Client Charter
Welcome to LighterLife
Congratulations. You’ve just taken your first
step on your LighterLife journey.
At weekly group meetings, you will be
exploring why you overeat and learn effective ways to deal with
problems, feelings and difficult situations without turning to
food.
Every day, you’ll use LighterLife’s
nutritionally balanced soups, shakes and bars to lose your excess
weight, safely and sustainably.
Only when you understand what’s going on in
your head and not just what’s going into your mouth, can you make
the changes that help you say hello to a healthier, lighter life
for the rest of your life.
This charter describes what you can expect
from LighterLife and our terms and conditions.
Our commitment to you
We respect our clients and believe you’re
entitled to the best possible service. Wherever you are on your
LighterLife journey, we aim to provide clear information about the
products and services we offer. We will:
- Provide you with the tools you need, not just to lose weight
but to change the way you think, helping you to keep the weight off
not just for a few weeks or months but for life.
- At weekly group meetings, provide you with a safe, single-sex
environment in which to explore your relationship with food.
- Value your health and wellbeing.
- Listen to your views with the aim of improving our programme,
so we can inspire and encourage more people to live lighter,
healthier lives.
LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellors
Whether you’re on the LighterLife Programme or
LighterLife Lite, both programmes are delivered by a national
network of LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellors, all of whom
have undertaken LighterLife’s extensive training programme.
LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellors
train towards a Diploma in Building a Weight-Management
Consultancy, accredited by Edexcel, the UK’s largest awarding body.
This qualification is equivalent to an NVQ at level 4 or the first
year of a foundation degree.
LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellors
deliver both programmes under licence to LighterLife UK Limited.
Their Licence to Practise as a LighterLife Counsellor is displayed
at their premises.
The LighterLife Licence to Practise is awarded
and maintained when the Weight-Management Counsellor has passed the
initial LighterLife training and is:
- attending ongoing LighterLife training
- adhering to and working under the LighterLife practices,
policies and protocol.
Counsellors are self-employed and operate
within a strictly monitored environment.
Medical assessment
LighterLife Lite
Prior to joining LighterLife
Lite you’ll be asked to complete a health questionnaire.
Providing you aren’t contraindicated or taking certain medications
you’ll be able to join LighterLife Lite following LighterLife
approval.
If you’re taking certain medication (ie.
hypertensive, diabetic or diuretic medications) prescribed
by your GP, or are over 70 years old, your health questionnaire
will need to be completed at your registered GP’s surgery.
LighterLife Programme
Prior to joining the LighterLife
Programme, which is a clinically monitored programme, a GP
needs to complete your health questionnaire. If you’re taking
medication prescribed by your GP, or are over 70 years old, please
have your health questionnaire completed by your GP at your
surgery. The completed health questionnaire must then be
approved by LighterLife.
You will need to have an ongoing check-up
every 28 days while you’re abstaining from conventional food.
Again, if you’re taking medication prescribed by your GP, please
have your ongoing check-up completed by your GP at your surgery. If
you’re not taking prescribed medication, you may be able to have
your ongoing check-ups completed with a Registered Nurse or at some
pharmacies.
It’s your responsibility to get:
- The health questionnaire completed.
- Medical checks done.
- The appropriate forms stamped and given to your LighterLife
Weight-Management Counsellor.
If any medical checks are missed your
LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellor is, under no
circumstances, allowed to supply you with LighterLife Total Balance
Foodpacks.
If you’re returning to the LighterLife
Programme after a time away, you need to complete a form detailing
your current state of health. Depending on
- the length of time you’ve been away
- if there has been any significant change in your health
- if you’re over 70
you might need to complete another health
questionnaire.
Your GP is entitled to make a charge for
filling out the health questionnaire and ongoing check-ups when
appropriate. It’s your responsibility to pay this charge.
LighterLife Total Balance Foodpacks
LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellors are
licensed to sell Foodpacks only to clients participating in the
LighterLife programmes.
Foodpacks are not for resale and are not to be
advertised for resale.
LighterLife reserves the right to stop
supplying you with Foodpacks if at any time:
- confidentiality hasn’t been respected
- we are concerned you’re misusing or reselling Foodpacks or
programme materials.
Low-Calorie Week
Low-Calorie week is only applicable if you are
on the LighterLife Programme.
After abstaining from conventional food for 12
weeks you must increase your intake by 500 kilocalories a day.
Adding milk to Foodpacks is an easy way to do this. This is to
comply with guidelines on the use of very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs)
from the UK’s National Institute for
Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
At the end of Low-Calorie Week you can return
to mixing Foodpacks with water for up to a further 12 weeks, after
which you must repeat Low-Calorie Week, and so on, until you reach
your target weight.
Confidentiality
It‘s important that all matters discussed or
disclosed in the group sessions are kept confidential by you and by
us. LighterLife undertakes to keep all medical and statistical
information confidential. We comply with the terms of the Data
Protection Act 1998.
However if, for any reason, LighterLife
believes you pose a serious physical or emotional risk to yourself
or others while participating in any of our programmes, we will
advise you to stop the programme and seek medical advice. In
more serious circumstances, your GP may be
informed.
Weekly meetings
At your weekly group meeting you will be able
to collect and pay for your Foodpacks.
If, exceptionally, you’re unable to attend
your group you must inform your LighterLife Weight-Management
Counsellor so that alternative arrangements can be made for you to
collect and pay for your Foodpacks.
Your commitment
LighterLife Lite
You commit to buying 21 Foodpacks every
week.
On the Lite Route to Management Programme you
commit to buying enough Foodpacks to complete Lite Route to
Management.
LighterLife Programme
You commit to buying 28 Foodpacks every
week whilst you’re in abstinence.
On the LighterLife Programme Route to
Management you commit to buying enough Foodpacks to complete
LighterLife Programme Route to Management.
On the Refresher Programme you commit to
buying a four-week supply of Foodpacks in the first week of every
four-week module.
Use of interpreters
If you need to use a language or British Sign
Language interpreter, it’s your responsibility to pay their fee.
The interpreter you choose must:
- be the same sex as yourself
- agree to keep all matters discussed or disclosed in the group
confidential.
You can use a family member or a friend as an
interpreter.
How to rejoin
If you’ve left LighterLife Lite and wish to
come back, you can rejoin at the beginning of the next appropriate
Lite module. You may be asked to pay for two weeks in advance at
the start of your first module.
If you’ve been away from the LighterLife
Programme for some time you can rejoin as a Refresher. The
Refresher Programme is divided into four-week modules and involves
abstinence from conventional food.
Your feedback
We actively seek your views about the service
LighterLife provides.
While you’re participating in LighterLife you
may be contacted by telephone or email by our Quality Assurance
team or agency acting on our behalf and invited to complete a short
questionnaire. This will take around 15 minutes and provides us
with valuable feedback which we can use to continuously improve our
programmes.
If you have a compliment or complaint please
contact Quality Assurance on 01279 636998 extension 3015 or by
email to inform@lighterlife.com
You can also write to the address below:
LighterLife
Cavendish House
Parkway
Harlow Business Park
Harlow
Essex CM19 5QF