About Lighter life, Lipotrim, Cambridge?

[Fanfeckintastic]

I've given these things a try myself in the past so I'm not judging something I don't know about but everyone I know who has ever tried these diets has put all the weight back on fairly fast. More so than people who have lost weight with other diets.

I'm not considering it myself as I have a damaged kidney and wouldn't be allowed now but just wondering what the general consensus is. I still have a few of the pages "liked" on Facebook and the before and after pictures are amazing but does anyone actually keep the weight off?

I can sort of understand how they might work for someone who had a really truly awful relationship with food and needs to kind of remove food from the equation while they address their issues, but I think for the majority of people who try them they are no use as they sooner or later revert to old eating habits.

The only person I know who has ever done them (she has done at least two - lighter life and cambridge) is a good stone or two heavier than her starting weight for either of them, so regained and then some.

I did Slim and Save last year for 5 months then have tried (and am still trying) different diets to keep it off - however I come back to it time and time again. I have lost over 6 stone and kept it off - the diet is fairly healthy if you follow the plan carefully (including a controlled meal once a day if you want one).

Honestly though you will put on any weight lost on any diet if you revert to your old eating habits - people on VLCD's according to current research are more likely to keep some weight off.

Its horses for courses - but I am a fan and eating 600 calories a day for 5 months was better than being pre diabetic, having back ache and knee problems and having high blood pressure

But then again life is full of choices......

I did Exante in 2010, lost about 5 stone in 7 months.

I haven't put all of it back on, I have yoyo'd a bit over the 4 years and am currently about a stone below my starting weight. I've stayed at least half a stone less.

Not sure I would do it again for the exact reasons Hopefully said.

It enabled me to take a step back and look at my bad eating habits, I learned a huge amount about nutrition and the human body. The went pretty much straight back to my old ways......

I can't generalise as I know no no one else who has done that kind of VLCD, but I lost almost five stone in four and a half months on Cambridge a couple of years ago, and kept it off. In fact, I now weigh half a stone less than my original target.

To be honest, I was rather ashamed of myself for not doing a healthier/less expensive and gimmicky form of weightloss, and I share the general scepticism about such methods, but it suited me. Possibly because the weight gain was mostly due to an enforced period of inactivity due to illness, and eighteen months on an antidepressant that made me gain a lot of weight. It wasn't that I ate junk, more that I was carrying around with me the results of two historic events that caused an 'artificial' gain, if you like, so I didn't need massive re education in terms of eating.

Yes, eating a bar and two soup sachets every day for months is quite as dull as it sounds, but better than facing a future where my health was likely to be compromised by my weight.

In you go to any slimming club they are full of people who have been on many various diet and some successful for a short period and then regained or not had any success at all. The difference with a VLCD is usually the loss is substantial and noticeable so if the dieter does regain the gain is as noticeable as the loss.

The problem with most weight loss diets is that they're very limiting or complicated and are really not sustainable over the long term.

I think just trying to cut down on sugary and processed foods, get used to having proper filling meals and not snacking and grazing in between, and learning to recognise when you're full is probably the only way to lose weight and keep it off. Because you're actually changing your long term eating habits and not just going hell for leather in the short term and then reverting to eating in the way that caused you to put the weight on in the first place.

None of the 'diets' mentioned above is a good idea as they wreck your metabolism and do not address the fundamental problems people have with food (and other issues which lead to over-eating).

Regular exercise and sensible eating are the best ways - no quick fixes I'm afraid, but no one ever put stacks of weight on overnight either. I've watched my mother yo yo diet for forty years and I am determined not to follow that path.

We are not knowledgable about food and nutrition in the UK and want instant gratification from food and diets. But that doesn't work.

Rapid massive weight loss leads to excess skin hanging off the body - a sure sign it isn't the right way to do things.

I have a friend who has lost five and half stone over a two period through exercise and proper, sensible eating. She looks great, but it has taken real dedication.

Friend, Mil & Sil did the cambridge diet. All 3 of them piled it back on within months. MIL has now lost a significant amount of weight and is very healthy down to making good eating choices and exercise.

I think the cambridge diet is dangerous.

what wowfudge said. (which is not the first time I've posted this).

these gimmicky, sugary, revolting mixes will cost a fortune and mean you take in a greatly reduced amount of calories. So you will lose weight on them - and money. But if you don't learn to eat properly in the right amounts, and move around, you'll get fat again.

you see them recommended by people who will make money out of them.

clue; anyone who says ' x diet works for me every time' is deluded, because as they needed to diet more than once, it didn't work.

Anything which restricts your calorific intake drastically and/or tells you certain foods are 'bad' (or 'dirty' - that's the latest thing, so-called 'clean eating') sets you up to fail or at least only maintain it for a very short time in the scheme of things.

All this crap which people pay a fortune for makes me angry.

Everyone I know who and done them has piled the weight back on and more. I always try to warn people off them, no one listens, I guess because people are desperate for a quick fix. It works for some people, but they are the exceptions.

And the stuff you drink, it's so full of shit. Fresh, healthy unprocessed food is the way to go. Cut back refined carbs and sugar, eat lots of healthy fats for satiety, and the weight falls off.

I don't have a problem with people choosing whatever method they like to lose weight as long as it is sensible and VLCD's are sensible in the short term. There is a significant amount of research showing that those who have lost weight on a calorie restricted diet have similar RMR to those who have never dieted and are of a healthy weight - so the metabolic rate myth is just that, a myth.

My point is that people should be able to do whatever works for them....sensibly - some people need a quick fix for motivation, some people can persevere, some people like low carb, other people like low fat. The world is full of a variety of people who all make different choices - just because VLCD isn't for everyone does not make it an invalid choice.

I lost 6st using LL last year. I'm still 6st down. I would like if possible to loose a little more - I will get around to it. My biggest achievement is staying stable.

All diets work - it's whether or not you permanently change your eating habits.
Some diets suit some people, others - not.

It has been shown that repeated dieting does not 'ruin' your metabolism. I think people get diet fatigue. I reached the point of just being fed up with 'dieting' and not loosing. Of course, I wasn't really dieting. This is where I was last year. All time low (or high!) weight wise and emotionally.

I think we really underestimate the emotional/denial side of weight loss or rather gain. And if you've always been slim, it's very hard to understand the (my) mindset of a larger person.

It's very hard to permanently change. I will always in my mind be bigger. I will always have to consiously watch what I eat. Maybe that's what slim people do, but unconsciously, or don't have the emotional ties to (certain) foods.

I lost 5 stone 12 years ago on Cambridge, and kept it off.

Sorry to say that all the permenently slim people I know have never gone on "a diet" (or admitted to.it). The opposite is true of the people I know who are overweight or who "yoyo".

I have one friend who was slightly overweight (5'5", size 12-14) and did WeightWatchers plus exercise to get down to a thin size 10. It took about 6-9 months. She sort of gives up the WW bit sometimes now and puts on a bit of weight then goes back on it when she wants to slim down for a future holiday or occasion. She seems in control of it all but personally I couldn't afford or put up with not fitting into some of my clothes.

A family member went on the Cambridge diet, lost about 5 stone, and put it all back on (plus more) within a year.

I met my husband, who was much healthier than me, and lost 3 stone and kept it off many years later.

Cerealmom - I think you're right about slim people keeping an eye on their weight. In my "fat" years, I never weighed myself, or really thought I had control over my weight. Since losing weight, I weigh myself every morning and if I gain a pound, I make extra sure to eat healthily that day. Gain is usually because I had a massive meal or ate a chocolate bar too many etc. Ditto when clothes feel tight...I become more aware of what I eat, and try to make healthy choices until I fit back into the clothes again.

PS also started to prioritize exercise (mostly running, or exercise videos etc post children!). I find that being active cheers me up, and provides the motivation to stick with healthy eating. Exercise is definitely a good habit to pick up.

I know people who've lost a lot of weight on these extreme diets, but the weight never seems to stay off when they start to eat "normally" again, but that may be because their usual eating habits are anything but normal to begin with.

Whatever way a person loses weight, keeping the weight off seems to be very tricky. I'm doing my own modified version of Slimming World at the moment, which is working, albeit very slowly. I would feel miserable doing an extreme diet and I'm sure the food cravings would drive me mad. Plus I can't afford all those special foods - some people spend serious money on that stuff.