Lighter Lifers for life?

[roundrachel]

There are a few of us on here who are back on LL to keep on top of things. It looks like we'll keep coming back to LL as and when needs must.

Much as we'd all love to stay at our goal weight forever, I'm sure there'll be times (holidays and Christmas) when we'll go a bit overboard and pile on a few pounds. But we know LL works so we know we can always go back to it to get the pounds back off.

Question is though, is this healthy thinking? Obviously the key is to keep the weight off so not to become a persistent yo-yo dieter. But we know that LL is the answer to losing weight, but should I be thinking that I can have a blow out and then have a few days in abstinence.

Just thinking....that's all! Always good to have a bit of a debate

 

[Blonde Logic]

I would not plan on using LL everytime I want to take a few pounds off, but while I feel changing over 25 years of bad eating habits is an entire re-learning process, not to be learnt overnight, I am more then happy to use the tools that are available, as I learn to recognise triggers, etc. and to mend where I might have gone wrong. I would not see LL as a life long way to maintaint weight. I wouldnt want to.

For me the choice to go into abs again was not soley because I put on half a stone,m but because I felt the combination of that, plus the regret I fetl at never getting to my original goal it was a good opportunity to go for it.

Unfotunately, finding I am not feeling all that well on the diet - I am pretty convinced it is affecting my arthritis - next time, if and when there is one, I might have to use more conventional means. WHich is OK too.

But keeping the weight off, now in these months of re-teaching myself, keeping the weight off is the most important thing....it is a priority, as I will never, ever be big again. If the tools are there to keep that in check while learning....excellant! I don;t see it as re-srarting or even returning. I see it as continuing.

Obviously the goal in the big scope is too manage weight naturally. And I think we have made great progress. BUt as a student in this new class of eating, if I have to hit the books another time to get a better grade and graduate, then I will.

 

[daisydoll]

a very interesting discussion!
i have been thinking about this a lot over the last couple of days.

i should have lost an extra half stone before starting RTM as i am now just about to start maintaining and i am at the top of my weight 'box'.

i am worried about putting weight back on - through RTM i have lost then gained so am about where i was when i started, which is ok, but the last few weeks i have gained and i don't want it to creep back on week after week.

i'm not going to worry too much yet as i need to wait for a couple of months to see what happens - but at the back of my mind i am thinking if i do go half a stone above my top weight i could always do LL and lose the stone to get me back to where i was

but

i don't really want to get into a cycle of doing abstinence every so often - i want to have learnt from LL and just eat healthily and normally and keep the weight off (which i'm sure is everyones aim!)

as BL says tho it is a tool - one which can be used to help us maintain - i like the idea of that - a safety net if i need it

but for me i must not see it as an excuse to pig out for a few months cos i know i can do LL and lose it!

i'm reading 'beyond chocolate' at the moment and things are clicking with that so i'm hoping i won't need to go back on packs...

but equally i would never say never as maybe i should have lost that extra 7 lbs first time round?

daisy x

 

[kenshin112]

Wouldn't use ll everytime, I know full well I'll be eating healthy and exercising that's my plan and I will put it too full affect

 

[slendablenda]

If I had to I would. I see so many people returning who I'm sure were just as determined as me that weight wouldn't
start to creep back on. So why should I be one of the lucky ones and keep it off?
I often ask myself that question - I don't know the answer. I've maintained now for 8months. it's been scary, but not too hard.
Is it because I was a big lady for such a long time?
Is it because it took me 10 months to lose my weight so I had a long time to get used to it?
Is it because it cost a lot of money?
My health has improved so much, it's like a miracle.Is that the reason?
I think it's partly all ofthem as well as loving all the new clothes, shoes and colours as well as the positive strokes.
If the pounds did creep back I would go back on abstinence to lose it again.
I hope it won't be necessary.:sigh:

 

[lucylastic]

Interesting question!

For me, I think I would definitely use again, but not for the odd couple of pounds, and probably not back to full abstinence, but I think if I crept up about half a stone, I would consider replacing a couple of meals a day with foodpacks - maybe following the first few weeks of RTM perhaps.

Not sure if that is entirely healthy thinking, but I do think it's what I'll be doing in the future!

 

[Foxtrot]

HI Peeps, long time no chat.

This is a question I have been asking myself. I know I finished early this year, this is my second full on LL after all, but I had reason and I went into it knowing what was coming. After my holidays earlier I eventually ended up at 7lb more than after LLL RTM. I have lost 6lbs of this quite well just being sensible and today is the first day of about 3 months ahead that will be free to do full LL again, should I wish.

I know LL is there and I know it works I also know I'd like to lose about another 20 lb but do I want to dive right back into a VLCD and push my body to the limit again just now or do I carry on with the sensible thing and be realistic about time scales and know I'm being kind to my body?

At the moment I'm fairly happy that I am sensible with food and the weight is coming off, slowly but that's good. I've read BL's return with great interest and I've talked it all over with OH. The conclusion at this stage is that I'm going to carry on with the good food for four weeks, the length of a minimum on LL, and then re assess.

One step at a time is better that automatically reaching for the yo-yo effect.

 

[Porgeous]

Very interesting thread and some really insightful posts. For me personally I wouldn't use a VLCD again to manage my weight. I always believed that it was a once only opportunity. Use the tool and move away. Re learn my eating habits and manage my weight through my daily diet.

I think the only exception for me would be if I were to put it all back on again, ie needed to lose 5 plus stone again, then I would consider a VLCD again but not for just general weight management.

x

 

[jcjazzy]

Interesting thread for sure.We're all different.I never reached my goal during foundation, but chose to use a different diet to lose the remainder after a holiday. I am still on this track and progress is a lot slower.However, like Porgeous I saw LL as one-off opportunity to lose lots of weight in a short period.I would not like to use it to help me maintain,or go back on it at all.

 

[susianna]

Hi all

Have been awol for a while but great to see your all still doing so well!

I think this is a subject of great intrest to many of us especially those just back off their hols ...

I came back from holiday a week ago and had put on 6 lb but have already lost 4 lb by "being careful".

I have now decided that I would like to lose at least another stone but won't be "back on the packs" to do it. For me having lost 5 stone I know that a stone is more than acheivable and with the skills I learnt along the way on LL (especially RTM) I know that I can do it myself.

I feel for a small amount such as stone or so, complete abstinence is too harsh for my body ... my hair fell out quite badly and is growing back quite nicely now and would be devastated if it happened again and I suffered with other health issues too which are now gone . Don't get me wrong I owe LL loads, wouldn't change a thing and if I had 5 st or more to lose again then I would do it again.

So ... i'm just being very good, at the gym 3 times a week and it seems to be coming off quite nicely ... fingers crossed it continues!!

 

[slendablenda]

I hope it works for you Susianna.
I went to the hairdresser yesterday. She said my hair has grown back thicker than before, probably because it's stronger due to healthy nutrients - bonus , HURRAH XXX

 

[sukie sue]

morning all.
for me ll was a chance to turn my life around , almost to start again if you like , and it really changed my life and my attitude.
i maintained well for two years with healthy diet and excersize which has become a massive part of my life . i often sail on my hubbies cruise ship so do have holiday gain to deal with from that but i just returned to "normal" eating and excersize and it came right off again .

i only felt the need to return to ll and did the light after having a miscarraige and loosing the plot a bit . i was making all the wrong food choices and found myself
looking for different ways of trying to loose the 2 stones that crept on . this frightened me as i felt my thought patterns around food changing , getting into the last pre diet binge thing again like before ll and i knew i was on the road to the "diet roundabout" again which got me so fat in the first place , diet , binge , diet binge ect so i had to put a stop to it and get a grip again

so i think if i ever found myself in a dark place like that again abusing food and myself i would definately use the ll tool to get my head back to the right place , but i really dont want to use this for the normal fluctuations that life throws us.

god what a ramble , sorry about that , hope i make some random sense :0)
xxx

 

[Guy]

I for one am never going back to the packs. I'm coming up to my 1 year anniversary since I started LL and am only a few pounds more than I was when I started RTM. I'm having a bit of a push right now to get my weight down a bit but I don't want to use LL as a crutch.

Good luck to all who decide to go back but it's not for me. This was a one time thing.

 

[thin_inside]

I'd never say never, but I really see this as a once only diet that will get me to a healthy weight and allow me to maintain that for life through appropriate eating of proper food.

I was so far from being healthy, the road was too long and dark that I always gave up with a lot of weight still to lose.

LL is allowing me to reach my healthy weight goal, the platform from which I can build my new world with space and light around me.

Who knows, but the intention is definitely to get to my goal first time and make sure I use the CBT and TA to stay there for life.

Not having ever been a healthy weight I am allowed my rose tinted glasses.

xx

 

[SerenityValley]

There are a few of us on here who are back on LL to keep on top of things. It looks like we'll keep coming back to LL as and when needs must.

Much as we'd all love to stay at our goal weight forever, I'm sure there'll be times (holidays and Christmas) when we'll go a bit overboard and pile on a few pounds. But we know LL works so we know we can always go back to it to get the pounds back off.

Question is though, is this healthy thinking? Obviously the key is to keep the weight off so not to become a persistent yo-yo dieter. But we know that LL is the answer to losing weight, but should I be thinking that I can have a blow out and then have a few days in abstinence.

Just thinking....that's all! Always good to have a bit of a debate

Warning: there will be a little food talk here.

I thought I'd chip in. I support people's considered choices, e.g. BL's choice to finish her journey. I'm trying to finish mine but have chosen not to return to LL - I will only do so if I get to and stay at 14st+ (I am 13st 3lbs in the evening now, so not much danger of that if I keep things going well).

I made that choice because LL didn't give me the tools I needed to eat healthily - for reasons we don't need to go into again (I feel the men's programme is different to the women's).

So I have the last few months been pushing towards eating healthily and doing well for a week then rubbish for a week. And so on.

Now with slimming world, and the fact I'm dating someone (I sometimes use the word girlfriend lol), I am moving very much int he right dircetion, with finding there ARE salads I enjoy, and lots of healthy choices I can make and feel happy and satiisfied.

This to me is the best approach to get me to 12st because when I get there, I will already be eating right, whereas if I do it with LL, I will still need to repair my diet. And as much as I'd love the quick and guarenteed loss, I also know that it would be the wrong mindset for me to be in.

So yes, I support someone returning to finish their journey. But I would worry terribly if someone kept returning time and again - and would speak to them privately and as gently as I could. I wouldn't remove support and I wouldn't want them to feel "wrong" but I would be terribly concerned.

 

[Blonde Logic]

ANdy - first of all - the girlfriend - I say this: :bliss: :bliss: Told you you would find someone!!! I am chuffed to peices!

Also, salads! That you LIKE!! :bliss: again!

And I couldn;t agree with you more - this is presumably the last time I ever do packs. There is a woman in our group, or was - have not seen her for a long time - she gets slim, then eats like she used to, then comes back to packs, then goes and eats like she used to, etc., and that too me is so incredibly unhealthy, and pointless.

I would never say never, but I can't see myself returning once I complete this last stretch, which I have decided to extend another week. I am happy where I am but realised, one of the points of continuing my journey was to get that built in buffer zone I opted not to at the time I started RTM. So decided to take it on a week to week basis now. But yeah, could never see using this as a routing maintenance tool....would drive me nuts! I like my new healthy food too much!!

So happy you are doing so well. Really truly am.

xxx

 

[SerenityValley]

Thanks BL - it's just another huge and exciting step in my life There have been others, I'm now the membership sec for the NE rat society which is close to my heart, and I'm trying lots of new things (possibly even yoga and Tae Kwon Do).

I just realised I still have packs left and I am still not ready to throw them away. I'm quite tight and it sort of burns that I bought them and they never got used!

 

[Blonde Logic]

Andy, I have become so fond of the pack-ice cream, I will probably continue to keep some on hand for that. Don;t thro wm out - may come in handy for quick grab sometime!!

I am just so pleased how you have turned your life around.

A huge well done from me.

xx

 

[thin_inside]

Fab news Andy! May you have a long and happy and healthy life ahead of you with that someone special. And well done on being the membership secretary and trying lots of new activities.

I support your reasons for choosing to use conventional food to return to your goal weight. I think that I would also choose this route if I get a bit above where I want to maintain. The packs are a quick fix and brilliant for those of use with a huge amount to lose where the end is always too far to reach on a conventional diet. There's a reason the diet was, for a long time, only for those with 3+stone to lose.

I have learnt a lot through CBT and TA. But until I put this in practice with conventional food I will not know how successful I can be in using it.

I think those who return to complete their LL journey are doing just that. And I wish everyone the best success in whatever route they choose.

May we all find health and happiness. Life is just too short to not get out there and be happy. xx

 

[sukie sue]

to right !!! heres to happiness xxx