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Exante diet and low calorie food week

Guna108

Well-Known Member
Hi. I have been doing the 600 calorie (3 shakes a day) Exante diet for 3 weeks. Today I started the week where you have the 3 shakes plus a low carb 200 calorie meal. Is it safe to do this with Type 2? Since I ate the veggies and tofu my fingers and toes are tingling a lot and I don't know if it is having too many carbs (I kept it as low as possible). I am newly diagnosed and the only information I have is from the kind posters on this forum so thanks in advance for your replies.
 
I am mid way through the 'low calorie food week' that is done after 3 weeks of the 600 cal diet. As some of the diet bars have 20g of carbs, I'm beginning to think I might be better off having 2 shakes a day and a small evening meal of green veg and tofu up to 200 cals and do the next two months this way. Has anyone done something similar and kept within the 600 cals daily?
 
Reactions: Yai
Under supervision of GP, nurse and pharmacy I did 600 cal a day total food replacement. No nutrition apart from the meal replacement products. Only difficulty I had was that I wasn’t advised to have some oil each day. So the small non-symptomatic gallstones that I had had for years became large and problematic. I have , since then used meal replacement products, (3 x meal replacements, 2 mixed with water, one with almond milk) and green veg or mushroom with oil, to remain within 600 cal limit. Though prefer adding some protein, such as egg, chicken or fish, to take the cal intake to 800, as I see no difference or indeed any benefit in going as low as 600 cal.
 

@Pipp I am doing the 600 cal total food replacement, but with the week's 800 cal 'break'. I have been doing it for a month now, but my weight loss seems to have slowed down dramatically. I read in Dr Michael Moseley's book that most people can get to healthy BG levels by losing 10% of their body mass and the Exante site says this can be done in 3 months on their diet, but I have more to lose than that and don't know if you can stay on the 600 cal plan for more than 3 months.
 
Hi @Guna108 .

It is not recommended for longer than 3 months. For me the main reason for following the method was to gain control of blood glucose levels. In 2011 I had a lot of weight to lose. My BMI was off the scale. What I did was 12 weeks total food replacement, followed by a break of 4 weeks, then another 9 weeks total food replacement. My BG levels did normalise within days of starting. I moved from the ‘morbidly obese’ category to just being ‘overweight’. I have remained overweight, despite trying to lose more with low carbing and intermittent fasting, and until recently blood glucose levels remained in non-diabetes range. Currently they are in pre-diabetes range.

I don’t pay much attention to Michael Moseley. He seems to be always taking someone else’s research and using it to further his career by producing TV and books that appeal to the masses. Instead I would look at the work of the researchers. Though it appears that recently NHS has seized much of that, and looks at delivering the method at the lowest cost possible.

Are your blood glucose levels acceptable yet? What percentage of weight loss have you achieved so far, and what is your goal? If you are finding the method you are using isn’t getting the results you want then perhaps it is time to consider something else.
 
@Pipp Thanks for your reply. Your information is really helpful. My BMI was 'Morbidly Obese' , after 3 weeks it is now less than that, but still classed as obese. As I have been having the same shakes everyday, I have not tested daily, but the BG readings have mostly been between 5.4 and 6.8 when I have eaten greens the last week and one 4 on a complete fasting day. I have lost just over 5kg in the 2 weeks since I started weighing.
 
That is almost a stone lost in 2 weeks, @Guna108 . The blood glucose readings look impressive, too.

I would caution you to take a break from the very low calorie diet after 8 weeks. Use real food in the interim, low carb food. Then if you decide to continue very low calorie, another 6 - 8 weeks. I hope you are checking in with GP, especially if you are on medication?

Most important is to have follow on eating plan for when you have achieved weight and blood glucose goals, and keep on testing both, and take action should either increase. That is what I failed to do, believing the nurse who told me I no longer needed to test, and that should follow NHS eatwell guide.
 
@Pipp My GP told me to come and see him after I get the results of 3 month my Hb A1C (which will be the end of August). He said I can just speak to the Diabetic Nurse, but I haven't heard from him/her yet. I have an appointment for the Diabetic Dietician on 28th August.. I tested my BG when I came home from work today and it was 7.0 , so still a long way to go. As the shakes are 17g carbs, bars are 21G and soups 18g (all just over 200 cals each) .I do wonder if I might be better off following a Vegan keto diet instead for the rest of the 3 months as I think I could make meals with less carbs. I tested my BG later, 2 hours after eating and it was 6.2. I'm not sure I really understand how bg works. Have bought Dr Fung's book to try and educate myself
 
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Hi @Guna108
It seems your GP is not being very supportive of your efforts at very low calorie diet. 8 years ago mine helped enormously by contacting the team at Newcastle University for advice, and ensuring my weight, blood glucose, ketones and blood pressure were checked every week. I guess there have been many changes to GP practice since, and doubt I would get the same consideration today.

Dieticians have always advised that I should follow the NHS recommended Eatwell plate diet. I am not sure if a specialist Diabetes dietician would suggest anything different.

I am not sure what a vegan low carb diet would entail, though I guess it could be worked out . The 800 cal blood sugar diet recommended by Michael Moseley, uses real foods, so perhaps that could be adapted? Not something I have ever considered. The reasoning behind using products such as Exante meal replacements is not based on carb counting, though if you are using 3 meal replacement products a day with no other foods that would still give a total between 50 - 60 g of carbs a day. If you added the recommended veg you would still be low carb.
 
These posts are very informative, thank you! I have started xante today 800 cals. I will stick with the shakes for a week then second week replace one shake with 200 low carb high protein meal, then third week just shakes. I plan to try and stick with this for 5.5 weeks until I go to visit my son in Scotland. I will use that 5 days as a break and have two meals daily but keep within 1000 cals then do a further 6 weeks on xante. I am hoping for better blood readings and weight loss. I am so weak willed that I decided to try this and have enlisted my husband's help - he will cook all his meals and shop for them so I don't get tempted so much. I am 5'6" and 189lbs so a lot of weight to lose! Fingers crossed that I can do this short sharp shock and spend the time learning as much as possible about low carb. Good luck everyone! x
 
All the best for your Exante Diet. I came off of it and am now on a low carb diet, but am still losing weight, albeit a bit slower and my blood glucose levels are still improving.
 
Hi I’m doing a halfway house with two Exante shakes and then a 400 calorie evening meal (usually chicken or fish with roasted veg or salad) I’ve lost a stone and a half in 40 days but need to lose another couple of stone. It is tough and I haven’t lost any weight for a few days now (I’m not cheating!) but I’m determined to get off metformin or at least reduce my 1000mg a day
 
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