Rock's Exante Diet

[RockB]

Hi! I'm currently on day 3 of Exante Diet. I'm doing the Flexi Plan, so 1,200 calories per day. I know this is quite an extreme calorie deficit, especially for a male, but as it's only for one month, I'm treating it as a challenge.

I'm a 40-something year old male. I've started dieting for health reasons - my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were creeping up. I also have quite a sweet tooth and recently I've started thinking I should do something to reduce my risk of heart disease, diabetes etc.

BMI currently 29.1, I'm aiming to get it to 25, which is the top end of the "healthy" range.

My plan is to do Exante Diet for the first month to kick-start my weight loss. Then I'll switch to a more sustainable diet with a less severe calorie deficit.

I often get quite tired and grumpy when I'm on low calories. But coffee has been helping. And some light exercise. Last night I actually started feeling really energetic... maybe the ketones starting to be produced?

I'm using the Exante shakes and the snack bars. And I have one home-cooked meal of approx 500 calories once per day. The Exante products are not bad - I particularly like the shakes.

I've found that my hunger comes and goes in waves... and actually I've felt much less hungry than I was expecting. Drinking lots of water helps.

Psychologically, I'm telling myself that I'm NOT depriving myself. I'm reminding myself that my body fat contains all the energy I need to get through the day. And when I get hunger pangs, I tell myself it's a GOOD thing because it shows that I'm burning off my body fat for energy.

My plan is not to be totally rigid with counting calories exactly every single day. Instead, I'm setting myself a weekly calorie target (7 x 1,200 cals per day). This gives me a little flexibility, so if I eat a bit extra on one day, then I can just eat a bit less on the next day without feeling guilty.

One weird thing I've noticed... sometimes I get a strange coating on my tongue... I think this is normal and expected when your body starts producing ketones from your body fat.

Wish me luck! I'm looking forward to supporting each of you with your own journeys here.

 

[AliGal]

Sounds like you've made a good start. I find it helpful to think I am using using up my fat too!

 

[RockB]

Day 4. Now that the initial enthusiasm is starting to wane, I've got to watch out for my old eating habits trying to sneak back in. In particular, earlier I got some strong urges to eat. But when I examined those urges, I realised I wasn't actually hungry (I'd had lunch not much earlier), I was just wanting to eat for pleasure and comfort.

So I had a little word with myself, "You're getting enough fuel already. There are better ways to find comfort other than food." - and that seemed to really help me feel better. Oh and also having a massive glass of low sugar blackcurrant cordial/squash!

The meal I had today tasted amazing - slow roasted pork shoulder, with herbs, spices, carrots and onions. It's potentially high in calories, so I removed the rind after cooking. I've found that keto meals like this do a good job of keeping me feeling full for several hours.

One thing I like about being on a low carb diet - my mind seems calmer and more peaceful, less anxious. At this early stage of the diet, that feeling of calmness can quickly turn into tiredness, so I've been making sure I get enough sleep and using coffee to perk myself up.

I keep reminding myself that I can do this. The first week is often the hardest. Just gotta keep pushing on. Future Me will thank me!