Lighter Life - Im shocked at how much weight per week, some of you are losing? It sound seriously dangerous to me....anyone else think the same?

[mullercorner]

I am not dissing this diet at all - just wanted to make that clear from the start.

But Ive read some of the posts on the LL Thread and am shocked at the huge weight losses per week, surely 8-10pounds is a dramactically unhealthy amount of weight to loose? I always thought between 1-2lbs was healthy.

I think my body would go into shock if it lost so much in a week.

I think that LL is for people who are very overweight and it is very restrictive so that the dieter sees quick results whilst at the same time can identify with their issues.

I dont think its for people where 8lbs loss would be any where near goal weight.

I thought lighterlife was for the seriously obese and that you had to get doctor sign off first. Someone with a BMI or 30 or higher could lose that amount of weight to start with on only 500calories a day.

even so, I just think the weekly weight losses are quite dramatic - surely this would/could have an impact on your heart?

which is why as far as I am aware you have to have your doctors sign off and i think the crash diet aspect is limited to a certain number of weeks.

Having a BMI of over 30 isn't good for your heart either.

Hopefully someone who has done LL will be able to explain more.

On diets such as Lighter Life you lose an average of 1 stone a month. You will lose more in the first few weeks due to water weight.

The packs you eat are farly high in protien this protects the heart and other muscles. They also contain all the fat/carbs vitamins and minerals that your body requires.

it's not dangerous because it is medically approved by a doctor for the seriously obese
It would be dangerous if you were buying the packs off ebay and weren't clinically obese

Doesnt LL say 3 stone or heavier, I wouldnt say 3 stone is obese?

There are risks with this kind of diet. A friend of mine went on it and it gave her gallstones, apparently a common side effect of a low fat diet. However (I'm told) the risks aren't as great as being very overweight.

Sorry, meant dramatically low fat/calorie diet iyswim.

3 stone over your recommended weight is obese surely? but they probably go by bmi index

I thought that it was a high fat diet gave you gallstones and a v low fat diet was what you had to follow to cure it?

I'm sure I recall reading that Rosemary Conley discovered her original low fat hip and thigh diet when she was put on a low fat diet because she had gallstones, and that she found that this particular diet took the weight off her hips and thighs too.

What is water weight?

these diets are not healthy, and they are generally not effective. They have been widely criticised because they can lead to long-term health problems. Also losing weight at such a radical pace can be addictive.

And most people who lose the weight put it straight back on again..

Apple - it's do with having v dramatically low calorie intake (think it's 500 per day?) for a sustained period and then going back to normal food. Not sure exactly how it works, maybe the body struggles to cope with normal food? But that's what my friend's surgeon/consultant type person said.

I wasn't obese, but I was overweight didn't use any particular "diet" - just ate more healithy and exercised more (this was a few years ago) in the early weeks I was losing a lot of weight each week, but then it evened off at 1-2lb a week.

I've always understood that on any sort of diet, even just switching to healthy food from processed cr*p weight loss is generally quite rapid at the start but evens out later.

I did the cambridge diet 2 summers ago. I lost 3.5 stone and have kept 2.5 stone off. I have no ill effects, this is 2 years on so I am assuming I would know about them by now.

Canmbridge is basically the same as LL btw but cheaper because you dont have the councelling session as such.

I am planning to do it again after Easter to lose the stone again plus the other 10lbs I have never lost, then I will be at goal.

It is a hard diet to do, no conventional food at all but the quick results make it soooooooo worth it.

It is scientifically tested and has been around for yonks and like someone says, although there are people who get side effects, there are also nasty side effects from being very very overwieght.