Alternative to Slimfast

muzza3

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@EdMac
We are almost identical on weight-loss and timing. I can't help re alternatives as you know my pack-drill 3 x Optifast and Veges each day. My weight-loss has slowed each week of the diet. Do you weigh in each morning? I do and get very frustrated if the dial does not move in the right direction and have had two of those mornings this week. It has definitely been the hardest week of the diet (week 7) to date and the most peckish for me.But it could be just a plateau and with a couple of good days strung together a couple of lb can disappear.I hope someone can help with an alternative and good luck over the next fortnight
 
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muzza3

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@EdMac

Just a thought re shakes. Have you had a look at Bodybuilding/Gyms supplies. I know they have a lot of protein shakes that they sell that may meet the sugar levels you are after. I haven't checked them out myself but you could google.
That capacity to lift your exercise level is a big upside. I have a crook knee from my football days but think it is arthritic as well. I can still walk well and even manage a jog. But I do try to do the old 10000 steps a day when I can(most days) . As an aside I tore a hamstring in the first week of the diet trying to do a light run. I wasn't that upset as the last time I had done this was 25 years ago when I was at the end of my footballing days and I was amused that I still had the capacity to tear it. (hurt like hell but twenty four hours of icing and some strapping and I was walking 2 days later)

Thanks for the kind wishes but this is a start and I have to go on to lose a further 30lbs on this journey so I'm sure well be comparing notes for a while yet
 

zand

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I think the protein shakes would be a good idea. The carbs in the Slimfast are probably what is making you hungry. Don't worry too much about your targets, the weight will go when it wants to. It may be that you plateau for a while having done so very well already. You can always let your weight stabilize after you have finished the 8 weeks and then if necessary do another few weeks later on.
 

IZ THE LEG END

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Diabetes!!!
I've been following the 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet for the last 6 weeks and things have been going well. The book suggests that the key aim is losing weight and provided the weight comes off it doesn't really matter how. Obviously common sense dictates that safe dieting is important.

I find meal replacement drinks a better bet for me than actual food as I find it easier to track my calories without worrying about portion control. I use an unsweetened soy milk with Slimfast (the soy milk masks the cardboard taste better than milk) and have calculated that each drink is c180 calories (around 50 less than making with milk). I'll have 2 or 3 of those and then have some veg and / or a bit of meat in the evening. So my calories have been around 800 to 1000 a day.

So far I've lost 28 lbs and am targeting 36 by the end of the diet. But the weight loss has slowed and I'm actually feeling peckish more or less constantly now.

I'm guessing that because my body has picked away nearly all the low hanging fruit - I'm down to more or less the last stone of available excess fat now - that things are changing. I also wonder if I can improve on the Slimfast as it has a 6% sugar content when made up as a drink. Over the course of say 3 x 250ml shakes this actually stacks up to quite a bit of sugar and it's right after the shake I feel like stuffing my face.

So I'm wondering if there may be an alternative. I know the Optifast has similar (maybe higher) sugar content and that's the official recommended drink. And most of the supermarket diet shakes have even higher sugar. I've read a little about whey proteins - but gather I need to avoid artificial sweetners as they stimulate appetite and many of the drinks seem intent on boosting calorie intake by 600 per serving (obviously I could just use less).

So just wondering if anyone has researched and has a tried and trusted powder (that doesn't cost the earth - some of them are ludicrously priced for what they are)?

I use USN pure protein... (Other brands available ) as close to zero carbs as I've found... Great for restoring muscle after training... Never checked however if it contained any ingredients like maltodextrin etc... But works for me I used it both as meal replacement and a recovery aid works well in both instances for me but everyone's different
 
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TorqPenderloin

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We're talking about a balanced plan that has been worked out by medical professionals - designed specifically to emulate a record of success.

Be careful when and how you assess how you feel. First few days I was thinking about food a lot. By day three I felt really ill, literally incapable of doing anything. I think this was a sugar come down - literally like breaking an addiction. That lasted 24 hours then I felt great.

After the first week I didn't feel hungry and I wasn't really missing food. The weight was melting away and I could really see and feel a difference. With the exception of 1 week where I was away most of the week I have lost lots of weight each week.

So an early assessment of how the diet worked for me would have been a mistake. If I was to assess now I'd say literally one or two bad days out of 42 is nothing.
 

Brunneria

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Almased is a good meal replacement option if you want to maintain steady bg. Although it is also much more expensive than most.

@Spiker used some of the standard meal replacements and found the issue wasn't the level of sugar in them (though that really wsn't ideal), but rather it was because they dumped that sugar into the blood stream very quickly. Too quickly for his insulin dose to keep up. At least, that is my recollection. I know you aren't T1, but that kind of thing is worth knowing... If you test, you may find it interesting to test every 15 mins for a shake or two, just to find out if your are spiking. If so, that may be increasing your insulin resistance, with a knock on effect on your weight loss plateau.

The protein shake options are great so long as you don't have any soya or milk intolerances, but I have come across some made of pea or hemp protein, as alternatives. I guess we all just have to choose our protein of choice. :)
 
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Borzoi

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Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
I've been using Atkin's shakes insted of Slimfast or Optifast. Low carb and low sugar. Just depends on if you can find them at your store (Not sure where you're based out of).

They're pretty filling and don't seem to induce the hunger that comes out of a high sugar content shake. Also might break you out of a plateau if you've been drinking very carby shakes so far. Just my two cents.

You can find the nutritional info here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=hpc&field-keywords=atkins+shakes
 
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TorqPenderloin

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Ed, I think your progress to this point is phenomenal and you have every right to be proud of your success and results (I mean that sincerely).

I copied your previous post to compare it with this thread. You've obviously reached a barrier that requires modifying your approach in some way or another. I'm not suggesting that I'm right and you're wrong, but consider the possibility that we might be able to combine our own experiences and help one another. I don't have experience with the New Castle diet, but I do have experience with overcoming roadblocks. Again, I think your results are extremely impressive, but perhaps you've reached the limitations of the Newcastle diet and it's time to evolve your approach into the "EdMac diet," something customized for you?

For me, it involved introducing "carb loading" days into my plan. once every 10-14 days I ate 3000-4000 calories and took a day off from lifting or running. At first, I felt like it was ruining all of my progress, but I realized that that one step back meant two steps forward. It's the same reason why I take a full week off from lifting every 2-3 months. Eventually I reach a plateau and give my body a break so I can start the process and overcome the barrier. Just a few thoughts I hope you will consider.

Congrats on the stiffies too
 
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zand

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For what it's worth I feel you should carry on until you have finished your 8 weeks as this is not just about weight it's about your blood sugar too. After that I agree that you need more calories and a different plan. You are doing so well though. I am envious. :)
 
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nothing56

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
I used the Tesco Ultra Slim shakes. they were 30 shakes for £10. Originally i was concerned about the carbs in them but after some reading on the forum and from Prof Taylor's lecture for the Newcastle Diet its seemed to me that if your on 800-900 cal a day. The carb count really wasent that important. I seem to remember that my bloods normalised with in about a week or 2.