Meal replacement diet

I haven't used meal replacement products myself. I had success with the 5:2 diet, which I must return to as my BMI is just into the overweight category.
I hope you get some replies about Slimfast etc.

Thank you Hilda I have had a look at the 5.2 diet but don’t think it is for me.

I did lose 3 stone about 10 years ago by just cutting back on all food and drink, but recently have been on steroids and I have put back about Stone and a half ?

I wouldn’t use meal replacements myself. They may achieve a weight loss for you but then you will put it back on if you return to the previous eating habits. If you already eat healthily, slightly smaller portions would probably be enough to shift the excess and in the process, you’d learn what portion sizes are right for you to maintain your weight.

I keep a tin of Slimfast Milk Shake Powder in for times I just want to cut back for a few days. I tend to have one as a substitute for lunch and just eat a small breakfast and dinner. They do contain lots of added vitamins and minerals.

Don’t be tempted to buy the plastic bottles with the shake already made up. Bad as single use plastics. Instead buy the tin (metal so recyclable) and make your own.

Guess what? I recommend the 16:8. Just eat normal food during the course of 8 hours then don't eat for 16 hours. Do it overnight and all it means is missing breakfast. Flexible, easy, effective and with a host of research evidence backing it up. Much better than temporarily eating artificial food.

Jane10 maybe you can help me? I've now been on the 16:8 diet for about six weeks and not losing weight ,in fact I'm now going 18 hours without food and six where I can eat.Eating between 1000 and 1200 calories a day .Not exercising because of a herniated disc ..should I drop the calories further .I'm not eating bread and not sure what else I should cut out .

I found the 5:2 diet easy to use. and I have kept my weight down to a good weight.
I was about 9stone before I started and got down to 8 and a half stone. (I am just 5' 1. )
Having the fast day on 500 calories for two days a week I have found I have been much better able to keep to not feel the need for snacking or such.
However a recent TV program did make it very clear that there are a lot of different factors that affect ones appetite and craving for food.

I've used Slimfast a few times and it works for me. You have to be sensible about it of course - making sure you don't eat extras , ha ha. I have a shake for breakfast and lunch, and a smallish meal at night. I still get "the munchies" late in the evening but I just don't keep anything in the house which would spoil the diet. When I go off the diet I tend to gain weight again, which is why I go back to the Slimfast. This is due to my weak nature - nothing to do with the product as it has been "the story of my life". I just like the simplicity of Slimfast.

paddyann sorry to hear about your bad back. I never weigh myself so have no objective way of measuring weight loss. I just go on how I fit my clothes. I can now get into things I haven't been able to for years. The weight seemed to come off in odd unexpected places.
However, I too am not getting as much exercise as I used to on a regular basis as awaiting another knee replacement. I suspect that if I wasn't doing 16:8 I'd be much larger than I am now. Could this be the case for you too? Don't make yourself any more miserable by restricting further. Back pain drags you down. Is there a chance it will improve or will you need an op?

A friend of mine had great success with Jane Plan but sadly put it all back on when she came off it. I would look at the NHS Choices website for a healthy diet there is a link on the BBC site you saw.

ThanksJane10 I'll persevere with it and see how it goes ,I know the lack of exercise is a factor so I'll have to talk to my physio again and ask about what she advises.I actually find the diet very easy,I used to fast a lot when I was young ,but then I was running 10k every day so I could lose half a stone in a week if I wanted to.I know now thats not the best way to go so I'll hang on in there for a few more weeks before trying something else .

Do you think that maybe you are eating too little? I gather that when that happens your body goes into a protection mode and doesn’t lose weight.
I am still doing the 16:8 and the weight loss has slowed down a lot - I am also finding that it depends very much on what I eat - a chocolate biscuit for instance puts on loads compared with the calories etc. I also find that I do need to drink water as well as tea etc to lose the weight. I don’t mean gallons but a few glasses throughout the day. I had started to eat a small amount of bread and pasta - had not been able to eat it with the reflux - but that caused so much bloating so I have virtually cut it out again. Back to basic protein and veg.

I think its probably the lack of exercise ,apart from the ones I get from the physio and some pilates I dont do much else.I do run (?) about after the GC so I'm not sitting still all day .Just not doing aerobic s.I've to persevere with exercise for now and then if no real improvement in the pain and the problem with my leg,which feels as if it doesn't belong to me,then surgery will be needed.I'm trying to be positive so losing weight to see if that helps .

That is bad luck with your back problem paddyann. I eat a low carb diet, as I discovered I was pre diabetic, but now no longer at risk after losing weight on low carb. Weight up a bit lately so have tried 16:8 as well and lost no weight at all unless I incorporate regular walking a few miles 2 or 3 times a week. Are you able to walk regularly? I guess low cal meal replacements will work short term, but realistically the only permanent weight loss will be down to changing eating habits and incorporating some exercise.

I didn't want to cut down on fatty foods and didn't want to start exercising so just lost weight by having more sex - I went up from once a week to three times a day and became more adventurous with positions. Was able to lose a stone in a week.

Think I'd rather stay fat!

Its simple but does work - I just go down a plate size! You only have to wander around any old Bric a Brac shop to notice the china from the 1950/60s is a lot smaller. I do think we get into the habit of eating too much...its not that we are greedy just eat the same amount out of habit rather than real appetite.

I have recently gone back onto the 5:2 diet, and don’t find it difficult to stick to, especially in the summer. I lost a stone and a half last time I was on it, but this time the weight is slower coming off.

That's so true HildaW, smaller plate does work, it's all in the eyes ? ?. In boots at the moment their is 20% off slim fast, the packets of vitality shakes, think that's the name. I nearly bought a bag but thought to myself would I be starving as in my head I'd be thinking I just had a drink at lunch/ breakfast not actual food. For me I need to chew , all in the head of course ??

Years of writing about healthy eating at different stages of life and healthy weight means that I would say forget the fast solution because it isn't. Unless there is an underlying medical cause for being overweight the reason that being overweight has happened is taking in more calories than you use. The smaller plate trick is useful because – to be brutal – you need to eat less. A drastic cut in calories also doesn't work, but a slow decrease in calories will begin to match with calories out – even without taking any sort of exercise. If you can add some exercise too that will help but expect the whole process to take quite a while – after all, it took quite a while for the extra weight to go on. Good luck!

I think it’s obvious to most of us that we can eat far less these days, as we age. At certain stages in my life I. found I started to gain weight even though I wasn’t eating differently, and so I had to cut down. A big one was the menopause, that has meant I do have to watch what I eat very carefully, even though I was still running half marathons.

I’d be interested to read one of your books absent/

I see Absent I started this thread in at the end of April. Well after some research I plumped for the free NHS Diet plan and have more or less kept to it and I am about three quarters of a stone down. All my clothes fit now and I feel a lot better in myself. I have about 5 lbs to go and then will try and keep it steady. I do however have in the fridge some Slimfast choc bars which I have cut in half and occasionally have one if I crave something really sweet.

NanKate I must confess I do have a tub of those Slimfast replacement shakes in my store cupboard. Sometimes I just don’t feel like food, especially in this weather and if I’m cooking for DH, do occasionally I’ll just knock one up instead of dinner.

But then I don’t have a ‘big’ appetite these days.

Whatever suits you OldMeg go for it. I can’t follow the diets that say cut out carbs, which works for a lot of folks. I prefer to eat smaller portions of most things so I don’t feel I am missing out and I have an occasional glass of wine. ?