Started the Meal replacement shakes yesterday, but have a question?

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  • posted by Scottie_72
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    Hi All,

    I started on Monday with the meal replacement shakes

    It didn’t go so well, really bad headache and extremely cold, so decided to have a shake for breakfast and a shake for lunch with grilled chicken and veg for dinner – I totalled it up and it came just under the 800 calories (is this ok to do?)

    Also this morning I was curious as to how much sugar was in the shake and was surprised to see that it was over 20g per serving?
    I’m a bit worried, will it have the opposite effect on things due to the amount of sugar?

    I’d be grateful for any help please x

  • posted by Robyn
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    Can I ask…which shakes are you trying ? I’m still reading the book and haven’t decided whether to do ‘real food’ or shakes. Are you doing shakes because it’s more convenient ?

  • posted by Scottie_72
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    i went with slim fast shakes, but if I’m completely honest I am regretting it. When I’ve finished the shakes I’m going to do real food… It seemed more convenient at the time.. x

  • posted by Zandranna
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    I bought the Blood Sugar Diet book today and have just joined this site so still finding my way around, but funnily enough the question you are asking Robyn was the first one I was about to ask.

    The book doesn’t say anything about the type or make of a suggested shake.

    Thanks for your answer Scottie. 20g of Sugar sounds a bit high so I too am a bit wary now of buying and starting with those. I hope someone else has some advice for us. I know I will find it so much easier to start with shakes.

  • posted by Fit_My_Jeans_Again
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    I’m doing the first couple of weeks using shakes and bars (from Exante) as well as a small meal, just so I don’t have to think too much about food at first.

    I just checked the package and one shake has about 18g of carbohydrates in total. I’m testing daily to see if there are ketones in my urine and there are, which means my body is burning fat. Don’t know if that helps or not…

  • posted by Zandranna
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    Thanks for that info. I think it does help me.

  • posted by Cazzowary
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    I may be wrong, but I think the original study was undertaken using Optifast shakes and non-starchy vegetables for dinner. They’re 22.5g of carbs per serve!

  • posted by Scottie_72
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    That’s great info thanks very much – now that I’ve bought slim fast I’ll go with it (don’t want to waste money) and If I haven’t lost anything I will start again but with food.

    Thanks again really appreciate the feedback x

  • posted by Freda
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    I’m still reading through the book, hoping to start the diet Monday. I haven’t read about shakes yet but I have some in the cupboard so I will check them and maybe use them for one or two meals. 4g of sugar equals one teaspoon I think! I’m suprised we can have shakes with sugar in when, it seems, the whole diet is about avoiding carbs/sugar! It might help me though as I once tried a three day sugar detox and ended up with severe migraine. I really don’t want that to happen again but I have noticed that some people complain of headaches! For now I will carry on reading then get my food organised for Monday!

  • posted by Zandranna
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    Hi Freda, don’t forget that some sugar is natural sugar that simply can’t be avoided. Going by myfitnesspal an allocated daily allowance of sugar is 45g and carbs 150g. Although I don’t know if that is ok with this 800 Blood Sugar diet.

    Sugar withdrawal as with any withdrawal will cause a headache in most people. When I stopped drinking caffine I ended up with a 3 day migraine.

  • posted by MullawayMan
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    I am having a shake in the morning and will try salad (lunch) and Lite and Easy at night.
    SHAKE
    200ml of whole milk
    3 desertspoons raw oats
    1 scoop of Isowhey protein powder
    Strawberries
    Rasberries
    Blueberries

    Mix in Ninja or Vitamix.
    L&E about 400 to 500 calories.

    Cheers
    MullawayMan

  • posted by newmill
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    It seems the carb content of shakes is a cause of concern to a lot of people. I wish Michael would comment on this

    As far as I understand it, Prof Roy Taylor’s 800 cal diet is NOT intended to be a low carb, low sugar diet for long term, sustained use.

    Its intended to be short, 8 week low calorie crash to mimic the shock to the system caused by bariatric surgery.

    Low carb it isn’t, low calorie IT IS. You don’t have to use shakes, its just more convenient.

    I’ve cut back to using half a shake sachet and 125ml of skimmed milk, (approx. 100 cals) making up the other 100 cals with one slice of whole meal bread to soak up the carbs and slow down digestion.

    Other meals are 1 tin of sardines (200 cals, no carbs) for an oily fishy mid-day treat, then a bowl of sprouts and black pepper during Emmerdale. 200 cals, no carbs.

    Felt like carp for first week. Now on third week. I’m determined to do the 8 weeks. Its not meant to be nice.

    Mr Kipling’s Battenburg cake would be nice, but I’m motivated by the thought of maybe avoiding spending years in a hospital bed with an amputation stump, blind and on dialysis.

    Sorry to be blunt, but its only 8 weeks/56 days of really quite mild discomfort and it could quite possibly change your life.

  • posted by Zandranna
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    @newmill – as you say it’s not a low carb diet which is true, but it is a diet that requires the right kind of carbs to be eaten and not the bad, along with learning not to eat foods containing high sugar content. For instance, bread is one of the bad carbs and should be avoided because it contains high sugar content. It’s also important not to eat excess carbs, even good ones, as all carbs sugar.

    You are correct that living on only 800 calories a day is meant just for the 8 weeks or until our desired weight is reached. But thereafter it’s still necessary to stay sugar free and try to only eat good carbs if we are to remain at a healthy weight and in good health even though we are then able to start eating more calories per day.

    Learning to live without sugar is not a short term project, it’s a life time way of life. If one goes back to eating bad carbs and high sugar again after they have reached their desired weight then they are going to pile on the pounds again.

    People are obviously wanting to know what is the correct amount of the right carbs a human needs for good health along with needing to know how many calories are needed to keep us healthy.

    Although I think that it’s more a case of needing to know what percentage of our daily food intake should be carbs for health rather than how many carbs should we be eating.

    The question is do the shakes contain empty carbs with high sugar or do they contain the good carbs of which sugars.

  • posted by newmill
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    Yes, I’ve been trying to find out what is the right amount / minimum / safe amount of carbs.

    But no one, not even my dietician has been able, or willing to tell me.

    I find the withholding of this seemingly vital piece of information very disturbing.

    Maybe it isn’t important in relation to the benefits of a rapid drop in BMI that comes with a 800cal a day diet?

  • posted by newmill
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    All I can tell you is since starting this after Christmas I have lost 10lbs and have not had any hyper symptoms, maybe even gone a little hypo on Sunday afternoon after a walk.

    Maybe need to come of Metformin. Must talk to doc.

    Best of luck to all

    🙂

  • posted by Zandranna
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    10lbs is brilliant. WTG.

    I’ve been looking up regarding carbs since posting above and it seems that the percentage of carbs to daily intake (calories) should be between 45% and 65% avarage of 55%. 20% to 35% of Protein – average 15% and the rest fat.

    Having said that, all the information on the web at the moment is still giving importance to eating low fat diets. I did though find where it also said that the meditarranean diet promotes 40% fat intake.

    So personally I’m not going to bother with all the facts and figures. I’m simply going to stick to plenty of veg, fruit and salad, a decent helping of protein a day (I’m a fish, cheese and egg person), and only eat what are considered good carbs and stick to the 800 cals a day. I bought a tub of Slimfast shake today as well for when I simply don’t feel like fixing lunch. That way, without even thinking about it I should be eating the right percentage of everything.

    I’ve decided not going to worry myself about any sugar content that might be in the shake.

  • posted by newmill
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    I think we have to trust that Prof. Roy Taylor (diabetes expert) would not recommend anything that would actually endanger diabetics.

  • posted by Zandranna
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    Agreed!

  • posted by Scottie_72
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    Hi All,

    Thought I’d give you a quick update, as today is my Weigh in….. (Doing Meal replacement shakes for Breakfast and Lunch and Chicken and Veg for dinner)

    Lost 7lbs and 1.5″ of my waist x

  • posted by pmshrink
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    I think in the book it says 30% carbs
    Penny

  • posted by Bordercol
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    Anyone tried Purition as an alternative to the usual meal replacement shakes? Not cheap but look healthier.

  • posted by gateofheaven
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    I make a homemade replacement shake very close to Mullaway man. 12 oz Unsweetened almond milk. 1/4 – 1/3 C Plain eggwhite powder. Berries. Cooked steel cut oats 1/4 cup. 2 tablespoons flax seed meal (helps with constipation and is a good fat). A few weighed out walnuts. Sometimes I add favorite spices like cinnamon, cardamon. Sometimes some xylitol that i saw mentioned in the book. I’m playing around with whole milk kefir as a shake base too.

  • posted by Bordercol
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    Gateofheaven, that sounds a good mix. Any idea of the calories or whether it covers nutritional needs? I can’t stand the chemical taste and sweetness of the usual commercial meal replacement shakes but don’t quite feel confident to design my own in case I miss some vital nutrient; 8 weeks is quite a long time to be relying on them.
    I am vegetarian but do eat eggs so yours sounds tempting.
    Where do you get your kefir? Never tried it but have read about its health benefits.

  • posted by gateofheaven
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    2 tbs flax seed meal (14 gr) – 80 cal (4.5 gr fat, 3g protein, 5 gram carb)
    12 oz almond milk (360 ml) 45 cal
    1/2 cup blueberries (71 gr) 41 cal
    1/4 C. Plain egg white protein powder i get from Amazon. 20 gr. – 80 calories (16 grams of protein) I sometimes add more if my protein count is low.
    3.5 walnuts 47 cal. 4.6 fat, 1.1 protein, 1 carb.
    Now that i know that specific fats are “good” occasionally I’ll add a few walnuts. They are about 13 calories each. This helps with satiation.
    I sometimes add cinnamon, which i understand is an appetite suppressant. Also, i like cardamon.
    Total calories of recipe above: 293 calories.

    I sometimes substitute kale and nutmeg for the blueberries for a savory taste and fewer calories. I add the amount that tastes good to me – about 1/2 cup which is 17 calories. Sometimes I skip the berries altogether.

    1/4 cup cooked Steel cut oats (59 gr) 42 calories – i rarely put these in. Only if I feel the need of carbs. But i try to avoid carbs to some extent in the morning because then I’m less hungry the rest of the day.

    I don’t tolerate milk well, but since it sounds like you do – that would increase your calcium, protein, and fat. it’s a good fat too if you use whole milk and the fat satiates. Perhaps see if a cup is enough, if not, add more. You can always add a little water or ice! if you don’t want to add more milk. The ice gives it a milkshake experience, which is fun and i enjoy. Or, frozen berries would do the same.

    I’m in the States and goat’s milk kefir as well as cow’s milk kefir are in many grocery stores, health food stores and co-ops. Since kefir has more probiotics, my doc prefers that i use it.

    I only use this for one meal in the day. Oftentimes alternating it with eggs, peppers, onions, olive oil and Daiya cheese (vegan)in the morning. The rest of the time i eat regularly.

    I would ask Dr. Mosley what he thinks of how well the nutritional needs are met with this.

    Good luck!!!

  • posted by gateofheaven
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    I also combine the kale with the blueberries for heck of it sometimes. 🙂

  • posted by Bordercol
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    Thankyou Gateofheaven. It looks to me as if you have it all covered.
    At the weekend I will put that lot into MyFitness Pal and then I wll be able to cover anything missing with an extra small meal.

  • posted by ptanna
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    I started on the diet on Monday with home cooked meals. First two days were very hard and I feel like I am getting used to it. I just received my Exante shakes today. I am planning to have shakes for breakfast and lunch and combine it with about 200 CAL cooked dinner. Has anyone tried this? What are your thoughts?

  • posted by M.
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    Hi ptanna (and everyone else) I decided to use two meal replacements and an evening meal from Jan 1st (1200 cals per day). Had lost a stone by last Sunday. Started 800 on Tuesday this week and have lost another 3 lbs in 3 days! I am still (for ease and control on working days) using two meal replacements (Certaslim) for breakfast (131 cals) and lunch (133 cals) and a low carb meal, with lots of veg. (I am vegetarian) about 500 calories in evening (total just under 800). On non working days I will choose whether to have brunch and dinner. This is all working for me right now – intend to do the full eight weeks and then go to 5:2 and keep eat days to 1200. I guess the most important thing is to do what works and is healthy! as newmill said it is only 56 days actually now only 52! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

  • posted by gateofheaven
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    i looked up Extant shakes and had trouble finding out how much fat is in them. I’m not using a shake, but they sound tempting. My understanding is that we need fat in order to go into fat burning mode, not just ketosis. I can attest to this! Once i started adding fat and subtracting carbs, my weight loss and waist loss, lol, did beautifully.

  • posted by theblackspot
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    I’m not using shakes.and am doing most of the cooking for me and the OH.
    Bagged leaves with extra salad vegie with tinned smoked Mackrel with a little pot of soy sauce lime wedge & s&p to add to it make a really tasty 200-250kc lunch that’s easily taken to work.
    Grilling or frying a steak, or liver of baking fish in foil with herbs & serving it with nice veg and or more salad is really quick and easy.
    I really think eating actual food with nutrients your body recognises is a grate way of not being hungry and dissatisfied on the diet. It’s why we all over ate before. Your body was saying “I need nutrients feed me” but we just gave it more empty carbs, so it stayed hungry and then we gave it more.
    Fresh tasty multicoloured vegie with a steak/ wedge of cheese/ whole avocado? What’s not to like. Just make them small steaks…

  • posted by pmshrink
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    Hi TBS
    I quite agree!!
    Penny

  • posted by Sara179
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    I’ve started myprotein vegan meal replacement shakes just for breakfast and I have a terrible headache and I struggles to even drink the whole shake looking forward to some proper food at lunch and dinner even if it’s just chicken omelette and mince at dinner.

  • posted by Fatboyslim46
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    Before starting fast800 i have been using Huel shakes which found are great and have been incorporated into my fast800 diet.

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