Just starting Lighter Life (2nd time round) - any buddies?

Hi , I'm just starting lighterlife second time round. Last time was in 2007, boy has the programme changed. Never had food packs like we do today. That is great to see. Yesterday I felt awful (day 2)- headache and tired. I notice I have been sweating more than normal on day 1 & 2. This morning (day 3) my headache does not seem to be so bad. I have not take any pills to stop it as I really want to feel everything my body goes through. I feel a sense of achievement every morning I wake up as I know I'm closer to that slimmer me. I can see my husband is excited for me. Anyone else just started? It would be nice to share thoughts etc. in only have 2 people in my group who have been on programme for about 8 weeks ahead of me - my counsellor is good however she too seems to be fighting with her weight ( she is much heavier than all of us) however Im listening to what she has to say and taking in the valid points rather than judging her as I'm here to lose weight. I just hope this time round I can maintain it as I made the mistake of not staying on the programme last time , long enough to learn how to help myself stay slim. Good luck all.

hy there
im hopefully starting on the 27th august just got to get my medical and stuff organised.
i'm also a returner, although i finished the initial course i didn't follow it a 100% but still lost 2 stone but because of work commitments i couldn't do the next level, management was it called?
it was 4-5 years ago when i did it last so im sure its changed a lot, everyone was at the same point in the program so doing the psycho stuff worked well not sure how its going to work with everyone at different times on the diet.
im going to keep a diary going on the LL site and if i can work it out on here too.
good luck with your journey, that sounds so corny, lets hope we both lose loads

theresab

Hi Theresab, I didn't have to do a medical/go to dr this time- I was allowed to self certify which was good as its a headache having to get appointments and time to go. Sure you will do well. Today was not so bad for me (day 3) as long as I keep busy I feel fine. I seem to drink more black coffees to get me through the day while making sure I drink at least 2 litres of water a day - remember it use to be 4 litres min - phew- I use to feel I was drowning! Lol.

I am starting on Monday, going for my weigh in and packs tomorrow, and can't wait. I haven't done LL before, but did Cambridge a few years ago and lost 6 stone, but then went and put it all back on, this time I am hoping the counselling with make sure I keep it off. Not looking forward to next week, but it has to be done. No one said anything about a medical to me, so fingers crossed this doesn't crop up tomorrow. I am glad to see there are some new starters as this forum seems very quiet. Any suggestions on packs to try will be much appreciated, so far I tried the chocolate and vanilla just to check I liked at least one, sadly I wasn't sure on the chocolate (I am hoping it will be a grower), but the vanilla was good once I mixed it with some coffee.

Good luck TheresaB, and well done Goldenfemale.

hya chlo & goldenfemale
i think because im on blood pressure medication thats why i have to have the medical bit.
i tried the cambridge about 20 years ago and it tasted awful! i promise you the lighter life food packs taste much better then what i remember the cambridge tasting like.
have you read pauline quirks book, its quite inspirational, i'm not a soap watcher but she is in my age group so i feel affiliated to her
we are all about a week apart so lets try and keep this thread going!
i know i'm in the best position for the first few weeks but then we'll soon be on parr and we can be our own anonymous support system, so good luck in your first weigh in you two!
theresa

Well, I started today, I am actually in the right frame of mind as I have just got back from 2 weeks all inclusive and don't think I ever want to eat again anyway (5lbs on grrrrr). So far two shakes and a bar and can't see how I will be hungry again today (weird isn't it). Shakes were OK, but I still haven't found anything I love (which would make it so much easier), the bar was a bit salty tasting, but apart from that it was actually quite nice (Cranberry). I have just sent a sample of the Pauline Quirk book to my Kindle so will start reading it later.

I am having a problem with water, it is 5.30pm and I have only had one small bottle..... ooops I had best get chugging. I can't find how much you are supposed to drink written anyway so am aiming for 2ltrs (cheekily including the water used to mix my shakes). I won't be so bad with the water once I am back at work but find it really hard when I am at home.

Hi Chlo and Theresab , hope all is going well. It'sy second week. Last week I lost 11lbs!! I was amazed as I've never done that before. It seems to be getting easier as times goes on which is great. I think my weightloss will now slow down so I need to be patient. Regarding flavours of good packs , I really love the banana shake in a blender with crushed ice and a tad extra sweetener! To die for! The chocolate isn't that great (Cambridge tastes better). I like spagetti bolognaise and pasta carborona. Shepherds pie is ok. I seem to be having 1 shake, one bar and two meals packs a day.- wat other flavours have u ladies tried which are good?

Well done, 11lbs is fantastic, I can only wish for a loss like that. I lost 4lb on my 3 day weigh in (though on my scales it is 6lb ) but have slowed down in the last 3 days and not lost anything more, I will have to stop weighing myself daily as it is depressing me and drink more water. I have been 100% so I know I must lose.

I tried the chilli and shepherds pie this week and really liked them, that is one up on Cambridge as I only liked their shakes so it is nice to do the diet and be able to have a proper (if you can call it that) meal. I will try the carbonara tonight. I tried the strawberry and that is the best shake so far, the banana is good, the vanilla is ok with coffee in it and fruits of the forest was ok. I love the toffee and nut bars, but not so keen on the cranberry and peanut, they taste really salty.

Good to hear of your loss Goldenfemale it makes me more motivated to keep it up.

Hi Chlo, glad to hear your losing. 4lbs in 3 days is a heck of a lot let alone 6! Well done! Every pound is closer to that goal. It is nice to have meal packs I think it makes it alot easier - for me anyways. Thinking of liquid morning noon and night was depressing at times so now it's a lot more interesting with the different textures. I just had my last pack (shepherds pie) about 830pm with black pepper on top and it felt naughty ( my husband was munching on chicken wings & pizza) and I felt great! Didn't feel left out at all. In fact i was looking at him eating and thinking what this stuff would do to my waistline if i was eating it now and saying that definitley aint worth it. That stuff is what got me here in the first place. I just need to keep this attitude up and the weight must go! Keep focused and remember within a few months you will be looking slim & trim! I'm happy we can motivate each other. Talking about this really helps.

I am also past the stage of craving anyone elses fatty foods, if anything it is things like an egg, chicken salad etc. that I crave, which I am sure is because subconsciously I am thinking what can it hurt. But I am sticking with it, and it is a lot easier now I know I enjoy the savoury stuff. Back to work in a week though and that will be the true test as our office is full of crap and because we have set breaks we tend to meet up and eat, though at the moment I don't think it will bother me.

It is good to be on a diet where I feel I am in the right frame of mind, I am sure half the battle is mental so I am already part way there. How are you finding the counselling? I had my first session this week, and in fairness the counsellor is on holiday so it is a stand in, so it was a mixed group of different groups if that makes sense, so no one realised I was new until the last 5 minutes, but I didn't say a word.... I do need to sort that out, as I am not naturally quiet, but I just didn't feel like contributing to strangers, but if I don't it will all be a waste of time and money. SO my target next week is to actually contribute something to the discussion.

I just tried Ministrone soup as I figured I could eat that at work in halves, kind of like a cup a soup, it was alright but needed some kick, so I have headed out for Worcester sauce and chilli flakes to see if they make a difference (I think I read somewhere they were allowed). The chicken soup ended up down the sink, not nice, very bland.

Glad it is going well, what day is your weigh in? I am on a Thursday.

I have just had one counselling session which was good albeit my group is two other ladies and myself. I am the new person others been on diet for about 8 weeks. I get weighed in on Tuesday evening. Fingers crossed I still drop a few pounds. I always add pepper sauce and or black peppers to my food packs gives it that extra kick! Let me know how u get on Thursday. We pay money for the counselling so I think it's important to be involved so you get the most out of it. I know what u mean though it is hard to open up to strangers but I think it helps - made me realise it isn't only me who loves to eat all the wrong things. Time to eat to live not live to eat!

I had my weigh in and it was 4lbs off which is ok, that makes 8lbs in 10 days. Slightly disappointed when you see some people lose loads in their first week (including you ) but 8lbs is 8lbs so I shall stop whingeing. It was also nice to get back on the savoury food, I have been on nothing but shakes for 3 days so was ready for some good old Shepherd's Pie, it makes all the difference knowing you can have something savoury.

I have just noticed we are starting at similar weights, I probably have more to lose as I am only 5ft 1.

How are you doing?

Hi chlo,

Just read your post and wanted to say well done! 8 pounds is an amazing loss in your first week!! On my first week I lost 6 pounds and on the second I lost just 1 pound and now I am 5 stone 2 pounds down with just a little bit to go until I reach goal.

Don't be disheartened if you ever lose only small amounts as it all averages out.

Good luck!

Hi Tess wow can't wait till I've lost 5 stone!! Chlo you lost 8lbs in 10 days that's excellent!! The last tome i did lighterlife i lost 10 pounds in a month so you are doing fab! I lost only 2lbs when I got weighed in on Tuesday so it did slow down. But hey, every pound is closer to our goal. I did notice we were similar weights also which is really useful to track how lighterlife really works. The savoury packs are a life saver for me as it makes me feel like I'm eating a meal so I don't feel so deprived thank God! I would love to go to a zumba class or strength training class/gym but I need to find one in my area and a pal would of been even better - I'm the kind that needs motivation /buddies to go to classes/gyms especially to start off. Keep at it we will be slim trim in no time! What area you guys from? Im in Buckinghamshire

That is good to know Tess, 5 stone 2 lbs is brilliant. How long did it take to lose the 5st? I am hoping for a stone a month, but I guess it may take a little longer, I can live in hope.

Goldenfemale I am in West Yorkshire, I am thinking of Zumba, I work at a school and one of the PE teachers does a Zumba class for staff every week... not sure I want staff to see me this unfit, and pretty sure I may collapse half way through. Maybe I shall work up to the Zumba, I don't want to embarrass myself too much in front of people I know. I have tried to up the exercise a bit, I have dogs so I am making sure they get the longer version of their daily walk which is good as it means I do a certain amount of steps. I have an old WW pedometer and like to do a certain number of steps a day. It really is addictive. Gym membership is my treat for 11st target, I have a schedule of treats for each stone, ranging from facials, bodywraps, spa days etc.

Good luck this week.

Had my weigh in yesterday evening lost another 3lbs since last group weigh in. Had a few mishaps this week which was not good. One in particular was having a box of popcorn chicken. Not good! However I got on the treadmill for 40 mins total (20x2 yesterday) to help burn it off. Still happy I'm losing so won't best myself up too much just move on. Hope everyone else doing well.

3lbs is great, I would be happy to lose 3lbs. I cheated with a ham salad when I was out at the weekend, and in fairness I really enjoyed it and I could have done so much worse.... I really wanted the afternoon tea Glad to know not everyone is perfect. My 40th is in October and when I started I mentioned it to my counsellor and mentioned perhaps having a meal on the day and she said no it wasn't allowed, so I was worried everyone else was perfect. The irony being I got to my first meeting and two of the people were discussing the roast dinner they had on Sunday.

Have settled in to the diet quite well and secretly optimistic that I can keep it up. I bought biscuits for my department today and never once even thought about having one.

Good luck for this week.

Well only a 1lb loss, so just goes to show what damage a ham salad can do. I am so annoyed with myself, but can't believe such a small slip had that much of an effect. Oh well, at least it wasn't a gain.

How's everyone else doing?

Hi Chlo, don't beat yourself up about slipping up you still lost 1 pound and yes it's better than a gain. Make sure your drinking at least 2 litres water per day- not including coffee or shakes etc as it really helps. The more water the better. Even sparkling water is nice not sure if lighterlife sell water flavourings but I had some over from Cambridge a while back and used it - really helps and taste great in sparkling water - taste like sprite!! Any sugar free/no carb/very low carb water flavouring will do. Even a hot vegetable broth drink helps when craving for something extra. I'm plodding along. Trying to be good.. Weekends the hardest . Keep going Chlo we will do this!

Week 4 lost another 4lbs (whoop whoop)