Tony Ferguson Weigh Loss Chatter #3

Day 2 ... got off to a rocky start since I slept in and then had to race out the door to swimming lessons, didn't even have time for a shake for brekkie. But I've managed to eat within plan all day .... shake and fruit for morning tea, salad for lunch, soup for afternoon tea, and I'm about to have a piece of fruit before I go for a walk. Then lamb and veges for tea tonight.

I tried the Asian Curry soup - OMG - I couldn't believe how delicious it was! If all the soups are like that, then I think I'll have soups more often than shakes. I'm not really a milk kinda gal, and I always prefer to have savoury, hot foods.

I'm a bit headachy and have felt dizzy all day, but I was up all night with Jambin, so it could just be sleep deprivation. So far, though, I'm pretty happy with how I'm going.

How is everyone else going?

I just need to express something here.

I am an Acupuncturists and Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioner and fairly new to this site. My alarm bells are ringing as I read this thread. I am so distressed at what you women are choosing to do to your bodies. I am speechless that this kind of thread ends up on a site that purportedly supports women through their safe and healthy journey into motherhood and beyond.

Let me make my position abundantly clear. These fad diets are there to make TF and others rich. They serve no place in advising women and especially women who are on IVF waiting to get pregnant, pregnant women or lactating women on healthy, sustainable and achievable weight loss, let alone to support additional nutritional and energy requirements for motherhood, whether you are breastfeeding or not.

There is no confusion or ambiguity regarding the safety of these diets when taken by pregnant or lactating women. They are simply not suitable. They do not have the basic caloric requirements to sustain life and that is why you loose weight so dramatically, through malnourishment. Only to put it, and some more when you return to eating habits that caused the weight to go on in the first place.

The bad taste is acidosis due to excessive breakdown of protein. Diabetics can die from this. But don't let me convince you all, do some of your own research and come to your own informed position about it.

Any thinking person can see that a shakes (no matter how good or bad they taste) do not provide substitution for real, whole and nourishing food. You do not need a doctor to tell you that.

And besides we are real women, not the liposucked, air brushed, poked and prodded image of mothers and women that are portrayed in our main stream media.

Healthy, sustainable weight loss is simple. Eat more whole, unprocessed foods (my preference is raw food) and exercise more frequently, move your body! You will find it much cheaper and feel healthier in the process. And you will find that your weight will naturally and effortlessly come back into balance.

If you require more support, my best suggestion ism to consult a qualified practitioner who can give individual assistance.

Natural woman

Just quickly, hope everyone's doing well, i just LOVE this diet :D- its so easy and everythings reallly yummy - esp the meals in the cook book.
I've been doing this since the 14th of feb and ive lost 5.6kgs!! And i havent even really done any exercise, other than the usual hose work etc. Im wrapped!:dance: only 12kgs to go!

Naturalwoman - Im really not to sure what to say about your post.?

Hi Shell,

I don't need you to say anything about my view, or to agree with me or disagree in any way.

What I will say is that there is a very big difference between losing weight and choosing health and wellness.

Weight is merely one external baseline measurement to health. We all know that it is in our best interest to have a within range body mass index (height to weight ratio) for many health reasons. And of course you will feel better not carrying around those extra kilos, this makes sense.

Wellness on the other hand is a way of being where your natural, consistent and predominant choice is to honour your whole body health. You just choose to do stuff that supports your health... eat more fresh food, stop smoking, start exercising etc. When you consistently choose health your body will naturally come back into balance and recover especially after having children.

There is plenty of information available in the public domain on how to loose weight in a healthy and responsible manner, there is also plenty of information out there regarding healthy lifestyle. It is not so difficult to become educated.

The wellness approach is much easier, more consistent and cheaper than fad diets. It has (and you will also have) a longer life. It is more sustainable and you will be in control of your health direction not subject to another fad diet and the peaks and troughs of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual struggle with weight.

This may or may not have impact on you, I can not anticipate your response.

This whole thread makes my heart very sad. I wonder what other lies as women we swallow without question about how to care for ourselves, our hearts, our bodies and our minds.

With a heavy heart I put this message out there in the hope it might touch another in a whole and meaningful way. A way that encourages women to simply choose health for themselves and their families.

Natural woman

Hi everyone!!

I have just joined TF and really looking forward to it. I started on Sunday and i hope i do ok. I have STACKS to loose...i feel very bad letting myself go so far...but now im doing it for my girls and of course myself!!!

I have a friend who is doing it and going really well...he is my motivation.

My only problem atm is the water intake and getting my head around 4 protiens a day!!!

Look for ward to chatting to you all :)

Lastnight for dinner i made the mince burritos (but with chicken breast) from the cookbook..was yummo! My fave shake is chocolate and fav soup is pumpkin!

Natural woman- Whilst you have said some great things, for some...your way of weight loss just isnt possible. Ive tried for many years and ended up eatting bad, if not worse then before i tried dieting. Im sure diets like TF have been researched otherwise they would not be sold? Some peopkle dont have the skinny gene and we do what we have to to get results :)

KIM you've got the right attitude to absolutely succeed in achieving your goal weight ;)

... I lost 18kilo's in 5mths ... And I've gotta say it's been the simplest diet I've ever done :dance: (and NO I'm not a yo-yo dieter) !!

I was almost a size 18 & now fit into a size 12 very comfortably :)

The first couple of weeks seemed kinda hard but not really if you know what I mean especially when you see you loose weight in that first week :D ... There after it comes apart of life & you don't think about it as much.

I have to admit I was very strict the first couple of months and was sort of casual about it after & the weight was still coming off !! ... Me, too ... My fav is the Chocolate shake ;)

I actually do understand where Natural Woman is coming from BUT for some of us that option doesn't come that easy & it simply puts us gals off in pursuing such a way to lose weight. It's far to out of our mindset to even consider doing it that way. Just having to shift that main bulk of weight is hard enough without making it harder for ourselves.

ALL THE BEST KIM :)

Thanks Smiles!

Now can some one let me in on the 'not feeling hungry' secret???

Theres only so much beans, lettuce and salad vegie i can eat in a day before i feel like a rabbit and cant handle it anymore!!

Weigh in day is Saturday so im excited but scared at the same time!

Ok I'm getting off this thread now.

Wish you all the best in your weight loss journey(s). I hope some of what I have had to say has had impact. Especially the fact that TF is NOT suitable for women looking to get pregnant, pregnant women and lactating mothers. I don't believe that even TF recommends it in these cases.

You might not have the skinny gene but your body houses the wellness gene. It instructs your body on how to heal and naturally come into balance.

Cheers natural woman

No Pregnant mums and BF mums are not allowed on TF.

But i cant see how if a lady wants to fall pregnant but wants to loose some weight first....cant do it? I mean sometimes its the weight thats stopping pregnancy from occuring so a bit of weight lost could help with that problem?

Thanks for your inpuit all the same Natural Woman...my wellness gene must not have been made...along with the skinny gene!!

But my TF gene is gunna work :)

Goodluck Kim, i'm sure you will succeed on the TF diet it seems to be a very good program. Might even come and join you on the TF program!!!!

Kimbaz - i just suck on my bottle of water or chew sugar free gum when im hungry - or when i make a salad i cut up the cucumber and tom's etc small so i think im eating more (yep, love to trick myself!!) - good luck for saturday. :D

Well, i weighed in today, im the same as i was last week. Proberly lucky i didnt put on as i ate a medium pizza last friday night (to celebrate loosing 5kg - smart i know!) and ive been busy making test cakes for Emilys birthday - of course I NEED to test them and all the icing. But ive learnt my lesson - no more bad food, i'll be good! :clap:

Thanks for the tip Shell....ill try cutting salad smaller!! The water makes me feel bloated and sick...but doesnt take the hunger away!! How long have you been doing the program for? Yay on not gaining weight..... :)

hey kimbaz was on the TF diet a few months ago and will start again when we have the cash!!

to make yourself feel fuller longer add some fibre to your shakes!! but dont have the TF fibre its disgusting!!!! i used the one that disolves in food!!

good luck ladies!!!

Hey girls - just joining in on behalf of my DH! LOL. He joined up last friday.

Having just read through this thread, just wanna say I understand the whole 'fad' diet thing, and yeah, it's probably making TF rich LOL. But it in the diet's defense.. I just wanna say that it's making me cook very healthy meals and DH is getting a taste for big salads, big helpings of veggies, and proper sized portions of meat! Of course DS & I are still eating our carbs so don't stress there ladies!

I brought out the slow cooker today and did a massive batch of ratatouille. I've also got a recipe for frying up some chinese vegetables (I've never bought so much fresh food at the shops! LOL - felt like I was buying out an entire farm!) so it's healthy eating all round here :)

I just told DH to add fibre to his shakes to help with the hunger, thanks girls :)

I also told him to try the soups (he's only had the shakes) coz he shouldn't really have dairy, and the soy drinks only have 2 flavours. He's been taking Lacteeze before drinking them so he can digest the lactose :rolleyes:

Sending some non-hunger vibes to everyone! :)

Hi Girls :D

I started TF last year, and stopped as Christmas approached, as things got too busy and too hard :p

I started again this week - don't have too much to lose, my ideal weight is 58 - 62kgs, and I'm at 68kgs.

DH hates me doing any diet, as he is the Italian man that likes the 'full' figure :rolleyes:... so we've come to a compromise - I said I'll get down to 64 and see how we go!

Truth be known, 64 is great, so we'll see what happens!

I know there's been a lot of 'discussion' in here as to how good the TF is - FWIW you only replace one whole meal a day with a shake (which is usually breakfast) - the 2nd meal is a shake PLUS the salad/veggies.. and the other meal is normal.

I rarely eat breakfast anyway, so the shake is an addition there - my lunch usually is a big salad or a big bowl of steam veggies (if I'm at home)... and dinner is always veggies and chicken/steak/fish etc.

My diet isn't altering that much - I'm certainly not losing any good foods in replacement with the shakes - the only thing I'm cutting out is bread & pasta - and I feel a million times better every time I do it.

I take TF pretty casually - if I go out with friends I will have that little something extra... if I feel like a glass of wine, I will have it, etc.

I went through TF with my chinese herbalist before I started last year - the only thing she told me was that the foods they say to only eat a few times a week (carrots, avocado, etc) to eat them as much as the other veggies.

She also said if you're having issues with th 2L water a day, 1.5L is enough - anything more than that is making your liver work a little too hard (except in summer when you're dehydrated, etc).

Although I haven't done TF since November, when I went back to weigh myself this week, I'd only put on 0.8kgs - considering Christmas and an overseas holiday was in there, its amazing I didn't put on more.

SO! i can say that once you take the weight off, it does stay off (well, it did with me... and I really wasn't being careful).

I lost 7kgs when I was on it last time :)

Good Luck to everyone in here... and Kim - how do you drink the water? I find it really hard to drink it cold - it makes me bloated and sick in the tummy, but if I drink it at room temp, find it much easier.
My chinese herbalist also told me that room temp is better for your body to absorb it - it doesn't have to work as hard as its already at the body's temp... HTH :D

Man i ran off the rails in week 2... :(

I got sick and i needed *real* food...big mistake!!

I do plan on starting again soon....gotta shift some pounds before #3 comes!

Holly i can only drink water cold....room temp just doesnt do it for me....but i will drink it rom temp if theres none cold. 2L is to much for me too...only way i manage 2L is if i add some weight watchers cordial to it....then i can get through all of it!

DH's update: He's lost 3kg and 2cm around his waist! Woohoo! That was in about 10 days.

He's been really good though. Eating loads of salad and veg. Hasn't had any cravings for norty stuff. The only norty thing he had was his parents brought chicken rice around and he couldn't help himself. LOL, and of course he ended up starving hungry again the next day. On the whole tho, he is doing really well. Not sure he's drinking enough water every day.. when he's home he doesn't measure it.. at work he has a 1ltr bottle that he uses.

I think I'd be hopeless coz I'm a craver. I'd be dying for snacks and biscuits and things. The only thing DH wishes he could have more of is fruit. He thinks 10 grapes is laughable, so doesn't even have one! LOL.

Keep up the good work girls!

Hi all,

I've went to a TF centre today and joined up. DH joined up last Monday when he had the day off, so hopefully we can stay motivated together.

How is everyone still going? Any tips to get through the first couple of days?

tony fergusion is okay but opifast is much better , taking optifast now 4 just under 2months , was 154kgs now 118 kgs still losing weigth ,doing no exercise .

Going well mr dad. In what respect is optifast better for you? Have you also tried TF?

I want to join up but am wondering what the initial cost roughly is?

Danielle - I think the intial cost was something like $230 and it included 4 weeks supply of shakes/soups.

DH isn't on the diet anymore, he dropped the weight he wanted to lose.

I thought this diet was an ok one, coz it wasn't JUST shakes, it was loads of vegies and still a reasonable normal meal at night, so I thought it would instill some good habits, but DH is back to eating almost like normal! I do still try to control the portions I put on his plate tho LOL.

Dad of many - wow at your weightloss! Well done. Hehe at the no exercise. DH was the same, no excercise, altho he does walk to the train station in the mornings, so he counts that :rolleyes: I think it's a shame they don't push the exercise thing tho with these diets, coz really if you want to keep the weight off once you reach the goal, it's the whole lifestyle that needs to be healthy. Unfortunately I think in DH's head there's a quick fix out there if he does put the weight back on. But it's so unhealthy to yo-yo your weight.

Good luck everyone. Hope it works for you!

this is my first time in any sort of chat room!
i was looking for information on losing weight while breastfeeding!
i have three older children and a 5 month old...feeling very fat and ugly at the moment and finding weight loss impossible. my energy levels are so low i struggle to get thru the day...with a smile so every one else thinks i am o.k. thought a shake diet would help had optifast on the kitchen bench but have put it away after reading some of the comments!help!

I shall be starting this weekend :)

I have a wedding to go to in August (I'm matron of honour) & it will be a chance to show off a slimmer me. Will give stats etc when I start :) It will also give me a chance to shock my DH who will probably be away (for work) for the month prior to the wedding, so he can get a shock as well.

hoops - the TF diet isn't recommended for anyone breastfeeding I don't think. I'm sure if you post in the main Diet & Weightloss section, there'll be plenty of people to help you :) There's probably even a thread there already.

Good luck with it! I find breastfeeding alone sheds the weight off me. It did take longer the second time around, but i'm finally back to pre-pg weight.

Okay I am back on it, have 10kgs I want to lose. Anyone else on it at the moment? And no, they dont like you doing it while breastfeeding as your body goes into keytosis and your breastmilk excretes the toxins as a result of that.

I've been on it about 2 months. DH and I started at the same time except he's pretty much reached his goal (keeps complaining his work pants are too loose) but I still have a way to go. This is making it hard as DH is relaxing on what we eat but I still need to be strict.

I've also had cold over the last few weeks so that's taken me of track too. The good thing is I haven't put back any of the weight I lost which is encouraging for me.

Other than that, I really like it. I love the convenience of the shakes :)

I'm on it too. I started about 6 weeks ago but have had a few bad weeks with Oscar's birthday etc. So far I have lost 4.5kgs and still have a way to go. I haven't weighed myself yet this morning but fingers crossed there is more of a loss ;)
Will be great to have some support with this :)

Cool so that's three of us :)

My usual routine is a hot chocolate shake in the morning and a pumpkin soup at lunch. I tend to go over my allowances for protein at night but I don't care, I lost weight last time and it just helps with any hunger. I am really going to give it the best shot I can, I figure a good aim would be 10 weeks (for 10 kilos) so it's not really that much, I can do it. Small goals help! Sick of having bad self esteem, only I can fix it. Can't wait to be happy with my body.

I know what you mean Kelly about having bad self esteem. I was always feeling really cr@ppy and never happy with myself. I have been this way for about 4 years and I decided it was time to do something. My routine consists of a Chocolate, Banana or Strawberry shake in the morning. A piece of fruit mid morning if I am hungry.. lunch is usually a Pumpkin soup (my fave!) and sometimes a piece of fruit is the arvo. Quite often dinner is just a plain piece of meat with veges. I don't think it matters too much Kel if you have a bigger serve of meat.. I do quite often and have still lost nearly 1kg a week.

I was told that an extra serve of protein between meals to help with hunger is okay, so I don't think it would be a big issue. I know I tend to have a larger serve than what they suggest.

My usual routine is a shake in the morning and a chicken or tomato soup for lunch. I'm not really keen on the other soups and I've been a little tired of the soups so I've been having a shake for lunch instead on some days.

We have the cookbook which is great for cooking dinner. I looked at the new one and it looks great too so I may buy that next week.

I can also relate to the self esteem issues and I'm also an emotional eater which I'm trying to overcome. I hope we all go well in achieving our goals. I think this post is timely for me because I need to get back on track. Thank you.

Hi ladies,
Can I chat too??? I joined up with TF yesterday. Day 1 now complete, and I feel great, apart from a bad headache, but they said to expect this. I'm hoping to loose 6-8kg, so fingers crossed if I'm good it won't take that long.

I love the Cafe Latte for breaky, but that's to replace the 2 coffee's I would always have in the morning, that I sadly missed today :( Then I have waffers with tomato and a chicken soup for lunch, then steak and veges for dinner.

So far so good, but I guess only having done 1 day, there wouldn't be much hope for me if I have cheated myself already, he he he

How are you all going now?
Hope it's all going well for you.

Hi Mel,

Glad to see your first day went well. Hopefully the headache will soon pass. Have you drunk lots of water today? They say that should help with any headaches you may get initially.

Drinking enough water has been my downfall lately. Hopefully the warmer weather will help me to increase my intake.

Perhaps I shouldn't say this to tempt you, but you can still drink coffee, they just advise it's decaf.:)

i done tf over a yr ago b4 i got preg and lost 20kg. i was looking and i seen the recipe book wat kind of meals do they have r they good?
has anyone been on it b4 and noitced any changes this time around. its just that the recipe book looks like it is too yummy to be in the allowance i had b4 lol

Hi all,
I have been on TF for awhile and have lost just over 10 kg (yay me) my ultimate goal was 30kg.
I love the shakes and really didnt have any dramas sticking to the diet and found I quite enjoyed the change in my eating habits.
I recommend the TF cook books, they are great.

Alas, I have just found out I am pregnant so I guess TF will wait until after bub is born.

Good luck to all those who are on TF and all those that are thinking about starting TF....i Think its great:dance:

Congrats on your BFP, exciting news. All the best a H&H pregnancy.

Reading the stories in this thread is making me want to start up again on TF... I went on it before my best friend's wedding in September 2006 and I lost 10kg but have since put it all back on. I am TTC but AF hasn't reared her head since I had an Implanon removed so I am sitting here thinking that I could definately do the program until AF shows up and then back off but continue the healthy eating... weight loss would definately help with my PCOS... and TF would give me the kick start I need for my gym program... I was 89kgs in late September and will have a weigh at the gym with my personal trainer next week so would be good to see how much I can lose with gym alone and then how much TF could help... mmm I might think about it for a day or two.

Congrats to you all and good luck with TF.

I've been on TF for a few months, mostly to lose weight before I started TTC. I have lost 17kg in about 4 months, now I'm in my first TWW and wondering if I'll be able to continue with TF after the 17th November. I've decided I'll stay on it until I get a BFP, so I give my body the best chance to lose weight before I do get pregnant.

Having PCOS, weight loss was really important for me to TTC. I've lost 15% of my body weight, and it's helped regulate my cycles to an extent that my doctor is happy with.