Milk Week?

[nzmegs]

I am supposed to be doing milk week from today. I don't know if i should or not. I won't bother today - but I might from tomorrow if I hear good things about it it.

My questions are if I will increase my appetite, if I will put on weight, if I will lose more after milk week is over (ie will it kickstart my weight loss again).

I know it is optional now, but is it still a good idea.

Just in case you don't know - week 13 is supposed to be a higher calorie week where you have a pint of milk with your packs to bump up the cals. it is supposed to prevent starvation mode setting in - I guess. After the week is over you go back to normal.

You only do it if you haven't cheated at all during the previous 12 weeks.

 

[8541boo]

The last time i got to week 12 so i never experienced this, Am on week 10 now and am definitely continuing to target this time so will obviously have the option so would be nice to see what you decide on and how it goes and also everyone else's experiences xx (sorry i couldn't help much!)

 

[nzmegs]

I have done a little research and decided i will give it a go. I normally really dislike milk so i know it won't be hard to give it up after the week is up. Also i feel that my weight loss has slowed down, so this might just give me the boost I need to get the last 10 pounds off.

I will be checking my weight at home regularly throughout the week to make sure it isn't going to cause any serious damage. If I start putting on loads I will stop.

If i can get through this week staying the same then hopefully that will be countered by a bigger weight loss in week 14.

 

[8541boo]

i look forward to reading how you get on! xx

 

[weasey]

Milk week is not officially optional. NICE recommend that you don't follow a VLCD for more than 12 weeks and this is LL's answer to that. LL head office would say explicitly that you need to do it. However, a lot of LLC's tell you that you don't have to. The way I see it is that this journey is about improving my heath for me and if NICE recommend it then I'll do it. If I put weight on for one week then so be it. I've done 2 milk weeks now. The first one I put on a pound and then lost lots the next week. The second milk week I lost 2 lbs.

 

[nzmegs]

My counsellor said that NICE guidelines had changed and so it wasn't compulsory any more. Who knows? But I have decided to do it as my weight loss was really slowing down and a week of something different will really help me to stay on track.

So - last night I had a shake made with 1 pint of skimmed milk. Phew. I could not drink it all. I got through about 3/4 before I honestly thought I would be sick if I drank one more mouthful. To go from having 130 calories to double that in one go was a bit too much for me.

So today I will be spreading it out. I will make up my porridge with milk and then have a shake for my lunch, rather than as a snack.

The funny thing is though, that I have woken up this morning full of energy, none of the usual light headedness, not hungry at all and even looking forward to my morning run. It goes to show what a difference a few extra calories can do. Apparently there are 160 calories to a pint of skimmed milk. Doesn't sound a lot, but it is a third of what we normally have each day.

I fully expect to gain this week - but hopefully I will lose big next week. Just take the rough with the smooth I suppose!

 

[weasey]

I would definitely suggest spreading it out if you can. If you're sensitive to carbs having it all at once could potentially knock you out of ketosis...

 

[nzmegs]

Good point! I have had about 250mls in my coffee and vanilla shake this morning. I will use half of what is left to make up a porridge later on and the other half for the carbonara. I bet that will be lovely and creamy...

The milkshake has really filled me up.... not ready for lunch yet.

 

[nzmegs]

I am not enjoying milk week at all...in fact I am considering if I should just give it a miss for the rest of the week. I feel bloated, uncomfortable, a bit fatter (might be my imagination but it really feels like I have put on weight) hungrier and sometimes a bit sick.

Milk doesn't usually agree with me to be honest, but I think the extra carbs are not doing me any favours at all. I know that if i stick it out I will have a great loss next week. But right now I feel like I am going backwards.I lose slowly anyway, so this feels like a really big set back.

Has anyone ever heard of someone putting on weight during milk week? The thought of putting on weight fills me with horror...

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is this really worth it? Perhaps I should switch to soya milk which has much less carbs and no lactose?

 

[weasey]

I did put on 1 lb with my first milk week - but lost 2 lbs on my second milk week. It's totally up to you whether you wish to continue. You idea of soya milk would probably be a good one if you have trouble with milk generally.

 

[nzmegs]

Sorry folks - me and milk week did not go together well at all. Last night my tummy was so gurgly and the size of a (small) football. I also felt sick and just generally rubbish. So I decided that i couldn't do any more.

So today i have gone back to the normal packs. I know I have been 100% with lighter life for the past 12 weeks and this might be the wrong thing to do. But I have just 3-4 weeks left to go and i really don't want to spend one whole week feeling awaful and possibly putting on weight.

What i have learnt is that dairy products and milk in particular do not agree with me. In the past I would have blamed the bloating on other stuff in my diet. But it is clear to me now that milk makes me ill. I now know that milk will not be on my menu when I come off LL.

Today I feel much better. I did a sneaky weigh in just to check the damage and my weight has gone down by a pound since last week, so all that bloating was obviously just water.

Funny thing is that while I was drinking the milk I felt quite irritable and even a bit down. I hated the sensation of feeling full all the time and feeling a bit fat. I looked the same but i felt quite different about myself. That taught me a few things too.