Pretox plan before starting VLCD

Righty ho! With the help of this site and especially westiegirl's helpful comments (respect :girlpower, I have come to terms with not starting LL/other VLCD until January, but equally not seeing the next 6 weeks as a guilt-free binge-fest!

Hence I have started a 6 week pretox, removing one "bad" thing from my diet per week:
Wk1 (from Monday this week) - no alcohol
Wk2 - no alcohol, no wheat
Wk3 - no alcohol, no wheat, no caffeine
Wk4 - no alcohol, no wheat, no caffeine, no sugar
Wk5 - no alcohol, no wheat, no caffeine, no sugar, no dairy
Wk6 - no alcohol, no wheat, no caffeine, no sugar, no dairy, no red meat.

The idea is (a) not to waste the time and (b) to hopefully deal with some of my cravings and withdrawal symptoms before starting abstinence. I'm not setting any weight loss targets for this time.
I'm going to allow "flexibility within reason" 24/25/26 December and New Year's Eve and Day (my son's 16th birthday!) but not to go overboard. My only occasions to deal with are a Christmas lunch with my mum's friends at a pub I know well and should be able to stick to the plan, and a trip to see family my ex and his partner) for 4 days, but he tends to eat healthily anyway, and as I'll be driving back to the motel each evening I won't be having wine.

How does this sound to you? Has anyone else done this sort of thing before a VLCD?

S.x

Hello!

Absolutely chuffed to have got through week 1 [no alcohol] without any problem - see, I'm not a dipsomaniac lol - even going to Wetherspoons on Friday for lunch and just having diet cola. And I've lost 3lbs!
From tomorrow I cut out wheat, so no bread, cakes, pasta etc. I know this is a big craving for me so hoping I'll stay strong.
I've switched to half-caff coffee, with a jar of decaf in the cupboard to follow.
All in all, I'm happy with my gradual preparation for LL in Jan. - watch this space!

Sharon x

Well done on your pretox, I am sure it will be good preparation and it is also good as you won't just feel in limbo waiting for LL to start. I'm sure you are doing this anyway bit I would up the water x

great idea to ease yourself into a VLCD this way - also great advise from tara re the water - it's one of the strangest things having to drink so much water so the more you can get used to it the better

Thanks Lou and Tara, I know in "normal" mode I'm really bad at drinking water, so I am trying to reach for a glass before eating or drinking anything else.
You'll see from my other posts that I've started Celebrity Slim today, which will effectively cut my wheat out etc, but I'm feeling good, despite emotional provocation from my ex!
S.x

Yay, go girl! Excellent idea for preparation.

Thanks Lyn - so far so good!