NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme

Please make your opinion of the shakes know to those organizing the diet - they might be able to suggest meals you could use as an alternative.
I could not use them myself, as I have been eating low carb for years and my sense of taste has become a lot more sensitive.

My advice would be to avoid anything based around 'Calories' as it's a pretty meaningless term and based on weak science when it comes to what you eat. You need to focus on the three main food groups and the best mix bearing in mind that carbs are the biggest contributor to weight and blood sugar gain. Sadly the NHS doesn't understand that. So keep the carbs down and have enough proteins and fats to keep you feeling full. You don't need to follow any particular diet plan. Look at the back of food packaging and note Total Carbs. A good start point might be 150gm/day max of carbs but see what works for you.

Just wow. As a species we have been on Earth how long, no society has ever eaten like that. Your instincts are correct, their method simply sucks, literally. If you base your meals on learning how to combine whole foods the benefits will be a natural way of eating that has sustainability built in.

As an alternative you could start with protein at every meal (my selection is animal meat or fish of between a third to half a plate), and some some low sugar vegetables and or berries. If there isn't enough fat in accompanying the protein then maybe some avocado, cheese or similar.

For a cookie cutter method of bring T2 under control in the short term. That they can just roll out and still keeping the dietitians happy, because it's low fat. Very low calorie shouldn't be sold short. We know low carb is a better way and a few doctors use it.