New and about to start low calorie liquid diet

[Deleted member 21371]

Yes liquid only for 12 weeks, it’s a programme called Counterweight, I was put on it by my GP. It’s not easy, there’s been really tough moments where I’ve missed food a lot. But it’s made sit back and look at how I eat, usually through boredom or stress and not actual hunger. My snacking was shocking. I managed to stick to it because I was very determined, plus I started to feel so much better and when the weight started coming off it encouraged me to keep going. Plus the shakes and soups were surprisingly tasty which helped. I also joined a Facebook group of other people on the programme and they were a great support and motivation. As I said it’s not easy but I would recommend it so much, it’s only 12 weeks and it’s amazing how much better you feel.

The only thing amazing is you!

 

[Ditto]

I've never heard of that. Did you have to fund yourself? I've heard of peoples being given the stuff to diet with. Sounds great to me. I'm just trying to do SlimFast, 3 bottles a day but I think you're supposed to have 4 so you get all the vitamins. Not sure about the carbs though, I think it sends my bg up. I so need to do some kind of liquid diet.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I've never heard of that. Did you have to fund yourself? I've heard of peoples being given the stuff to diet with. Sounds great to me. I'm just trying to do SlimFast, 3 bottles a day but I think you're supposed to have 4 so you get all the vitamins. Not sure about the carbs though, I think it sends my bg up. I so need to do some kind of liquid diet.

Are they about 20 to 25g of carbs per bottle?
Initially you may notice a rise is you have been extremely low carb, but after a week or so you should achieve an insulin response that will bring you down again.
I did three shakes and a salad.

 

[Ditto]

Thanks for that @travellor 🙂 I'm starving already. It's going to kill me this diet, but if I could just stick to it, from my lips to God's ears, please God. I'm desperate.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Thanks for that @travellor 🙂 I'm starving already. It's going to kill me this diet, but if I could just stick to it, from my lips to God's ears, please God. I'm desperate.

Drink water, and distraction.
It'll pass in a few days.

 

[Lucyr]

Thanks for that @travellor 🙂 I'm starving already. It's going to kill me this diet, but if I could just stick to it, from my lips to God's ears, please God. I'm desperate.

You sound like you could actually be reading my thoughts, I have had such struggle with weight loss recently, things I have done before have stopped working lately. How long have you been doing the shakes for? I do like the appeal of not needing to keep planning meals that a shake diet gives, but always worry about how it becomes a sustainable diet at the end.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

You sound like you could actually be reading my thoughts, I have had such struggle with weight loss recently, things I have done before have stopped working lately. How long have you been doing the shakes for? I do like the appeal of not needing to keep planning meals that a shake diet gives, but always worry about how it becomes a sustainable diet at the end.

It becomes sustainable as your food habits have been reset.
You do need to choose a diet that suits your lifestyle then, or you won't keep to it.
I was fortunate in that I did reverse my diabetes, but I was conscious of my need to keep other things in my life.
Eating out, sports, holidays, and hoc food, do I planned to eat a classically healthy diet, low GI, a lot less junk, lose my sweet tooth, space meals on little and often, and not snack.
I still do all that, so that method suited me.
Lockdown made a dent, no exercise, boredom, I enjoy cooking, eventually I filled the freezer........
But I just weigh myself, eventually I realised I was creeping up, so I went low calorie again for six weeks, and brought it down.

 

[Lordy48]

The only thing amazing is you!

Aww thank you so much, very kind. You know yourself it’s not easy but definitely worth it

 

[Lordy48]

I've never heard of that. Did you have to fund yourself? I've heard of peoples being given the stuff to diet with. Sounds great to me. I'm just trying to do SlimFast, 3 bottles a day but I think you're supposed to have 4 so you get all the vitamins. Not sure about the carbs though, I think it sends my bg up. I so need to do some kind of liquid diet.

I didn’t have to pay for it, I was referred through my GP and they provided me with the shakes. But I’ve joined a fb group with others doing the plan and many are paying for it themselves as there healthboards won’t cover it, seems to depend on where you live. The people paying for it are spending £300 roughly a month, it’s not cheap. But it does get results. I found after 2 weeks I wasn’t hungry anymore, also made me stop and think about the way I ate and why. They provide you with counselling and workbooks fully explaining everything, there’s a lot of support with the counterweight programme. But I’m very lucky health board are offering it and encouraging a lot of people to do it.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I didn’t have to pay for it, I was referred through my GP and they provided me with the shakes. But I’ve joined a fb group with others doing the plan and many are paying for it themselves as there healthboards won’t cover it, seems to depend on where you live. The people paying for it are spending £300 roughly a month, it’s not cheap. But it does get results. I found after 2 weeks I wasn’t hungry anymore, also made me stop and think about the way I ate and why. They provide you with counselling and workbooks fully explaining everything, there’s a lot of support with the counterweight programme. But I’m very lucky health board are offering it and encouraging a lot of people to do it.

I used Tesco shakes.
Most of the time it was on a three for two offer.
So thirty shakes, ten days for eight pounds, twenty four pounds a month. Or thirty six full price.

 

[Ditto]

@travellor I might go back to the Tesco shakes. Is that made up by yourself with skimmed milk then? I'm using the SlimFast bottles at the minute as they're so convenient and measured out as even with this diet I will go ott and if mixing myself I use whole milk and it will take the calories up. There's no hope for me, greedy is my middle name. Give it another whirl today then. 🙄

 

[Deleted member 21371]

@travellor I might go back to the Tesco shakes. Is that made up by yourself with skimmed milk then? I'm using the SlimFast bottles at the minute as they're so convenient and measured out as even with this diet I will go ott and if mixing myself I use whole milk and it will take the calories up. There's no hope for me, greedy is my middle name. Give it another whirl today then. 🙄

It is made up by yourself with skimmed milk. Ideally in a blender, or at least a water bottle or similar shaker as they can be a bit lumpy otherwise. It gives it a bit of a "milkshake" texture as well that way.

 

[Ditto]

@travellor might start doing that then, will see how I go on with the bottles moneywise, I'm still saving money doing Slimfast as not pigging out at takeaways and spending 100s on big food shops, Mum eats like a bird. I'm going for four bottles which is quite high calorie wise but if I can just do that I'll be on a roll.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

@travellor might start doing that then, will see how I go on with the bottles moneywise, I'm still saving money doing Slimfast as not pigging out at takeaways and spending 100s on big food shops, Mum eats like a bird. I'm going for four bottles which is quite high calorie wise but if I can just do that I'll be on a roll.

I came down from eating far too much, incessantly.
I found it helped to sort out a routine, so if I felt hungry, I knew exactly when the next food would be coming, and didn't bring anything forward.
I also had a few carrot sticks for when I decided I had to crunch something.
These were slightly more ad-hoc, but again, limited on both quantity and times.
It helped me think in terms of hours, rather than days or weeks, as the next meal was only usually four or five hours away.
And, it does get easier after only a few days. The body soon adapts to the new regime.

 

[Weekender]

I’ve just finished week 8 on the Counter Weight programme now. It’s 4 shakes or soups a day. My first week I was very tired, hungry and generally quite irritable. But it passed quickly, I then got a surge in energy and I felt much better. I’m not sure how the other meal replacement plans are, I can only share my experience on the one I’m on. I need to drink 2.5 litres at least a day of water, diluted juice is allowed if sugar free. I also need to take fibogel as the shakes can make you constipated which I have experienced, but the fibogel sorted it. That’s all the physical side effects I had. Mentally it’s been a bit tougher, super market shopping and living with someone who still eats food is hard! I’ve really missed eating. But I don’t feel hungry on my shakes at all now. In 8 weeks I’ve lost 19kg / 3 stone 2lb, my blood glucose readings are now totally normal - they range between 5 and 8.5. My blurry vision is gone, the tingling in my feet stopped. After 12 weeks they start me slowly on food reintroduction, adding a 400 calorie meal for 2 weeks, then increasing it till I’m on 3 a day. I would highly recommend this form of treatment, I was lucky my GP offered it to me the first day I was diagnosed and I jumped at the chance. The dietician I’ve had has been really supportive and helpful. Good luck!

Mighty congratulations Lordy48, that really is a great achievement. You should be very proud. I've just finished week 2 of the Newcastle diet - which sounds very similar. Your story is inspiring. 10 weeks to my finish dates feels a very long time to go, so it's great to read of your success.

 

[Lordy48]

Mighty congratulations Lordy48, that really is a great achievement. You should be very proud. I've just finished week 2 of the Newcastle diet - which sounds very similar. Your story is inspiring. 10 weeks to my finish dates feels a very long time to go, so it's great to read of your success.

Good luck on the plan! It’s definitely not easy but really is worth sticking too. After a few weeks it gets easier and you’ll find the the weeks pass quicker. Just take it week by week and keep yourself busy. When you start seeing the benefits and feeling better it’ll keep you going. Hope you get great results with it

 

[goodybags]

This is the stuff about the referral code... basically you recommend someone, they get a discount and you get a discount


View attachment 16153

My referral code is COLIN-R91 so you enter that in the relevant field when you register.

And Nectar are currently doing 6x points per £1 spent at exante if you go via their website (and have a nectar card obviously).

maybe @ColinUK or somebody else who buys shakes from exante can advise me, please

I’ve registered (using Colin’s code /link) and selected the diabetes discount which it looks like they have validated, so I should get a great discount on my order,
can’t see do they still give nectar points ?

which ones do people usually order is it the low sugar smoothies ? any advice greatly appreciated

 

[ColinUK]

maybe @ColinUK or somebody else who buys shakes from exante can advise me, please

I’ve registered (using Colin’s code /link) and selected the diabetes discount which it looks like they have validated, so I should get a great discount on my order,
can’t see do they still give nectar points ?

which ones do people usually order is it the low sugar smoothies ? any advice greatly appreciated

You have to shop via Nectar to get the Nectar points.

I never pick the low sugar smoothies because the reviews are not good for those so I just used to order standard meal replacement shakes from them.

I tend to order almond, vanilla, cherry and berries, plus whatever took my fancy from the seasonal ranges.

Mix them with loads of ice and they’re ok.

 

[goodybags]

You have to shop via Nectar to get the Nectar points.

I never pick the low sugar smoothies because the reviews are not good for those so I just used to order standard meal replacement shakes from them.

I tend to order almond, vanilla, cherry and berries, plus whatever took my fancy from the seasonal ranges.

Mix them with loads of ice and they’re ok.

Thanks for the advice @ColinUK

 

[Deleted member 21371]

I did it with normal shakes.
No problem with them for me either.