My Exante Diary

[Saddlebag]

Jess you will be our favourite honorary Exante member. Although, I'm dong S&S now so maybe we can have joint poll position?
I'm super tired today. My brain was frazzled at work, I overused it I think. Also been a bit hungry, but that have just been in my head as I sat around a bit. I had mushroom pasta for lunch, spicy spaghetti and vanilla bar for lunch and have just put my cauliflower and broccoli on to go with cottage pie for dinner.

 

[Saddlebag]

Oo Oo Oo what have you had to eat today, indulge me!

 

[Saddlebag]

Hahaha no of course you're not! You are always welcome here!

I used Atkins for years as a way of losing weight quickly. It stopped working after so many restarts. The first time you do it, you lose the most so make the most of it!
My favourites on Atkins were cheeseburger pie (google it... Yummy), egg mayonnaise with bacon bits, cabbage sautéed in butter, dippy eggs with cheese sticks, cheese layered salad... The list goes on! After induction I used to make a really nice low carb cheese cake. The filling isn't an issue as it's pretty much just cream cheese with sweetener, for the base I would use ground almonds with a bit of sweetener, grilled on a tray to dry them out then mixed with melted butter. Then use that mix to line a tin, pour in the mix and mmmmmmm.....! There's recipes online for that too. For a sweet fix in induction I would whip a bit of double cream, add a little proper cocoa (think green and blacks is lower carb than cadburys) and some sweetener. Not amazing but good when you have a sweet tooth. Also co-op do a really dark chocolate which has pretty low carbs- good when you've done induction and need something chocolatey.
As far as I remember Dr Atkins didn't have an issue with citric acid- I know that I had any sugar free drink I could get, including diet energy drinks, squash etc. so you can make any kind of lollies you like!

 

[Saddlebag]

I think after induction it's worth messing around with things you can and can't have. They say no/ low caffeine on Atkins but I used to drink loads of sugar free red bull (3 or 4 cans a day... Bit of an addict) which are packed with sweeteners and caffeine and it never stalled me. Same with milk. Veggies would stall me though. Everybody is different, a lot of people find aspartame stalls them. The cheeseburger pie is amazing, I used to take it to work and eat with a massive dollop of mayo and people would look in disbelief! I would try and even it out by having chicken or turkey salads/ stir fries. I always poached poultry as I can't stand it when it's dry. You can stuff it with cheese and wrap in bacon, yummy...

Now back to the world of VLCDs, and today I had macaroni cheese for breakfast, spag bol for lunch with praline bar and chilli with cauliflower and broccoli for tea. I'm finding myself a little windy on S&S... My poor colleagues
This lovely weather really brought out the cravings and all I wanted today was sangria! And bread, any kind of bread! I want this weight to drop off even faster so I can get eating again Weigh day tomorrow, fingers crossed...

 

[Saddlebag]

4 lbs off this week! The citric acid/ ribena plus seems to have not effected me. Hooray! 2 stone gone now... I can tell in the mirror now and my clothes that I've lost, but still thinking where has 2 stone gone from?! Another stone and a half to go... Onwards and downwards

 

[shoebedoo]

Fantastic loss Wow Dats Amazin!!! Well done u ;-)

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[LizDesigns]

Congratulations. That's a brilliant loss and certainly gives me the incentive to do the AAM week. You're over half way to target as well which is fab.

 

[Saddlebag]

Thanks girls! I've been feeling a bit odd today, not physically but just finding it hard to adjust to having lost 2 stone in 6 weeks! My colleagues ask me on Wednesdays how weigh in goes, so today it felt good saying that I'm 2 stone down. Everyone has been so supportive, I'm really glad that I told my colleagues although it would have been impossible to hide. I said that I feel like a smaller version of my old self, ie still flabby but just narrower! But they said I have completely changed shape, which was really nice to hear.
I'm beginning to think that I will always be critical of my body and will always think I'm 'the fat one'. I need to bring proper exercise into the equation to start to tone up the flabby bits, so that when the fat goes I'll have some muscle and not just wastage. I've always hated my bum and thighs (hence the name Saddlebag!) but strangely enough I'm not as hung up as I used to be. I have started to notice my belly more... Will it ever be flat? And the backs of my arms are not pretty. On the plus side, I have these lady-like wrists which I've not seen in ages! I also notice if I bump my hips on anything because there's a bone there, and my collarbones are like girly ones too!
Today I had mushroom pasta for breakfast, spag bol for lunch then a praline bar, and I think it's cottage pie for tea tonight. Don't know what veg yet. Today I was really busy at work, and it just proved to me that eating is a boredom thing, as yesterday I wasn't so busy and just craved food all day. But today I wasn't hungry and evenly spaced my meals. Hooray
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather and sticking to plan

 

[shoebedoo]

Mornin Saddlebag
Top of a fab sunshiny mornin 2u
Takes ages 4 ones head to catch up with our new bodies so b patient it will happen
NJoy d complements Ur doin remarkably well!!
No work 4 me today... Hurray! Enroute to orthodontist re braces 4 bottom teeth
Child free day is seldom but wonderful
Treatin myself to a Smoothie 2 go and ordered bumper pack of porridge last nite
Just need bag of ice and Im gud to go
Hav a gud one!!

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[Saddlebag]

Hi shoebs! Good to hear you're back on the Exante wagon. My S&S is going well although keep craving summery foods these last few days. I'd really like to get my teeth into a BBQ cheeseburger with some coleslaw... But instead I had macaroni cheese, spicey spaghetti and cottage pie with asparagus...

 

[Saddlebag]

Hello all!
Well, I am finding the hot weather a bit tough on the diet! Have been drinking loads and loads- probably more than 4 litres a day, but I think this is ok because I have been pretty active in the last few days too, so bound to lose more water. I've stuck to plan but the weather just screams out barbecues and lunch in pub gardens...! Must stay focused!
I'm going to start a list of foods that I really, really want when I start eating again, starting with:

Po boy sandwich (scampi sandwich in baguette with tartare sauce)

I feel like I could eat 10 of them right now!

 

[shoebedoo]

Mornin Saddlebag
Well I've just tried out my Smoothie 2 go It's Amazin! Was rushin do much in town d other day I came home without it... Sob!!
My wonderful mother was goin in yday so I reserved one in Argos and have it now! Nicest slush puppy 4 bfast made with a few drops of Mi Wadi no sugar Summer Fruits
Isn't d weather fantastic! Goin out 4 dinner this evenin as Yank relations of my hubby's r visiting Makin a mixture of buns for dem now
Know what u mean re barbecue foods in this hot weather.... Did buy barbecued chicken wings d other day and boy they were finger lickin heaven but killed me 4 hrs.... Weren't worth d wee bit of pleasure I got from dem 2 b honest! Talkin 2 me 4 hrs!!!
Have a fantastic day toppin up Ur tan!
Hopin my freckles might join together... Hee hee

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[Saddlebag]

Hello ladies... I barely have the energy to write this... Have been spring cleaning since 9 and I've hurt my back moving the table Have also scrubbed the horrible pitted terracotta tiles in my kitchen- nice to look at but the textured bits catch every bit of dirt. Did it on hands and knees, I hate floor scrubbing, it's my least favourite job! A close second is hoovering the stairs- narrow stairs and big hoover makes it awkward. Curtains in the wash, cupboards washed and cleared out, skirting boards sponged, hoovered and mopped every floor, dusted whole house, done washing, changed beds, cleaned on top of cupboards, sprayed all edges and crevices with flea spray (we HAVEN'T got fleas but with a dog and cat I like to do it every so often) fridge cleaned out, windows cleaned inside and out... There's more but I can't remember what! Oh, next I'm going through ALL of my clothes :superwoman:

 

[Saddlebag]

Guess who was feeling a little tired this morning after all that over exertion?! Woke up early though as curtains weren't dry enough to put back up! And my dog has had sickness and the squits so haven't been able to do much today Poor doggy
Had mushroom pasta for breakfast, spicy spaghetti for lunch, praline bar mid afternoon and just had chilli with broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.
Ooh, I did nip to my Mum's house and put up some Union Jack bunting ready for the Jubilee! She gave me some tomato plants and a pumpkin plant as my pumpkin plant got trodden on by my dog, and a couple of my older tomato plants are looking a bit ill. I'm rubbish at gardening but this year I'm determined to get some veg!!

 

[TankBoyBen]

Hi im new here, just about to start Exante, did lighter life about 3 years ago and did really well but it all creeped back on over the years, and i was worried exante was going to be rubbish as its a 3rd the price of lighter life but after seeing your weight lots results im feeling positive about it all now, (and thinking LL was a bit of a rip off!)

i start tomorrow and looking forward to dropping some flab. hope your good progress continues

 

[Saddlebag]

Hiya Ben! Welcome to minimins! It's fab here, loads of support, always someone to rant and moan to

Well done on taking the plunge. A lot of people make the swap from Lighter Life and Cambridge Diet to Exante or Slim and Save. The difference is that with Exante and Slim and Save you don't have a councillor or get weighed, you just stick to the programme and weigh yourself. Support for me has come from this forum!
I moved over from Exante to Slim and Save a couple of weeks ago but have kept doing my diary here. Slim and Save is a bit more expensive but there's more variety and hot food other than soup. I didn't like the shakes on Exante so it made things a bit repetitive. I was at the stage where I needed more variety so swapped. Exante is brill though, really good value for money and it works!!
Good luck, the main forum is good for any questions, there's a few guys lurking around too. If you start a diary I'm sure they'll find you

 

[LizDesigns]

Hope your back's better and your poor dog has got over whatever bug it had!
Sounds like you've had a busy last couple of days.
I'll be soon joining you on the S&S journey, will probably do one more week of Exante and then swap over. Fingers crossed my losses are as good as yours.

 

[Saddlebag]

Hiya girls. Monday for me consisted of looking after a poorly dog! Poor thing. My boss was fantastic and let me have the day off- I'm so lucky to have a boss that understands that it's not 'just a dog'- my dog is my companion and completely reliant on me. So I didn't want to leave him today, he goes to my mum's when I'm at work but she works on Mondays and I didn't want him to be busting for the loo! So off we toddled to the vet, after being up a lot last night and him having a very poorly bottom! £55 later and loaded with doggy medicine we went home and I gave him the electrolytes and doggy Imodium stuff. The vet said he wouldn't like the medicine as it tasted nasty. The electrolytes were a powder in water "to be given in small amounts". I put it in a bowl on the floor and had to take it away as he loved it! Doggy Imodium was a thick brown paste in a syringe thing to squirt in his mouth. He happily ate it and sat waiting for more! He's such a gannet/ good boy He was probably hungry as I'd not fed him for 24 hours (normal practice when dogs have the squits). I boiled up the doggy version of poorly person's food for dinner- rice and chicken. He loved it, and woohoooo about 30 minutes later he had a semi-solid, albeit small poop! Anyway, enough about my joys over watching the dog poo, too much info! Fingers crossed for a full night's sleep.

Whilst watching doggy sleep I took the plunge and ordered Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. OMG what have I done It looks so hard!! Only £6 off eBay and free P&P so if I can't do it it'll be a good coaster

I have been a bit naughty today. Had a bar for breakfast, then had macaroni cheese for lunch, then cottage pie with FAR too much veg but I was hungry! Probably had 300g or more of broccoli and cauliflower. My friend came over so I missed my tea, we went to asda where I got some gherkins and sauerkraut (I loved pickles). Got home at about 10 and realised I'd not had my 4th sachet so ate about 4 big gherkins and a bit of sauerkraut. Then realised I needed protein so had a tin of tuna with some cucumber and.... Salad cream :sigh: My scales haven't shifted at all this week, and I'm hoping they stay that way on Wednesday rather than going up! I'm away with work Wednesday - Friday (oh no... Won't be able to weigh in?!)

Anyhoo, hope you're all ok. Well done Jess on your 2lb! Fantastic! Bet you've had a brill week eating and the 2lb loss is the icing on the cake! Have you got another week of induction?
Liz, you'll love S&S, the variety is brilliant. I love the praline bars, they're like milky ways! Sometimes wish I'd got something less delicious as I just want to scoff all of them in my cupboard...

 

[Misspiggy1981]

Glad to hear your doggy is feeling better-my mums old dog used to have colitis & frequently had that electrolyte stuff & she loved it too! Very expensive though!!

Hope your weigh in isn't as bad as you think hun, sure you'll be fine! :0)

 

[Saddlebag]

I thought I'd weigh in this morning as I'm going away for work tonight so won't have scales in the morning. I stayed the same this week, which is fine, better than a gain