FullFathom
Full Member
Hallo everyone. Firstly, May I just say a big thank you to all of you for the questions, answers, diaries and stories that I’ve read and survived on while lurking on this forum all year! Success stories, struggles, celebrations and grumps - I’ve found everything very, very helpful, so thank you.
I’m in my early 40s and I’ve just decided that I ought to admit to at least someone that I’m a secret dieter. I’ve never been on a formal diet before, generally just going down the ‘eat better, do more exercise route’ with varying success then ultimate failure. But at the end of 2017 I weighed myself and discovered I was the biggest I’d ever been, and way heavier than I’d feared. I decided to research some diets and have a classic knee-jerk New Year / new me moment.
I studied a lot of dieting ideas, and read a lot of the usual criticisms and concerns about VLCDs. I also researched the science and origins, read success stories and failures, and came up with a plan. I would adopt a VLCD and follow all the rules to the letter. But instead of going straight from mince pies, Quality Street and port directly to shakes, I’d give myself a chance of sticking it out with a stepping stone diet.
On 1st January I began by having a black coffee and a shop-bought low-cal protein shake for breakfast (SlimFast, Tesco, Asda, whatever), a plain green salad with tomatoes and peppers for lunch, and a normal but low-calorie meal with the family in the evenings. I had six pints of water a day and no snacks or cheating at all. My family just assumed I was on dry January and a bit of a New Year health kick. I was also walking every lunchtime. I did this every day until mid-February.
After six weeks I was done with the stepping stone but also had become a secret dieter. I lost weight steadily but felt very, very hungry nearly all the time. Every night I wanted to eat something, anything before going to bed. I didn’t because, well, what’s the point in doing any of this just to cheat yourself and your efforts by gobbling a pizza and glugging a bottle of wine? I’m a grown up and it’s only will power. But blimey, it was no fun just feeling so, so hungry after work. Anyway.
Six weeks of relatively traditional dieting at least helped to transition from big plates of anything I liked, to gain some good habits and to lower my tummy’s expectations. But now I was desperate for that promised land of Ketosis! With a bumper pack of Exante shakes on a first-timer deal, I got started. The pee strip went pink after four days. I’m now three weeks in on total meal replacement. The shakes are fine. I feel like the most boring hermit on earth, but it’s certainly working!
So I’m using you a bit now, and I’m genuinely sorry about that. I’m selfishly starting this thread because I need to stop being a secret dieter all the time. I need to try and keep my enthusiasm and momentum going. Since NYD I have lost 26lbs. Nobody has noticed more than in a passing comment, but I’m quite proud that I’ve never cheated, not even a little bit, despite still cooking normal food and going out for meals and excusing myself. My goal is to lose another 25lbs. I’m not hungry anymore, I just miss food and drink! I don’t want to bore non-dieters with my trivia about the pros and cons of almond milk. But I thought you might not mind so much if I burble on about some of my habits, successes and gripes and hopefully you can share my secret and help me stick to the plan! I hope that’s okay?
To give you some idea of my fun fun fun routine, this was my Saturday. A vanilla shake with 250ml cashew milk at around ten (after cooking eggs on toast for other people), a strawberry shake with 250ml cashew milk at 2pm while out walking to avoid watching everyone else eat sausage and mash. I now have a chocolate shake in the fridge with 400ml water to boost the volume, which I’ll have around 8:30. As it’s Saturday, and I can’t just go to bed early, I’m also going to have my weekly Dr Pepper Zero later.
Yay. I’m doing well I guess, but have “lost all my mirth”.
I’m in my early 40s and I’ve just decided that I ought to admit to at least someone that I’m a secret dieter. I’ve never been on a formal diet before, generally just going down the ‘eat better, do more exercise route’ with varying success then ultimate failure. But at the end of 2017 I weighed myself and discovered I was the biggest I’d ever been, and way heavier than I’d feared. I decided to research some diets and have a classic knee-jerk New Year / new me moment.
I studied a lot of dieting ideas, and read a lot of the usual criticisms and concerns about VLCDs. I also researched the science and origins, read success stories and failures, and came up with a plan. I would adopt a VLCD and follow all the rules to the letter. But instead of going straight from mince pies, Quality Street and port directly to shakes, I’d give myself a chance of sticking it out with a stepping stone diet.
On 1st January I began by having a black coffee and a shop-bought low-cal protein shake for breakfast (SlimFast, Tesco, Asda, whatever), a plain green salad with tomatoes and peppers for lunch, and a normal but low-calorie meal with the family in the evenings. I had six pints of water a day and no snacks or cheating at all. My family just assumed I was on dry January and a bit of a New Year health kick. I was also walking every lunchtime. I did this every day until mid-February.
After six weeks I was done with the stepping stone but also had become a secret dieter. I lost weight steadily but felt very, very hungry nearly all the time. Every night I wanted to eat something, anything before going to bed. I didn’t because, well, what’s the point in doing any of this just to cheat yourself and your efforts by gobbling a pizza and glugging a bottle of wine? I’m a grown up and it’s only will power. But blimey, it was no fun just feeling so, so hungry after work. Anyway.
Six weeks of relatively traditional dieting at least helped to transition from big plates of anything I liked, to gain some good habits and to lower my tummy’s expectations. But now I was desperate for that promised land of Ketosis! With a bumper pack of Exante shakes on a first-timer deal, I got started. The pee strip went pink after four days. I’m now three weeks in on total meal replacement. The shakes are fine. I feel like the most boring hermit on earth, but it’s certainly working!
So I’m using you a bit now, and I’m genuinely sorry about that. I’m selfishly starting this thread because I need to stop being a secret dieter all the time. I need to try and keep my enthusiasm and momentum going. Since NYD I have lost 26lbs. Nobody has noticed more than in a passing comment, but I’m quite proud that I’ve never cheated, not even a little bit, despite still cooking normal food and going out for meals and excusing myself. My goal is to lose another 25lbs. I’m not hungry anymore, I just miss food and drink! I don’t want to bore non-dieters with my trivia about the pros and cons of almond milk. But I thought you might not mind so much if I burble on about some of my habits, successes and gripes and hopefully you can share my secret and help me stick to the plan! I hope that’s okay?
To give you some idea of my fun fun fun routine, this was my Saturday. A vanilla shake with 250ml cashew milk at around ten (after cooking eggs on toast for other people), a strawberry shake with 250ml cashew milk at 2pm while out walking to avoid watching everyone else eat sausage and mash. I now have a chocolate shake in the fridge with 400ml water to boost the volume, which I’ll have around 8:30. As it’s Saturday, and I can’t just go to bed early, I’m also going to have my weekly Dr Pepper Zero later.
Yay. I’m doing well I guess, but have “lost all my mirth”.
Amazing start! Your rants and experiences are more than welcome here. Good luck on the rest of your journey. How much do you have to lose? X
