VLCD Sequel: Electric Boogaloo

This thread made me laugh out loud. Humour is very needed when on such a strict diet. And yea, I agree with #gymbunny - keeping in mind the struggle of the start weight is a great incentive to carry on. I will be defo doing that. Took a screenshot of the fajitas tips and tricks. Just wondering when exante will have more products - they seem to be v low on them atm. Wanted to try the dahl you guys are speaking of but they no longer have it. Saying that - i included veggi soup in the order I made on yesterday morning (i actually like its taste and that it has real peas in it!) and by the evening the only soup they still had was the squash one. So they really ran out of products it seems
 
This thread made me laugh out loud. Humour is very needed when on such a strict diet. And yea, I agree with #gymbunny - keeping in mind the struggle of the start weight is a great incentive to carry on. I will be defo doing that. Took a screenshot of the fajitas tips and tricks. Just wondering when exante will have more products - they seem to be v low on them atm. Wanted to try the dahl you guys are speaking of but they no longer have it. Saying that - i included veggi soup in the order I made on yesterday morning (i actually like its taste and that it has real peas in it!) and by the evening the only soup they still had was the squash one. So they really ran out of products it seems

Ah, thank you! And welcome to a VLCD :)

I think, given not one but two programmes on VLCDs (the BBC one, and the putting diabetes into remission one on ITV) there has been a massive uptick in people doing VLCDs - it's nice to see the Exante bit of the forum a bit buzzy, actually. For a while there only about 3-4 of us posting regularly (but we made up for variety in volume!). Exante have always not been brilliant with their stock levels, but they seem to be handling the increased demand extra badly - I've had several (standardised, not personal) apology emails from them about it.

It's not so bad when you're deeper into the diet so you know what you life - which means I'm essentially ordering my favourite products in bulk during the split-second window they're available on the site. But it must really suck when you're just starting because you need to try a wide of range things to see what works for you.
 
The scales were apparently ambivalent this week.

I'm either 13st 11 or 13st 12.

Given TOTM and general bloating, I think I'll take the more conservative 13st 12.

Which is still pretty good. When I reach 13st flat the arrow on the NHS BMI obesity calucator will move from urgently-red-as-red-as-you-can-be-seriously-you're-going-to-die to quite-red-this-is-still-quite-bad.

#goals
 
I LOVE this diary. You're all making me laugh. Sadly I'm quite boring but I'll keep reading :)
 
I LOVE this diary. You're all making me laugh. Sadly I'm quite boring but I'll keep reading

Oh my gosh, you're so kind. And not at all boring. Or rather, every day on a powder diet doesn't make *anyone* a laugh riot but being able to bounce off people here and share a giggle really keeps me going.
 
Hi all, new to VLCD and have just ordered 2 weeks worth of meals from Shake That Weight.

Can anyone give me any tips on dos and don't, particularly with drinks - are diet drinks (fizzy) acceptable or will they throw me out of Ketosis? Also have people avoided Carbs for meals?

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi all, new to VLCD and have just ordered 2 weeks worth of meals from Shake That Weight.

Can anyone give me any tips on dos and don't, particularly with drinks - are diet drinks (fizzy) acceptable or will they throw me out of Ketosis? Also have people avoided Carbs for meals?

Thanks in advance!

Hi TSPP3N? Good luck with your VLCD journey. Every one is slightly different about what is and what is not allowed. On Cambridge you're allowed nothing but water or unsweetened tea/coffee without milk. I think Exante is slightly more generous (https://www.exantediet.com/diet-plans/total-solution-list.list) so you're allowed 330ml of coke zero a day.

For myself, I just drink water, water, nothing but water. But plenty of people have lost weight perfectly successfully taking on their allotted portion of coke zero as well. So basically it comes down to whatever works for you.

In terms of advice, I'd say read what's online, what's on the forum. I have found watching other people's journeys has helped me a lot on mine. The first week is always rough but if you can get through that you'll do fine. Let us know how you do!

Hi new to posting 6 days into Cambridge anxiously awaiting first weigh in. This thread has made me chuckle

Ahh, thank you :) I think you have to get your laughs where you can when you're on a diet. Good luck with your first weigh in - if you've stuck to the plan, you'll be in for a big motivating boost.
 
Foodwise, not much to report. I'm entrenched in routine where eating as basically transmuted into a refuelling action that neither interests or troubles me. I'm actually still eating three bars a day because they are the easiest thing to stuff into my mouth as I go about my business.

It's kind of amazing, in some respects - I feel like I'm living this semi-robot life where I just have to recharge myself occasionally. And a consequence I have more time for other things. If I feel hungry, it's only if I push my activity levels (I need to get a bar in my face the moment I get home after the walk, for example) or really late at night.

So in short: doing good.

I've lost about 2st now which about the point people start noticing. Except because I cut my hair a few weeks back everyone assumes it's that. They just keep staying in a stunned voice "Wow, you've cut your hair, you look amazing."

Which amuses the hell out of me.
 
The bars are definitely the easiest. I didn’t even bother with the shakes, mainly out of laziness. Which are your favourites? I know the cookies and cream bar but do you have anything else?

Great to get comments. Amusing that they’re not sure what they’re commenting on. One more stone and the penny will drop. Then the intrusive questions start :D

Glad you’re getting on okay and enjoying other things that life brings. Can be funny what we miss (and miss out on) when we’re stuffing our faces :)
 
Last edited:
The bars are definitely the easiest. I didn’t even bother with the shakes, mainly out of laziness. Which are your favourites? I know the cookies and cream bar but do you have anything else?

Great to get comments. Amusing that they’re not sure what they’re commenting on. One more stone and the penny will drop. Then the intrusive questions start :D

Glad you’re getting on okay and enjoying other things that life brings. Can be funny what we miss (and miss out on) when we’re stuffing our faces :)

Yes, I can't say I don't miss social eating - and also the pleasures of eating in general. My wife had a pie the other day and I basically stuck my nose in it like a crazy person. But the smell was good too. Felt almost enough like eating.

Bar-wise, I much prefer crunchy to squidgy. They last longer and taste less like diet products to me - I guess because they're a bit like Tracker bars? Or like the sort of yogurt and muesli **** you buy out of a vending machine instead of a chocolate bar when you're pretending to be healthy.

So the four I like are:

Cookies 'n' cream: sort of like a very heavy cake. It's smaller than the other bars but it lasts me longer because I can only eat the thing in fractions.
Chocolate orange: this is fake vaguely chocolate-orange flavoured chips in some kind of ... crunchy polymer? I don't know. Anyway, it tastes inoffensive.
Raspberry and white chocolate: similar theme to the above except genuinely tastes like white chocolate and raspberry to me (this might be becuase I'm not all that keen on either white chocolate or raspberries so I'm not missing anything)
Weird Jam Yogurt Bar Thing: textually super weird - sort of squidgy and crunchy but I ain't mad at it.

And basically at the moment I'm eating those on rotation. I'm sort of inoffensively bored of them if that makes sense? As in, I don't thrill with ecstasy at the prospect of eating one but I'm totally fine to do so.
 
Oh, I know I should like the chocolate caramel (given my preferences for crunchy) but it has a weird salty aftertaste I'm not into. And the toffee/raisin/bullshit bar is not good tasting to me either.

I'm take or leave on the chocolate coconut and the chocolate peanut which, in practice, means leave.

And the one I actively dislike is the squidgy chocolate. That looks like manure and tastes like swamp. NOPE.
 
Oh, I know I should like the chocolate caramel (given my preferences for crunchy) but it has a weird salty aftertaste I'm not into. And the toffee/raisin/bullshit bar is not good tasting to me either.

I'm take or leave on the chocolate coconut and the chocolate peanut which, in practice, means leave.

And the one I actively dislike is the squidgy chocolate. That looks like manure and tastes like swamp. NOPE.
I daren't have the bars. They seem to trigger cravings for real food so I stay well away.
 
I daren't have the bars. They seem to trigger cravings for real food so I stay well away.

Oh wow, that's interesting. They keep me sane because they're food-ish - i.e. you get to chew something. I go a bit mad if I'm on shakes alone.
 
Oh wow, that's interesting. They keep me sane because they're food-ish - i.e. you get to chew something. I go a bit mad if I'm on shakes alone.
We're all different :) It is interesting though. I love the bars. But if I ever get any I want to eat them all in one day and then I want to eat all kinds of things. So I stay far far away.
 
We're all different :) It is interesting though. I love the bars. But if I ever get any I want to eat them all in one day and then I want to eat all kinds of things. So I stay far far away.
Starting to like the bars both for the chewing element but also...can have them for bfast on the go - whilst waiting for a bus or stuck in traffic. I always keep one in my bag just in case also...
 
Back
Top