Weight loss ups and downs - 800 Calorie - Newcastle

[Feathers]

Oooh nice! £70 will get you a pretty massive order there.

 

[ColinUK]

Oooh nice! £70 will get you a pretty massive order there.

Particularly when you take advantage of any offers. But always check if the diabetes discount (40%) beats any offer.

 

[ColinUK]

@Feathers so how are you getting on with the Newcastle diet?

 

[Feathers]

Yeah Exante is good value but requires some maths 😛
I'm doing ok. Into week 3. Really missing the ability to comfort eat - doing this diet is exposing just how lacking in coping mechanisms I am, aside from food. And how much I rely on food to bring some happiness to my day 😳 I'm seeing a nutritionist who specialises in sort of counselling for nutrition? But obviously that's an ongoing process, trying to get a healthier relationship to food.
I think the people who find Newcastle easy must not be comfort eaters.

I hope your next bit of weight loss goes well! How do you cope when you can't comfort eat?

 

[ColinUK]

Most often I’ll go to bed. That’s not ideal I know but if I head outside I can find the lure of comfort foods so ridiculously strong.

That’s what it’s like at the beginning anyway. Once I’m back into the swing of things then I’m bolstered by the weight loss and it’s easier to maintain good habits. Until it isn’t.

 

[Nayshiftin]

Well fone

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Yeah Exante is good value but requires some maths 😛
I'm doing ok. Into week 3. Really missing the ability to comfort eat - doing this diet is exposing just how lacking in coping mechanisms I am, aside from food. And how much I rely on food to bring some happiness to my day 😳 I'm seeing a nutritionist who specialises in sort of counselling for nutrition? But obviously that's an ongoing process, trying to get a healthier relationship to food.
I think the people who find Newcastle easy must not be comfort eaters.

I hope your next bit of weight loss goes well! How do you cope when you can't comfort eat?

I don't know if I comfort ate, I certainly boredom ate.
The Newcastle diet certainly reset that for me, although lockdown stretched that a bit as well.

 

[Vonny]

Lovely to see you posting again @ColinUK, and sorry you are having a bad time. Hope you get back into the swing of the shakes soon and ditch the extra weight. So easy to put on, so difficult to shift. Rooting for you x

 

[ColinUK]

100.3kg

 

[Weekender]

@ColinUK , @Feathers @travellor @Lordy48
Hi all - Day 17 for me and I'm having some challenges and would welcome your advice and experiences.

I'm very grumpy and also feeling fatigued, and my family are getting fed up with me.
It seems that these grumpy and fatigued feelings are getting worse as it goes on.

I've decided to mix in a 18:6 fast with the 3 shakes and a salad. So I have my first shake at 12 and nothing after 18:00
I'm also trying to fit in swimming, walking etc - as I read that exercise helps burn more visceral fat. Over the 17 days I average 1,400 activity calories a day over my basal metabolic rate (1,900)

I feel pretty good from 07:30 till about 10:00 - the fat metabolism is doing its job
From 10:00 to 12:00 I'm particularly grumpy
After the first shake at 12:00 the wheels come off and I feel exhausted and have to lie down. I'm supposing this is caused by switching from fat metabolism to food metabolism - like crunching gears from reverse to forward.
I don't have energy to do much then have the Shake 2 at 2pm ish
A salad at 4pm and final shake at 6pm - occasionally with a 2nd salad
The evening then is just a 'bit hungry' (I hate it if we are watching Channel 4 - its wall to wall to food ads!)

I've lost 10kg so far and for the last 10 days I'm losing an average of 0.32 kilos - which will result in a loss of 22.72 kg after 8 weeks. So I guess I'm over doing it.
But I can't see how spreading out 3 shakes and a 2x salad / veg over longer would make a difference.
Maybe I should have more calories than it says in the plan?

Or is feeling grumpy and tired just normal and something to put up with? I explained to my family that cortisol levels rise when fasting and so grumpy is normal - but they weren't having it 🙂

I would really value your experiences please .

 

[Weekender]

Just signed into the exante site to see what new flavours they’ve got and BOOM!

Just signed into the exante site to see what new flavours they’ve got and BOOM! View attachment 17359

I'll ask Mrs Weekender to place my next order - what is the code we can use to credit your referral Colin?

 

[Feathers]

Hey @Weekender - so you probably don't want to hear what I'm about to say as it could be depressing!

But I decided today I had to come off the diet. I've been low energy from the start, but this Monday (which was day 15 for me) it felt like someone came along and ripped my batteries out. I really tried to push through, but when I was still feeling like that this morning, I had to reevaluate. I'm down 10hrs work this week (I'm freelance), so it's costing me wage (and if it continues, risks annoying my clients). I'd reached the point where I was very numb, very emotionless. And where doing anything felt too hard - even going and getting a drink. I wasn't hungry - in fact, I didn't want to eat at all.

This did not feel like a healthy headspace to be in. And physically I felt awful. I gave it three weeks, including four days of absolute misery this week. I feel like that's a fair try.

So, I had a moderate lunch (550cals), and feel a little better. I am relaxing tonight. Tomorrow, I am going to switch to a 1200 calorie diet: shakes for breakfast and dinner, with a ~600 calorie lunch.

I still feel motivated (the overnight numbers have been so amazing), and I think I have enough confidence left in the diet to do another 9 weeks (for the total 12). It'll just be higher calorie (and thus less weight loss) in the end.

Edit to add: I know people report great energy levels on this diet. But I wonder if there is some "survivor" bias there? The people who hang around forums talking about diets tend to be the ones succeeding at them!

Edit to add again: I'm also hoping that if I am a bit less drained, I'll be able to get out and walk. Which might offset some of the higher calorie (though obvs nowhere close to all)

 

[Weekender]

Hey @Weekender - so you probably don't want to hear what I'm about to say as it could be depressing!

But I decided today I had to come off the diet. I've been low energy from the start, but this Monday (which was day 15 for me) it felt like someone came along and ripped my batteries out. I really tried to push through, but when I was still feeling like that this morning, I had to reevaluate. I'm down 10hrs work this week (I'm freelance), so it's costing me wage (and if it continues, risks annoying my clients). I'd reached the point where I was very numb, very emotionless. And where doing anything felt too hard - even going and getting a drink. I wasn't hungry - in fact, I didn't want to eat at all.

This did not feel like a healthy headspace to be in. And physically I felt awful. I gave it three weeks, including four days of absolute misery this week. I feel like that's a fair try.

So, I had a moderate lunch (550cals), and feel a little better. I am relaxing tonight. Tomorrow, I am going to switch to a 1200 calorie diet: shakes for breakfast and dinner, with a ~600 calorie lunch.

I still feel motivated (the overnight numbers have been so amazing), and I think I have enough confidence left in the diet to do another 9 weeks (for the total 12). It'll just be higher calorie (and thus less weight loss) in the end.

Hi Feathers, well thanks for the update - it's not just me then 🙂
I couldn't do the 800 calories and work at the same time. No way.
I'm semi - retired, just WFH 2 days a week so I can get away with flopping about.
Your approach sounds very sensible, please keep me updated with how you get on.
I may have have to follow your lead.
My problem is that I have never had the ability to be moderate. I can't have 1 pint, always pints all night, or a slice of pizza (always eat it whole) or a chocolate (eat the box).
So I'm pretty sure I would fail at 'sensible' and I'm reluctant to stray from the path.
But a strict 1200 might work

 

[Feathers]

@Weekender yup I'm similar. How does anyone eat just one jaffa cake? etc. This is why I'm sticking with the shakes, especially for the evening meal - I find the removal of decisions really helps. But I am worried I'll not stick to it.

Maybe it'll improve for you in later weeks. But if you do have to increase calories a bit, I'd love to chat strategies and how to manage that! Shout if you want a sort of diet buddy! I really hope you start to feel better on it though 🙂

(and sorry for hijacking @ColinUK 's thread so badly!)

 

[Leadinglights]

No diet is worth making yourself miserable and ill. Managing your diabetes is all about finding a way of eating that you can sustain and when there is so much low carb options out there with fresh veg, meat, fish, cheese to make tasty meals from. The shakes diet is as it says a DIET with a start and an end not a diet for life. It might be a temporary quick fix but I have read of so many people who do that and months later have put all the lost weight back and sometimes more. Clearly it works for some people who engage with the regime.
I hope you can find an alternative that works for you.

 

[Weekender]

@Weekender yup I'm similar. How does anyone eat just one jaffa cake? etc. This is why I'm sticking with the shakes, especially for the evening meal - I find the removal of decisions really helps. But I am worried I'll not stick to it.

Maybe it'll improve for you in later weeks. But if you do have to increase calories a bit, I'd love to chat strategies and how to manage that! Shout if you want a sort of diet buddy! I really hope you start to feel better on it though 🙂

(and sorry for hijacking @ColinUK 's thread so badly!)

Absolutely Feathers. Diet buddy would be great
I've had a chat with family and agreed to adopt your "proper lunch" plan. No carbs obviously. I'd rather up the calories and keep exercising. Trying to exercise on 800 was, on reflection, a bit stupid

 

[Weekender]

No diet is worth making yourself miserable and ill. Managing your diabetes is all about finding a way of eating that you can sustain and when there is so much low carb options out there with fresh veg, meat, fish, cheese to make tasty meals from. The shakes diet is as it says a DIET with a start and an end not a diet for life. It might be a temporary quick fix but I have read of so many people who do that and months later have put all the lost weight back and sometimes more. Clearly it works for some people who engage with the regime.
I hope you can find an alternative that works for you.

 

[Weekender]

@Weekender yup I'm similar. How does anyone eat just one jaffa cake? etc. This is why I'm sticking with the shakes, especially for the evening meal - I find the removal of decisions really helps. But I am worried I'll not stick to it.

Maybe it'll improve for you in later weeks. But if you do have to increase calories a bit, I'd love to chat strategies and how to manage that! Shout if you want a sort of diet buddy! I really hope you start to feel better on it though 🙂

(and sorry for hijacking @ColinUK 's thread so badly!)

I'm the hijacker - sorry Colin

 

[ColinUK]

I'll ask Mrs Weekender to place my next order - what is the code we can use to credit your referral Colin?

Thank you!

COLIN-R91 is the key bit of the referral code but I think it only works on first orders.

 

[ColinUK]

I'm the hijacker - sorry Colin

As long as you’re not insisting we fly to Libya or somewhere like that feel free to hijack!

Shakes for breakfast and lunch plus a “proper” meal is certainly sensible.

You talk about the exercise you’re doing and I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be wise to up your calorie intake if you were to stay on the shakes.

Newcastle diet et al is all about high calorie deficit for a defined period of time. There’s always different ways to use it though and some have used meal replacements for two meals and eaten sometime for the third. Some take weekends off and use products midweek to basically do a 5:2 approach.
At the moment I’m in a hybrid state where I’m starting to reintroduce the shakes but I’m not up to only shakes just yet. That’s likely to be from Monday for me.
Even then if I’m hungry I’ll have an extra one, or chomp down on some cucumber or a few olives etc.
The key is, as is often the case in life, tweak it so that it works for you.