Having lost weight way back in 2009 with LighterLife and attended all my closed group face-to-face sessions, I’d successfully kept it off until last year. But then I had an incredibly tough year and put on 4 ½ stone. I actually recognised the changes in my body before I recognised my emotional struggles.
Why did I choose LighterLife?
Because I know it works! And because the life skills you learn here are exactly what you need to make effective changes.
Support while you’re losing weight is crucial. Alongside that from my Mentor, I still draw on the learnings from my initial client experience in 2009 as it was so powerful. And I love engaging with the TotalFast Facebook group and sharing support.
Plus, I really love all the products – they really fill you up and the variety is great.
Following the plan
Once I’d made the decision to join, I went on the LighterLife website on my phone, found my Mentor and joined. My packs arrived within a couple of days, so I started TotalFast on 26th February 2024 and by 16th July 2024 I’d lost 5 stone 7 lb, when I moved on to the Management plan.
My go-to products are the Vanilla Shake, the Peanut Bar, and the Chocolate and Shepherd’s Pie.
Mentoring and Mindfulness
I learned so much about how important it is to be in the moment. Not to be compelled to eat when it’s a tough day or in fact you might be thirsty. To take a moment to think about what’s really going on.
And I loved our 8-week closed group, it was fantastic and felt like a very private and safe environment. Group work is invaluable to success – I like the accountability to myself and showing up for the others in my group. Our TotalFast WhatsApp group is great, very supportive and you can often get an immediate reply from someone else if there’s anything you need help with. I’m now part of a Management WhatsApp group, which is also really helpful and keeps my mind focussed.
The weekly Zoom CBT mindfulness sessions opened my mind to my behaviours, why I did the things I did, and how I could stop my unhealthy behaviours. I realised I could be self-defeatist without being aware of it.
Daily motivational messages from my Mentor are lovely and thought provoking. One text message can literally guide you through the day.
LighterLife re-directs you away from food and into your thoughts, to enable you to make the relevant changes for a healthier way of life.
What’s changed for me now that I’m at my goal weight?
Now I smile now as I walk down the street – I love it, and I’ll never take it for granted! I can try on clothes in the shops, knowing they’ll fit. Prior to LighterLife I had two pairs of leggings and two tops, so I wore one and washed one on repeat. I’d completely stopped shopping for clothes.
Seven years ago I was diagnosed with Lupus, even though I was at a healthy weight. And the heavier I got, the harder it was to manage all of my symptoms. Now, they’ve all disappeared and I don’t need medication any longer either.
I also used to suffer with joint pain in my left arm, which made my job as a florist very difficult to do at times, but that’s gone as well.
How do I feel now?
I’m nice to myself now – not everyone can say that. For years I wasn’t able to be like that, nor did I want to.
I can sit cross-legged and it doesn’t hurt, and I can run up the stairs.
I look forward to going shopping and meeting up with friends, whereas before I tended to isolate myself and stopped seeing my friends.
What have I learned?
I’ve learned I can do it! I maintained my weight loss for 15 years using the knowledge and skills I gained the first time around. And I accepted what happened during a very bad year and knew I would quickly get back to where I wanted to be with LighterLife.
Why? Because LighterLife education and support is forever.
You need to be honest with yourself – look at why you are doing what you’re doing and what you need to do to get where you want to be.
What I’d say to anyone thinking about starting LighterLife
Just do it NOW! Don’t think about it, literally do it now. Get on the website and find a Mentor. Ordering packs from the online shop and calling a Mentor is so easy, I got started immediately once I’d made up my mind.
Take it day by day and it’s ok to have a bad day. Sometimes it can feel too daunting to look at your journey as a whole.
You can easily get lost in a mindset and way of life but you can change. LighterLife provides good grounding and a foundation for change, and helps you learn to combat negative comments.
Always reach out for support – from your Mentor, your WhatsApp group, and in the TotalFast Facebook group.
Nothing will be the same – health, relationships, jobs, social life, shopping – can all change for the better.
Keep a diary – I committed to writing in this every single day, to be accountable.. This has been amazing for me to look back on, recognise the days I struggled, and to see how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned.
