I go by the hospital liquid diet which means nothing solid, so jello, yogurt, ice cream and pudding are in. I still lose maximum 4 pounds a week when I'm on the ball. This is without exercise.

An especially hungry day-
Tea with honey (just my preference), can of soup or a slim fast shake.
Tea, tea, tea... if I get too snacky I'll have some jello or applesauce.
Spaghetti sauce with cheese melted into it (same as spaghetti, but no carbs- also gives you your vitamins) or some V8
More tea , chocolate milk
Can of soup
Ice cream or yogurt

I know it sounds like I'm eating a lot of non-diet food, but I'm taking in around 800-1000 calories a day, so losing around 3-4 pounds a week, keeping all of my vitamins and protein. My favorite meal for on-the-go is a small chocolate milkshake and a small rootbeer.

Sometimes though, I just want to CHEW something!!! Gum is my friend.

How does spaghetti sauce with melted cheese give you vitamins?

I know, there are a lot of different products, I looked into most of them and I found that most contain milk protein or soy protein isolate which I don't want to consume. So it was between Weight RESET by Nature's Way and Ultimate Meal by Garden of Life, which are whey protein-based. I bought Ultimate Meal and I hate it with water but like it with almond milk (unsweetened). It's a bit expensive though - but I guess if I want something that is good quality I cannot complain about that

SuGyong, are you monitored by a doctor?

FitMom, I'm not sure if you were trying to distinguish between whey protein and milk protein but whey protein is a dairy product. One of my favorite products is Ultimate Meal by Ultimate Life which is completely vegan (no dairy). I'm shaking things up for myself but I was drinking it every morning and my husband still does. The taste does take a little getting used to though.

There is a distinction between milk protein and whey protein. Whey protein is made from whey, which is a dairy product, however whey protein powder per se is not a dairy product. Protein from whey protein powder is the most bio-available type of protein, and it is much easier on the stomach than milk protein, as whey protein is virtually lactose-free.

I don't do well on milk protein but I do well on whey protein. My favorite is the fat Flush Whey but you can only get it from UniKey so I now buy Jay Robb's. Of course that's not a meal replacement product, just a protein supplement.

I don't do so well on most vegan products, I find that I get bloated. But I have a friend who is intolerant to whey so I'll tell her about the product you recommended.

FitMom, yup I am aware of the distinction but I've heard others say whey is vegan which obviously it isn't When I was drinking the Ultimate Meal, I was halfing it with a whey protein powder but I really liked it and its ingredients so I do recommend it for your friend or anyone who would like a total meal replacement.

Oh, you are absolutely right, it's not vegan.

I think the confusion may come from the fact that many "superfood" powder supplements contain powdered spirulina, chlorella etc but also whey protein, so maybe some people started thinking it was also a vegan ingredient.

Example: Living Fuel, SP Complete... I'm sure there are others.

My husband recently bought the metabolic ReSet (nature's Way) and he likes it but thinks it is a little thin. I think he plans on using it mostly with fruit mixed in as a supplement instead of a total meal replacement.

Yup, I agree. I think it's find for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack but too light for dinner.

Ultimate Meal is a bit thicker because it contains a special kind of fiber, and it fills you up... but 2 hours later I'm hungry, regardless. I think these shakes are too low in fat. For those of us with who do best on a bit more fat (I'm mediterranean, do well on a bit more fat of the monounsaturated kind) it's just not filling enough.

Hey guys,this diet sounds really interesting to me but I do have a couple of questions

First, do you guys know if it will work if I take in around 1300 calories?
Second, if you do lose the weight you wanna lose, do u end up gaining it back in maintainence if you go back to solids?

I'm not too familiar with this diet so any any info will be appreciated.thanx

Bean,

I'm not a liquid dieter but I do use meal replacement shakes. I popped in here because one of the ones I've used in the past was mentioned.

All diets work by restricting calories so if you are restricting them to 1300 calories, then you will most likely lose weight if you are eating more than that.

One thing you should know about any eating plan you go on is that you should make sure you are getting all the nutrients that your body needs. Look for well balanced meal replacement shakes and also inspect the ingredients.

For those that go on very low calorie diets (under 1000), they should be under their doctors supervision. 1300 calories isn't considered a very low calorie diet but it still wouldn't hurt to check with your doctor or a nutritionist.

Almost forgot to mention that almost any diet can help you lose weight but what you do once you lose the weight is up to you. You would still need to restrict your calories once you get to your goal weight in order to maintain your weight loss. Some diets also can result in muscle loss so it is important to eat a good percentage of protein as well as exercise while you are losing weight in order to minimize your muscle loss. The more muscle you lose, the slower your metabolism.

Thank you for caring!

Spaghetti sauce is rich in vegetables (of course) and good cheese adds dairy. I'm very careful throughout the day to make sure I get as many of the food groups as I can. The only thing that having sauce and cheese cuts out of a spaghetti dinner is the pasta! And pasta is just filler anyway.

What I was trying to get across on the post (which I've obviously done badly ) was that I am NOT starving myself. I'm merely making it more labor intensive to eat and therefore cutting out all the side snacking.

I didn't mention it since it's a new addition this go-around (and only 3 or 4 days in on it now), but one day a week I allow myself ANYTHING I want for the entire day. Cuts out the binging because I know I can have it in just a day or three.

My friends worry about me because they don't listen long enough for me to tell them that I am NOT just drinking tea 24/7. They automatically assume that I am since they don't think about how much food out there is available. I can walk into almost any restaurant and find something good. I could even puree a steak and that would count. (ew.) It's all about labor intensity and whether or not I'm actually hungry enough to search for it.

Last time I did this (Feb-april) there was no difference in my energy levels, blood pressure, moods, etc. There is one difference, and that is: I have to pee constantly!! I was still able to do martial arts two times a week, run my kids to whatever things they have to do, garden, ride my motorcycle, etc etc etc. I am not lying limply on my couch refusing to eat which is what people (bless them) seem to be worrying about.

"Liquid diet" foods:
ANY soup (vegetable, cream of celery/broccoli/mushrooms, etc)
Any sauce
slim fast/ultimate meal, etc
yogurts, puddings, ice creams
baby food (if you really want to..)
any drinks (of course)
In other words... anything not solid. If I can eat it with a fork, I put it down and back away slowly.

Hi SuGyong,

If you took a slice of pizza and threw it in the blender w/ some water and made a shake out of it would that count? tee hee...I have often dreamt of doing that and then I stop myself and consider what that might really taste like

Nilla

I'll pop in to say that I've been doing Health and Nutrition Technology's HealthOne meal replacements since Sept 20, 2006. HNT is a meal replacement that can be made into shakes and with minor (very minor) effort, can be made into tasty muffins.

The way my coach and doctor use this program is 4 meal replacements, 3 veggies, and 2 fruits a day. The use of fruits and veggies is to start good habits early in weight loss and provide some great nutrition. (The program can also be done 5 MRs a day only but my coach's research has shown there isn't much difference in weight loss.)

In the first 20 weeks (foundation) of the program I lost approx. 65 pounds. I've lost another 15 in the past 13 weeks (I've been slacking some). I'm thrilled with my progress though. I've gone from 3x tops to 1x tops; size 24+ pants to size 18. I can walk around our property without a second thought (28 acres). I feel like a new person; or maybe my old (thinner) self.

If you are curious you can google myhealthone for the company site. Unfortunately this program is in very few select cities; Indianapolis, Durango, Jackson Hole, and I don't know where else. For me, the key to the program is my coach. She's not pushing the program (because I could see her pushing any other method that she might be affiliated with) but she's truly a coach.. not unlike an athletic coach. She makes us do things that we don't want to so that we can achieve the goals we do.

Hi RobinAnn,

Thanks for sharing your program with us. It is nice to know all the options that are available. You are lucky you can modify your MR's into muffins, that sounds good.
Great job on your weightloss, keep us posted!

Nilla