirl]

I think everyone is different in terms of what they like, need and will stick with. I agree with Irish Molly personally as I need a diet that controls my blood sugar. I do think cutting out refined carbs is good. I've used an online calorie counting website and found that excellent as well.
I have a low GI book by Michel Montignac and it's superb.

 

[BadgerPixie]

I totoally agree with the everyone is different - for me if I eat carbs I go massive, am starving all the time, miserable, have terrible gas etc etc. So I try low carb, and despite feeling a bit cold, inall other ways it works for me. If the OH does low carb he is the opposite, he doesn't loose any weight (not that he has lots to loose anyway really), feels hungry tired etc etc. If he eats low fat, he has bags of energy, the weight drops off, etc etc, whereas for me I am SO hungry I want to gnaw a leg off, am snappy, horrid etc etc.

Low Carb for me is good, for him is bad, low fat for me is bad, for him is good. So its just what makes you happy and works for you - by going through different things you'll find out though, so its a good idea imho.

Depending on what kind of person you are though, surely you don't have to rigidly stick to one exacting 'diet' - for eg, from my reading Atkins and Dukan are pretty similar - they work on the low carb, high protien basis, same as Exante, but with 'real food' rather than packs. If you like the sound of Atkins and Dukan but are worried about certain aspects, have a look at the Pig 2 Twig diet (you can google it online there is a good forum with lots of recipes on as well for those on a budget).

When I get to target I plan on eating 'normally' but healthily with the emphisis on low carbing day to day with smaller portions generally and eating *whatever* I want on weekends, but in smaller portions. EG if I fancy a MacDonalds, I'll have one, but have a cheeseburger and small/Med fries instead of a Big Tasty with Large fries a milkshake and a side order of onion rings/wedges/nuggets or an extra cheeseburger (and I wonder how I got so fat LOL!).

 

[Smallerme]

Thanks, that's really useful. I think the main differences between atkins & dukan is dukan is low fat whereas atkins is not. Part of why I'm experimenting with diets this year is to find the one that works best for me. My last couple of stone I'm planning on doing something that will fit as closely as possible with normal healthy eating. I tried the Jon Gabriel method last year, very successfully until I stopped doing it, I may end with that when I've not got so much to lose. I have a long time to go before that time so not planning too far ahead yet.

I'll check out pig 2 twig too.