Should I consider lighter life?

[dollywashers]

I am several stone overweight and a size 20. Have been for years. I've messed around with a million diets, losing 1-2 stone then getting demotivated cos it takes so bloody long.

My main worry is maintaining it after. Anyone got any thoughts? Aibu to think this could be a solution?

A friend did it, lost 4 stone in 4 months, but put all of it back on v quickly afterwards.

I did Slimming World, lost nearly 5 stone in 10 months. In the first month I lost over a stone, it slowed down after that but still came off quickly. I think it's a better route to go down tbh.

I know 2 people that did LL and one that did Cambridge - all for months on end.

Yes, they all lost weight, but my God - how dull their lives were during that time.

They have all 3 put the weight back on in spades since and all 3 are bigger than they were before.

I think these diets don't help in any way to address to root of the problem, and I believe there's a link to gallstones with rapid weight loss diets.

I have another friend who lost 4st last year with WW. She has kept it off and I think she'll continue to do so.

I would say if you do not have the willpower to stick to a 'normal' diet, then you have no chance with LL.

Don't do it! I lost 3 stone effectively through starvation on LL and have put nearly all of it back on and had heart palpitations from the milkshakes.

OP I'm doing LL (week 11/12). I have a significant amount of weight to loose - 6st in total to take me to the middle of the healthy BMI range. I have lost 39lbs so far.

I find the weekly sessions very helpful, much more than I thought I would. I will also do the 'maintainence' afterwards. That is gradual reintroduction of food after reaching desired weight/size and continued counselling, which is free.

The first week was hard. I felt tired, headaches and I didn't want to be around others eating. However, it does pass and yes, the food packs are a tad monotonous, however I feel 'in control' and the weight loss has been very motivating, especially when I've really wanted 'that slice of cake'.

I think when you have a large amount of weight to loose it's daunting. People who say 'just cut down/do some exercise' are well meaning but don't tend to be the ones who need to loose significant amounts. I ate when I was happy/sad/bored/alone/in company... This is why I do the counselling sessions - I will make better choices about my eating after LL.

Different people respond to different methods. Give it a month. Oh, and I do still go out for lunch with friends. I have black coffees/mint tea/water. I like to meet up for a chat. I just remind myself it's not forever and my heart/pancreas will thank me for this.

I did LL a few years ago, lost 4.5 stone and felt great. Got pregnant the following year and have put it all back on
You need serious will power to keep the weight off long term. I think there are cheaper options out there tbh. I didn't find the counselling bit particularly helpful either. Maybe that's just me tho. Good luck with whatever you decide OP

the actress who advertised it put a lot of her weight back on so I am not sure it is a great advert for it, what about weight watchers I dont think that is so expensive,

I know three people who did LL, all of them had put the weight back on within a year.

I lost weight by keeping a horribly honest food diary so I could see where I was going wrong. I would put a target at the start of the week (eg lose 2lb) then record everything that went in my mouth. It helped me to see where I needed to cut down and made me consider whether I needed a second slice of toast or a piece of cheese. I also weighed food - bit obsessive I know but portion size is important. I lost four stone, then got pregnant with DS2. I was 11b heavier after DS2 was born than I had been before, got that weight off using the same method. You need to find a method that is sustainable, whether it's weight watchers or slimming world or whatever. LL seems to provide a short term fix but doesn't change behaviour in the long term.

I've never done any LL type diet but I have done WW more than once, lost and regained the weight each time. The poster that said this pattern holds for most diets is completely right. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to resolve to change your eating forever, and that means finding a way of eating you can live with, that includes enough pleasure in food that you're not always miserable, and that takes into account the fact that emotional eating exists.

I tried so so hard to lose weight with no success until I started low GI-ing. I did it in a moderate way, with the odd treat, and lost a stone over about three months with no sense of being on a diet. Then I got pregnant and ending up with gestational diabetes, and a far stricter low GI diet. I will give birth about 2 stone lighter than I was a year ago, before I began the low GI. During this period I've been under massive stress, of the sort I would have eaten through in the past, and I wasn't able to do that this time. Instead I walked and had baths and read and talked to people.

Once the baby is born, I am going to carry on. I do NOT want type II diabetes but that is exactly where I am heading. If I lose weight, I can maybe change that. I am now used to a very low sugar and fairly low carb diet, with plenty of exercise, and hope to lose three more stone in however long it takes. But it doesn't feel like a 'diet'. It is now my way of life. Before this happened I was contemplating something like LL but now I feel I can do this myself.

OP, I've lost lots of weight, lots of times, on lots of different diets.

Some quick, some slow. Cambridge ... Atkins ... calorie counting ... fat counting ... just not eating ... it all works f you stick to it.

They all worked at the time because the food i was allowed on them at the time appealed to me/worked for me at that time and so i could stick to it. Each time i lost weight i vowed to myself i wouldn't let it slide back on.

I'm talking a couple of stone. When i'm 'slimmer' i'm a 10/12 when i'm 'bigger' i'm 14/16.

OP - i would seriously advise just cutting back on meal sizes. Eat the food you enjoy, but less of it. Eat freely the food which you know is healthy. The minute you put yourself on a regime you're doomed yourself to failiour IME.

It's taken me years of yo yo dieting to arrive at the knowledge that diets DO work. But only while you're on them.

DH has lost over 8st on the Dukan diet - he's viewing this as a diet for life and is enjoying eating his (real) food. I'm doing 5:2 and similarly viewing it as a diet for life that I can maintain.

Big congrats to your DH mistlethrush.

I couldnt do it, though I have considered it in the past in desperate moments. Instead, I joined the Bootcamp threads on here and have now lost 2 stone while eating yummy food. I am an emtional eating, I love food and I can see myself eating this way forever (especially after reading the scinece behind low carb).

Interesting reading this. I'm doing WW and did really well last year and lost 33 pounds between Jan and June. Since then I have been gaining and losing the same 5 pounds or so. Really frustrating and all my own fault. Very tempted to try one of the VLCD now. We go on holiday beg of July and I was thinking of doing a VLCD for may and June.

DH needs to lose weight too and he likes low carb - maybe that would be better.

I am pretty fed up with myself. If I had stuck to WW properly I would be at goal now. Why oh why can I not stick to it? I was doing so well and I was really happy. I keep promising myself to get back to basics with WW and tend to be ok during the week but the weekend comes and out comes the wine and out goes the willpower.

Am also tempted to try hypnosis to try and help.

'It's taken me years of yo yo dieting to arrive at the knowledge that diets DO work. But only while you're on them.'

what a glaringly sensible comment.

all those who say 'I lost xx on the babble-babble regime, it worked really well but I put the weight on again' - well, it didn't work, did it?

nobody sells diets or runs support groups for their health, or yours. They do it for MONEY. Nothing wrong with that but you don't have to pay to lose weight.

I did LL about 7 years ago and went from 16 stone to 10 and a half in just under 5 months. My hair and skin were fantastic, I think because of all the water you have to drink and I felt incredible. I am an intelligient woman and a HCP so i am well aware if the calories in/calories out thing but the counselling helped me to recignise that i am definitely an emotional eater and the reasons for it. The first copper of weeks I felt so hungry I could've chewed my own arm off but after that it was fine, in fact I felt a bit euphoric sometimes and was so proud of myself for having taken control of myself.

BUT I thought I was clever and to save money I left as soon as I got to goal as I didn't feel I needed the management phase where they help you to start eating again. BIG mistake, I put most of the weight back on over the next 3-4 years and am still 15 stone now

I like the idea of a quick fix too, surely we all would, if it worked long term. However I know it's all in my head, I over eat, I'm greedy, it is down to me to stop. I know what to do, how to eat healthily.
Sadly it's just easier said than done.
Need my jaws wiring....for ever

I'd advise you to try 5:2 or 4:3 instead. You only fast 2/3 days a week so it is sustainable, you can eat a normal meal in fast days and it has genuine health benefits.

Hi all,

We're going to move this to our weight loss topic in a mo, as we think it's the best place for it.

My stepdad has been on it twice and is 2 stone heavier than he was to begin with he's also aged 10 years from doing them and is contemplating getting a neck lift from the damage caused by losing weight too quickly.

If you could afford ll would you be able to see a private dietician my dgf saw one who did all meal plans where he could eat and exercise plans he lost 6 stone and kept it off untill he became less active due to age

I really hate all the scaremongering with these types of diets. Whatever weight loss system you choose OF COURSE you will put on weight if you go back to how you were eating before - there is nothing scientific about these types of weight loss programmes that makes people put the weight on quicker once they finish the diet it is pure and simple - people go back to their old eating habits which made them fat in the first place.

I know loads of people who put on weight after weight watchers, slimming world, their own diet system and that's the reason so many of these companies are still in business because people have to go back to them time and time again because they never truly address their bad eating habits once they have finished dieting.

If you are going to do it good luck - you will lose weight a lot quicker than if you followed another plan, however you MUST follow a maintenance plan once you have finished. You can do this yourself by working out your BMR at your goal weight and ensuring you eat within that FOREVER.

I'm trying Alimming World at the moment. I tend to yo yo between 9 and just under 13 stone, and have been up and back down 3 times in the last 10 years. Sometimes I stay at 9 ish for a year or so buteventually it all goes back on. OP, being realistic a quick weight loss option won't work for you, you have a track record of giving up. With SW or WW even if you lost a pound a week you would be over 4 stone lighter this time next year and with good prospect of staying that way.
As i am also very concerned abou tmaintenance I've joined a group in a village near where I live. The SW members there include a lot who are at target and still go every week, they seem a friendly lot.

My thoughts this time round are that I'll stick to the diet ( which is quite easy) lose 1 or 2 lb a week until I'm just under 9 stone and then go every week for weigh in and lecture in the hope that I will not put it all back on again. I think some of us have to view this probalem in the same wqy that alcoholics do and keep getting support even when we are "abstinent" of poor eating choices and pig outs.

I only know one person who did LL - she is a consultant now and has kept the weight off, but it is her livlihood to promote the brand, which ma account for it.

Sorry re typos, some of my (previous) bad eating crumbs are stuck in my keyboard!

Sorry to post a DM link but I can't find the Huffington one I originally read

They are more dangerous than long term weightloss, and you do loss muscle in the starvation mode. The body will try and convert to fat storage as soon as you eat, and I don't think it's great for your psyche to actually starve yourself for so long.

They are also targeted at super obese people, who have a whole host of eating issues that should be tackled through eating real food, I think and understanding the real food choices that are good decisions. This kind of diet doesn't teach you about that properly.

When I pointed out to a friend that she could have two chicken breasts for the equivalent of the butter she had put on two crumpets she was horrified. But she saw herself eating "ordinary" portions.

Interestingly enough, the woman with all the motivation to make this succeed - the CEO is morbidly obese.

Wally - you are not starving yourself on this kind of diet. Effectively you are low carbing with reduced calories. This kind of diet promotes ketosis and once in ketosis the body will start using all of the excess fat in your body for its energy instead of using the carbohydrates and calories by food and in some cases excess food which is only going to get stored as even more fat.

I have seen someone starve to death - last year my father got down to about 5 stone and had no reserves and therefore his organs packed up and he eventually passed away, the body has to get down to this kind of weight to eventually stop working.

With an obese person or someone with a lot of fat reserves they are not going to "starve" as they have plenty of fat reserves that can be used for energy instead of the daily carbs/calories that would normally have.

By using a diet like this the fat reserves are going to be reduced quicker than on a reduced calorie diet like WW or similar. Simply because Weight Watchers will put you on about 1400 calories a day but a system like this will reduce that to about 600-800, therefore a 600-800 additional deficit of calories a day is going to mean you lose an extra 1lb or 2 from any other diet.

The "argument" that the CEO is obese is quite bizarre - so what? She chooses not to use her own products and I don't blame her - you have to be hardcore to take on a diet like this but if you are willing to its going to result in a far quicker weight loss than any other system. The same argument can be had for ANY dieter on ANY diet - a lot of people gain weight after dieting because they simply do not know what normal is and that is what made them big in the first place.