It is disappointing to find that there appears to be no guidance on which meal replacement shakes to use. Dr Michael Mosley in the BSD book states on pg 156 that it is a choice whether to use shakes or ‘real food’.
The trial that was undertaken by Prof Taylor used Optifast 800 which is not available here in the UK without prescription.
I feel it is at best, a bit lax of Dr Mosley not to suggest which meal replacement shakes to use, although I do acknowledge there is a handful within the book itself….
Help would be appreciated. Can I use any low carb protein mix shake, up to 600 Cals a day? Plus 200 low carb veg?
This should have been addressed in the book me thinks. Thank you

It is a matter of choice, but personally I am regarding the whole procedure as an education and have thus changed as little as possible in my diet within the parameters of the science findings. I make almost all meals from scratch, not following recipes etc. I do use For Goodness Shakes occasionally as a convenient ‘meal’ when badminton sessions are at my normal tea time, but apart from that, and the occasional smoothie I am mainly preferring the solid food option. I don’t believe it is part of the remit of the book to suggest shakes, it is available in many different markets after all.

Renne- I had great success both on the Cambridge diet and the VLCD K’EE Diet , the latter is cheaper and you can order your shakes/soups/dehydrated meals from their website and they have a great forum and knowledgeable administrator who monitors their Facebook page which is very supportive …….in many ways I found drinking a soup or shake three times a day which was calorie counted and nutritionally balanced very easy……I tweaked it as well as they give you a list of actual fruit and veg that you can eat ….so I would have a shake for breakfast , soup for lunch and a salad for tea, no starchy foods allowed and milk is limited you had to of course drink 2-3 litres of water a day ……no washing up except for the blender stick yeh!!!!! It’s based on achieving ketosis which you measure in your urine with a dip stick. I noticed inches coming off rapidly more than weight initially……after 10 weeks my hubby lost nearly three stone and I lost 2! I’ll never forget the wonderful feeling of zipping up a size 12 skirt!!!!! We unfortunately did put it all back on as we did it for a special holiday….so our mind set was different at the time…all VLCD show very quick results and are very highly motivating but The BSD……. and later on the Mediterranean diet are more sustainable . Good Luck let me know if you need any more information. Lexi x

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
I had been looking at the Cambridge diet but it’s too pricey.
What is K’ee diet? Sorry I haven’t heard of it.
I can cook but I have a husband and a family and it would be a lot easier for me to have shakes for 8 weeks, it’s not forever 😎
I couldn’t get my head around meal replacement shakes…. I have looked at the nutritional values including carbs and protein comparing with ordinary milk and I cannot see the difference Between having two or three glasses of skimmed milk a day with a multi vitamin and then the 200 cals in veg for fibre! And paying 3 times as much for a ready made shake? Maybe I am missing something.
I’m not diabetic or pre diabetic but have yo yo dieted for 20 years, I am fat and then thin, I thought this diet Maybe the answer to getting rid of my sugar stores but Im not so sure now ( my dad had type 2 diabetes ) and I’m worried I may take after him
Really appreciate your detailed reply. K 💜

Just had a look at the kee diet – looks good and reasonable ! – still think milk and a vitamin supplement will do the trick though 😀
Maybe that’s why I need to lose 3 stone….. because I like to make up my own diet ! Thanks 😎

Hi Renne, whilst Milk is a great source of nutrition ( full fat milk actually has less carbohydrates than skimmed) it is still a liquid therefore you can never feel full or satiated having it as a main source of diet…..,your hunger pangs would still be there ! Successful weight loss cannot occur if Blood glucose spikes and troughs …the trough is the low point when you feel tired , have no energy so you would be more likely to snack possibly not on nutritious foods …..therefore it’s better to have a way of eating that fills you up…..but which is lower in calories and has better complex carbohydrates….yo yo dieting is not healthy . Hope this helps! I lost over two stone on a liquid VLCD to go on a special holiday …I lost inches as well but I never felt full however as I was doing the duet fir a reason it didn’t matter ……..after I got back I gradually slipped back to my old habits and couldn’t maintain the weight loss and here I am again but this time I’m doing it for my health and well being as I can’t stand being fat anymore , not being able to run for a bus or after my dogs or having crunchy discs in my neck and knee………so tomorrow I’m ordering my food but sadly for me no vino ( this is my downfall !!) good luck with what ever you decide hon .

I was looking for shakes and saw Dr Taylor used Optifast I think? I thought you needed a prescription but found them on Amazon? Are the same ones I wonder?

I am just starting the 5:2 version, and absolutely don’t want to be bothered with a lot of cooking on my fasting days, so shakes are perfect for me. I don’t think Dr. Mosley is lax at all in not recommending any particular brands. If you’ve read the book, you know the guidelines are simple – just keep it sugar free and let it fit into the 800 calorie range. The only rule I’m breaking is that I’m allowing myself artificial sweeteners, which Dr. M isn’t fond of. But they didn’t bother me or make me more hungry. But there are many shakes out there with more natural low cal sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit. I make my own with nonfat milk and protein shake mix.

I think Mixnmatch kind of caught the real issue — it is very important to not think of this as a diet but a new way of eating — if you only drink shakes and don’t eat real food and learn what really works for you long-term, it is so easy to quit or fall-off when you reach goal, or even earlier.
In the beginning, I know, you just want to lose weight — but as you stay on this for months and months (and now more than a year for me), you just realize that you cannot eat like you used to eat and part of eating real food is sort of wrapping your head around that idea. It is a game changer.
I’m ok with shakes, although I think they aren’t healthy, and our son suffered blocked anal glands from protein shakes (for real, he had surgery at Stanford three times) but they don’t get you into a new eating pattern and that is what really matters!!
If you can, and can make time, just eat very simple real food. It is easy to bake chicken and stir fry veggies or bake pork loin or stir fry all together!
The simpler the better. Eat food!! It’s wonderful and life affirming.