Help!! to lighterlife or not to ligherlife??

[nicnoodles]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this website, I am seriously considering starting lighterlife in January 2009 and have my first consultation booked for tomorrow night but I am petrified and wondered if any of you could help put my mind at rest.

I have researched and visited many forums but I am still uncertain as there are so many contradicting stories surrounding this diet. I can’t speak to friends as they think I am mad to be considering this, plus they have seen me loose weight in the past and pile it back on again so I know exactly what they will be thinking this time.

I don’t doubt that if I seriously stick to the plan then I will loose weight, I can see that from all of your amazing progress on this site (well done everyone!!), however I can’t seem to shake my concern about what happens when you reach your target weight and start introducing food. I really want to change my eating habits and re-educate myself to eat healthy which is what lighterlife offers but is there anyone out there who is living proof and has re introduced food who can give me piece of mind that it is possible to eat sensible healthy food at the end of this and not pile back on weight?

I am having sleepless nights wondering if this is a good idea as it is a lot of money to me and I want to make the right decision. I am sure that everyone must feel like this at the beginning.....would be really grateful for any thoughts & help.

 

[catznolan]

i started ll 15 weeks ago weighing 14st 1.5lb...im now 10st! i started to refeed this week and i am eating stuff ive never touched before. im not saying there isnt stuff i dont like, but im eating so much healthier. rtm is the basis cause it helps u understand where u need tighter control on some foods.
id advise anyone to do ll. i havent weighed 10st since i was 8 or 9 years old!! xxx

 

[Blonde Logic]

Hi Nic

WIth ANY diet, you are going to HAVE to face lifestyle and habit changes - not just LL. The benefit of LL is counselling which helps you identify why you over eat.

I have been in Route to Management now for about 11 of the 12 weeks - nearly 3 months. It has definately been a challenge and I have had some scary moments - a very unsettled week just last week in fact - but in the three months of RTM, I am at the same weight as when I started. No other diet would have made three weeks, let alone months. SO I have learnt SOMETHING it would seem!

Thing is, with a diet this extreme, I think you need to be bloody sure you are willing to put in the hard work and make those changes at the end - accept that change MUST occur for long term success. Don't be afraid of it - be excited about it, as it means you will get the things out of life that you really want. ANd I bet food really is not very high ont he priority list other then for survival. If we are honest.

It has changed my life. In less then a year I am half my size. And I feel a new woman, and yeah - its scary - but it is also exciting and soul satisfying - worth every moment of it.

I can;t rfeccomend it highly enough - but you have to reallllllllly commit to it, as this type of diet is very difficult to try and do a secodn time - the first time is the golden time - after that its tough.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[bekimo]

I've been doing LL since September and I'm not at goal yet. So I can't give you first hand experience of maintaining! However, the way I found out about LL in the first place was because my mum and dad met a girl who had lost 7 stone on LL and had been maintaining her weight for 2 years.
I feel totally different about food now than I did when I started out and this can only be because of the councelling.
I believe that if you are open to learn about why you eat the way you do, then you are open to change those habits. And although I have had a recent lapse, the food that I ate was not what I would have eaten before LL.

I think that you will find some answers at your consultation tomorrow! Your LLC will have lots of examples of people who have lost and maintained as does the LL Magazine!

I'm not pretending that LL is a simple option or the easy road, because for me anyway it has been rough along the way (and I'm nowhere near over on my journey!) but I am pretty convinced it works!!

Good Luck!!

B x

 

[nicnoodles]

wow, thanks for getting back to me so quickly, boy am I glad to have found this site because I think it is going to be a major help to me throughout.
I am looking forwards to the meeting tomorrow, I feel like I am in the right frame of mind for this and am geared up to give it my all!! It really is reassuring to hear from people who have been on it for a while as it gives me confidence that it can work, so thanks!!

 

[Guy]

I feel like I am in the right frame of mind for this and am geared up to give it my all!!

That my friend is the key. You have to have the most serious mind with this. I'm not going to lie to you, it'll be one of the hardest things you've ever done but the sense of achievement is fantastic. Look at me. I'm over 6 stone lighter in less than 4 months!

I've been through the worry about eating again but now I'm excited about it. I'm actually looking forward to a healthy lifestyle when I start the managment phase (mid Jan).

Trawl the internet for diaries/blogs too. Most people have a link to theirs posted in their signature. Reading some of those really helped me prepare for what to expect.

 

[Blonde Logic]

Oh, forgot to say too Nic, there is a woman I have worked with for 4 years. I always admired her shape - very tall, lithe, trim - just a picture of a naturally slim woman.

Well - I only found out about 3 months ago she did LL four years ago and had lost 4 stone, which she has kept off the entire time.

So, it can indeed work!!

 

[Mini_Me]

LL is brilliant because of the counselling and the RTM part of the program.

I have been on LL for 32 weeks. I'm in week 5 of RTM, and it really has changed my life : from 20.5stone down to 12 stone.

Just rememeber - losing the weight is only 40% of the effort - that's the abstinance and development part of the program. 60% is developing a more healthy approach to food - the RTM part - that is the key, in my opinion, to maintaining a healthy weight... so just remember: the aim is to get through to RTM, then leave RTM having a healthy, sustainable relationship with food...

my 2 pence,

 

[emzski]

LL is the best thing I have done. It hasn't been easy but its been so worth it. Ive only been doing it 11 weeks and I've lost 3 stone. I was scared like you and had many doubts. BUT I really really wanted to get my life back, I knew if I stuck to it, LL would give me that. I thought the only way i would see if its for me if I committed to it and tried it for at least a couple of weeks. I haven't looked back. The meetings are a valuable part of it, you learn why you over eat and it will help you for when you go back to food. I haven't started RTM yet but I know I am going to follow it to the letter, that way I will not put the weight back on and I will learn to maintain. Ill never go back to over eating but yes I will have meals out. My whole attitude to food has changed and thats thanks to LL and to everyone on here, all these guys on here have been my rock during my journey.

I always remember the advice I was given when I came on here and asked the questions you have.

JUST DO IT!!

Best advice I was given!

 

[slendablenda]

Go for it

Hi Nic
I cann honestly say it is worth every penny.
It is expensive and thst is part of the motivation to make it work.
You have to be in a plkace in your head where you have already decided it's time to change your life.
Lighter life will - if you stick to it.
I have lost over half my body weight in 10months. I was a size 30 and now I'm a 10/12, and so mmuch healthier.
I can wear fun clothes, run upstairs, breathe without wheezing, fit in the bath with water all around, fit in aeroplane, theatre, cinema, car, gig, train seats without being squashed or squashing others,sing without running out of breath, wear pretty underwear, wear high heel shoes all evening, buy clothes in regular shops, not have to buy everything in the biggest size, wear colours, belts.
I cold go on and on - people don't recognise me, one of my friends cried when she saw me, loads of people in my office are on diets now.I haven't been this weight for about 25years.
You won't regret it. It has given me my life back.
Good luck. xxxx