Anyone done a vlcd and kept the weight off???

lovesabargain123

Hiya,
I did the Cambridge diet 5 years ago, lost 4 stone but over the last 5 years I've put 3 of them back on!
My sister lost a few stone too and has gained more than she lost!
I know why I put it bak on, I know I eat too much carp but I'm a useless dieter with having everything taken away :rotfl:
Reading various forums ,a lot of people are yo-yoing on the diet but do people not use these boards if they've have managed to maintain as they don't need to iykwim
Anyway, my dream holiday in 3 months away. I'm 3 stone over weight and I'm getting desperate :eek:
So has anyone done a vlcd ( Cambridge, lighter life etc) and manage to keep the weight off for a substantial amount of time??
Thanks x

podperson

They do seem to be the ultimate yo-yo diets. Basically no one is going to be able to keep up a diet like that long term so once you stop then at least some of the weight is going to go back on - and like you mentioned some people put more back as as soon as they are 'allowed' normal food again they can start binging on it to make up for 'missing out'.
Also, by depriving yourself of most things for a 'short fix' you're not addressing the eating habits that made you gain weight in the first place - so as you stop the 'diet' you generally end up going straight back to them.
Imo the only way to lose weight and KEEP it off is to make long term changes to your eating and exercise habits. You don't have to 'take everything away' just reduce the amounts/times you have things like treats and add some exercise to balance them out.

Bronnie

Yes. I did Lipotrim in 1998 when I was 40, stuck to the diet absolutely and I lost 5 and a half stones in 4 months and got down to 10 and a half stone.

I am 5'8" and this took me to a flabby size 12-14 and looking back at the photos, too light for my height and build. Following the diet, I exercised like a demon and was very motivated for personal reasons. Aged 42 I was in the best shape of my life, weight went up to 11stone 4lbs, but dress size dropped to 12, as I had replaced the flab with toned muscle.

Of course, the exercise regime slipped over the years, I am a bit of a stop/start person. I wish I could be totally consistent, but realistically that's not who I am. For most of the last 10 years, I have been a standard size 14, with my BMI at the upper end of the healthy range. Certainly weight gets harder to maintain and /or lose once you hit the menopause. Once a few pounds creep on, I get back on track and do a couple of weeks of Cambridge, low-carb or calorie count, depending on mood and up the exercise.

Aside from the main health reasons, it's important for me to look and feel nice in my clothes and that is my main motivator.

I think these VLCD diets particularly suit a certain personality type, it certainly suited me, but as with any diet, unless you uinderstand a little about the food you eat and determine to change your priorities and your relationship with food, you will regain. How many women in Slimming World and Weightwatchers have also been members numerous times in the past?

Out of interest, if you lost the weight on a vlcd before you went away, what would be your attitude to eating and drinking on your dream holiday?

joannaspanner

I lost 2.5 stone and have put it all back on plus 3lb more, nothing to do with the diet though, my own fault for eating like a big fat pig :-(

In_A_Pickle

I am currently doing a vlcd so only time will tell if I can maintain it.

However, I would say this has been the best thing I have done in a long while. Instead of wasting lots of time and money on diet clubs only to yoyo like mad, I am 4 stone down in only a couple of months.

I know if I just stop and go back to my old eating habits then the weight will return. I have spent my time thinking about how I got so heavy and what I need to do in the future when I am no longer on the vlcd.

have a look at slim and save. Have you also considered a low carb diet before starting on a vlcd?

Bronnie's question about what you plan to do on holiday is important if you want to make a long term change rather than a quick fix.

lovesabargain123

Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to give exalte a go,even if I just do it for 6 weeks to get myself going so to speak...
When I go on holiday I'll do what I did last time I did cd and keep to the salads...being a veggie in USA it's either salad or fries lol
Xx

spender

Can I ask whether the posters were successful and kept the weight off

ali-t

No I put more back on. I got into a bad mindset each time that it is so easy to lose on a vlcd that I could pig out and drop it again quickly on the vlcd. Didn't happen though as I ate but didn't diet !

marco1dog

I did Lighterlife a year and a half ago and it is the best thing I have ever done. I lost 3 and a half stone. I have gone up and lost again a half stone at christmas and a holiday but just get rid of the weight again. I would do it all again.
It is not for everyone and some at my class still cheated and some came and went.
Good luck what ever you don.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

marco1dog wrote: »

I did Lighterlife a year and a half ago and it is the best thing I have ever done. I lost 3 and a half stone. I have gone up and lost again a half stone at christmas and a holiday but just get rid of the weight again. I would do it all again.
It is not for everyone and some at my class still cheated and some came and went.
Good luck what ever you don.

I've lost more than that since January.


I wouldn't touch a vlcd with somebody else's bargepole.



Eating properly for fat loss and to fuel exercise, is far less dangerous, less expensive and sustainable on a long term basis.