lighterlife

[WiccanKitten]

Back in October I asked if any of you could help me with the name of a mystery diet I had come across on the TV. You gave me the name of the LighterLife programme, and that's where my life changed!

I have been on the programme since January and I promised that I would post up and tell you what I thought....

As soon as this question is posted on here I will paste my little story as a follow up post.

I hope this gets allowed although technically it isn't a question, LighterLife has changed my life, and I would be so happy to answer your questions from my experiences so far.
Incidentally, I have gone from a size 22 to a size 14, and lost nearly 7 stone since january.

Charlie

[Black Noir]

Well done Charlie thats fantastic ! Although I expect you have had to spend a fortune on a new summer wardrobe ??!

[WiccanKitten]

Well, yes and no....
I have had to fork out some cash for mew clothes, but it's not been a chore, as I am no longer looking for cover-me-up-clothes, or having to buy from expensive catalogues that cater for my size! During the programme we were taught about capsule wardrobes being effective for the weight-loss time, so that we were not continually having to spend spend spend.
Also, for anybody starting the programme - I really really reccomend signing up to your local freecycle group (you need a yahoo account for emails) the website is www.freecycle.org - it's all free, so you just put up wanted ads for clothes in whatever size you require. It's been a life-saver as everyone on freecycle must offer things for free, so I got plenty of lovely clothes to see me through! well worth it, as I now look and feel so much better in the clothes that I am spending money on!

[WiccanKitten]

Here's my story.......

Back in October, I asked all of you if you could help me out with a "mystery diet" that I had seen on a TV programme, they hadn't been allowed to name the diet, all I knew was that the contestant who had been on the programme had lost just over 3 stone in 3 months. Anyway, you managed to come up with the name for me - LIGHTERLIFE.

I just wanted to let everybody know that I started LighterLife on January 3rd this year. I started a size 22, weighing 18 stone & 7lbs. I am still on the programme now, a happy size 14, weighing 11 stone 13lbs. (Nearly 7 stone loss!!!!)
I have never felt healthier, and never been happier. It is miraculous. I have a job now, when before I felt unable to even leave the house at times. I have more confidence then I have ever had. I can run and dance and do things like normal people. I am so so happy.

The diet is intense - you eat NO FOOD, just 4 soups/shakes a day.
The first 2 days are tricky - then after that you don't even have to think about it. You lose on average 3lbs a week if you stick to the programme. My weight loss for some reason has averaged at around 4lbs per week - its INCREDIBLE.

I am in a group with 10 other ladies, who provide much needed support and friendship. Also, my counseller is FABULOUS.....this programme is LIFE CHANGING. You realise SO much about yourself, and WHY you put the weight on, so that you learn from your mistakes and are comfortable when you return to normal food again.

If anybody would like to know more, please post up and I will talk about my experiences.
I have before vs after photos, that were spaced three months apart, and can show these too!!! I am going to remain on the programme until I reach the healthy weight for my height, which is 10 stone I believe.

[My Angel Pie]

this is exactly the diet my hairdresser was telling me about. one of her clients started it in Jan this year and has also lost an amazing amount of weight, she looks and feels fantastic and her skin is apparently incrediable, not to mention the relationship she has now with food! thanks for sharing this with us and WELL DONE YOU!! x

[WiccanKitten]

Thankyou very much!
I forgot to mention skin!!! Yes - it is sooooooo greatly imporved. Because my diet used to be crisps, sandwiches and sweets a lot of the time, I had awful skin, really oily and prome to breakouts. I couldn't use a moisturiser at all, and my make-up would go shiny and look unhealthy.
Now, my skin so rarely gets even one zit, let alone break outs, my skin isn't oily anymore, I use a light daily moisturiser, and whereas my make-up used to go shiny and "melt" I rarely have to bother with foundation now - miracle!

[Black Noir]

Is this quite an expensive diet to follow? Whilst this should not really be an issue, obviously these things cost money, how does it compare to ************** say which is �5 a week or thereabouts

[annie0000]

Do you have to be really overweight to benefit - my sister is looking to lose about 1.5 stone - do you think this woud be suitable? Also, what does it do to your digestive system i.e. poo-ing?

[WiccanKitten]

The diet is costly compared to that! It costs �66 per week. But, it's failsafe.....It WORKS. To be honest, when you work out all of the money we spend on food/drink each week anyway.....not just the weekly shop, but the coffees after work, the drinks at the pub, the takeaway, the sandwich at the garage - it all adds up, and considering that �66 per week buys EVERYTHING you need to survive on, it's brilliant. Plus, I would have paid double that for the new lease of life it has given me.
(Incidentally, we're not flash at all. My husband clears just over �920 each month, and whilst my new job is well paid, its very part time! - so it is possible if you want it enough.)

[WiccanKitten]

No, Lighterlife will only take on clients that have a minimum of 3 stone to lose.....I imagine weightwatchers or something might be better a better option for your sister?
When you join up to Lighterlife, one of the first things you do is get weighed at an info session to make sure that you're eligable. Technically, if you are 3 stone or more overweight, then you are clinically obese. Lighterlife will not take you on as a client if you are not 3 stone or more overweight.

As for the digestive system.....Actually, nothing much happens at all.
You don't suffer with loose stools, at all, which is what I had worried about...... although you can get constipation if you don't drink all of your water each day - you are supposed to drink 4 litres of water each day. (Which is trickier then it sounds - but your skin will be sooooooo healthy that you get used to it!)

[annie0000]

I am glad that you have done so well. Well done enjoy yourself and make sure you don't go back to your old ways! lol

[WiccanKitten]

Thanks Annie! :)
The Lighterlife counselling has taught me how to understand myself a lot more, so hopefully when I do return to conventional food I will be able to deal with it better. Eat to live rather then living to eat!
The return to food is done gradually too, they don't just throw you off at the deep end. Its a 12 week programme, introducing different types of food each week. I have all that to look forward to, starting on the 1st of August!

[nannon]

WOW - well done!!!
Do you have to do this forever though? I mean drink the shakes and things? What if you get to your goal weight - do you start eating again? Will the weight go back on?

[WiccanKitten]

Heya nannon,
No, it's not forever.....though it has felt like it on one or two occasions! Seeing as you lose at least 1 stone every month if you stick to the diet, it's actually a relatively quick programme. Of course, it depends on how much you've got to lose. The initial part is 3 months long, (hence why Lighterlife won't take clients without 3 or more stone to lose) after that you can keep going for as long as you like until you reach your target weight.
Lighterlife provides a counselling programme - not optional, ESSENTIAL. You learn to look at your relationship with food, you learn why you ate, you learn about food in terms of an "addictive substance" and you learn how to deal with things in a different way, without food. When you return to food, you have all these tools to take with you, and food is introduced gradually, so for the 12 week management programme, Lighterlife will be helping you to notice how different types of food affect your mood/skin/weight etc....You're not alone in this, you still get the counselling once a week, you still have foodpacks, although the number of these reduces as you advance in management, until you are on full food, no shakes.
By that point, you will have learned enough about yourself and your relationship with food, that you will be able to look at food in a very very different way. You can keep the weight off, I have seen it.

[WiccanKitten]

The crazy thing is, that if somebody had told me all this before I had come onto the programme, I would have been skeptical that the counselling could ever help me.... in reality it was the best thing that ever happened to me, and here I am, 5 months later, a counseller myself! I can't even begin to say how wonderful this programme is. It doesn't label you "greedy" or push aside the feelings that come with obesity and being overweight. Lighterlife helps you to realise WHY you ate....and helps you to understand that often, when we overeat, we are not trying to quell physical hunger, but a mental hunger for something else.
Once you have completed management and are back into the world of food, your counseller will be there if ever you need help, or feel you would like to go back onto the shakes for a while - a lot of people like this option for november, so they diet through that month and then have their christmas feasts! Lighterlife lasts as long as you want it to last. But the abstinance from food is only a very short time in reality. hope that helps.