Lighter Life - The Truth??

Hi Everyone

I am currently doing the slimming world diet for the umpteenth time as well as having done ww and others.

In June I went to a Lighter Life intro meeting, was given loads of info and a medical form to hand into my doctor. They didnt have a place in a group untill September so I joined slimming world in the meantime.

Since June I have so many people tell me not to touch this diet ever, heard horrid stories in the news, even the receptionist at the docs told me her daughter had a horror story.

Can anyone tell me the positive and the negisitves of this diet? I am asking on this forum as you are currently on this diet and can give me more info of the pos and negs and truth than people with stories or news clippings.

Your comments would be much appreciated!

L xx
 
Pros':
Fast weight loss
CBT and TA to help you identify why you overeat / eat badly, and how to deal with that.
A structured return to food to help you set correct portion sizes, new good eating habits, find out your triggers, etc

Cons
You have to stop eating everything but what LL provides
The first few days can be difficult with headaches and tiredness



If the "horror stories" you are referring to are from sources like the Daily Mail, they are utter nonsense. And almost all of the legit 'horror' stories I've heard are from idiots who chose not to do the diet as it is prescribed.


In short, yes, this diet is extreme, existing on only 500 calories a day and giving up all food. But, it is beneficial in so many ways, and regulated by medical governing bodies - if it was not safe, it would not be legal.


Bottom line is, what's more important to listen to; a few stories from uninformed or bigoted individuals, or your own inner voice that has lead you to want to use LL to become the thin person you deserve to be.

Make the right choice - thousands and thousands of us are slimmer, healthier and a damn sight happier in our lives thanks to LL.

Join us :)
 
Positives outweigh the negatives by a country mile

Pros
Fast Effective Weight Loss
Tasty meal packs
Easy to follow
Results really do show

Negatives
mmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmm
Besides what the daily fail says cant think of nothing maybe some side effects but thats all.
headaches but it only lasts a couple of days until your in ketosis, after that its smooth sailing

but if you want to join this diet you have to get the criticism of the diet out your head, so and so said this, so and so said that, if you go in with that frame of mind you'll never succeed, its more a lifestyle change than a diet trust me on that
and as for results well they speak volumes on this forum check the likes of blonde logic, daisy doll, pete, jezzbella, this people are just a few examples of what can be achieved if you put your head in the right place :)
sorry if i sounded harsh at all
but dont listen to people who havent even touched the diet themselves, its YOUR choice nobody elses
 
I third everything that has been said by the guys above! I am fortunate that I did not experience any headaches at all!

I love this diet, the pros far outway the cons. There are far more cons to being overweight/obese, unfit and unhealthy.

Kat xx

Ps: Pete, cute avatar pic ;)
 
Well, tomorrow marks my one year anniversary of maintaining a 10 stone loss......never felt better in all my life....have a life.....soared through the diet, no ill health, high energy, rebuilt my destroyed confidence and self esteem....did in weeks what WW and SW did for me.....

Yep. All positive.

Negatives> NONE.

I find usually those who spew Horror stories usually by those who are full of fear, envy or jealousy.
 
hi there
you hear a lot of negative stuff about LL.
i read as much of it as possible before i started the diet - i wanted to know as much about it as possible.

there can be side effects - but weighed up against the positives - i decided to 'take the risk'

a lot of people who slag off LL are people who either know nothing about it or those who have tried and failed at it.

LL works - followed 100% - it works amazingly

mess about with it and you can get side effects - don't follow RTM and start eating quickly can mess with your metabolism. People i know who did this suffered with some hair loss (tho this is temporary)

i thought it was ridiculous to live on 500 cals a day and dismissed LL for years as a crank diet - as many do.
however, i was ignorant about ketosis etc and i have learnt loads about the body since starting it

LL doesn't fail - people who return to their old ways of eating will obviously put the weight straight back on, it makes me cross when i hear people say LL doesn't work.

feeling cold is a side effect i felt and i did have a couple of 'lightheaded' incidents - however it was when i had been in a too hot sauna so was my own fault.

LL for me was fantastic - i felt great, loved the break from food and was 100% the best thing i have ever done.

Good luck if you decide its for you - its not for everyone and you are doing the right thing finding out all you can about it before you commit

daisy x
 
Hi Miss Manolos
It's up to you to decide. Weigh up what you know and - jump!
It's life changing if you are determined to stick to the plan.
Only this week a very large lady found out I'd lost 12 stone and came and asked me how I did it. When I said LL I could see her face close down and her brain switch off. Not my problem - hers.
In my experience the people who diss LL actually know very little about it or say they don't agree with it. When you ask what they don't agree with they haven't a clue.
All I know is it worked for me. It has completely changed my life 100% for the better. It's worth every penny.
I have maintained my weight loss for 9months now.
I notice you started SW at the beginnig of August. If you had been doing LL you would probably have lost about 2stone by now.
Good luck whatever you decide.
 
Personally for me the positives DO outweigh the negatives. Never believe the media hype about anything, you need solid opinions who have been through the diet themselves.

Pro's:
* LL has given me my life back...!!!
* It has helped me evaluate and make informed decisions in any situation (not just food related). The Counselling is great if you take on board what they tell ya!
* By the way of abstinence - it has helped me understand my relationship with food, and actually, how it relates to life in general, emotionally and physically.

Con's:
* Unfortunately in my case - because of my personality type - the controlling nature of the diet now has transferred into personal life also, which has caused some major issues in food reintroduction, and compulsive behaviour. However I'm working on it. :)
* During the diet I was not fortunate enough to experience the "Ketosis High", and was one of the individuals who always felt lethargic. It literally did hurt to move my body, my muscles hurt and I had many headaches.
* You do feel hungry, but it's a hunger you can forget about unless you start obsessing. Any lapse will cost you dearly mentally - you need to develop a willpower of STEEL to cope with it all! But it's a great exercise in self-control and discipline.
* You will need to learn to fill your time! :) Painting nails, taking baths, taking an extra long time and invested interest in wallpaper patterns, and general hobby doing.


There you go. I'm sure I've missed some, but I did try to present the cons more because LL is not as fluffy and pink as it seems. It IS hard work. BUT:

Nothing that is worth getting will come easy.


:)
 
I find this all very interesting. My LL medical form has been filled in but not taken the plunge as yet. My main concern is that at 500 calories a day you are bound to lose the weight but can it be that easy to retrain yourself after years of over eating that got me into my present shape. At the moment, losing weight with slimfast and the gym and really not sure if LL is the way to go?
 
Kev said:
but can it be that easy to retrain yourself after years of over eating that got me into my present shape

It's as easy or hard as you want to make it. If you arn't 100% mentally comitted, then yes you will struggle and find it a chore. If you accept that you have a problem, are only temporarily giving up the source of that problem and making a concious effort to truely solve your food issues, then you'll have a much easier time of it.

Of course, one of the big advantages about LL is that after a few days, your body moves into Ketosis state and you don't experience hunger any more; something that can't be said for most other diets which have you cut down your intake of regular foods.
 
I find this all very interesting. My LL medical form has been filled in but not taken the plunge as yet. My main concern is that at 500 calories a day you are bound to lose the weight but can it be that easy to retrain yourself after years of over eating that got me into my present shape. At the moment, losing weight with slimfast and the gym and really not sure if LL is the way to go?
Kev, its all about making permanent changes to your lifestyle post LL< which you will learn through the lessons during abstinance.

I started eating food again, exaclty one year ago - and have maintained 10 stone loss since then. I was morbidly obese for about 10 years, and before that obese for about 15. Thats 25 years of bad habits and bad treatment to my body - and it is happyily maintaining. :)

SOmething I never dreamt possible for me,.

So, it can be done. Ifyou change along with your body. :)
 
Hi

I was so focused and excited to do this diet, I just wish they had had a place in a group sooner as I would have went in motivated and ready for the challenge.

Now my head is filled with other peoples warnings. I need to take time out and form my own views, so I thank those of you who have given me this advice.

Just the worry of money now and where to get it from! But if this works then in the end it will be worth it!.

L :eek:
 
Exactly the right attitude M81, and don't be surprised if you do take the plunge if you find you actually SAVE money on LL compared to everything you spend at the moment - I did & I know others have too.

Nothing more to add re Pro & Con than hasn't already been said :)
 
I've lost 6 stone on LL and I'm sure I couldn't have done it any other way. I can heighly recommend it.

I'm now in week 9 of RTM and have unfortunately been experiencing the hair loss I had been warned about, although I'm assured that this is due to new hair growth pushing the old hair out (your hair more or less stops growing during abstinence) I also experienced a bit of hair loss on the Atkins diet though.

The only other side effects I have experienced are bad breath and constipation - which are not LL specific by any means!
 
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