Total Solution Joojoo's post-baby wedding dress mission!!!

[killajules]

Welcome to my diary, I've recently had a gorgeous baby boy and need to seriously shift some pounds!!! I've already lost most of my baby weight and am only half a stone away from pre pregnancy size but I'm a big girl anyway and have a wedding dress to get into at the end of November!!!!

I'm 5' 2" and currently weigh 15st making my BMI 38.8 I think!!!

I successfully lost a shed load of weight on lighterlife in 2009 and completed the entire route to management phase. Not sure exactly what happened but I took my eye off the ball and now I'm 6st heavier!!!

I did go up to 17st 7lb just before having my baby but in the last 8 weeks I lost about a stone and a half immediately after having him, followed by a stone lost by following slimming world and then weight watchers.

A stone in 8 weeks really isn't quick enough for me so I'm 100% ready for exante !!!

My packs are arriving in the post today and I start tomorrow, no beating around the bush!!!! I find it really exciting that it's a case of "when" I lose weight, not "if".

I'm a bit nervous about going it alone, but with a new baby and a wedding and ever increasing credit card balances there's just no way I can afford £72 a week for lighterlife. Plus, my old consultant said I wasn't allowed in a beginners group and had to go into a returners group, which instantly reminds me of my failure to maintain my weight loss.

So hello Exante - i look forward to us becoming great friends!!!!

 

[killajules]

Eek my packs have just arrived!!! Can't wait to get this show on the road and start shedding those pounds!!!!

 

[kaz1979]

Good luck xx

 

[killajules]

Just had my first vanilla shake. Nowhere near as sweet as the lighterlife shakes but fine once I added some coffee to it- think the only struggle I'm going to have today is drinking at least 3litres of water!!!

 

[Calorina]

Hi Joojoo - congrats on being a mum!


I lost loads on LL in 2009 too! I've done Exante before (day 2 now), but I'm back on it for a few weeks before my holiday - I think you'll like it, I found the shakes more palatable than LL's.

Anyway, nice to meet you - good luck!

 

[killajules]

Thanks Calorina! Nice to know someone's in the same boat

Day 1 is officially DONE!!! Took babba to work to meet everyone and then to chiro so didn't really have a chance to even think about the possibility of being hungry! Had Strawberry for lunch which again wasn't as sweet as LL but that meant I preferred it. i usually hate the strawberry flavour but this one was, dare I say it, NICE! hahah!

Then had mushroom soup for dinner. I never really liked the LL mushroom and this one was much the same. Oh well, I'll grin and bear it if it gets me where I want to!

I'm going to try and get through every day this week without weighing myself - I'm not sure if that means I'll be surprised in a good way or a bad way next Tuesday. I don't want to be disappointed if it's not very much. But it all helps the old will power so I'm just going with it for now!!

Also started reading Pauline Quirke's book "Where did I go". It's her reflection of her time doing LighterLife. Although Exante is a different diet they're both meal replacements and it's motivating to read her story.

Off to bed now - I'm sure to have a nappy change to do at silly'o'clock in the morning!!!

 

[killajules]

Day 2 is done and dusted.
Today was harder than yesterday, probably because I stayed in all day as well as the fact my body has probably just realised what I'm going to be putting it through for the next 130 days or so. I'm a bit headachey, a bit dizzy, and already have the taste of ming in my mouth which is obviously a good sign that ketosis must be iminent!
I had the vanilla shake again for breakfast and it really is a little disappointing even with coffee. It's ok though, tastes like ice cream cone for some reason! Thai chicken soup for lunch - really not bad at all but I added a lot of water to bulk it out which meant a little of the thai flavour was lost. I then had to wait over 6 hours for dinner, which felt like a long time today, and I had the vegetable soup. Considering how much it made me feel sick on Lighterlife I loved this soup tonight! So that's the vegetable soup and strawberry shake that I never used to like but do now? Weird!
My biggest achievement today was drinking 4 litres of water!!! I don't think I've ever managed that, but it was so hot and our back garden is a complete suntrap. I don't want to be dehydrated for all the obvious reasons, but also I know that my weight loss is slower when I'm dehydrated.
All in all an ok day, no danger of veering off plan at all and I even resisted the scales this morning!! No exercise though, I literally stayed in doing nothing. Tomorrow I'll be out and about which is great because I'll be moving around, but also it'll keep my mind off eating.

 

[kaz1979]

Well done. Roll on day 3 xx

 

[Calorina]

Well done Jules! Drinking water is always a good lesson and I struggle with it too. The vegetable soup is my favourite too - it actually tastes like normal soup! I'm also not a fan of the vanilla shake - I'm going to attempt to have it with instant hazelnut coffee (it's carb and sugar free) so I'll report back on how that goes (I don't hold out much hope).

Stay strong, don't weigh yourself - I'm going to try and last until Monday! Here's to ketosis

 

[killajules]

Ok, the hard part starts!!! Banging headache, slightly woozy and not 100% enjoying the packs.
I had the chocolate this morning and I really didn't enjoy it that much. Again, it's not that I don't like it, it's just that I know how much I liked the chocolate pack on LL and Cambridge. Strawberry for lunch was pretty delicious though and I had it with loads of ice!
I've got 8 weeks supply and I'm alternating packs at the moment, but I'm going to just have the ones I like for 4 weeks until I can swap over to Cambridge and then sell the rest. I was a bit silly to buy 8 weeks worth but it's so cheap!!!
I don't think I'll mind paying £42 for Cambridge and it's still far cheaper than LL. I've just got to keep focused on these packs until 15th August when I'll be 12 weeks post-baby!
Just went coffee with GrampyMal and Freddie at Sandbanks and told Dad. The black coffee gave it away anyay. I'm pretty grateful for the hot weather as I'm really not missing food at all.
Hot weather and 8 week old baby = not missing food!!

 

[killajules]

Oops I cheated...I got on the scales!! 14st 9.75lb down from 14st 13.75lb in 3 days that's 4lb already!! I know it was so naughty, but it just happened and i was desperate to see if there was any impact yet. At least I know I won't be disappointed when I get weighed next week!! The only new pack I had todaywas the banana shake which I hated on LL and guess what...I loved it!! It's nuts, I really do love all the flavours I always hated on lighterlife?! I don't get it at all!! Added coffee to my choc shake for lunch and it was loads nicer. Also definitely love the veg soup - I can def do this until 15th August no doubt in my mind but I'm almost certain I'll switch over then. Haven't drunk anywhere near enough water (slap wrists) but at least my headache has gone. Looked back at loads of pregnancy photos and I can really see a big difference in my face already, although that was nearly 3stone ago!!! All in all not a bad day, the only thing bothering me food wise is the occasional waft of garlic from somewhere or other, which in this weather makes me want to be on holiday eating Moules!!! I'll just have to wait a while until I have them, but at least I know I will have them again and this isn't forever. I must remember that nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!!!!

 

[killajules]

Crikey!!!

Haven't been here for a while!!!

Little catchup - I've now done exante for 4 weeks and lost a total of 16.25lb. I'll be honest, I was hoping for more and I've been 100%. It means I now weigh 13st 11.75lb. I know this is good but it just doesn't feel quick enough!! SO, I've made the decision to move over to Cambridge now that my son is 12 weeks old. I'm grateful that I was allowed to do Exante at only 8 weeks post partum but I lost 14lb in a week the last time I did Cambridge and feel that with the wedding a very short 3 and a half months away I need to lose weight as quickly as possible!!