Cambridge /Lighter Life Diet - please could you answe some queries for me ?

[CaptainUnderpants]

Have been thinking about this type of diet for a while but before I contact a conusellor and get the hard sell I was wondering whether some of you could answer these questions . Thanks

1. How much on average per week /month did it cost ?

1. What was the weight loss like in the first month ?

1. Did you feel well doing it ?

1. Have you got to yor goal weight ? If so have you managed to keep it and for how long ?

1. Now you have reached your goal weight , are you eating 'normal ' foods or still for some meals using the Cambridge / Lighter Life products ?

6 Did you get the support you wanted from your counsellor ?

7 Was it worth it in the end and are you happy ?

Sorry it all sounds a bit clinical

thanks

Hope you get someone along soon who can help you.
My friend has just started Lighter Life (this is her second week). I know that she found the first week really tough, but the counsellor has been excellent and i think she finds it a relief not to have to think about what to eat.

Sorry I can't answer you more fully

LL is £66 a week for your food. Extra for the sweet drink powder (£9 a tub) and the savory drinks £6 for 12).

Weight loss in first month = 1lb a day, 2 stone in the first month.

Now, I eat low fat normal diet and haven't put any back on in a year. Lost over 10 stones on it.

Counselling was brilliant, but I had an excellent counsellor.

Oh, and while £66 a week seems a lot, remember you are not buying any food, milk, cereal, wine, beer, takeaways, cafe lunches, choc bars, etc etc etc.

WOW ! ilove - well done !

I am doing Go Lower which is a different type of Low Carb diet.

It costs just under £50 a week which is practically all your food for the week so you don't really need to spend much else.

I have been losing about a stone a month every month and I have been doing it since October.

The first few days I didn't feel too good but once I went into ketosis I started to feel much better and now I generally feel fine. In fact now that the weight is really coming off I feel great and have so much more energy for it. I don't feel hungry either.

I'm not at my goal weight yet so can't comment on the other bits yet but I know there is a maintenance programme for when you get there.

Yes my counsellor is brilliant. I can call whenever I want or email if I have any questions and she is so supportive.

I am really happy with this diet. I have tried other diets in the past but am never able to stick to them but I have found this one really easy to keep to and am actually losing the weight really easily.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Mummymels , well done - have been reading up on the ketosis today !

Have made the first step and contacted a Cambridge diet counsellor, am seeing her tomorrow.

Wow ilove, 10stone is so impressive, but also you've kept it off_ fantastic

I had a very bad experience with the Cambridge Diet and wouldn't recommend it. Lost the thick end of a stone in about 4 weeks which - looking back - was far too fast and probably unhealthy. Subsequently, after returning to a very light diet, I regained about 20lbs so quickly that people were asking me if I was pregnant

I don't think you should do these diets without medical supervision and I think that maintaining the loss is exceptionally difficult after VLCDs

I've since gone on to get to a healthy weight & stay there via a more traditional route i.e. Healthy eating, reduced portions and more exercise.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Thanks Chil1234 - thats is my concern about putting it back on after wards - although I accept there will be some .

Went to see a couunsellor today and have signed up to the Cambrisge diet - but am on Step 2 , I thought the VCLD were a bit too drastic for me and may put me off.

I think there may have been a thread somewhere for Cambridge / LL dieters - if anyone see it please point me in the right direction - thanks

Well done CaptainUnderpants on making the first step and good luck.

Chil1234 - I can't comment on other diets because I don't have the experience of them but I know with Go Lower they recommend that you speak to your GP and get medical advice before signing up if you have any concerns. That is one of the reasons why I trust them.

Thanks Mummymels - has cost £46 for first week.

Good luck with it CaptainUnderpants. How have you found the first few days?

Hi Mummymels - I am also on GoLower and finding it great at the moment. Like you I have also found the counsellor brilliant partiulary when having a bad day! Weight is coming off and I enjoy the meals and don't find the cost that bad in comparison to other diets. Much nicer than having a milkshake!

Hi simmo again! - I agree the meals are much nicer than just having a milkshake. They are quite lovely really.

OK
I started Cambridge Diet a week before Christmas, with the intention of having 2 days off (Christmas and Boxing Day), but not going overboard.
In my first week, which was very hard I have to say, I lost 9lb. The side effects were horrible - Bad breath, feeling lethargic, headaches, constipation. But as soon as I was in Ketosis, everything seemed to be fine. It cost me between £35 and £40 a week. I was doing shake for breakfast, shake for lunch and a chocolate cambridge diet bar with a black coffee for dinner.
I started at 11st 1lb, and am now 9st exactly. Took me 4 weeks, and have stopped now. My CD Counsellor, wanted me to keep going back and see her to re-introduce food, but I havent. Ive basically been eating healthly, and doing more everyday. I havent put on a single pound.
Good luck - Oh and the chocolate is divine!!!

do bear in mind that the "counsellors" aren't actually counsellors at all and that they run ll/cd as a franchise. They have no formal qualifications, no acreditation, and no supervision.

Go and have a look at the adverts for lighter life counsellors and you will see that the product is sold on the basis that you can make a fortune.

Given that many people who are hugely overweight have a psychological reason behind it I think that it's very dangerous to be offering so-called counselling by people who are not actually qualified to do so.

And that's before you get to the part where you're basically starving your body in order to lose the weight and are taking the need to portion plan etc out of the equasion. Most people who do ll/cd (approx 95%) regain the weight plus more afterwards.

marsden - that is very reassuring that so far you haven't put any weight back on and well done on losing so much.

i have also done LL. lost a lot of weight and havent put it on afterwards.
Of course if you go back to the eating habits you had before you WILL put on weight again. thats obvious. thats how you got fat in the first place.
but if you eat sensibly afterwards its fine.
have heard a lot of negative stuff about LL. Yes its a business to make money as is WW SW etc etc. dieting is big business...
bottom line is it doesnt work for everyone. but i tried it. it worked for me. i have never felt better.

Ermmmm wannabe - all the counsellors at my LL were qualified - some in CBT and there was a qualified psychotherapist there too. Not to say this is the case with every franchise, but the majority do have some qualification, or are working towards it.

I did LL last year and lost 3.5 stone, and it's stayed off. But as the other poster said, my counsellor was fantastic.

It is so reassuring the hear these stories. I have found my counsellor on Go Lower to be very knowledgeable and helpful.