Starting Tomorrow...No idea what I'm doing.!!

[Miss Bean]

Hello Everyone,

I am an LT'er (Well I did it last year for 9 weeks and lost 3 stones) However it's back on and my friend started this and he said it's better than LT.

I am going to do the Total Food Solutions programme because I know I can, but the flavours and variety seem so much better than LT. I hope they are I haven't tasted them yet. lol.

Has anyone got any advice or handy hints and tips to help me on my way ??

It really was an impulsive decision to just order it online this morning.

Many Thanks

Miss Bean xxx

 

[Yambabe]

Riiight, so you've done a VLCD before and not maintained and now you're starting another one with absolutely no preparation or even real clue as to the mechanics of how it works?

FFS.

I suggest you put the pack on a high shelf when it arrives then go away and do some bloody reading. Read every thread in here, read the Exante website in minute detail, read extensively in the CD, LL and LL forums too.

Learn about the pros and cons of VLCD, learn what is likely to happen to your body and why, make sure you know what the potential side-effects are and how to spot them early then get your head around why a proper refeed and then a suitable maintenance plan are so essential.

After you've done all that, if you still want to lose weight get your box down and start the diet.

This is your health we are talking about, and you may only get one shot at it. If you damage it doing a VLCD incorrectly that damage could stay with you for the rest of your life.

You can't do Exante on a whim, it will become just one more in the long line of diets you have no doubt already failed at. It should be a last resort, not a quick fix. Losing a large amount of weight quickly (like you have already done with LT) then putting it back on quickly is possibly one of the worst things you can do to your body in terms of long-term health issues.

I'm sorry if I sound negative but VLCD, in my opinion, is not something to be taken lightly. Yes you lose weight fast compared to a lot of other diets but you have to do so much work on your head too. I personally would question if your head is in the place to be doing that right now.

 

[markanderl]

Hi Miss Bean, Yambabe is correct, if you are not in the right frame of mind and without doing the necessary homework you will fail miserably. It took me about 4 months to make my mind up after actually going to the induction at LL and checking out other options. Like Yambabe says this is an extreme diet and doing it half hearted or not doing it accoring to the book you will fail and maybe, even worse, damage yourself for life. You have to choose I am afraid.

It is hard to support someone with a "What the hell" attitude because no matter what advice is given that person is going to do his/her own thing anyway.

Give this some serious thought and again like Yambabe says read.

 

[babystar31]

I think although i agree with both posts its maybe a bit harsh (sorry guys). I made an impulsive decision to start the diet and it is working for me. Sometiems if i give something too thought i'll talk myself out of it. I didnt research it. I decided one day a diet like this woud be good, googled til i found this, ordered the stuff.....decision made! You have done a VLCD before and i dont think u can be slated for puttin the weight back on...weve all been there. I done cambridge before and put the weight back on. We live and learn.

I wish u the best of luck. What helped me was great determination in the first few days which were the hardest. Most of the packs taste good....the shakes are nice and some of the soups are ok. they are all totally edible anyway which helps lol.

Anyway, welcome, good luck and feel free to join us on the forum....its a huge support. xx

 

[Dietkitty]

I agree the comments are a little harsh, but then this is a harsh diet and you need the facts before embarking on it. But you've taken the first step in ordering the packs and now you need to do your research. If you find that total isn't right for you, you can still use the packs and do the working solution. That still gives a good monthly loss.
Good luck with whatever you choose and welcome to the forum. Have a good read through the posts but as you've done LT you have a pretty good idea what to expect.

 

[Yambabe]

Sorry reading back I do sound a little harsh. I really didn't mean to come across quite so negatively but this is something I feel very passionately about.

Doing a VLCD and losing a large chunk of weight is easy compared to maintaining once it's gone.

Yo-yo dieting in general is a serious health risk, but yo-yoing on the scale of the weight that most people on a VLCD lose is particularly bad.

You can be as determined as you like (Miss Bean obviously was before when she did LT and lost 3 stone in 9 weeks, that's pretty tremendous ) but go and read the maintenance sections of the forum, go and read the re-starters, go and talk to KD. If you don't have your head in the right place to accept that you are going to totally change your life for good you're going to be on a never-ending cycle that will eventually do you serious harm.

It actually worries me that more and more VLCD are now available over the 'net to pretty much anyone who wants to buy them. I've ranted on this subject before and got told off for being harsh then too I seem to remember. I'll see if I can find what I said then rather than repost it.........

So Miss Bean, welcome to the forum and good luck with your weightloss. But FFS do some homework, this is your LIFE you are messing with!

 

[markanderl]

I for one do not think it was a bit harsh, it has already been said that this is an extreme diet and some sort of prep needs to go into it.

Mandy, you should have told us earlier so we could have dissed you as well.

 

[Yambabe]

Here you go. The original discussion was about New You products which, when they first came on the market, didn't differentiate too well about which of their products were suitable for TFR.

I got my ranty head on a bit but what I said then still applies in my mind.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that Miss Bean is in any way flaky or desperate, but there are people out there who are and I sudder at the thought of the risks they are taking with their health.

You do seem to be a bit over-defensive about the New You products though, and I'm not sure why?

Tha salient points of the post quoted are:

FACT that their products are the same as those offered by several other companies.

FACT that not all of them are suitable for a TFR VLCD.

Since the original post New You's website has obviously been updated and anyone wishing to still consider their products as an option can look at the info provided here, look at the info provided on the website and hopefully make an informed decision because they will be armed with the FACTS.

So where's the big problem? :hmm:

Well I'll tell you where I think it is. The diet industry is big bucks, has been for a long long time, and there are desperate people out there who will believe anything, and buy any old snake-oil in the hope that it will provide them with a quick fix to the goal that they crave. There are equally unscrupulous people who will sell them that snake-oil and walk away with the cash without giving a second thought to any potential consequences.

You appear to be a rational and well-rounded person who has the intelligence to weigh up the pros and cons and make an informed decision about which of the many many diets that are now on the market would be suitable for themselves. I'd like to think that I am too. But I'm only too well aware (and I expect you are being in your profession) that there are many many people out there who for whatever reason don't have the mental capacity or sometimes even the rationality to do that.

So me personally I'd rather come on somewhere like here and read about a diet I am considering from all sides, pros and cons, because in my opinion to rush headlong into ANY VLCD without adequate research, preparation and possibly even clinical monitoring is a bloody dangerous thing to do.

I've said it before on here, I don't want to slate New You. I know people on here have been doing it with some fab results and are very happy with all aspects of it, and that's fine. But the FACT remains that not all of the products they sell are designed (by the manufacturer) to be suitable for a TFR VLCD. As long as New You are making potential customers aware of that (which to give them credit they now seem to be) then great, long may they continue.

And breathe.........

http://www.minimins.com/very-low-calorie-diets/139271-taken-plunge-new-you-but-have-question-2.html

 

[rose1987]

Everyone is right ! This diet does need some thinkin i suggest you research diets like this. The good and the bad so you know what to expect . Good luck x

 

[babystar31]

I totally agree, it is great to know the facts.....

Mark if u had slated me i would have eaten u alive lol (would that have counted as a cheat hmm lol)

Your right tho, it is a harsh diet...i just didnt want her to feel as tho we were against her. She has made a huge step to come here....as we all have and her story is similar to mine so i can relate to it....

xx

 

[markanderl]

You see now Mandy you have put these thoughts in my head that should'nt be there, bad girl.

 

[babystar31]

tut tut

Mrs Mark wil u please slap Mr Mark sharply across the back of the head for me hehe, thankin you very much!

 

[Miss Bean]

Hello everyone,

Harshness or no Harshness thank you for all your comments. Perhaps I didn't explain myself properly.

My reason for weight gain was because I did not refeed properly I just came straight off it due to complications with the getting the powder whilst I was away, and as you know no matter how healthily you eat it just goes back on if you don't come off properly. I was told this by my lovely pharmacist. I'm not denying I ate rubbish aswell to get back to this point, but I started out eating wonderfully well and the lbs still came back.

I took the decision to go back on a VLCD in March time, however because I had my first year exams at uni I decided that it wasn't such a good idea to just rush back on it and put myself under too much pressure. So at the end of May all my troubles were over and it was time to get back on the wagon.

Well after 5 days I had to go on antibiotics, the next week I had chronic tonsilitis - more antibiotics, and just last week I had and am still getting over a stomach virus and severe dehydration so all in all not a great time.

It's only today I feel well enough in my mind to start back on the wagon again, now I'm back to health. I'm just changing the diet so I'm doing this one, instead of LT. I know how LT works, I know the whole ketosis process and I know how disgusting all the shakes are bar strawberry a few times and the chocolate.

I just wanted a few nice hints or something to get me on my way. That was all

Thanks guys,

Miss Bean x

 

[Yambabe]

In that case I'm even more sorry for jumping to conclusions.

But what I said earlier about reading on here still stands. There are people posting on this section of the forum who have been doing Exante for over a year and others who are only on their first few days, all make valuable contributions. You just need to take a bit of time and do a bit of reading.

If there's anything you're still not sure of by all means ask. Join in the banter, give us your own opinions as you form them, it will all be taken on board.

My hints and tips? Buy some herbs and spices ready for when you hit that tomato soup lol!

 

[Den]

Drink plenty of water sweetie. I have a two litre bottle on my desk at work so see it going down. Shakes, bars and soups are filling, but the water helps con the brain a bit too! I must be up to about four litres a day, 'cos I seem to get really thirsty.

Exercise too, I took kickboxing up in March and try to go 3 times a week with a minimum of twice a week - it burns upto 800 calories an hour! And i get to hit things!!!

All the very best with your endeavours, your head seems to be in the right place, so go on prove yourself right!

Dx

 

[Miss Bean]

Thank you Yambabe I was just looking through your photo's and I think you have done amazingly well. I can only hope for such good losses. What I like about this diet is that I know it's available when I have to go back to uni, Lipotrim was not .
We are allowed herbs then with this, that's a new one. I know no fruit teas, I'm guessing peppermint tea is allowed though still getting used to the hideous taste of that one.

Please don't feel worried about how you came across I actually thought it was quite funny that there was a person that was that honest. I have had people be rude to me on here before, not this forum and I took offence, but the way you put the information you had to give me made all the difference.

Good luck on your re-feeding journey, I know the hard part starts now. But I'm sure your mind is ready.
Hope everything goes well x

 

[mojobrad]

My hint is to keep yourself busy. I find this diet more difficult on my days off than when I'm at work.

Take this opportunity to start a new hobby or something.

Good luck!

 

[wannadrop3st]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum, I to am new/ returner and i find lots of water and early nights are key

Good luck,
Shazza

 

[Isis1981]

Water is a God send (literally!) lol

I use herb and spices in my soups. Yummy!

I halve my shake packs. I have half in the late morning (well between 10 and 11) made up with the water of a full pack.

I have the second early evening. I either have it as a shake again or a shmuffin lol (little bit of water, into a paste and nuked in the microwave lol)

I eat my bar gradually over the late afternoon. I have my soup about nine. With black coffee, herbal teas, and water, I find I am able to survive great.

You will find your way of getting through this. I would find LT very hard as they say no to seasoning. I have lost weight fine with my bag of many seasoning's as my trusty kit lol

Good luck!!

 

[calligas]

welcome and u will certainly get honesty here, we all are genuine and help each other out, drink lots and lots and come here for support, if u blip then don;t worry, i have a couple of times and every1 are great, ok the blue team might get a brownie point but at least i am honest. You have to be true to yourself and just do your best, we have all slimmed and gone back up again, hence this is why we are here. good luck and i look forward in your discussions.