to think that Lighter Life is a big gat waste of money!

[macdoodle]

One of my colleagues has just signed up to this and has gone off in a huff because I have said she is wasting her money!

FWIW I too am overweight and I know the only guaranteed way is to eat less and exercise more - I have done it before I got pregnant and yes its bloody hard work but this is one area where I am pretty sure there is no quick fix!

Also FWIW I am a GP and she is one of our nurses

So AIBU anyone prove me wrong??

[londonone]

In that case if you are so convinced of the dangers then surely you are suggesting that any GP who does sign people onto the diet is in some way being negligent.

[expatinscotland]

I was thinking of trying Lighter Life.

[macdoodle]

Millenium
What a truly bizarre nasty post - are we going to start some GP bashing because then I will be truly off
How BLOODY dare you
FWIW and not that I need to justify myself to you, how on earth you extrapolate the kind of GP I am, because I dont support unsafe VLCD and the associated risks, and had a small spat with a mate - NOT a patient!!

I have many regular patients with depression, I give them the extra time they need and the support (thats why they come back to see me), I treat them appropriately and kindly and have never told anyone to "pull themselves together" !
I am very pro BF and BF DD2 till a year despite struggling with DD! But will support my mum patients in whatevers best for them - a happy baby and a happy mum!

Would quite like to tell you to PISS off but wont as am sure you will use that to bash me as a GP!

[macdoodle]

London - not negligent but hmm maybe not best practice IMO!

[macdoodle]

oh and I could sign it and charge for the signing, could also charge for the monitoring as neither are GP GMS services - it would be easy money but I dont because I truly dont belive it is their best interests

[expatinscotland]

I didn't know about the no solid food bit of it, though.

I think I'll stick to the kettlebell workouts, pushing 4 stone worth of child in a buggy half an hour or so a day and trying to keep my hands out of the biscuit tin a bit more.

[londonone]

You have just posted that VLCD like LL are unsafe, surely you must think then that a GP signing their patient onto something that is unsafe is negligent.

[expatinscotland]

Mill, how do you know?

FGS, she's venting on here, how do you know she wasn't having a bad day or that?

There are bad GPs out there, but not all of them are bad!

Mine are great .

[namechangerforareason]

Woah woah woah!

Listen, Mac is giving everyone her opinion, which she is entitled to do, just as you are all entitled your own opinion! Lets stop Mac bashing right now. She does not have to justify her opinions to anyone. She has stated time and time again that she supports her patients int heir choices and tries her best to provide them with the information she has. Sounds to me like she takes her time and listens to her patients.

Everyone makes their own decisions re weight loss and Mac is just trying to say that a diet on its own wont cut the mustard, its about a healthy lifestyle too. Its all about informed consent people.

Sorry for hijack just cant be bothered with all the posts bashing Mac.

Chill a bit eh?

[MumHadEnough]

No I quite agree, just because Macdoodle doesn't support a VLCD doesn't mean she is a bad doc. There was no need for that post at all!

[macdoodle]

Thank you Shouldnt have outed myself, as a GP, we usually get a hard time anyway !

[MumHadEnough]

And on that note, got to take my own wee fella to gp now, school have just phoned to say he's in the reception crying with a sore ear. TYpical when he's due to see the surgeon who put in his grommets on Wednesday.

I really hope he's not at it again because its a nice sunny day. Was rather embarassed when GP said there was nothing wrong with him last time after I had taken an emergency appointment .

[expatinscotland]

I agree, namechanged.

Gees, it's a diet. It can and does work for some depending on their circumstances, but probably isn't suited for everyone, as no one approach is.

Now I know about the no-solids thing, it's definitely not for me .

[MumHadEnough]

Sorry to hear that Macdoodle, I would say that most GPs are fab, mine in particular. I think you do a great job and most are a mine of information.

[howtotellmum]

syc when you come back from work...
tell me... what made you turn to LL rather than eating healthily?

You see, I am a foodie. I would rather eat some lovely soup that I had whizzed up in the blender from a few simmered veggies,- or a salad- and ate small amounts of, healthy lovely tasting food, than drink shakes and artifical soups.

I really don't get it. If I was to spend £66 a week on just food for me, I could have the most delicious low calorie meals ever- in fact, if anyone is thinking of doing LL come to me for £66 and I'll make you a delicious low-calorie menu for the week!

it doesn't take much effort at all to eat healthily if you plan and shop accordingly.

I don't know much about LL I have to admit-apart from the bits I have read- but what I do object to is the counselling aspect- not that it is not needed- but that LL consultants are NOT counsellors and I work with a lot of people who are counsellors and CBT specialists- and I know that a LL consultant cannot have a fraction of their knowledge or training.

And how can anyone function on 500 cals a day? surely if you are trying tow ork and do any exercise, you must feel constantly tired?
There is a huge amount of evidence that VLCD can be harmful.

LL is just out to make money and they have found a formula that"works"- literally- for a few people for some of the time.

Going back to my original point- why do you choose something like LL when you could have lots of yummy low-cal REAL food!

[millenniumfalcon]

i accept that my comment was unfair - particularly bringing in unrelated issues - and i've never "met" mac before so it wasn't a question of mac bashing on my part. i was responding to a comment at the beginning of the thread that a poster was surprised the op was from a gp and i immediately thought of a couple of gps that i've had who i would expect exactly that kind of response from (and who had been unsupportive both over depression and bf, hence my bringing in those issues).

but those relate to my experience and nothing to do with mac, and i shouldn't have brought them into this thread. sorry.

[paisleyleaf]

mumhadenough "I'm pretty sure they're not! Where did you get that from?"
I don't know. It's just something I've known. Maybe from my SIL. The products are identical (except in price), and apparently come from the same factory.
It's all money making. Like how heinz own weightwatchers. So they selling the processed food that makes you fat, then the WW stuff too.

[londonone]

paisley - the products are actually quite different in terms of flavours etc.

[Sycamoretreeisvile]

Howtomum - I don't really want to keep repeating what I have already posted.

My brain does not work the same as yours.

I had tried more conventional dieting that had worked in the past (when I had two stone to lose I did it on WW no problem).

4 stone was psychologically a very high mountain. I was exhausted at home with two kids on maternity leave. My dad was dying of cancer. I did not have the personal energy of space to commit to a diet that needed all that planning. I was in a dark place. LL seemed like a beacon of light.

I knew in my soul that if I didn't lose that 4 stone then and there, I would probably be fat and depressed for the rest of my life.

I have posted before that if you have a genuine issue with food, it just is not as simple as knowing you should eat well and less. It just isn't. If it were that easy, no one would have any problem dieting. LL would never have sprung into existence.

You no doubt, to quote your earlier post, therefore consider me lazy and a moron.

Well, I am neither. I am bright and very hardworking. But I turn to food in moments of stress and exhaustion like an alcoholic turns to food.

It's like you saying to an alcoholic, but why do you need to quit alcohol altogether? Why can't you just wean yourself down to one glass of wine a day?

Of course I know that your way is healthiest! Of COURSE. But I could not click my brain into that way of thinking at the time.

Now, with only a stone to lose, it's very easy for me to be doing it your way (I am, as we speak!) Last night was lovely roast vegetables and a chicken breast wrapped in lean bacon. Great!

BTW Expat - it's not all shakes. You can have one bar a day too, after the first three days.

[Sycamoretreeisvile]

Like an alcholic turns to ALCOHOL, doh!

[Sonnet]

I have done LL lite - which means i do eat one meal a day.

After 7 years of trying to shift weight by the conventional method of calorie counting and exercising, becoming more and more depressed, stopping taking care of my appearence, buying new clothes etc I can honestly say LL has made me a new woman!

I lost 2 stone ( which was what I wanted to loose) 8 months ago and I now fluctuate within 2 lbs ofthat.
I still pop in for a chat every few weeks.

The two things that made it successful for me were:

1. the group support and the examination of why I was overeating. I very quickly realised that it was a physcological battle not a physical one.
2. As I did not need to think about what I was eating and make food choices I never slipped.

I too was sceptical - don't knock till you have tried it!

[Sycamoretreeisvile]

It's very likely that the same factory makes the LL shakes and the CD shakes, but the flavours are not the same nor the bars.

I also don't think this means they are owned by the same company. That would be odd really, if you think about it. To set up a diet that directly competes with your existing product?

Not very sensible.

[Sycamoretreeisvile]

congrats on your weight loss sonnet.

[howtotellmum]

ok- syc- I get it now.
I don't want to appear to be having a go at you personally, it is just that you have taken over the PR for LL on this thread!

I suppose what you are saying is that for you and others, over-eating is an addiction ( I do know that) and that LL is a kind of "cold turkey" approach, to give you a kick start.

I don't criticise you personally for doing it as you had your reasons, but on balance I think it's suspect and I still can't see how anyone living a noraml life could have any energy on 500 cals. a day. Also, what happens to your bowels- is there soluble fibre included? Do the shakes etc include caffeine or similar to keep people "high" and give them some kind of energy?

[Sycamoretreeisvile]

Also, I really hope I have not attacked the OP on a professional level. I have just been putting across the pros of the diet and also reacting to how she has treated a friend/colleague, which I felt was unsupportive and unjustified given my personal experience of LL.