cambridge diet versus lighter life

S

secretsquirrel

Full Member
hiya:)
i just stumbled across, thru help of a new friend on here, the cambridge diet. never heard of it. so far i have found out it works. it is popular. it is a VLCD ...you dont get the weekly meetings or the analysis and therapy but you do get a sort of mentor who is there to help you when you call up and need help:cry:...oh and its half the price of LL..is this right??? if so...why do people do LL ? i had never heard of it.:confused:..but i have to say, i am not keen on the thought of group analysis (though i would go for it as part of my commitment) or before n after photos...i know what i look like and cringe and that is why i am doing this really challenging diet...:(anyhow, i just wondered, what you think the main differences are and why someone would choose one over the other.
i hope this is an ok question to ask, with respect to ALL dieters however they do it xx
 
Hiya

I have done Cambridge before and yes it is cheaper but you don't get the level of counselling you would with the lighterlife programme, you will get support and I have heard some counsellors are great but with lightlife it's longer meetings and they do the CBT threapy which will hopefully train our brains not to eat.

I did um and ah over price but the way I looked at it was I spend about £30 per week on food shopping and then probably £40 per week on take aways, eating out and drinking alcohol. So it was a no brainer for me.

Loads of people do Cambridge though and are successful.

My meeting last week was quiet but everyone is new, I am not big on discussing the whole thoughts and feelings thing either tend to get on with things and do more for others in personal life and proffessional life as work in HR so constantly giving out advice/supporting others and not worrying about me. So I thought hmmm am I going to like the group thing but if you don't try it you wont know for sure, will let you know how my second meeting goes tomorrow night!

It's a personal thing you need to try one out and see if it works for you and if not try the other maybe.

Good luck :)
 
I definately think it's an individual thing. I tried the Cambridge diet, but couldn't stick to it. My Cambridge lady wasn't supportive really, more just a person that sells packs.

I've found the LighterLife meetings, counsellor, CBT a god send. The support you get is amazing. I have lost 4 stone so far - I've never managed that on any other diet.

But I'm the sort of person that thrives on the comradery of our group and that we all help each other along. Plus the CBT to work out why your eating is really helpful. I'd pay the extra money for LL any day. But that's because it works for me.
 
Wow Bella Bee you have done amazing, I feel the same really hope the lightlife works for me with the group etc I am sure everyone (including me) will warm up eventually and get into the swing of it.

When you have done 14 weeks do you still go to meetings etc?
 
so not the level of support...umm...i am really thinking hard. cos i just want the best. that is what i want. i want some method that takes off my extra 5 stone. then i want to have learned good habits. i cant actually see how you can do CBT or TA in a group as its highly personal and sensitive and though i am the life n soul...i am intensely private (hence my name...) how much is cambridge then? any one know?
oh also, guys, the other thing is, i will miss most of the meetings...i am abroad not sometimes but mostly,and to be honest it was a big worry. in fact i am more or less emmigrating in a couple of months so i wont be able to make any, realistically...ummm...
 
a big part of lighterlife is the fact that there are the weekly meetings i think, and for me and my counsellor it was a weekly commitment to go to the meetings and get the foodpacks, she wasnt keen on people bulk buying and only did it if there really was no other way, you might want to have a look at the exante diet, it is still a vlcd but you can buy the products off the website and have them delivered to your address. it does depend really on how you want to do this, exante doesnt really offer any support or counselling i dont think but with lighterlife i found that the meetings were my way of keeping abstinent and also being a bit competitive in terms of weight loss with the other group members! i hope you find the right one for you, loosing so much weight has made me so much happier and changed my life :)
 
im sure it wont :) if you really are determined to do it, it'll be fine x
 
I hope you found out the info you wanted. Some people do swap from one plan to the other, depending on several factors such as cost, ease of getting products, counsellor relationships, and the flavours available. I was on Lipotrim to begin with, but after 3 months of vanilla, soup and the odd (vile) bar I swapped to CD and never looked back. Along the VLCD journey I dealt with issues myself regarding food. You do have several enlightening moments along the way. I couldnt afford the LL option and some people have poor counsellors as well. Some are brilliant though. My CDC is awesome so I have no worries. It really is trial and error and seeing which one you get on better with.
 
I'm on Cambridge, it costs £35.28 per week and my counseller is fab! I did it last year and lost 2stone and put it all back on after as I did not change the way I ate post diet! This time round I lost 2 and a half stone (from jan -mar 2010), maintained my weight and now I am back to lose another stone and a half!

I think if you are ready to lose weight mentally then cambridge will be good for you, if not then go for LL!!

Good luck xx
 
I wouldn't bother with Lighter Life really, not for the amount of money it costs. I have had two LL councillors and neither were remotely interested unless you were merilly following the plan without deviation. I have had a Cambridge councillor too and she was much more approachable. I don't think LL councillors are all that qualified to do this type of therapy anyway. People have to do degrees to be CBT therapists. The people going to LL are vulnerable and so I personally don't think LL look after them at all well. I would say go for Cambridge personally especially if it is not your first time.
 
ShweetThang said:
I wouldn't bother with Lighter Life really, not for the amount of money it costs. I have had two LL councillors and neither were remotely interested unless you were merilly following the plan without deviation. I have had a Cambridge councillor too and she was much more approachable. I don't think LL councillors are all that qualified to do this type of therapy anyway. People have to do degrees to be CBT therapists. The people going to LL are vulnerable and so I personally don't think LL look after them at all well. I would say go for Cambridge personally especially if it is not your first time.
Click to expand...

I would have to disagree with every single thing you have said.

And that shows the importance a good counselor makes. Ours was amazing, and changed many lives.

They really do make the difference. And they do go through extensive training to get their qualifications - but if they don't use it properly, then people have bad experiences.

I could never fault a single thing about my LL experience - and I pin lots of that on my counselors expertise and support.

All of these diets are the same - all can be exceptional, and all can be rubbish - depends who is heading it up.

Good luck to you! :)
 
BL, I remember Deb (?debbiemac) and someone who rode horses cross country, on here 3 years ago. They did LL and swore by it, lost all their weight and more and the whole experience was a good one. So as you say it does depend on the counsellors. I did LT first off, had no support, no info and if it wasnt for this site I would have been lost. So it really does depend on your postcode I think!!
 
I have to say I am into my second week and I really think lighterlife is going to work for me just the additional support, information and knowing that you are with a group of women who are in the same boat helps me mentally so far.

But as everyone says each to their own and all that!
 
Blonde Logic said:
I would have to disagree with every single thing you have said.

And that shows the importance a good counselor makes. Ours was amazing, and changed many lives.

They really do make the difference. And they do go through extensive training to get their qualifications - but if they don't use it properly, then people have bad experiences.

I could never fault a single thing about my LL experience - and I pin lots of that on my counselors expertise and support.

All of these diets are the same - all can be exceptional, and all can be rubbish - depends who is heading it up.

Good luck to you! :)
Click to expand...

You were lucky - I have had two counsellors who were really funny with me when I struggled.

You can be up and running a group at LL with just their own training. You can then go on to study the equivalant of nvq level 4 in weight management consultancy.

I just think its a dangerous thing to put people on such a potentially damaging path without the proper support.

My counsellor still owes me 2 weeks worth of packs! When I struggled she said "I'm taking you out of the group so that you won't spoil things for the others."
 
Yeah, that is pretty harsh. There are some out there who certainly do not do it out of love. lol

Our LLC was amazing. I can't sing her praises enough. She would NEVER treat someone like that. I do hope you complained to HQ. That is surely not the image they want to have.

The LLC really is important. I am sorry you had such bum luck - but food on ya for finding an alternative and jut as successful route.
:)
 
yeah i am sure the counsellor is a really big part when i think about it...i met my CDC today...she seems very normal and nice...we managed to have a chuckle in the about 5 minutes she was in my home!
 
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