Maintaining after exante question?

[x Nee x]

I havent yet started Exante but am ordering on Pay day (7 days woo hoo)

But I cant help but wonder what happens when you stop, you hear so often about people gaining all the weight back after being on a VLCD and although it isnt a deciding point for me, I was thinking about how other people have done at maintaining.

When I reach my goal, I can take adding a stone back on whilst settling into maintaining but I really dont want to gain it all back .

Has anyone been able to keep the weight off, and how did you go about it once you are back to normal eating?


Thanks in advance


xx

 

[SammyE]

I know Im not near target yet! But my plan is once I get to target is to keep doing my weekly weigh ins, then everytime my weight goes up by say 4 or 5 lbs I will do a week on Exante. I am also going to eat the type of dinners I was having when I was on Tony Ferguson and try and keep my carbs, cals and fat low and not snack. I think as long as I can do that, Im not saying Im going to only eat diet food but if I stick to that kind of food most the time but still have the odd treat, hopefully the weight wont come back on.

 

[bigmeeky]

New Strategy

For me I had always thought that 20 stone was a trigger, I got there and then thought its got to go. People tell me I carry it well but its not the reality.

A good weight for me is around 15 stone, at my ideal of 13st 3lb I look like Im dying!!

What I need to try and do is make sure that I see the tell tales and act on it, trousers a wee bit tighter etc. and make make 16stone my new trigger.

At LL they recommended the GI diet as a means of maintaining healthy weight, I didnt do things right last time and just went back to old habits. Need to learn that lesson this time.

Good luck, youll be great

Rob

 

[Bernice]

I like SammyE intend to give myself a 4lb/5lb limit and then do a week or two of Exante as I intend never, ever to put it back on again. I am also getting rid of all of my clothes that get too big for me straight away so that I don't have the security blanket of larger clothes to quietly slip into. xx

 

[JoanneM]

Im actually planning on going back to Herbalife pretty much permanently when I get to goal and replacing a minimum of 1 meal per day with a shake. So much quicker and easier than having to make breakfast every day.

 

[x Nee x]

Thanks peeps, its good to know what everyones intentions are

x

 

[spyro2008]

i was thinking having a protein shake for breakfast and try doing gi/gl as thats very recomended and healthy i do see some people going over to atkins but from my research its not very healthy i was also thinking of slimming world as ive got friends who eat loads and still lose weight.

 

[SammyE]

I think the main thing for me as well is portion size and bolting my food down, I would happily go out for lunch and eat an actual meal, then go home that night and have dinner... a big plate as well! So Im also going to start eating from a smaller plate and drink a pint of water with my dinner to slow myself down and stop me from over eating and not think it is acceptable to eat two big meals in one day!

Lets face it... if I can live on 2 mugs of shake/soup and a bar for the next several months, I can live on a side plateful of dinner!

 

[Starlight]

Coming off a VLCD isnt any different to coming off any diet. If you dont change the eating habits you had, then youll pile it on again.

I intend to get weighed fortnightly when I get to goal but I most definitely dont plan on following ANY diet when i do. Im going to just do what 'normal' people do, eat sensibly. Im not counting calories, points, syns, fat, carbs or anything else. Id be demented at the thought of being on a diet for the rest of my life

 

[Lynn_]

My plan will be to eat low carb, it really suits me and is what i need to do keep my diabetes under control. Also, i cant imagine giving up the exante shakes, i really love them, and they are perfect as a breakfast for me.

Breakfast is the one thing i cant be bothered with usually, I have no time for food in the morning, and no real desire for it either but i know how important it is. Having a shake is so easy and fast, and keeps me full for hours.

So that wil be my plan, exante for breakfast, especially week days and low carb choices for everything else.

 

[kau84]

Am so terrified of coming off this vlcd.i went on a 2week break for my birthday.the first week was ok,i only ate protein and low carb veg so i even managed to lose a pound. second week decieded to introduce bread,rice etc and gained 7.06lbs in 1week.the future seems like i'll be on a diet forever.

 

[Blonde82]

I think you have to be strict with yourself, I don't want to do this again for me Exante is a means to an end and I will never be as heavy as I was when I started.
Going on Exante makes you realise:
1) You can actually survive on 600 kcals a day
2) Do you need to have 3 full meals a day?
I plan on weighing myself regularly (I now actually own scales so no hiding from it any longer) and will throw out all of my clothes that are even a little too big, no comfort clothing for me! If I need to I will go back to WW or SW but mainly if I can survive on the bars and soups and don't want to go back to them then chosing a salad over a sandwhich isn't such a bad choice is it? I think I can live within having 1 biscuit instead of the whole packet if it means I keep at goal!

 

[x Nee x]

It is a scary thought isnt it, when you think you go through all this to get to goal then from that work out how to keep it under control without piling it back on, but I know Ill be so concious of being like I am now that hopefully extreme healthy eating will feel the right thing to do

 

[susie-slimmer]

I would like to continue with the shakes for breakfast as I could never eat breakfast but with the shakes I have them mid morning and that keeps me going till mid afternoon.

Then I may even have a bar or soup for lunch depending on my shifts. If I'm at home or not n community then I'll have a salad and meat. But then I'll have a normal evening meal but less of it and certainly way less carbs. I've bought smaller plates in preparation.

My hubby and I plan to weigh ourselves weekly and go back on food replacement if the weight starts creeping up. I also will drink less alcohol than I used to!

S x

 

[Quak]

I am doing Atkins for maintenance and it is working quite well for me, and the reports about it being unhealthy have been extremely exaggerated. I am having a week back on Exante as I am having a new kitchen and did not want to risk going back to eating rubbish as I am unable to cook properly for a week. Atkins is all about natural healthy food, no processed rubbish and very hard to do without a working kitchen. Rather than risk putting on weight I thought this was a sensible option. I always have a week or 2 of Exante in backup in case of problems, doing an odd week here or there to keep the weight in check is a sensible option.

To kau84 - do you think you introduced it all too quickly, one carb item per week and build up slowly might be a better option, especially if you are carb sensitive as you appear to be. You could then build up your glycogen stores at a lesser rate rather than put it all back in one week. The weight you put back on looks to me just the glycogen and water gain from reintroducing carbs rather than adding fat to your body.

 

[surfing_girl]

i think low carb and exercise is key for me, when i used to be a lower weight i could maintain that quite easily by exercising regularly and not having cereal (carb) for breakfast, sandwich for lunch (carbs!) and rice with something for dinner (MORE CARBS). when you actually think about it, its simple. i just over complicate things. can't wait to shed this weight and live my life without worrying! x

 

[x Nee x]

Yeh Im with you there Surfgirl, carbs seems to be the killer for controlling weight, and weirdly I never realised!!

 

[*Shanny*]

Coming off a VLCD isnt any different to coming off any diet. If you dont change the eating habits you had, then youll pile it on again.

I intend to get weighed fortnightly when I get to goal but I most definitely dont plan on following ANY diet when i do. Im going to just do what 'normal' people do, eat sensibly. Im not counting calories, points, syns, fat, carbs or anything else. Id be demented at the thought of being on a diet for the rest of my life

Hi all well i got to maintaince in may 2010 lost 4 stones on CD i did go up the plans to 1500 kcals a day. also did ww for a while and maintained for most weeks which i was happy about.

but as starlight said if u dont change your eating habits the weight comes back on, this has happened to me i work in a primary school so had the 6 weeks off work and sat and ate, meals every other day and gained 10 pounds in 6 weeks and from then added more weight on.
I was happy following ww having my weekends as treats and it worked id move around from 10 stone to 10.4 some days but was still wearing my size 10's.

once u reach maintain it can be hard but u naturally no what to eat and no not what to have, or have in moderation.
Good luck to everyone x

 

[DappyMare]

I'm going to work up the plans and go to weight watchers to maintain free if you become a gold member, i have decided i'd rather count points for life than have to keep going back to vlcd everytime.

 

[jools1986]

i was considering following th principles of the food doctor plan, I'd love to follow a holistic style plan

or atkins