Restarting VLCD - any advice please?

[IslandBreeze]

hi
i had a lot of success with my first 4 months on Lighterlife - loved it, lost 4 stone. Then I fell off the wagon, and have restarted a few times only to give up again in the first few days - sometimes actually after the ketostix had gone pink, which is really daft I know.
Anyway, my point is that restarting is difficult and as I'm sure an awful lot of us are restarting for New Year, does anyone have any good tips/advice?
It would be much appreciated as psychologically it seems very different from the first attempt. So, any words of wisdom?

 

[Geri]

Hiya fallen angel,

I too am a serial restarter!!

My advice to you would be to allow yourself extra packs until you get back into the swing of things - just stay away from convential food coz one bite so often leads to a downward sprial...

When are you planning to get back on the programme?

My other advise would be to stay to your group meetings - they make all the difference - and swapping numbers with the other girls in your group is great for support between meetings, - as well as us lot on here

 

[IslandBreeze]

I restarted Wednesday. Today was day 3 - the ketostix were a good shade of pink so I believe I was in ketosis. however I still had killer headaches and a lot of work stress. A friend called up suggesting a last-minute lunch which I accepted - planning to take a pack along. Then I got there and realised I hadn't got a pack on me - or even headache pills - so I gave up again. Restarting AGAIN tomorrow - hence the desperate need for a new strategy.
Strange thing is I had my LL meeting last night and my LLC said that if people forget to take packs that it's really forgetting, that you forget them on purpose and are letting crooked thinking sabotage you. But I really wasn't aware of it today - I think it was just a case of not being prepared for a last-minute invite - or is that my Chatterbox lying to me??
Oh, it's so complicated!

 

[artemis]

Hi FallenAngel, I did the same thing - 4 months were ok then Ive been on again off again for 6 weeks.
I think the falling off when youve just gone into Ketosis can be a self destruct thing too. Almost a "If you sabotage yourself to get out of Ketosis then you can eat what you like" mentality.

Ive often wondered about taking extra packs (goodness knows Ive enough of them) When I check the back of the packs I wonder is it better to have another soup, or due to the carb content and ketosis risk should I opt for a can of tuna or boiled egg... but then you have the dilemna of risking convential food and the spiral risk.

I agree its definitely much more difficult to get back on the wagon than it was to begin with.
The following tips Im going to start going with when I get back home are..
Im going to put my before and after pics on the side of the mirror, plus some other ones of me at my biggest.
Im making a rule (which worked for me in my first 4 months) 2 litres before breakfast shake/lunch shake etc
Writing in a Journal every night before bed to review the day(buy yourself a nice new one for the New Year)
Regularly reading over my LL workbooks.
Play upbeat cheery (usually cheesy) music
Make a list of your coping strategys and pin them somewhere.
And always always have a selection of packs/a bar and a savory drink packed in my car and at the office and in my bag so I can never set myself up to "forget" to bring one.

And my favorite, which I have written again and posted on my very cluttered mirror and on my desktop screensaver is the Beechy quote "If you dont continue forward, what are you going back too?"

 

[DQ]

Nice one Artemis, I like those strategies

 

[IslandBreeze]

Yes, they sound good. I too have a ton of spare packs so I guess I should stash them in all my bags. And I've started a diary today. I'll have to sort myself out a ticker or some other kind of visual motivation too.
Hope it goes well for you all also restarting - do let us know.

 

[DQ]

Well it's darn near bedtime so day one completed here!

 

[cah-ching]

Well it's darn near bedtime so day one completed here!

Nopw yo're just showing off because you have HIM to cuddle up to. There are words for women like you D_Q, one I can think of begins with L and ends in Y

 

[DQ]

Nopw yo're just showing off because you have HIM to cuddle up to. There are words for women like you D_Q, one I can think of begins with L and ends in Y

Gimme your address and I'll send him to you!! This is the man who offered me bacon sarnies on my first day back on full SS!! Still want him?!

 

[Marylyn]

hi
i had a lot of success with my first 4 months on Lighterlife - loved it, lost 4 stone. Then I fell off the wagon, and have restarted a few times only to give up again in the first few days - sometimes actually after the ketostix had gone pink, which is really daft I know.
Anyway, my point is that restarting is difficult and as I'm sure an awful lot of us are restarting for New Year, does anyone have any good tips/advice?
It would be much appreciated as psychologically it seems very different from the first attempt. So, any words of wisdom?

Hello there,

I hope these words of encouragement will help you. First of all, it really does become more difficult when you start to sole-source after a break. I have this information on expert authority - and personal experience.

However, it is certainly not impossible. It just seems to take a bit longer. That breaking of the ketosis thing is typical of the re-starting success.
The same thing happened to me when I had experienced 5 days of agony getting into the comfort zone that is ketosis. Mind you, I really had reached a point where I just needed a break after six months and I was pushing myself too hard.

Now that I have had a 2 month break and maintained my weight - had a little indulgence for Christmas where I put on 4/5 lbs, but promptly lost it in 2 days sole-sourcing I am ready to see off the last stone.

You need to have a lot of motivation to get yourself into ketosis and stick with it. You've done it before and therefore you can do it again. You will need to be even stronger than you were before, but where there is a will .......

I was talking to someone over Christmas who desperately needs to lose weight for health reasons and she was saying "The trouble is, you feel hungry on a diet". I said that this is a factor with dieting, you will feel hungry, unless you go on a vlcd, go into ketosis and this suppresses the appetite. The problem is unless she takes some positive action - she will be in the same position or even heavier within the next year.

I don't know why you need to be on a vlcd, but nothing else would work for me and so I had no choice in the matter. I can only say that going onto Lipotrim and now CD is one of the best things that has happened for me in years.

I'm sure you realise that sole-sourcing is something that should be done for 4 weeks at a time unless you are under medical supervision.

If you are finding it too difficult to sole-source at the moment, why not follow an easier plan and cut your calories more gradually. The Cambridge Diet is very flexible. Then as the weather becomes warmer you may find it easier to sole-source if you need to.

Remember, creating a good deficit in your intake will help the weight decrease even faster if you decide to sole-source.

Please don't be hard on yourself. My CDC told me this week that all the clients are finding it very hard to get back to their sole-sourcing.

The New Year is approaching and you can make your New Start in whatever way suits you. You have a whole year to get to your goal weight and I'm sure you will reach it before then.

Keep in touch with us

Marylyn xx

 

[IslandBreeze]

Aw, thanks Marylyn, that's lovely.
I want to lose weight as I married a few months ago and we'd like to have kids now. But I was 18 stone and my doc advised strongly against it. I'm now 14st. I'm tall so 12 stone would be fine for me so I want to lose just 2 more stone. I struggled with weight for some years and I know VLCDs are the only thing I can handle - I can't cope with the desperate hunger and fluctuating blood sugar on other diets.
My doc now says I would be Ok to try to conceive now but I think I'd like to try 2 more months on the program and if I stick with that I'd have a healthy BMI. Thing is I'm now a size 14 so I feel like I look normal and it's harder to be motivated - I was a size 20 first time and had all the issues of struggling to buy clothes etc - now I have so much more choice but I still have a huge stomach, arms etc and now I need to lose a bit more. Current restart is going Ok. Headaches a bit but haven't cheated today or yesterday and the ketostix are now pale pink so it should start to feel better soon.
My biggest problem right now is that I'm totally stressed out by work and it's stopping me sleeping. Haven't slept decently for 8 days. So I'm a very grumpy zombie right now. I gave up caffeine yesterday too in the desperate hope it would help - figured as I already had carb withdrawal headaches, they couldn't really get much worse if I ditched tea as well! It will be worth it if I can just SLEEP!
Anyway, still hanging on in there - well done to all of us! x

 

[laura5510]

Hi there fallen angel, i really can sympathise with you i to am a serial restarter after having lost all my weight the first time its all back on again a year later I have 4 stone to lose. So far i tried a few days to restart using left over packets from the last restart unsuccesfully as i kept caving in. The first time i started 14th December 2005 i didn`t eat over xmas. I sat with water or my shake while others tucked into goodies even sat through 2 xmas dinners out while others ate i sat with black coffee and water. My councellor comes on Friday it is the first time i have seen her since my last attempt in October. I have ordered some tetras and bars as i already have some shakes for first two weeks of the diet. I keep on saying Friday will be my official restart day, as after that she will be calling to bring me more shakes as and when i need them so to speak. However i know on lighter life you do pay more because you have proper councelling. unfortuanetly i can`t afford it as i have to buy other food for the rest of the family who eat a lot but never put an ounce on. I find it really hard when i am cooking their meals especially in the first three days of the diet i am on cambridge i was on lipotrim the first time. I think it would be a good idea to have some sort of councelling after i have lost weight.
Anyway good luck i will let you know how i get on.
laura5510

 

[CLUCKS]

glad to be back on the wagon

I'm a re-starter and actually looking forward to it .... I think that it's because I need the structure. I don't have a problem with the not eating bit, mine is the socialising at weekends that I struggle with. So what better time of the year than the long dreary nights of Jan & Feb to shift the 1 & a half - 2 stone that I have got left to get rid off. I've got Tea at the Ritz booked for Sat 24th of Feb & I'm meant to be going to a posh restaurant on 17th Feb which I am going to cancel (without anyone knowing ) so that I don't have to eat ANYTHING for 8 weeks.
Its my plan so far - anyway

 

[Kate]

One of the hardest things about restarting is the fact that you will have reached some of your goals - your motivations for doing the diet the first time round might not apply now. For example, if one of your motivations was to be able to shop in 'normal' shops, and you've achieved that, then the urgency isn't there any more. Or if you wanted to be able to play football with the kids and you don't have any problem keeping up now...you see what I mean.

Write down a list of what motivated you when you first started the diet. Now write a second list, of what motivates you now. Maybe there are other motivations now that you hadn't even thought of. Keep both lists pinned up somewhere that you'll see them often - use the first one to remind you of everything you've achieved (you could tick off all your achievements!) and use the second one to you remind you why you are determined to get to goal!

Also, of course, use forums like Minimins for support and help