Mousey's marvelous miniaturisation!

mousey

Full Member
Hey all,

Brand new member here. I've never done exante before, though I did cambridge many moons ago, their version of total solution, and lost about 4 stone. Regained, of course, and swore no more vlcd! I now also have medical issues meaning I need to get a certain degree of calories in and genuinely wouldn't medically be allowed to do a vlcd.

However, I really need a good way to get the right nutrition in, and watch my calories, that's more convenient than cooking a million times a day. I also need to lose at least 4st 9lbs...

So I'm doing a version of the working solution diet. 3 exante packs (one bulked with some vegetables) plus a low carb meal of around 400cals. I'm aiming for between 1000 - 1200 cals a day, including some soya milk for tea and some sugar free drinks (a-la coke zero).

I haven't tried a calorie controlled diet for ages. The diet I had most success on was actually low carb/high fat but with some real life events going on I don't have the time or focus for the food prep involved. Really hoping exante will help me out.

I have to say VLCD have improved since I did cambridge and I appreciate the fact exante is far cheaper and has more options than just bars and shakes.

Having dieted since I was 14 I have finally realised that the technique many weight loss companies have of making you hate yourself as a fat person is the wrong thing to do. It's ingrained in me now to hate myself but I'm trying to change and be kind to myself instead. I've been fat and been thin and while I'd rather be thin my life wasn't dramatically different. Fat me and thin me are the same person with the same worth and both as good or bad as each other.

I have some issues with 'diet talk' - I refuse to consider food as 'naughty' or anyone as 'bad' for eating 'sinful' things. Food is food and there should be no moral or ethical judgement made about it. We are not bad, lazy or evil for being a bit bigger than other people. Fat people certainly aren't disgusting. (People who think fat people are disgusting are disgusting).

I'm not doing this for my health - my health was better when I was bigger and dieting for so long has been one component of messing it up. It's entirely possible to be healthy at any size.

There's no thin person inside of me screaming to be let out and (I know from experience) my life won't be vastly improved if I'm thinner.

But I do have anxiety problems and people are far kinder when you're thinner. I'm doing this for the aesthetic benefits, mainly. It's also much easier to shop for clothes when you can buy in mainstream shops and I've just hit size 20 again, I'd like to be 16 or so so I can buy most places.

Ok so, starting today and having (if all goes to plan):

Apple and custard pack
Pasta carbonara pack with added courgette
double chocolate bar
Fillet steak and prawns cooked in fry light
Soya milk
Coke zero
Medications

cals: 1123

Start weight 15st 9lbs
Start BMI: 40.1
 
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Had my carbonara - first pack! A bit strong/salty but not bad mixed with 30 calories of spiralised courgette. I might try it with broccoli next. Quite hungry already, oop.
 
Good luck Mousey xx
 
Hi mousy, how has today been?
 
Hi guys!

It's been good so far. I had the carbonara at lunch time and had my real-food meal about 5.

Even though i did cambridge on just 3 tetra brik cartons per day for months, I'm not sure I'd be able to get back on the wagon right now without having the extra meal, even if I didn't need to have it so my drs would agree to the diet. It really hit the spot.

I still have two packs to go but think I'll be up late tonight so am spreading them out. Then I need to buy more packs tomorrow - I'm going for the 84 for £80 deal. Just hrd to choose as I haven't tried much yet. I'm not planning to get any shakes I don't think, the idea of more 'meal' type things appeals to me more.
 
Lets see, finished up yesterday with my apple and custard pack - ok but needed a bit of sweetner and would prefer it without the apple flavour - and my double choc bar. Was pleased with the bar. Tasted nice enough and good and solid.

Today I've had the shepherd's pie with some broccoli which was really nice, and just had the gooey choc pudding which I really enjoyed, so far so good today so far! Have ordered 60 items for £60, so hopefully I'll keep up sticking to this. Feeling rather tired though.
 
Here to follow! Sounds like you're doing great so far :)
 
Finishing up day 2.

Gooey choc pudding was really nice, as was the marzipan flavored cherry and almond bar. Exante products are less sweet than I usually like but hopefully that's helping to retrain my tastebuds.

Tomorrow I have:
Apple and cinnamon porridge
Spaghetti bolognese
Peanut bar

Not sure what my add a meal will be. Maybe eggs and ham. Been quite tired and hungry today and can't concentrate on anything but the diet!
 
Thanks Gezza!

Family had a chinese today but I went with eggs and ham for my add a meal. Other than that I've had an apple and cinnamon porridge so far which was delish, and have spag bol and peanut bar left to go.

Got no sleep last night so a bit of a grumpybear
 
Spaghetti pack was VILE bitter and nasty. Threw it away.

Having my peanut bar now to take away the taste - bar is nice, like reeses but slightly less sweet. Not sure what I'll do with my remaining spag bol packs now as I can't eat it - do Exante take them back at all?

So items I have loved so far:

Peanut bar
Double choc bar
Almond cherry bar
Apple cinnamon porridge
shepherds pie
gooey chocolate pudding

Items I'll have maybe now and then but not a huge fan:

Carbonara

Items bleh bleh never order again:

Spaghetti Bolognese


-----

Not sure if I will have another pack today - only had a couple of mouthfuls of the spaghetti. See how late I'm awake, I suppose. I'd like another bar but that's prob not a good idea, that way leads to binging on them. Maybe porridge if I'm awake half the night.

Plan for tomorrow:

Dahl pot
Gooey choc pudding
Strawberry Jam bar
add a meal - roast beef and veg.
 
I'm moving my diary to the general diary section - still calorie/carb counting with exante & add a meal, just feel it makes more sense to be in a more general diary section as I'm sort of doing my own version. I'll still be reading the exante forums!
 
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Here's my weight tracker progress for the last few years - crazy, isn't it. I've lost over 100lbs but gained the same back.

I know I was 13 and a half stone 2 years ago when I started my current job. I've gained about a stone a year for the last 3 years. 2015 was rubbish - I was studying, working and dealing with my cat and best friend dying on me. Got through it all (well, still quite shaken by it) but gained a stone since November.

4 years ago I got down to 10st 10lbs - then I was turned down by the nhs for some much needed surgery and my grandma died - gained 2 stone in no time.

I'm clearly an emotional eater but I'm hoping that, by narrowing my food options, doing exante & one low carb meal each day will help me diet without having to think too hard about it.
 

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Sorry for your loss Mousey, it is not easy when you lose loved ones and also, a much loved pet...I had a little Yorkie and it broke my heart when she died..(((HUGS)))

Good luck Mousey you can do this!
 
Sounds like you've had a rough couple of years. I hope things work out this year and nothing gets in your way :)
 
Thank you guys. I'm really hoping posting on here will give me the lift I need - it's hard to diet when you're sad.

Didn't like the daal. This is a pain as I have 6 pots of that and 5 spag bol I need to find a home for now as I won't be eating them - it's also a decent chunk of what I paid gone on products I don't like.

The daal was better than the spaghetti in that I think I could have forced it down but when doing a diet like this I'm not prepared to sit and gag things down - I wouldn't last. There's nothing I've had that would be a favourite food in a normal world obvs but the packs I have need to be at least palatable!

This leaves me with a total of 21 days worth of packs left & somehow I managed to order more savoury than sweet so may need to have 2 X savory some days.

Today I'm having an extra bar to replace the daal I didn't eat. It will prob affect my loss but I only had the 2 packs yesterday so I suppose it can be my Sunday treat. Had the cookies and cream bar which was nice and cakey tasting but seemed smaller than the other bars and I still like the solidity of the more dense bars the best.

* week seems to be trying to show up about 5 days early which has only happened to me on VLCD before so that's interesting, I hope it means I'm not eating too low. At some point I'm pretty sure I'll revise my cals upwards to more like 1500 a day, maybe with 2 exante products, and see how that goes because I don't want my metabolism getting stuck too low (and it would make my gastroenterologist happier) but keeping things as they are for now.

So revised plan for today:

Cookies and cream bar
Add a meal beef & veg
Gooey choc pud
Jam bar
 
Today (apart from annoyance over 10 packs I don't want!) I am feeling pretty good. Not really hungry though I had a good bit of roast beef with lots of veggies for dinner which is easily the biggest meal I've had so far so that's prob helped. Actually I was worried it would make me crave more but it seems fine. Tomorrow I'll prob have beef and some leftover veg but not as much of either, and maybe an egg to make it up to 400 cals.

I have an event on Feb 17th so want to lose some before then, then can reassess. I'm liking this plan for the most part so far though. Being rigid with my eating seems to help me.

Gooey choc pud & jam bar left to have today - interested to try the jam bar as a lot of people seem addicted to them!
 
Sorry to hear you are not enjoying the meals :( I like them but everyone is different! Glad you are feeling good otherwise :)
 
I've liked everything except the spaghetti and Dahl to be fair - love the porridge, bars, puddings and of the savoury packs I liked shepherds pie and carbonara was ok.

I just have 10 Dahl/spaghettis I don't want! I'm sure I'll find a new home for them.
 
And no sooner than I'd said the above, a lovely person on another forum is swapping my daals and spaghettis for assorted sweet bits - some I know I like, others new to try. All good!

Having my gooey choc pud now. Less gooey than the last one - odd as microwave setting was the same - but still perfectly yum & definitely hits the spot.

I'm feeling wiped out physically but too awake mentally to sleep which is a pain. Potential start of * week not helping, I think.
 
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