After having my son in 1988, I kept putting on weight until I’d reached 19 stone 13 pounds and was a size 24. My family were worried about how big I’d become. And I knew I needed to lose weight for my health – I had high blood pressure, I was having bad asthma attacks, and ached in all my joints.
I would get out of breath on the shortest of walks. On holiday in Tenerife in 2023, we would walk to a nearby town but I would have to stop frequently to get my breath back and use my inhaler. When I saw the pictures of me I was horrified.
Why did I choose LighterLife?
Like many yo-yo dieters, I’d tried virtually everything under the sun to lose weight, including tablets and injections. Sometimes with fairly short term success. In November 2022 I went through the NHS Tier 3 programme and was on the waiting list for bariatric surgery. But the more I found out about surgery, the more worried I became, and the less I wanted to go through with it.
Then I saw an advert about LighterLife, I think on Facebook. I liked the idea of having a Mentor and I liked the simplicity and strictness of it.
Following the plan
During my first week on TotalFast I felt hungry and didn’t go into ketosis for over a week. But as I was so excited about starting, I didn’t find it too hard to stick to. Especially when I lost 10.5 pounds in the first seven days!
My favourite Foodpacks were the Porridge pots and Jerk Noodle pots – and I couldn’t live without the Chocolate Mug Cakes.
Mindfulness and Mentor support
My Mentor, Carol, has been excellent, she always says just the right things that keep my head in the right space.
Although I can’t always go to her online CBT Mindfulness meetings, I do try to catch up with her Facebook Lives during the week. They’re very interesting and motivating, and they make me think about things I hadn’t thought about before.
The LighterLife Facebook community group and Carol’s WhatsApp group were (and still are) very supportive as well. And my family and friends have been so supportive too, and really happy that my health is improving all the time.
What have I learned from the LighterLife programme?
I’ve learned that the way forward with managing my weight is just as important as losing the weight in the first place. But I have a plan in place and feel confident I can keep the weight off long term – always knowing LighterLife is there if I do put on a couple of pounds. I feel much more confident that I will keep the weight off with LighterLife than I ever have with any other diet.
My new lighter life
Having lost 6 stone 5lb and dropped from a size 24 to now being a size 14/16 in just over 6 months, I’m loving going shopping, I feel so much more confident!
As my blood pressure is lower, I’ve been able to reduce my medication too. I can reach to put on my socks, and I’ve started exercising – I now go walking without getting out of breath and do weight training and yoga – and I feel so much happier in myself.
Rather than hiding away when I go out or into the office, I’m much happier talking in front of a group and meeting up with colleagues.
What would I say to someone thinking of joining LighterLife?
The words I always said to myself while on LighterLife were, “It’s not forever.” One of the main things keeping me on track was the concern that I would come out of ketosis if I went off plan. But my Mentor was also incredibly helpful, supportive, and knew just the right things to say to keep me focused.
Having lost 6 stone 5lbs on TotalFast, I always recommend LighterLife to friends and to anyone who’s curious about how I’ve done it. I know what I can have and don’t have the distraction and difficulty of having to factor in “normal” food. Yes, it’s strict but it’s worked for me.
