VLCD Day 1- Help!

[star14]

Hi all,
I’ve been on here before but today’s the first day of starting a VLCD and I’m already pining for food, is there any advice anyone could give me who’s currently on it, i’d love to hear some success stories to keep me motivated as i feel very weak at the moment and don’t know how I can do this for another 10 weeks. I’m currently 14 stone 10 and would ideally love to get back to 11 stone its gonna be hard and stressful but i’m fed up feeling down all the time cause of my weight, I’m currently at uni and all I see is skinny people everywhere, I’d love to go back in October having lost at least 3 and half stone, although my size doesn’t show it I’m quite a fit person and go to the gym regularly I’m just very greedy and eat the wrong foods. My aim is to exercise everyday at the beginning for at least 45 minutes for 10 days after that I’ll be in the gym every other day I’m hoping this will shift the weight quicker and help me tone up but with the VLCD is it wise to exercise? Please help :-/

 

[PrettyPaula]

Firstly, hello!

secondly a virtual hug

now then, which plan is it, and what have you eaten today? have you had your water?

 

[star14]

Aww thanks! I'm on the Cambridge, today i had a chicken and mushroom soup for lunch and 3 shakes spread out through the day, I had a bottle of 500ml water and a cup of coffee for breakfast as i don't usually eat breakfast, thats really been it for me today. I'm not sure how much water i should really be drinking each day if it means feeling less hungry i'll drink the recommended amount and stick to it, its just i'm always on the go i'm currently training to be a surveyor and have bagged a placement this summer but this means never really having any time to sit and eat or drink...or do anything i get really hungry during the day and when i get home i binge this the only day i've managed to have lunch hence why i've managed to do a whole day, as for exercising do you think i should?

 

[PrettyPaula]

im pretty sure exercise is a bit of a no go the first few weeks, i intend to do light bike cardio and just toning when i start (im doing a lot more cardio now but no its not a good thing on such low cals)

2 litres on camrbidge is recommended at first per day, moving upto 3-4 litres water per day, iits REALLY important as its gets you into ketosis faster and thats when the hunger supressant effect kicks in, i would have a pint of water and hit the hay if i were you then aim to have half a litre by 10.30, half a litre by 1.30 then another litre before bed... that way its spaced out x

 

[PrettyPaula]

Also do the camridge ones come in powder form? if so have you got a portable shaker so you can have one on the go? i know how you feel about being busy at work, im a retail manager and the worst day is saturday i dont get time to think let alone pee or eat!

 

[Yambabe]

Hi, Paula is pretty much spot on, you are not drinking anywhere near enough.

I think the recommended minimum water intake on Cambridge is 2.25 litres per day. Most people need more than this and aim for around 3-4 litres. Aim to try and have half a litre each time you have a foodpack, or keep a bottle with you constantly to sip. This will help you in several ways, firstly it will make you feel less hungry but most importantly it will stop your kidneys packing up!

Re exercise, you are trying to do WAY too much at the moment.

Your body is in a kind of shock due to the vastly reduced calories it's getting at the moment and it needs time to adjust and adapt.

You should never try and start a new exercise regime in the first few weeks of VLCD. If youwere exercising before you started then keeping to the same level is OK BUT only if you don't start feeling side-effects such as tiredness, dizziness, muscle cramps etc.

Start off by doing mostly toning and resistance stuff, keep the cardio for later. Intense cardio on a VLCD is not recommended cos you are not getting enough protein and simple carbs in to rebuild your muscles afterwards and your body will burn lean as well as fat when you are doing it. Less lean mass = slower metabolism = slower weightloss, so by overdoing the cardio you are actually sabotaging your diet!

There is a very good CD forum on here where a number of CD consultants post regularly, you will be best asking your questions about the diet in there I think.