Lighter Life - Has anyone done it & kept the weight off?

[madamebovine]

I'm seriously considering doing this. I have about 4.5 stone to lose. Usual story. I am pretty goddamn greedy but when I put my mind to it I am capable of being strict. I lost 3 stone on weight watchers 9 years ago, but life was very different then.

I now am stuck at home in the evenings due to DH's work so normal weight loss clubs and exercise classes are not possible.

I also think the quick start of these type of diets could be such a boost.

However I know 3 people who have done this. Weight fell off no problem but 2 of them put it all back on again (and more).

I should add that a healthy eathing approach has just never worked for me. It's like either feast or famine.

Any thoughts?

[madamebovine]

BIG FAT BUMP!

[madeindevon2]

i did LL lite. lost 30lb. then was calorie counting and maintaining well. over past 2 months i have been slipping into bad habits. summer holiday, few hen dos, weddings, over- eating (and drinking) and have put on about 7lb in that time. i have noone to blame but myself for this!!
so im back on LL lite again (its easy to go back....no rejoin fee etc) its quick and simple.
and hoping/planning to lost 14lb this time.
sofar so good lost 5lb in first week.

each to their own but it works for me. and looking at your post i think it might for you too.

you HAVE to go to the classes tho. so i would go on the website and see if there is someone on your area.....and see if time suits.
you could try it....if it doenst suit you then stop.
what have you got to lose!?
good luck
i feel LOADS better since losing the weight and know i will be feeling even better this time in about 4-5 weeks a stone lighter
by the way i was 12st and im 5 ft 3.bmi was 29.9 so i just qualified for LL lite.
over that you have to do full on LL

[madamebovine]

Thank-you.

I have emailed a local counsellor and will call her tonight.

I really think I'm going to do it.

The things i am worried about are being hungry, being anti-social (refusing dinner/food with other people), and bad breath!

CAn I ask what your strategies were please?

[madeindevon2]

i dont think i had bad breath (my husband said i didnt!) but i did carry one of those sprays just in case (you cant have chewing gum)

full on LL no "real food" at all. i didnt do that so that tho cant offer experience there. but there must be others on here that can offer advice on this.

drink plenty of water.
drink black tea or coffee

you will get lots of support at meetings and meet other people in same boat who you can share experiences with!
there is also an online chat on the LL website

good luck achieving the weight you desire!

[madamebovine]

Thanks - turns out there are NO classes near me on the nights/days that I can do. Bit gutted really so thinking of CAmbridge.

[nikki1978]

madeindevon can I ask what you actually eat on the lite version of the diet? Is it still mainly meal replacements? What are they like?

[ViveLeCliche]

I did LL Foundation (100 days) in Jan - March 2007. Lost just under 4 stone in that time. Put about a stone on and maintained at that for about 2.5 years then fell pregnant and have put it all back on. To be fair it wasn't even the pregnancy - it was the out of control chocolate consumption while breastfeeding that did it! So I am now back on it, but strangely, I do love it...so really I am no poster girl, but the CBT counselling really does help.

Strategies:

Hunger After about 3 - 4 days your body goes into ketosis so you don't feel hunger. You are encouraged to drink about 3 litres of water a day and one of the things I realised is how often I eat instead of drinking when I am actually thirsty.
Bad Breath I wasn't as lucky as MiD2! My breath could have knocked anyone within a 10 mile radius out! Retardex breath spray is your friend.
Being anti-social Depends on how you want to play it. Lots of people in my class told friends & family what they were doing for support. Although I had F&F that would be supportive I chose to be secretive! I did tell about 3 people about a month in once they could see it was working. The pros for this for me were that:

(a) ppl not constantly asking you how you were surviving/telling you you must be hungry etc. They do not think they are being negative but they are not being helpful.
(b) the thrill of genuine astonishment meeting up with a friend after a month or so and the looks/compliments on how much weight you'd lost
(c) no need to deflect the actual negative comments you may get - it's unhealthy etc. I would agree that WW or SW are the healthy way to do it. However, I also know how I have struggled on those diets and that being obese is far more unhealthy.

So I did scale back on eating focused socialising. It made me more proactive with friends because I would suggest doing something where food is not central (e.g. cinema/exhibition/ice-skating etc) and then if they wanted to eat I would pretend that I had made something delicious at home I wanted to save myself for. Other standard excuses for not eating are tooth pain or antibiotics (esp re not drinking alcohol).

I realise it sounds a bit nuts to create such a web of lies but gradually throughout the 100 days I did tell some F&F. I don't think I ever told the ppl I thought would be v negative about LL at all. For example, I have a friend who is very good in other ways but battles a weight problem herself and I knew she would try and sabotage and she did. She eventually mentioned I'd lost weight after 3 stone was gone but had been constantly trying to book me in for new restaurants to try, ice cream parlours etc before then. It wasn't consciously malicious but you realise that weight is sensitive for other people and if they are 'comfortable' with you at a particular weight, they will say things like 'oh but you won't be you slimmer'. You learn why ppl do this and how to respond through the CBT counselling.

Good luck and if you do start, start a thread for LLers please! I'm 2 days in to my second time around and I can honestly say I am looking forward to it (I always slept v well on it and my hair, skin and nails were fantastic).

[madamebovine]

Brilliant post vive - thank-you. I'm stuck at the moment as I really want to do it but cannot get to a class. I've got in contact with 5 local ones but cant find one on a Monday night. I'm going to an info session on Saturday though.

[madeindevon2]

hi nikki
on the lite version you have 3 meal replacements a day ( shakes soups or bars - u can only have max one bar a day tho) and ONE meal. consisting of mainly protein and veg.
you can have for eg 200g of chicken and load of veg.
just not high carb things like potatoes
no pasta rice oetc of course

at moment i tending to have my meal as salad a lunch. yesterday i had tuna prawn crayfish spinach tomato onion brocoli green bean and edamane bean
small amount of balsamic vinagar
yummy!

i use my daily dairy allowance as milk for tea and coffee
drink plenty of water
it really is doable.....

[Verso]

Is anyone else thinking of doing this? I have my information session tomorrow night and then am hoping to to start pretty soon afterwards. Would be great if we could support one another!

[chickenlittlee]

Hi Verso, I will be starting soon. I had my info session today, so hopefully shall see my GP soon.

[Verso]

Have you started? I got my packs yesterday and have had my first day on them today. Hope you're doing ok!

[3HotCrossBuns]

Hi. Does anyone mind if I join you? I started LL last Sunday so I've got through the first week and had my first weigh-in etc. Be good to compare experiences!

[SauvignonBlanche]

I'm thinking about joining but am also thinking of waiting until after Christmas.

[Verso]

ooh yay! another person LL-ing! :) How did your first weigh-in go, Bun? I am on day 2 and have been okayyyyish (apart from when there were lovely smells of cooking pasta in the kitchen. DH has very kindly been doing the cooking for me so I don't have to while I start this diet.)

[3HotCrossBuns]

I've lost 6lbs at the weigh-in (8lbs on my scales!) which is great. The first few days were hard energy-wise, I struggled with the school/nursery runs but by Thursday I felt much better. I've had moments of feeling fed-up that I can't eat such-and-such (MIL here this weekend who did baking with the kids) but not actually hungry for it if that makes sense. My DH is being helpful by making his own food and doing lots to help with the kids' meals at the weekend. So far so good, I'm sure it will get harder...

[Verso]

I think it's meant to get (physically) easier once you're in ketosis. Psychologically harder though, because there's all the group exercises etc to do... but I was hoping it was going to get easier! 6lb is great! Well done!

[Verso]

Just back from my midweek pop in and have lost 4 lbs! Am really pleased. How's everyone else doing?

[teenyanne]

Hi can I join in? I've finally contacted the LL counsellor in my area (after thinking about it for months), still waiting to hear back from her.

Was just wondering if anyone has tried LL and it didn't work?

Nothing else has worked (atkins, ww, slimming world, south beach) for more than 14lb and I have about 7 stone to lose. I'm scared that I'll put myself through this and i still won't lose the weight i need to.

Also, how does it work with exercise? I do 3 hours of aerobics a week at the moment, and I really don't want to stop that because it works wonders for my mental health (although after 6 months has done nothing for my weight!).

[Verso]

Hello teenyanne. You can carry on with any existing exercise programme but they advise you not to start up something new and strenuous. The only people I've encountered who didn't succeed with LL didn't do "route to management", went back to their old ways and of course put all the weight back on. I know some others who have kept the weight off for two years!

[3HotCrossBuns]

Hi. Sorry not looked at this thread for a week or so! I had my weigh-in on Sunday and have lost 12lbs in 2 weeks! Am so thrilled. However, I think the "mental" side of this diet is hard - I've been feeling stroppy for over a week now! My counsellor said that sub-consciously we all use food as a prop to support our emotions and moods. Now that prop has gone I'm really feeling everything and have to re-learn how to deal with everyday stresses!

Anyway - this is all a good thing I suppose, hopefully I'll have a healthier relationship with food at the end of it all...

Hi TeenyAnne - good luck with starting! Verso, hope your week is going well.

[Verso]

Me too. I didn't realise how much I "use" food until I stopped. Fed up today, for no particular reason and finding it difficult. Actually, I do know the reason - I have my midweek weigh in tonight and I'm worried it won't be very much off... (TMI alert but am a bit ahem bunged up! )

[3HotCrossBuns]

Hope your weigh-in went ok Verso. I'm only going once a week to the "proper" meeting. I'm still feeling fed up most of the time. Not really enjoying this much to be honest although I'm loving that people are beginning to notice a change and I think I've lost over a stone now. It's well worth it! I keep telling myself that it's not for very long...the weeks are going slowly though.

The kids have all got colds so I'm waiting for that too!

[Verso]

That's amazing that you've lost over a stone already. I'd lost another 3 lb which gets me to 8lb in 11 days. The full weigh in is tomorrow...

Just got a bit annoyed because my mum has been cross examining my dh about the diet. I just don't want her opinion, if that makes any sense - and I know I will get it!!

[madeindevon2]

since i posted here in august i have been doing LL lite again and in total loss is now 36.5lb
my end goal is -40lb so im nearly there.
im feeling great and am a happy size 10 again
bmi 23
starting route to managements next week
good luck to all