Lighterlife v Cambridge Diet

[whoops]

Are these diets similar?
Is one cheaper than the other?
Do you get the weight off and keep it off?
I'm thinking I need to do something drastic but trying to work out whether it is worth it or I Should stick with WW!

Thanks

hi i have just lost 3 stone in 2.5 months on cambridge, and my SIL is a LL rep (sorry councellor )

the camnbridge cost me around £33 a week, more for my hubby as he is a man, and more if you are woman over 5,8.

LL is £66 a week

they are almost exactly the same diet, except that the cambridge stuff taste nicer, i have tried some of SIL's and it not nice at all. A;lso cambridge do their shakes in little cartons which are fab for taking out or to work, rather than hauling your trusty magimix in your handbag.

But, in LL you hjave group councelling every week which SIL says is fantastic - but she would. Also they do a 100 days program without conventioinal food whereas CAmbridge do 4 weeks on the skaes/bars/soups followweed by a week where you "add a meal" of chikcen/fish and green veg - this can be great but also might be the undoing of all the good if you end up eating more than you shoukld

i have been off the diet for about 6 weeks now and although i put on a few lbs when i went on holiday, they came off when i started the gym and now i am just eating reasonably sensibly and gymming 2-3 times a week and so far so good, although i am finding it hard to shift the last 7 or so lbs that i have left. am a size 12 for the ist time in 10 years so am not too worried but would be nice to get it off in the end

also should say, i know people who did cambridge but skipped the food in week 5 and it made no diff, so i wouldnt pay more for ll just so i didnt have to do this, and SIL says the shakes etc on LL tatste less good because you are supposed to be "off" food while you do it and she says sthe sweet shakles and tasty bars on cambridge can make your cravigs worse, might be true but i couldnt manage to get through a whole ll shake or bar so i think that would make me feel worse

Thanks!
Does the £33 include everything you need to get through and do you have to attend a meeting?

yes the 33 includes all your "food" for the week, although you can buy extras like the mix a mousse powder and water flavourings - but they are optional and i never bothered. YOu have to go and see the rep/councellor for a wiegh in and general chat, no-one else there, normally about 20 mins, then you go each week to collect your food and get wieghed, normally at their house, my councellor was happy for me to go every 2 weeks though if i wanted. I have heard of some cambridge reps who run group meetings but i dont think this is the norm as most just work out of their spare bedroom!

I am doing Lighter Life, I am now on week 7. It is the only diet I have ever managed to stick to.

You are put into groups of up to 12 people and when you hit 12 the group closes and no one else can join after week 3.

We have a 2 hour session each week involving a DVD, counselling and general talking. The support and friendship from my group is invaluable. We have a book to fill in and with tips and ideas.

The counselling helps with why we eat what we eat, our states of minds and how to help ourselves. It is the most incredible thing I have ever done.

I have lost 25lb so far and am hoping for it to be 2 stone next week.

The shakes and bars taste fine considering they are full of all your vitamins and minerals that you need. You also have to drink 4 litres of water a day on Lighter Life (they do have flavourings though). I am currently do 5 litres as the mantra is 'drink to shrink'. If you don't drink the water you can be left with saggy skin.

I pay £66 a week and feel it is worth every penny. My counsellor is always available if I need her.

I feel fabulous, I fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow, I wake up with a spring in my step, everything is smaller - my rings are spinning on my fingers and even my shoes are looser.

Thanks for your advice
I am temted to try it but dh isn't happy about it as he thinks I'm doing well as I am and wouldn't cope very well on one of these
Part of me wants to go ahead and prove him wrong and the other part knows he is probably right!!

Depends how desperate you are really.

I'm on week 4 of the Cambridge diet and have lost 17lbs in 3 weeks. I love this diet because it's uncomplicated and the weight loss is such an incentive to behave! I also considered LL but decided against it because I felt I didn't need the formal counselling. My Cambridge counsellor has been fab. Really supportive and always available. I would say to you though that if WW is going well for you I'd stick with it even if the weight loss is more gradual.

Do you miss having food and the taste etc?

I am on week 3 of LL and it is great. The extra money is totally worth it - many people say they don't need the counselling but those are the people most likely to put the weight straight back on when they finish CD (many friends have done this so I speak from some related experience).

The soups and shakes are fine - I have my personal favourites but they taste nice - especially once you are in ketosis.

A lot of it depends how much weight you have to lose - you have to have a BMI of over 29 with at least 3 stone to lose to do LL - hence the 100 days.

My friend has been doing LL for 6 months and she has lost almost 8 stone! It is truly amazing.

The weirdest thing is you are NOT hungry. Your tummy rumbles, but much of that is the water you drink.

Happy to give you more info if you want!

Most of the time I don't miss food even though I'm preparing it for the family. It's made me more aware of the times I eat for reasons other than hunger and I've been trying to find other ways of being nice to myself. I think it depends on how much you need the extra group support as to whether CD or LL would suit you better. As with all diets you have to be mentally in the right place to succeed and be committed to changing bad habits to keep it off.