Yellow Watermelon's Exante Journey

[YellowWatermelon]

Just read your posts I must admit I dont have many shakes. I have the chocolate and orange which is lovely hot, and i have pina coladas which must b out of date, i havent checked'. The exercise is on hold today although I have clocked up 10,000 steps from walking into town.
Well done on your loss and I'm glad that's keeping u going well done . Good luck for Friday. I know weigh day every week seems a long way off, sometimes I am so tempted to weigh daily but I know if I was to show a gain I would go straight off of track and throw all my hard work away.
Enjoy the rest of your day x. Les

Thanks!

I stick to the low sugar shakes, and I pretty much just have them for breakfast. I haven't tried all the more interesting flavours in the non-low-sugar varieties. (They've got strawberry, banana, coconut, vanilla and chocolate in low sugar, which are all pretty yummy imho). I'm not diabetic, I just thought it was weird that the normal shakes have something like 13g of sugar when the low ones have less than 3, so I started with the low sugar ones and liked them enough to stick with them. I used to have a kale smoothie for breakfast, so a liquid shake in the morning isn't too much of a change.

Congrats on the 10,000 steps! I have GOT to start doing some exercise.

Have an awesome day too! x

 

[Rea Cat]

Weight is a fickle thing - try not to be discouraged by little increases, as (as you experienced) they can quite often whoosh away with a bit more on top! Lots of water seems to be the key for that!

Hope you're less hungry this week!!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

I can't seem to get myself back into ketosis, which seems a bit weird as it's not like I'm binging on carbs secretly. I am eating an evening meal, but just chicken, broccoli, courgette and onion, so it's not carb-y. The weight is still going down (although I haven't weighed myself in 2 days - yay me) so I figure maybe it's just not showing up. I am a bit hungrier than before, but I figure - what options do I have? I'm not going to give up at this point when something is actually, finally working for the first time in years!!

Low sugar strawberry shake for breakfast - such a childishly sweet flavour, I do like it, although not often!

 

[Rea Cat]

How much onion/courgette/broccoli are you having? are you tracking your foods and the carbs in it or just being 'sensible', as a lot of stuff has hidden carbs. Onion is spectacularly carby, for what it is. I'm trying to avoid it altogether, personally.

In this instance, keto principles might work for you? The idea is you have your protein allowance, stay under your carb allowance, and fill yourself up with fats. I'm averaging between 7001-1200 calories a day - most of which are actually coming from double cream and cheese, when i analyse it - but i'm still losing lots as I go because carbs are staying low. Maybe cut a bit of the veg and actually (and I know it goes against the grain) fill up on fats and see if that way of eating suits you for weight loss? I've lost 10kg in less than 20 days (though it was a proper restart - I only did TS for three days and then switched to keto diet altogether from a relatively high carb diet).

 

[YellowWatermelon]

How much onion/courgette/broccoli are you having? are you tracking your foods and the carbs in it or just being 'sensible', as a lot of stuff has hidden carbs. Onion is spectacularly carby, for what it is. I'm trying to avoid it altogether, personally.

In this instance, keto principles might work for you? The idea is you have your protein allowance, stay under your carb allowance, and fill yourself up with fats. I'm averaging between 7001-1200 calories a day - most of which are actually coming from double cream and cheese, when i analyse it - but i'm still losing lots as I go because carbs are staying low. Maybe cut a bit of the veg and actually (and I know it goes against the grain) fill up on fats and see if that way of eating suits you for weight loss? I've lost 10kg in less than 20 days (though it was a proper restart - I only did TS for three days and then switched to keto diet altogether from a relatively high carb diet).

Thanks for this, Rea Cat. I was lurking on your diary the other day and started googling all this keto stuff, but I find it SO CONFUSING!!

I did load up a calorie counter app thing last night as I didn't know about the level of carbs in veggies, (except to avoid carrot, which is probably one of my most eaten vegetables). With my exante stuff as well, I was way over what I think I'm supposed to be. It's maximum 60g carbs, isn't it for keto?

How did you find all the info on this? Most of the websites I'm looking at aren't talking about weight loss exactly, and their calories are higher than I want to be doing just now.

And.. one final question (for now) - did I understand it right that you're eating all your calories in one meal, or am I just totally confused?

Thanks for the info - hugely appreciated!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

Ok, so I managed not to weigh myself for two days...and I've leapt up again by 700g! That's what I was halfway through last week. So frustrating.

I think this whole food week thing has been tricky too.

Right, I'm going to be super super super strict, really watch the dinners until Monday when I go back onto packets, and get myself back onto ketosis.

HERE WE GO!!!!!

 

[Rea Cat]

Thanks for this, Rea Cat. I was lurking on your diary the other day and started googling all this keto stuff, but I find it SO CONFUSING!!

I did load up a calorie counter app thing last night as I didn't know about the level of carbs in veggies, (except to avoid carrot, which is probably one of my most eaten vegetables). With my exante stuff as well, I was way over what I think I'm supposed to be. It's maximum 60g carbs, isn't it for keto?

How did you find all the info on this? Most of the websites I'm looking at aren't talking about weight loss exactly, and their calories are higher than I want to be doing just now.

And.. one final question (for now) - did I understand it right that you're eating all your calories in one meal, or am I just totally confused?

Thanks for the info - hugely appreciated!

No, you're not totally confused - I'm having all of my calories in one meal (with the exception of the cream I'm having in coffee in the morning). That's not essential or anything - most people still have two or three meals a day when they're doing keto, but i'm not getting hungry, so why eat? I just have one extravagant meal with pudding instead of other things through the day, and that seems to be working well for me Some people do intermittant fasting, where they'll only eat within a certain timeframe, say maybe from 1pm to 6pm, and then just have water and hot drinks the rest of the time, but some people also have what they like whenever they like, as long as it's keto!

I joined a facebook group called friendly keto uk, which is where i find most of my information, going on the experiences of others. I've read lots of websites too, and just tried to absorb as much information as possible in a way that i can make it work for me.

Most people will go into mild ketosis with 60g of carbs or under, but if you're doing 'proper keto' it's about more than just keeping your carbs low, and avoiding certain foods etc. I think i'm doing what others seem to call 'lazy keto', which is just trying to keep my carbs under 30g a day (surprisingly achievable when you start substituting things for low carb stuff!) and at 800-1200 calories (high fat moderate protein).

Sorry if i've missed anything!! I'm also not trying to sway you off the exante bandwagon in any way - I'm proof that it works. I lost 100lb with it. It's easy to stick to. But when it gets boring...it's tough. after so long i just needed food, and it was nice to discover a way of eating that fits my tastes and works just the same for me!

 

[FullFathom]

But, but... 700g is only just over a pint of water. You've not 'leapt up' anywhere. It's one piss. You can 'put 700g on' or 'lose 700g' in ten seconds (in either direction). These piddly amounts mean nothing and really shouldn't bother you. One shake weighs about 400g. You sweat 500g in a half hour run. Your daily water intake should be 3000g+ and sometimes - hey - more goes in than comes out! Or vice-versa. Your cells retain and excrete fluid at different rates for myriad reasons. Seriously, you should give yourself a break, take a step back, look at trends of larger amounts of weight over longer periods of time, and stop worrying about granular stuff that you cannot control. If you're doing everything by the book, the weight loss will follow - it's just biology and maths.

Ok, so I managed not to weigh myself for two days...and I've leapt up again by 700g! That's what I was halfway through last week. So frustrating.

I think this whole food week thing has been tricky too.

Right, I'm going to be super super super strict, really watch the dinners until Monday when I go back onto packets, and get myself back onto ketosis.

HERE WE GO!!!!!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

No, you're not totally confused - I'm having all of my calories in one meal (with the exception of the cream I'm having in coffee in the morning). That's not essential or anything - most people still have two or three meals a day when they're doing keto, but i'm not getting hungry, so why eat? I just have one extravagant meal with pudding instead of other things through the day, and that seems to be working well for me Some people do intermittant fasting, where they'll only eat within a certain timeframe, say maybe from 1pm to 6pm, and then just have water and hot drinks the rest of the time, but some people also have what they like whenever they like, as long as it's keto!

I joined a facebook group called friendly keto uk, which is where i find most of my information, going on the experiences of others. I've read lots of websites too, and just tried to absorb as much information as possible in a way that i can make it work for me.

Most people will go into mild ketosis with 60g of carbs or under, but if you're doing 'proper keto' it's about more than just keeping your carbs low, and avoiding certain foods etc. I think i'm doing what others seem to call 'lazy keto', which is just trying to keep my carbs under 30g a day (surprisingly achievable when you start substituting things for low carb stuff!) and at 800-1200 calories (high fat moderate protein).

Sorry if i've missed anything!! I'm also not trying to sway you off the exante bandwagon in any way - I'm proof that it works. I lost 100lb with it. It's easy to stick to. But when it gets boring...it's tough. after so long i just needed food, and it was nice to discover a way of eating that fits my tastes and works just the same for me!

Thanks, Rea Cat - hugely helpful! And don't worry, I'm not feeling swayed, and I'm sticking with exante for now, but I do need a plan for when I go back to food, and keto is one thing I haven't tried as yet. Also, it's useful for these meals I'm putting together - I've cut out the onion!

I'll check out the facebook group too.

 

[FullFathom]

A handy tip, although not entirely infallible, is that low-carb veg grows above ground (spinach, cabbage, peppers, cauliflower, brocolli, legumes etc...) and high-carb veg grows below ground (potatoes, carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnips etc...)

 

[YellowWatermelon]

But, but... 700g is only just over a pint of water. You've not 'leapt up' anywhere. It's one piss. You can 'put 700g on' or 'lose 700g' in ten seconds (in either direction). These piddly amounts mean nothing and really shouldn't bother you. One shake weighs about 400g. You sweat 500g in a half hour run. Your daily water intake should be 3000g+ and sometimes - hey - more goes in than comes out! Or vice-versa. Your cells retain and excrete fluid at different rates for myriad reasons. Seriously, you should give yourself a break, take a step back, look at trends of larger amounts of weight over longer periods of time, and stop worrying about granular stuff that you cannot control. If you're doing everything by the book, the weight loss will follow - it's just biology and maths.

That "one piss" made me laugh, thanks Fullfathom! I do only weigh naked in the morning, post....er, you know, but I take your point.

To explain my neurotic attitudes, my body has a tendency of adapting to diets, hence my apparent panic at any upswing. I tend to lose maybe a couple of kilos, and then it stops. I then stick to it despite the no-movement for a couple of months, before I give up. Most recently, it happened with paleo and 5:2, while I watched everyone else lose loads. I think I have a super duper adaptable metabolism, which would have been brilliant living in a cave or during a famine, but kind of sucks in the modern western world. Exante is a totally new approach for me, and it has gotten me further than other diets have, so I'm not giving up!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

Well. Food week is over. It was lovely to eat food, and I was pretty good with eating loads of low carb vegetables and protein, but I do think it had an impact on my weight. I tended to want more food, I haven't seen ketosis all week, and I expect that I did eat more than I thought I did.

As it is, I've pretty much been swimming around the same weight for a fortnight, which there is no way should be happening given the low calorie intake. So, I'm thinking that the food itself increased my weight, simply because it weighed more than exante stuff does. A lot of things I've read suggest that you gain a good few pounds as soon as you go back onto real food, which makes sense from a simple fibre-in-your-digestive-tract perspective. I'm not going to panic...yet.

So, I'm back on all meals, still man plan / 4 meals a day, and I'm going to be super strict and get back into ketosis as soon as I can.

Oh, and over the weekend I was away with some friends, and I made them all pancakes for breakfast, and I had my maple syrup pancakes from the sachet. It was lovely - I felt like I wasn't missing out on anything at all. Making pancakes for a group is such a faff, but it gave me a proper sunday breakfast for everyone, so it was worth it.

Here we go!

 

[FullFathom]

I think this diet is next to impossible if you are also hungry. Remember that every pack is already approx. 200Kcals and 20g carbs, so it's already going to be very hard staying in ketosis with four packs (80-85g carbs), and that's without then adding food. If you 'do' food week by just adding some no carb food to the Total Solution three packs, then you should stay in ketosis and continue to lose weight, so might be that you've accidentally over done the carbs somewhat? To give you some idea. poached or boiled eggs plus a few greens for breakfast or supper seems to work together with the usual packs. And don;t underestimate the importance of three litres plus of water every day, both for loss and to take away the hunger. Obviously drinking a pint of water doesn't satiate hunger in itslef, but it does over time.

 

[YellowWatermelon]

Rightio, I'm back after a couple of days being totally frantic with work, and I'm delighted to have reached my first target - 71kg. That's 5.6kg down from my starting weight 4.5 weeks ago, and it's also the weight I was just before I had my first child (at the time, I felt stressed with having gained a few kilos! How our perspectives change...) I did get down to this weight again after her birth, but some medication I went on made me gain 13kg or so, and that was almost impossible to lose at the time.

It's weird, I don't look the same as I did pre-first-baby - some bits are bigger, others are smaller, there are quite a few more stretchmarks (or lightning strikes as I like to call them). But there is something psychologically encouraging about getting back here - that maybe I can get back to where I really want to be, and that all these years of yoyo weight gain and struggles could finally be overcome.

People are beginning to notice that I've lost weight (which is no mean feat given that most of the people around me have watched me lose about 15kg already, but I've been up and down around the same weight for about a year now). I always find it a funny thing to say - I would never comment on someone's weight, but at the same time it is good to know that they can see it too.

I am worried that I'm going to gain loads when I go back onto real food, but I'm already thinking about how I'm going to transition back, and hopefully the strictness of this diet will make even the smallest treat seem enormous. Of course, I started this more than 4 weeks ago, with the intention of doing it for 3 days before moving onto the 1200 plan, so I can't be too worried about my commitment at this point.

For now, I'm going to celebrate the fact that I have reached goal number one with extante, which was actually about goal 6 with Slimming World, when I started that in March 2016.

And next, I'm going to focus on goal number 2 - 68kg!!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

I've gone off track a little this weekend, but I'm not beating myself up or regretting it. I've been on this thing for 5 weeks now, and you've got to live as well. I went out with my hubby on Saturday night, and ate relatively normally and had some drinks. We also had some friends over but I ensured that the food I made met my own needs as well as theirs, so that was fine. I didn't have ice-creams in the sun, or that glass or three of Pimms I was picturing on Sunday afternoon, so I take it all as a win. Yes, I'm up a kg, but that's most likely just having the food in my stomach.

Today, I'm back on, and determined to get back into ketosis. I'm going to stop having my fourth pack as a snack, and switch to eating cold chicken or boiled eggs instead. As Full Fathom pointed out, the packs are quite carby so I figure switching for just some protein can only be a good thing. It's probably a more natural snack for me to be having, anyway.

I had a coconut shake this morning (low sugar), which I always enjoy.

One of the things I've realised recently is that there can be too much of a good thing. My first order of bars were a couple of each, and it was fun each day choosing which one to have, even if I didn't particularly like some of them. I decided my favourites were the chocolate coconut, choc caramel crunch, strawberry jam and yoghurt, and peanut butter. So I ordered just loads of those. Now I'm SO BORED! I'm choosing based on trying to work my way through them without ending up with a pile of the same ones, and I wish I ordered randomly again. Ah well, next order will be a variety box...

 

[FullFathom]

Three things that may be of use to you:

1. I'm just an outspoken ass offering a different voice. But please feel free to ignore my rants and grumbles, most do!
2. If you need a fourth bar option, you could do worse than the MyProtein BarZero. Weird textures, but barely any carbs at all and good protein ahead of a walk or whatever. The Cookies & Cream one is okay. I'd describe it as 'weird nougat'
3. Make up a shake fairly strong and pour into ice lolly moulds for your next weekend in the garden. For example, I used a choc mint pack with some unsweetened almond milk and had four lollies in the garden for lunch yesterday.

That's all!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

Three things that may be of use to you:

1. I'm just an outspoken ass offering a different voice. But please feel free to ignore my rants and grumbles, most do!
2. If you need a fourth bar option, you could do worse than the MyProtein BarZero. Weird textures, but barely any carbs at all and good protein ahead of a walk or whatever. The Cookies & Cream one is okay. I'd describe it as 'weird nougat'
3. Make up a shake fairly strong and pour into ice lolly moulds for your next weekend in the garden. For example, I used a choc mint pack with some unsweetened almond milk and had four lollies in the garden for lunch yesterday.

That's all!

I VERY much appreciate your ideas and input (that's what I'd call them anyway!) - that's part of the reason I'm here, sharing my every thought for the world to read... I've never done meal replacements before, and it's great to benefit from the hive mind.

I will try those suggestions - I believe I have one of those iced lolly moulds somewhere about!

 

[castingnasturtiums]

Just caught up your diary. I am also a big fan of the coconut shakes, btw. I hope you managed to get back on plan after your weekend out. To be honest, I'm nervous of food week too but also looking forward to being able to eat something 'real'.

Also also: massive congratulations on reaching goal 1!

 

[YellowWatermelon]

All is going very well this week - I've stayed on track so far, still not registering ketosis but I'm not hungry or headachey so perhaps all is well. I'm almost back to pre-weekend weight, just 200g to go, and back to goal one so feeling happy.

The one thing that is killing me a little is the caffeine. I switched to decaff when I was pregnant and enjoyed the zen-like feeling of calm that ensued that I never went back. I used to have an uncaffeinated diet coke once a day as a treat, but that's got citric acid so I've switched to the new exotic Diet cokes (mango and cherry), which don't, as well as Dr Pepper zero. The only other thing I've found is tesco creaming soda, which is pretty gross.

The problem is that I'm feeling super stressed and struggling to sleep, even having just one caffeinated drink a day. I know, I could just stop, or have water (I always drink loads of water anyway), but it really helps to have a can when I'm having emotional eating cravings. Having googled everywhere, I just can't find any other soft drink that doesn't have citric acid or caffeine. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Last night I thought I grabbed a sachet of pizza and topping from the cupboard (as the boxes are lying on their side, next to each other), but someone has tidied things up and swapped my fajita and pizza boxes around. I realised this when I took the 'tomato topping' out of the microwave, and it had a definite chicken filling look about it. I then realised my fajita was in the oven.

Actually, it turned out brilliantly. The fajita cooked very nicely and was tougher than it is in the pan (also I didn't water it down, which no doubt helped that). Very yummy, but it does make me wonder - why don't they put the name and cooking instructions on the sachet, and not just on the box?!

 

[FullFathom]

Sainsbury's were selling a blackcurrant and cherry diet pop that had no citic acid, not sure if that's still the case. There are various water additives, and I think that one of the two budget supermarkets does a summer fruit style squash that fits the bill which you could add to sparkling water. You can also find some low-sugar tonic waters without citric . They might end up being 30Kcals a glass rather than 1KCal, but that makes no real difference unless you are planning on dozens of G&Ts a day!