After 25 years of yo-yo dieting, Emma was starting to feel that she had tried every diet out there, yet none of them had worked for her. She had never been able to even get close to achieving her goal-weight before. Determined to succeed, she needed to try something different. That’s where LighterLife came in.
‘I chose LighterLife as I needed a complete ‘circuit break’ from food. LighterLife appealed to me as there was no cooking involved, no weekly shop to the supermarket to buy food, and no thinking about what I was going to eat. I also liked the online support options that are offered in with the Programme.’
Flash forward 32 weeks and Emma is now 6st 7lbs lighter having reached her goal-weight on our TotalFast plan.
I had lots of reasons for wanting to lose weight. I have three teenage children who all have disabilities, and they will need me to be around for a long time! Also, my mum died very suddenly last year at the age of 67 – she was overweight and diabetic, and I suddenly had the realisation that this could happen to me if I continued with my unhealthy lifestyle. I want to be healthy, active and fit for very many years – until I’m 104!
My LighterLife Mentor was an inspiration.
Whilst on my journey I found the support from my Mentor very helpful. I attended the weekly CBT sessions online and picked up lots of helpful information to help me change my habits. The focus on change was great for me and made me realise that this was going to be a new type of life for me – there would be no going back to how I was before. I found the diet very immersive – the fact that it is a complete meal replacement diet meant that it was so much easier to stick to.
My Mentor gave me lots of tips and ideas to break the cycles of binge eating, including being able to ‘press pause’ to give me time to think about why I was eating. She also suggested new habits and ‘rewards’ to replace food – treating myself to a new top, having a lovely bath, going for a walk etc. She made me feel proud of my journey, which made me determined to carry on and reach my goal.
The weekly CBT Mindfulness sessions were very valuable to me. I looked forward to them and felt like I was helping me become the best version of myself. I was also part of a WhatsApp group which my Mentor posted mindfulness quotes and affirmations to.
How does your new wardrobe look?
My new wardrobe is amazing! I wear super bright colours all the time and love it. I used to be a size 20 and hated shopping – I could never find anything to fit me and felt awful in everything – I rarely bought new clothes. Now I’m a size 10 and know that whatever I try on will fit me – I can shop anywhere and wear whatever I want. I am always confident in my clothes, and I feel fantastic!
I’m so much more active now than I’ve ever been.
I have lots of energy and love being outdoors. I regularly practice yoga and I am halfway through the Couch25K programme – I have NEVER run in my life and now I run 4 times a week for 30 minutes each time! I am really healthy, and people regularly comment on how nice my skin is and how I have a ‘glow’.
Since joining LighterLife, I have learnt that I am enough – that I deserve to be the best version of myself. I have learnt that I don’t need food to be happy and it no longer defines me.
Emma’s words of wisdom.
I would say to others considering starting LighterLife, that it changes your life! It is so simple to follow, and the results are amazing. I would always advise people to access Mentor support and to completely commit to it – it really works!
