My first week on the Exante diet

I’ve decided to document my journey on the Exante diet for others to be able to see what it involves. When looking into doing the Exante diet I found it very hard to find other people who had done the diet and what their experiences have been, so if you are interested in doing this diet then I hope this blog will help you!

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I started the Exante diet on Monday 31st August 2015. If you don’t know what Exante is, it’s a company that offer a range of diet meal replacement products with several different plans for you to follow. I am currently on the Total Solution - Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) plan which involves consuming just 600 calories a day consisting of three 200 calories ‘meals’. Unlike other similar diets - like the Cambridge Diet – there is no weekly weigh in, support groups or consultants. I am a member of a great Facebook group where we chat daily about being on the diet and offer each other motivation and support.

You can get a wide variety of different meals on the VLCD such as:
   -  Shakes and smoothies
   -  Bars
   -  Pancakes
   -  Porridge
   -  Hot meals like curry, noodles, spag bol etc.
   -  Desserts

Originally I had decided that I would just use the shakes and bars for the diet, however after completing my first week, I think introducing the hot meal options is going to be the best for me. Now that the weather is getting colder, in the evenings sometimes the last thing you want is a cold milkshake for your dinner!

I’ve found all of the meals that I’ve had so far really tasty. They definitely taste ‘artificial’ but that’s the same with any meal replacement product. Once you are used to the taste and the concept of not eating real food, the whole thing isn’t that bad.

And the weight loss is a great motivator as well! I have 42lbs in total to lose and I am aiming to get all the weight off by December in time for Christmas. In my first week I have lost a grand total of 9lbs which means I’ve achieved 20% of my weight loss goal already! Now that seems like a lot, but it is a realistic amount for the first week on a VLCD as you are cutting your calories very low very quickly. It is a drastic diet for dramatic weight loss, and as long as you stick to the plan 100% then you can achieve the results you want.

Being on this diet and sticking to it 100% means that you also have to avoid certain things as well. The idea of the diet is that your body goes into ‘ketosis’ which basically means that your body is burning your fat stores for energy due to the lack of food you are eating and this is why you lose weight. Some things like citric acid can throw your body out of ketosis and will stop/slow the fat burning process. This means you need to avoid fruit flavoured teas and some flavoured water that contain citric acid. You also need to stop having milk in your tea. Going without milk has been hard for me as I really enjoy my tea, however I’ve now adjusted to drinking black coffee and peppermint green tea (which I also believe has helped a lot with the weight loss so far).

So what do I eat? Well, during the week I will have 1 bar and 2 milkshakes as my meals, and then on the weekends I ‘treat’ myself to either porridge or pancakes for breakfast, a bar/shake for lunch, then a hot meal for dinner such as the curry. I have found that this diet is quite easy to achieve during the week when I’m at work as there aren’t many distractions and keeping busy helps with the hunger pangs. Weekends are most definitely the hardest. Whilst I am on this diet I have had to cancel social events during September and October which involve food; which includes my best friend’s birthday meal! It may seem drastic but I’m in the right mind-set to be able to do this now, and if I keep putting it off because of various social events I’ll never start. There will always be some sort of excuse!

I’m not going to lie, starting this diet is HARD. I’m not going to pretend it’s easy, because it’s not. You will be hungry for the first few days, but once your body goes into ketosis and starts using your fat stores for energy, the hunger subsides and it gets a bit easier. You’ll still want ‘normal’ food though. Believe me, when you’re sitting next to your boyfriend when he’s eating a big plate of chicken and pasta and you are sat cradling a cup of green tea it really doesn’t seem fair.

The key is to remember WHY you’re doing this in the first place. You want to lose that weight and be healthy. And it’s only for a couple of months of your life! In the grand scheme of things, a couple of months of sacrifice to be closer to achieving the body you want isn’t such a disaster after all.

I’ll keep updating this blog throughout my progress, including weekly weigh ins and possibly some photo comparisons. Anyone is currently on Exante or looking at doing it, please feel free to comment with your input and ask questions. I wouldn’t have been able to get through the first week without the support of my fellow ‘Exantians’ so I am here for you! We are all in this together! 

xoxo