Been to see GP and he poo-pooed VLCDs

[Coley]

So this is my reply from WLR:

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]
Thank you so much for your email. As a registered dietitian and journalist, I actually wrote the feature for Weight Loss Resources on the Lighter Life diet. Please be reassured that I thoroughly researched this piece and actually contacted Lighter Life with a list of questions. One of these questions was ‘I’ve read that the drinks are actually the same as the Cambridge Diet, just repackaged. Is this the case?

The response, which came from Louise Woodcock at Lighter Life was as follows (and if you care to send me your fax number, I can send you a copy of this – unfortunately, I no longer have the email on my system):

‘Our Foodpacks are made to our own recipe and comply with government guidelines, trading standards, Advertising Standards Authority, we are a member of the BNF (British Nutrition Foundation), organisational members of the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists). We are not the same as any other VLCD that is available anywhere else. Our product is NOT the same as Cambridge, Euro Diet, Lipotrim, Slimfast etc.’

At Weight Loss Resources, we never ‘lie’ to our members – we simply provide well-researched facts. In our opinion, we couldn’t have got a more accurate comment on the formulation of Lighter Life than by going to the company direct – I’m sure you will agree. Perhaps if you have an issue, you should take it up direct with Lighter Life. I will be contacting Lighter Life myself and forward on your email. If the facts are indeed incorrect, we at WLR will of course remove the comment from the feature. In the meantime, I am more than happy for you to forward all this information to Cambridge Head Office and let me deal with them direct.

I trust this puts your mind at rest.

Kind regards

Juliette Kellow BSc RD
Nutrition Consultant on behalf of Weight Loss Resources


[/FONT]

 

[SP30]

Oh dear, she has missed the point hasn't she?

The article she wrote definitely says that LL packs meet government guidelines and CD's do not. This is not the case I believe.

Perhaps it's CD's HQ that needs to write to her and ask her to remove her incorrect and damaging statement about their packs.

Juliette has gone down in my estimation for being so obtuse.

As though LL are going to say "yes our packs are basically the same as the CD ones, we just charge more for them"

 

[Coley]

I have emailed Juliette back pointing it out and I've emailed head office so they can deal with it. It's really just been misinterpreted but she really should have got her facts right and done a little research into the diets she is slating...I directed her to the Cambridge Website and the nutritional information.

I tried to find some proof that Cambridge manufacture LL packs but google shows me nothing.....I was told this at training...so goodness knows.

All this just really gets up my nose. WLR is a respected and useful site and I feel VCLD's are always having to fight to be seen as acceptable. I never thought I would come across something that makes LL seem like it's fantastic whilst slating CD!! I have done both and both are fantastic but I don't like either of them being misrepresented!

I should have wrote back "Now as a normal human being and student...." does she think I'm questioning her qualifications? I would have expected a nutritionist to know more about the nutritional value of something before putting it up in public domain.

I'm a grumpy cow now.

 

[chicken on a mission]

Oh dear, she has missed the point hasn't she?

The article she wrote definitely says that LL packs meet government guidelines and CD's do not. This is not the case I believe.

Perhaps it's CD's HQ that needs to write to her and ask her to remove her incorrect and damaging statement about their packs.

Juliette has gone down in my estimation for being so obtuse.

As though LL are going to say "yes our packs are basically the same as the CD ones, we just charge more for them"

I agree she has missed the point. The wording makes it seem like the packs themselves are the problem and not that LL has additional features to that of CD. It ought to be reworded and CD have every right to be up in arms about the article.



Yet again I see that another CD member of the forum feels the need to have a pop at LL. What is it with you lot!

Comparing costs in terms of packs work very well for those on CD because the packs are all you get on CD but LL is so much more than food packs.

In terms of cost LL is double that of CD but unlike CD you don't just get foodpacks for the week and a chat with an unqualified 'counsellor'.

The cost of LL includes additions like 1 1/2 hours worth of group therapy from a qualified counsellor, DVD's, CD's, exercise equipment and lastly a counselling session a week FREE OF CHARGE least 1 year after you have completed management.



Did you get that? Your comparison is like saying you bought 4 tyres for £16,000 and omitting to mention the rest of the car that came with it

 

[Coley]

Very true chicken...I doubt SP30 really meant anything by it though.

I've done both and so I don't feel as if I am lobbying any one side here but I do have to say the "counselling" I recieved on LL was rather questionable with them wanting me to be depressed and feel crap about myself because I'm overweight and I found talking to my CDC much more theraputic.

I also didn't understand the 20 odd quid price rise. Ok, they made some DVDs, got some excerise equipment and re-did some bits of the CBT stuff but how does that justify £20 a week forever and ever? Maybe it's going to your "free year" of counselling? I don't know. They sure as hell have enough money for it.

This is just my own experience, my LLC was rubbish, talked about herself constantly, and up her own ass and is now in liquidation.

Obviously this cannot account for all LLC's. Same can be said of some CDC's (although I have to point out that some are actually counsellors in their own right) and I've heard horror stories about various CDC's. I guess it's just really luck of the draw.

We don't get to choose what we are called. They (Cambridge Health and Weight Plan) called us Cambridge Diet Counsellors but when we tell clients about the diet we don't say that we will provide them with therapy etc and this is all made clear before they start so they don't expect it. There are good and bad points to both diets.

Finally, I do think that all VCLD's have to fight their corner and it's an uphill struggle without dieticians, doctors and other people who don't know diddley-squat about the diet to slate it and it hacks me off. If she had said the same thing about LL, I would have responded exactly the same.

Hope this doesn't get anyone annoyed, just putting across my POV and I'm a bit het up at the moment at that stupid woman getting things wrong....

 

[SP30]

Yet again I see that another CD member of the forum feels the need to have a pop at LL. What is it with you lot!

I'm not doing CD or LL but I was trying to point out that LL won't say "we are like the CD diet with a value-added package of counselling and support" - they take the view that everything about LL is different (and by inference, superior) .... whereas most people on here would say they are in the same class of weight loss programme i.e. they are both VLCDs. It's marketing spin from LL IMHO.

Incidentally, I was reading the Slimfast labels in Tesco just now and I think their Meal Replacement products also meet government guidelines for ... er .... meal replacements (though Slimfast is not a SS diet plan).

Poor show from Juliette there.

 

[chicken on a mission]

If juliette had got her homework right then she would know that CD make the LL packs for them.

The way she wrote that was very poorly worded indeed and I hope that she is forced to reword it to reflect the information she was given by LL

I'm sorry I accused you of being on CD and wish you all the best for reaching your goals despite the price comparison of LL and CD without the balanced picture

 

[SP30]

lol "accused of being on CD" - actually I really wanted to do either LL or CD but finally decided it would be impossibly difficult for a food-loving, big carb-eating vegetarian like me.

Sorry C-O-A-M I meant no offence to those doing LL (or CD).

I posted that link to Juliettes article and now I'm shocked at her naivete when she claims to be a nutritionist and journalist. And as you say she didn't do her homework.

Very sorry, I take back my cheap shot at the cost of LL.

 

[chicken on a mission]

As I know that humble pie is allowable on my stage of LL manatainance I am just preparing to sit down and eat a very big portion of it safe in the knowledge that it is calorie free

I can't believe I have been in such a crappy mood today and taken it out on you given that today is one for the diary as I got confirmation that I have a horse on loan which has been my dream since I was a little girl. It won't half help with the copiuos amounts of toning and exercise required too

 

[SP30]

No it's my fault for my provocative comment on LL.Though I meant it to be a shot at being taken in by marketing speak rather than a criticism of the LL plan.I need to be more careful about posting (and emails, etc) as things can often be interpreted in many ways.Hope you have a great time with the horse, get out there in the fine weather and enjoy!