During 2023, I think it’s fair to say, I felt like my life was imploding. I was dealing with a relationship split and lots of other things in my life that weren’t serving me, all of which came together at the same time. I had always been an emotional eater for as long as I can probably remember and I was finding it quite a difficult time. I tried to turn my life around as quickly as I could and work on positive things. I started working with a fitness coach, for example, who gave me daily calorie, exercise and steps targets. Whilst I committed to an initial three-month period, none of it really moved the dial and I found myself rebelling against it all because it wasn’t actually helping.
It just wasn’t the right thing for me. I eventually knew I couldn’t tinker with all these things around the edges, I had to really commit to me and I knew that controlling my food had to be the first challenge to overcome. My eating was out of control so having a bit of food just led to eating more and at that time I lacked both discipline and boundaries.
Why did I choose LighterLife?
I eventually accepted I had to focus on my weight and my relationship with food first. It was about how I saw myself, my confidence etc. There were some health aspects too. I started experiencing an issue with my knee from an older injury and then later with my hip, so my agility was becoming impacted. At the beginning of 2024 I got mad, really mad at my world, and determined that enough was enough, and I set out on this journey of non-negotiable transformation!
Having done LighterLife before, I knew it worked for me in the simplest way possible – rather than trying to control what I ate, I could cut it all out and stick to Foodpacks. I had to break the bad habits around food that were controlling me rather than the other way around and then I could build in exercise once I had control and rebuild the rest of my life.
I love the simplicity of not having to think about any other food, it makes it easier to cut out all other temptations. It gave me clearer boundaries, and I managed to succeed in that first challenge quickly this time because of LighterLife.
It was also because I understood about ketosis and I wanted to feel (and know) I would be using up the fat stores in my body and see results quickly. Also to eat more healthily than I had been doing for such a long time and knowing I was getting the right daily nutrients as I went on my journey.
I also recognised the support would help me. My Mentor, Lisa, had stayed in touch with me throughout the previous challenging period and it was amazing to know she was still there for me when I was ready.
Mentoring and Mindfulness
My mentor, Lisa, was the best; she stuck by me, was always there for me before I was ready to commit (I had been on such an emotional/personal journey but I had finally picked myself up and took back control) and I felt safe with her support. I can’t thank her enough that she never gave up on me and it’s been such a pleasure to share my journey with her. I feel I will always stay connected and am forever grateful to her for how she helped me.
Her CBT Mindfulness sessions were amazing. Great, thought-provoking, relevant topics each week. It’s so very useful to go through the learnings about behaviours around food. It helps you face your bad habits and think through how you break those and create new habits. Also to recognise you aren’t alone when others in the closed group share their experiences for you to take away. And it’s such a joy to share your own experiences in the hope it will help others.
It was so convenient to be able to do it all remotely too and I loved the structure and discipline it all provided which helped to cement my commitment to myself. Such as the ask to weigh in each week and send in my progress pictures and measurements every four weeks. Our closed group also felt safe, we had all committed to doing the programme, and to be there for each other as much for ourselves. It all came together perfectly for me and I never looked back!
I recall one week in the early period, I was travelling with work to Madrid via Amsterdam and managed to resist all temptation (flight snacks, drinks, airport shops and cafes). By the time I arrived at my hotel in Madrid I both wanted and needed to join our group session though. It was a crutch in that early period that really helped me to keep going. I had taken Foodpacks for the three days I was away and I did it!
I wasn’t as active on the LighterLife Facebook Group as I felt I had the right level of support around me with my Mentor, her closed group, my family and friends. The journey was mine to own and I found my results were inspiring other people around me at home and work. Lisa’s WhatsApp group was super too and helped me to feel connected in between the weekly calls.
I also started working on my lymphatic system too via an online forum I had joined (I wanted to do as much as I could to help my legs and my health as I started my journey). It helped me to understand the quality of water I was drinking on plan and lots of health-related learnings which I knew would be invaluable into my future. I was also working on other transformational programmes which helped me stay positive and determined. I wanted to change my life and I knew my weight and LighterLife were the absolute core of that. It gave me better physical health, better emotional resilience and helped me to transform my habits – completely!
Following the plan
After starting TotalFast again on 29 January 2024, I lost 9 stone in 9 months. I decided to go beyond where I had been before as I started to see what was possible for me as my journey progressed.
I found my first week easy – I was SO determined not to waste another moment. My commitment was also down to my Mentor, her closed group, the discipline around that, and my commitment to a subscription (I opted for 12-week subscriptions, the maximum I could each time, to show my commitment to my future). The food was going to be arriving whether I ate it or not, so I’d better eat it etc!
I didn’t want to waste another moment – and I didn’t – with all the support around me I walked towards a new future. It was tough sometimes, I did go to bed early on a couple of days, to stop me thinking about food, but it was a precaution rather than a necessity. I was surprisingly into ketosis very quickly and I was fully focussed on the plan, with my end goal in mind. It was now non-negotiable. In my mind I had already done it – I just needed to keep going each day putting one step forward towards my goal with this proven plan, and I couldn’t wait to get there.
Without a doubt the Thai Noodle Fastpot played a big and constant part of my journey – I had one nearly every day – for breakfast! Do it unconventionally if you need to but just do it! And I loved the Strawberry, Banana, Vanilla, and Chocolate Shakes, as well as the Peanut and the Nut Fudge Bars – I had a Double Chocolate Bar once a fortnight as a treat, and the occasional bag of Popped Chips too.
What’s changed for me now that I’ve lost my weight?
Oh, my days – words can’t express how I feel now. I wear a size 8/10 (more size 8!) depending on the style. I love, love, love trying something on and feeling wonderful (even if it’s just casual trousers and a jumper!) I just feel SO different. I feel happy, confident and importantly for me, I care less about what anyone else does or doesn’t think of me because I have my self-confidence back.
Thank you LighterLife – I am SO grateful – I truly can’t tell you how much. I also know I will maintain this now because of the journey I have been on and how much this has changed me. There is no way I am going to eat badly again and put unhealthy food back into my body as I continue on the Management programme, or lose how I feel right now. It’s the crux of a new future for me, a whole new chapter in my life, I am a different person and am overjoyed how quickly LighterLife helped me to turn that corner.
I walk regularly now, and I WANT to walk (whereas before I found it a chore). I jump up from the sofa with ease, and I even get up onto the sides of a full-size adult trampoline whilst my 4-year-old grandson is having his lesson (I never would have been able to get up there before!) I take better care of myself and I LOVE it all! I have even started doing Mixed Martial Arts! I am more health conscious, it’s about the full package for me, confidence, how I look, health, how I feel – I feel different in every aspect of my life. I’m SO very grateful for this journey and the support.
I have started to develop my own business based on my professional career and I also want to help others transform their lives, which I will start doing once my initial business is set up. I will be ready for a new relationship in time but I know I show up better as I am now compared to where I was before in every aspect of my life. I feel like a totally new person with a new life to explore and I am going to make the most of it without hesitation or restriction. I have been encouraged to think if I can do that what else can I achieve if I want to – this experience is life changing!
What have I learned?
That food is never the thing. As an emotional eater, my issues were never really about the food, and I now have different ways of responding to issues (like going for a walk to feel good about myself). I have also learned I can say no around food, I am capable of saying no, and I will say no in future. I will never go backwards and will focus on the new habits rather than old ones which don’t serve me. All of those ‘life’ things could happen to me all over again right now and I would respond differently because I am different.
In our group we shared that we have all wasted time not being our best selves and, through achieving our goals, we recognise it makes no sense to be the person we were before (personal, health-wise, etc). My Mentor and group helped me really understand the destructive behaviours I had previously allowed to control me, and how not to let them trigger me down the wrong path in the future which is a huge thing for me in recognising old patterns.
I still weigh myself once a week (Tuesday mornings forever!) and measure myself once a month as my ongoing discipline. This has helped me enormously and I will also stay connected to our group.
I have learned to stop being embarrassed (about my previous weight – it is what it is or was what it was) and I replaced that with the joy of the transformation and the possible opportunities to help others. If I could ever influence even one person, I would be delighted – I have valued those who influenced me – and I would pay that back forever with gratitude.
I can’t thank my Mentor and LighterLife enough for this whole experience, the fantastic sessions and our group were invaluable.
What I’d say to anyone thinking about starting LighterLife.
With all the passion I can muster, just do it. Don’t waste time messing around – you are only prolonging the time you take to get to where you want to be. The quicker you get there the quicker you have new habits and a new life!
The new habits you form while on plan should stay with you forever. Drinking water, the exercise you choose to build into your life, and the disciplines around food and health are not just for plan, they’re for life. You will maintain the goal you set out to achieve but don’t just maintain the weight – maintain the new you. Your new life will be worth it in every way you can think of and more. Just do it – and know you are worth it. I would pay back forever the chance I took to change my life – thank you.