Do re-starters actually ever finish?

[Artyjoe]

I'm really looking for some inspiration here, not sure I'm going to get it though.

I have been restarting for an entire year by December.

Lost 7.5 stones and stopped last December due to family health problems...the entire year has been bad (except for my wonderful wedding )...I have now gained 20 pounds and the depression is dreadful. I am on a wonderful concoction of pills which don't seem to be working and am beginning to believe I will need to do LighterLife again in January until I reach goal...BUT...

I have restarted so many times, on both CD and LL, does anybody actually manage to get to target and stay there after failing to complete in one hit?

Will I forever be a restarter?
Is there any genuine (not theoretical) hope?
Discovery forum inspired me to start LL, I'm really hoping this forum will inspire me to restart.

Any 'journey completed after several restart' stories?

Joe x

 

[KD]

I have restarted so many times, on both CD and LL, does anybody actually manage to get to target and stay there after failing to complete in one hit?

Yeah. I have. You'll get there. Just got to keep on trying.

 

[Artyjoe]

Thanks Karion, I didn't realise you'd restarted LL/CD, that's very good to know.

I can't believe I've had a whole year of failing...the 20 pound gain is a real punch to the stomach and I'm feeling very desperate and sad. Can't have surgery, slightly too small, can't have appetite suppressents until I've lost 6.5 pounds, and can't manage that either, WLR is great but not working for me, hoodia Gordoni and a concoction of others is also not helping...just don't know what to do except restart.

Anyone else managed it?

 

[Slim at heart]

I am so hoping you get a lot of positive replies... I am a struggling re-starter meself & so hoping I will finally get my head around it...

 

[KD]

I hope you get a lot of positive replies too

The hoodia can work, but only really if you are hungry. If you eat for other reasons, then it's not a lot of good.

I'd love to be able to say "This is how you get your head around it....(insert answer)", but I just don't know what goes in those brackets.

I guess it all comes down to what you really want and how much you want it. Possibly?

 

[s_786]

Hiya,
I know what you saying, i been re-starting countless times aswelll but Im glad in past 2 n a half years or going on and off the LL and CD, I came down from a size 20 to a 12. I am still about stone( stone n a half wud be perfect) away from my goal, in all this re-starting business, the most I regained is about 5-6lbs. So I think it was still worth it rather then going off it totally. Because had I been off it totally I am sure i had been in my size 20 jeans by now as I have this horrible carb sensitive body.
I restarted again yesterday, picked yesterday and today but I know tomorrow will be a better day as body is slowly getting used to of having less food. This time I am going to finish it off as I have a date comming up and my birthday aswell. But I can proudly say that on my last birthday I was a stone heavier then what I am today so all this is worth it
goodluk
xxx
S

 

[Artyjoe]

I think my problem is that when I'm restarting it is always with a gain from when I stopped...I'm currently 20 pounds up since this time last year...very depressing.

I think you are right about Hoodia Karion, although I do have a huge appetite, if I'm eating for other reasons then no hypnotherapist or counsellor or myself for that matter has figured it out.

I have to keep going, I used to have a draw full of the next size down clothes that I'd just bought...that draw is now full of the clothes I was in last year and can't now get on...think I'm going to have to get a bigger size jeans as well.

Is there anyone else who has managed to carry on to target since re-starting, two out of this whole forum is a little worrying! xx

 

[Karen1972]

Hi Arty Joe

To me the simple fact of the matter is that we will have to diet for the rest of our lives - we have a weight problem that needs to be balanced and therefore will have to deal with the issue of weight fluctuation because things happen in life that will make us eat and put on weight. Fact.

I got to target on 1 May and 7 months on i've put 13lbs back on. This figure changes on almost a daily basis and i get depressed about it too. At one stage i was 21 pounds over target.

I'm back on LL packs and i haven't got past 4 consecutive days for ages! Altho my blips are quite short lived to be honest (they last for one day - two at max).

Just take one day at a time would be my advice - actually 20lbs in one year is actually not that bad!! You've still lost loads of weight from your original weight!!!

It's about how much you want to be slim. Most days being slim is more important than food - and other days food is my only desire and i'm like a junkie looking for a fix.

One day at a time......

 

[Kate]

I never restarted Cambridge after I came off it, but I did lose more weight (and kept it off) through general good nutrition and exercise. The only time I ever put on weight now is at Christmas, and it's gone within the first couple of weeks of January. I still have another stone I want to shift, and it's coming off really slowly, but I'm not really bothered how long it takes now so I'll get there when I get there

Hope this helps reassure you.

 

[olijames]

Hi ArtyJoe

I'm a restarter on LL and I'd put on 21lbs in 4 months so I think you've kept a lid on it....i think as we lose weight we are much more critical of ourselves and now i talk about lbs in the same way i used to talk about stones!!! I used to think oh Im about 12 stone when actually i was 15!!!

I've done almost 3 weeks this restart. Tried CD inbetween but to be honest my head/herat wasn't in right place. I originally embarked upon LL to lose weight after 2 miscarriages..had a third since having lost almost 5 stones...so my theory about obesity=MC was wrong!!!

In some ways Im glad I started and restarted LL but in other ways i wish id never discovered VLCD simply because of how much food then plays on ones mind, the panic of weight gain the disappointment at being a size 14...which from a size 20 should be a good thing...its all very mind boggling..

BUT i guess the bottom line is...how much do we want it? HOW important is it to be that size 16/14/12/10/8 whatever it is....HOW great do we feel being slim and HOW crap do we feel being overweight? Im trying to think about it in terms of a healthy BMI but secretly I know i want to look great in a dress at christmas parties...i guess i'm sucked in by media stuff and slimdom....

Im sorry artyjoe i realise im probably not helping rather being a restartiing rambler and ranter....ooopss....

Anyway...good luck as you embark upon your journey! Let us know how youre getting on....what i have to remember this time is being slim is for life not just for 4 months....yikes!

 

[Kate]

In some ways Im glad I started and restarted LL but in other ways i wish id never discovered VLCD simply because of how much food then plays on ones mind, the panic of weight gain the disappointment at being a size 14...which from a size 20 should be a good thing...its all very mind boggling..

It does ruin you for other diets doesn't it? Even now, I sometimes think to myself, "I could just take a month off work, SS the rest of the weight off and be done with it" (then I realise that's daft, but it does cross my mind).

 

[canireallydothis!!]

Im not sure if I qualify as a restarter, however I can say that last weekend I came off the diet as I was in a conference abroad, I started back on the day I returned, and although I had a hellish few days I have managed to keep on with it.

I am now 2lbs off goal and aim to be there next week!

For me it was a case of getting my head down and getting on with it, looking how far I had come, and the fact that I have this 11st goal in my head and I have to get there.

For me the worst on restarting was knowing that I had to get over the first 5 days again, it would have been so easy to cheat but I can't. The first few days was definately hell, but after that I knew I would be ok so just kept ploughing through it.

You can do it, its just knowing that you can, plus I often think you have got to get to a point in your life where nothing is more important than getting the weight off, thats where I am and I think thats why its worked, Ive got to get my head round keeping it off now lol!

 

[chelle_powell]

Hi Arty Joe

To me the simple fact of the matter is that we will have to diet for the rest of our lives - we have a weight problem that needs to be balanced and therefore will have to deal with the issue of weight fluctuation because things happen in life that will make us eat and put on weight. Fact.

It's about how much you want to be slim. Most days being slim is more important than food - and other days food is my only desire and i'm like a junkie looking for a fix.

One day at a time......

Hi Karen
I agree with everything u said. I used to consider VLCDs to be the magic wand that will fix my life - but they don't they only help with the cosmetic part & the rest is upto us. I'm slowly (and begrudgingly!!!) beginning to realise that I'm going to have to watch everything I eat for the rest of my life - I'm lactose intolerant, mega carb sensitive and hold water like a sponge - so no more fish & chips with white bread for me LOL!!!!

Artyjoe - U've done soo well to only have gained a small amount - but I know any gain can be devestating and make us feel like a failure. I think that ur head needs to be in the right place 100% to do VLCDs and being a serial restarter myself, I understand that it can take a while to get there - but u will hun! Stop punishing urself, u've lost an incredible amount of weight hun - dont ever lose sight of that!

Much love, chelle xx

 

[DQ]

Oh God I hope so. Sometimes I just feel so hopeless and that I'll never get there

 

[olijames]

You and me both DQ!

 

[bettyboo]

Hi Karen
I agree with everything u said. I used to consider VLCDs to be the magic wand that will fix my life - but they don't they only help with the cosmetic part & the rest is upto us. I'm slowly (and begrudgingly!!!) beginning to realise that I'm going to have to watch everything I eat for the rest of my life - I'm lactose intolerant, mega carb sensitive and hold water like a sponge - so no more fish & chips with white bread for me LOL!!!!

Artyjoe - U've done soo well to only have gained a small amount - but I know any gain can be devestating and make us feel like a failure. I think that ur head needs to be in the right place 100% to do VLCDs and being a serial restarter myself, I understand that it can take a while to get there - but u will hun! Stop punishing urself, u've lost an incredible amount of weight hun - dont ever lose sight of that!

Much love, chelle xx

Great post Chelle...............and I agree. I know that once I reach goal I will be watching my weight forever. The issues and emotional eating that caused me to gain over 9 stone in 4 years still remain in my life and so I am learning to deal with them differently.........

A diet is for life not just for Christmas

x

Bettyboo

 

[chelle_powell]

Oh God I hope so. Sometimes I just feel so hopeless and that I'll never get there

You and me both DQ!

Hey u two!!!!!
U most definately will get there - u know why? Because u're here and u're doing it. Ok we all have blips (some can last for a few days - not mentioning any names !) but we're still here trying our damned hardest. I believe we will get there because we keep trying and each time we're that little bit closer to goal.
We can do this!

Much love, chelle xx

 

[DQ]

Thank you Chelle. Just feeling a bit of a failure - weekends suck the big one. Right, pick myself up and get going again I guess.

 

[chelle_powell]

Thank you Chelle. Just feeling a bit of a failure - weekends suck the big one. Right, pick myself up and get going again I guess.

Hi hun,
U're not a failure, look how much u've lost!!!!!! OK, we're taking the scenic route - but hey, thats ok!!!!!! Don't be soo hard on urself!!!! Get a nice hot cup of coffee and snuggle down with a good book.

U've done brilliant hun!!!!!!

Much love, chelle xx

 

[DQ]

That's a ruddy good idea. The kids are off to bed so I may well just do that