help

[Maplesamdust]

i am doing the cabbage soup diet and had questions first can i lose up to 8kg in 12 days, can i drink fat free soy milk instead of skim milk, can i drink diet coke, what is a vegie alturnative to the meat days and will it slow own the weight loss. help!!

[becks]

The cabbage soup diet will actually do very little to help you lose weight - believe me i've tried it - and the cornflake diet and about every other fad diet going. Your body will go into stavation mode becuase you aren't getting enough nutrients and will actually store calories instead of burning them off. you will definitley NOT lose 8kg in 12 days. Best thing to do is limit yourself to say 1400 calories a day and get down the gym. plus you will fart loads and have smelly breath on the CS diet, you won't lose any weight doing these crash diets, well you might lose a pound or two but that will only be water or something - it's really not worth it, do it sensibly.

[TommyC]

Speaking as the husband of a constantly-dieting wife, I can assure you that if it were ever remotely possible to lose 8kg in 12 days (which it is not), the resultant shock to your body would probably kill you within a few weeks. That is an almost impossible and highly-dangerous rate of loss, and any diet sponsors that promise it are lying, or risking your life, or both. Some things just don't change. One of them is, The only guaranteed way to lose weight in a safe and efficient manner is to eat progressively less food, and take progressively more vigorous exercise.

[nicola_red]

I lost 7lbs in a week on this diet which I think is about 3kg. Fat free soya milk is roughly equivalent to skimmed milk so no reason why you can't substitute that. On the days where mince is allowed I just ate soya mince, but I'm not sure how that affected the calorie/fat content...probably best to check nutritional values for both. As diet coke is calorie free I can't see any reason why you couldn't drink it, but I didn't.

[IggyB]

Sure you can lose 3kgs in a week, but please realise it is not 3kgs of FAT you have lost it is 3Kgs of MUSCLE. As you massively reduce the number of calories you take in your body will indeed go into starvation mode, and as becks said you body will then stop utilising fat reserves as energy in an attempt to protect you from the future affects of starvation, the body will the utilise alternative fuel sources - by breaking down your muscles. So yes you will weigh less, and yes you will appear smaller in some areas BUT once you start eating normally you will pile on the pounds (of fat) as you will have considerably reduced your metobolic rate - meaning you need fewer calories to sustain you... and here in is the genius of the diet industry because then what do you do ... Reach of the bleeding slim fast (or any other fad diet of the day)!!! and so starts the cycle of yo-yo dieting that gradually destroys your body, health and self worth whilst you paying for the previlage... so STOP IT,take a deep breath, invest in a healthy cook book and eat normal sensible whole food (no processed items) and go for nice walks (runs!!!) in the sunshine.