Not planning on doing this but...

simples

Full Member
a friend today asked me,

'what is the difference between doing Exante or just eating 600kcals (low carb) a day and a very good multi vit?'

I couldn't answer.

As far as I could see...I had to concede there was no real difference.

Any opinions/answers?
 
i guess the first thing that comes to mind is that vlcds have undergone a LOT of research to get the fat/cals/fibre/carbs etc levels just right so you can lose weight quickly without your body going into starvation mode and your muscles being wasted away. whether you can truly do this d.i.y is quite doubtful imo. x
 
I agree with colly strings. These VLCDs are nutritionally sound and doing it alone would require so much checking of numbers, weights and ingredients. There's no way you'd be able to match exactly the same balance of everything x
 
For me it would be the ease! Not having to think about what is in foods, how much ect ect! Stick to plan and you don't have to plan (does that make sense?) I am not yet on Exante but have been following low-carb this week and just thinking hurts lol
 
And its not only vitamins you would be lacking, its all the minerals, healthy fats etc. As far as I can tell, most VLCD packs are not technically low fat foods, as you need a certain amount of fat to be healthy, and I don't think you could manage that and keep under 600cals with food.
 
I've tried to eat low cal/low carb. Not sticking to 600 cals but still.....
My issue was eating food makes me want food and my will power is TERRIBLE! I think food needs to be a bit boring in order to stop us wanting it all the time!
 
The thing with Exante and other similar meal replacements is that they are nutritionally balanced, so you can exist on the 600 calories a day and stay healthy. It is hard to do that if you just cut down your calories to 600 a day. Also, you havnt got the bother of deciding what to eat, its all sorted out for you.

The other thing with them is that they are low carb diets so you will get into ketosis and burn off fat quicker. Just doing a low cal diet leaves you wide open to the temptation of having food that would stop you getting into ketosis.
 
I would agree with all of the above but for me the difficulty would be having to think about, plan & choose what low carb foods to eat. It would mean being tempted by the very foods that we are all addicted to. An addict cannot have a little bit of the thing they crave - they need to break the habit and to do that you must abstain. Of course at some point we must all start to eat again but hopefully after a period of abstenance our taste buds, appetites and stomach capacities will have adjusted along with our attitude to food.
 
Thank you ladies. Very valid points....I feel better equipped to argue my corner :)
 
Id agree its purely down to the nutrients etc in the packs. Theres no way youd know you were getting the right amount of everything if you were just randomly eating 600 cals, and youd go into starvation, not ketosis.
 
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