After gradually putting weight on over the past 30 years I’d just accepted that I was always going to be big. I struggled to do any exercise due to back and knee issues from accidents. In 2015, the GP advised that my blood pressure was rising so I should lose weight, and I lost three and a half stone just by watching what I ate and cooking from the Hairy Dieters cookbooks.
Why did I choose LighterLife?
It was hearing how easy LighterLife was that inspired me to give it a go – what did I have to lose? My weight was creeping towards twenty and a half stone when the hairdresser at my nail technicians mentioned she’d already lost four stone on LighterLife. Her GP had suggested the diet so I figured that if a doctor agreed with it then it wasn’t some “faddy diet”.
Carol explained she was never hungry, and the convenience of the packs for work sold me on the idea. I went home and looked into LighterLife and the rest, as they say, is history. I wish I’d discovered it earlier; my daughters were married in September 2022 and May 2023, and looking back on the photos I look huge!
I’ve seen so many people fail on diets, after telling everyone how much they intended to lose, that I saw diets as being doomed. This initially led me to keep to myself that I was doing LighterLife. That didn’t last long! I was soon comfortable with my weight loss and talking about it.
I was concerned it was expensive, but I soon worked out that by the time I’d stopped buying takeaways and alcohol, I was actually saving money.
The ease of not having to think about and prepare meals was the biggest plus. Once I’d shed the initial few stones so easily, that was my impetus to keep going. Stopping and going back to square one just wasn’t an option, I certainly wasn’t going to undo everything I’d already achieved. What a senseless waste that would be.
Mentoring and Mindfulness
I’m usually happy working through things on my own. But being hungry is always a problem to me and I’ve since found out that I have the “hangry” gene.
My Mentor, Terri, has weekly Zoom calls and a WhatsApp group, and I also joined the LighterLife Community Facebook Group. Terri’s guidance has been invaluable and the support of the group has been incredible.
I’ve learned a lot about my former eating habits, what my downfalls were, what my triggers were, etc. A great starting point for the Management plan. Checking in with Terri with my weight on a Monday keeps me accountable. And knowing I can check in on an ad hoc basis if ever I need to helps too.
As for the CBT mindfulness, I did wonder if these meetings were for me. But then I started to ask myself, if this isn’t where I’m going wrong, I must be going wrong somewhere else, where is it? It didn’t take me long to see that I overeat when I’m cold, tired or poorly.
I do wonder if it’s a natural response to my body needing extra calories in those situations, but I now know to make sure they are the “right” calories. I made it through a bout of COVID while on TotalFast, so I guess I don’t need that many calories when I’m ill.
Running our own business we work long hours. I could never face making a packed lunch or preparing a slow cooker meal before 6am, I’d be busy all day with either no lunch or a takeaway if one of the staff brought something in. Finishing late we’d either pick up a takeaway, make something quick (usually a stodgy pasta and sauce) or cook something but graze while waiting for it to be ready.
I’m now a lot stricter with pre-planning and portion control. All tips I’ve learned through Terri’s support and guidance. I certainly think the sessions have contributed to me staying on plan, I’d say to anyone doing LIghterLife to make sure you fully utilise all the support that’s there for you.
While the Facebook Group and Terri’s WhatsApp group have been a great help, I couldn’t have done it without my husband championing me throughout. He also struggles with his weight and his attitude to food has improved too.
He’s been an incredible support. He volunteered to “fend for himself” for the eleven months it took me to reach my target, doing all his own grocery shopping and cooking. He’s usually an “enabler,” but he’s stopped that.
My daughters were very supportive too, checking in regularly to see how I was doing. I consider myself very lucky to be surrounded by such supportive, positive people; family, friends and colleagues. The hairdresser who introduced me to Lighterlife remains my inspiration and I now consider her a friend.
We’ve touched several times in our group CBT MIndfulness sessions about how friends can sometimes be jealous of our weight loss and make comments like, “You can stop now, you’ve lost enough”, or “You look fine as you are, why do you need to diet”, etc.
I’m lucky, I haven’t encountered that. My friends knew I was losing weight for me and never questioned it. They put up with me talking non-stop about my diet, or just having a black coffee while they were tucking into cake whenever we met up for a chat. I’m grateful to them for that. Now that I’m maintaining they understand how I colour code my days and always check whether I’m on a red day if they’re arranging to go out for a catch up
Following the plan
It was a learning curve. I have several friends who’ve been inspired by my weight loss who’ve also tried Lighterlife (and succeeded). My advice to them was to prepare for ketosis kicking in, I wasn’t prepared for it. I’ve heard it called “keto flu” and it hit me hard on day 3.
Luckily, it was a day when I wasn’t at work. I honestly felt terrible that day; headache, lethargic and miserable. Lots of water and paracetamol got me through it and I can honestly say I’ve never looked back. Even when I’ve had off plan periods for special occasions, getting back into ketosis was never as bad as that first week.
I love that I can have crisps or chocolate every day if I fancy them, so I never felt like I was missing out on “treats.” My favourite is a hot chai latte on an evening while watching TV and chilling after a long day. It feels indulgent. And the mousse was a discovery. I’ve never been a big shake fan so the mousse put a twist on them that I enjoy.
What’s changed for me now that I’m at my goal weight?
I’ve noticed the biggest change is that I’m no longer buying clothes long enough to cover my bum! My work polo shirts are no longer a 3XL, they’re all Small. Jeans have gone from a 22 to a 10/12, and tops from a 26 to a 12/14. I’ve learned to enjoy clothes shopping again.
My husband has become a great personal stylist, telling me to stop shopping for clothes like a fat person and to reassess my style for my new shape. I call him “Gok Harm”!
I’m still limited to what I can do because of my back problems, but I’ve definitely got more energy. Gardening for example, I can still only do 20 minutes before my back pain gets too much, but I can get a lot more done in those 20 minutes now.
I wish I could be more energetic, I could do with generating more heat, I really feel the cold now, I can never get warm, but that’s a small price to pay, and nothing a jumper can’t solve.
I’m much more comfortable on long car journeys now, which is just as well as our eldest daughter lives at the other end of the country. I’d started knitting a teddy for my first grandchild, to give to her at her baby shower, and I was able to finish it during the 6 hour car journey up to see them. I would never have had the space to knit in the car before, so that felt very special.
Painting my toenails and tying shoe laces are a lot easier too. It’s the little things!
And one other non-scale victory – my husband and I are part of a Porsche driving club and when we go out in our convertible Porsche I wear a cap. But I’ve had to reduce the size of it by 2 holes – I never realised my head would get smaller!
What have I learned?
Thanks to my Mentor’s support, and the support of fellow LighterLifers on her Zoom meetings and in her WhatsApp group, I’ve identified my triggers and where I’ve been going wrong, so I now recognise my downfalls.
During my initial Zoom meeting I thought, “This isn’t me, I’m not a bored overeater, or a stressed overeater” and felt a little downhearted that I didn’t fit in. I soon realised that for all I didn’t fit into those brackets I’d discovered the brackets that I did fit into. I overeat when I’m tired, cold or ill and on the days I work an 11-12 hour shift I didn’t plan enough.
Now I’m at my target weight, I still use my LighterLife Foodpacks on those days. No more reaching for a takeaway or quick stodgy microwave meals when I get in late from work. I also accepted that our weekends away with friends were adding to my weight gain. I would overindulge, put weight on, but do nothing about it when we came home.
Now I’m maintaining I’ve learned I can still join in on meals out, and if I gain a few pounds I know how easy it is to get them off again when I get home. I now colour code my days.
Monday to Thursdays are red; STOP! Be careful. I’m strict with what I eat. Friday to Sundays are amber; take the brakes off a little, enjoy my food but in moderation with a careful eye on what I’m eating. Green days are special occasions, holidays, and celebrations. The brakes are off, I can enjoy myself, knowing that tomorrow I’m straight back on it, being strict to keep myself at my ideal weight.
What I’d say to anyone thinking about starting LIghterLife
Keep up the water intake and make use of the extras if and when you need a helping hand. Definitely attend your Mentor’s group meetings, whether in person or online. I know they can seem daunting but the guidance and support means you’re more likely to succeed.