Why have you succeeded on this diet and not the others?

A friend asked me this question about my diet success on lighter life.
My immediate reaction was "I don't know" but on thinking about it there are a few differences between the lighter life diet and all the others.

1. Lighter life has a weekly weigh in session and that is your proper record of weight loss. So there is no cheating on the balances. You know that there is an independent record being kept of your progress. Knowing this keeps me focussed as I do not want to see the weight go up when I go on mondays.

2. With the weigh ins are the counselling sessions with the lighter life counsellor. I'm sure all of my group hated the thought of even going to these sessions but once we get there ou can't shut us up.

3. There is a bit of a competitive element in the group that makes you stay on the diet because you don't want to be the smuck who lapsed this week. So knowing the other guys want to know how you are doing you do not cheat.

4. The food packs do actually keep you going if you do not cheat because of the business of going into ketosis. So although you are hardly eating anything your body in ketosis doen't give out the hunger pangs like normal.

5. Because success is fast and constant you feel like you are on a new rollercoaster ride that you are trying for the first time. I lost 11 lbs in week one which completely surprised and shocked me.

6. People took time to notice my weight loss but the positive comments really give me encouragement to stick with it.

7. The final thing that has helped me is the buying of new clothes and throwing out the old ones. I no longer buys sack like clothing. I can buy off the shelf and instead of XXlarge I buy medium size.

Because of all this I am very confident of staying slim and not putting the weight back on.

Good news on this weeks weigh in

This weeks session with the lighter life counsellor gave me a surprise as I weighed in at 14 stones 11 which means I have maintained my weight loss now for 7 weeks.

Most of the meeting was about not going for instant rewards but delaying for the long term benefits. Well I am beginning to reap some of those long term rewards having stuck so well to this diet.

I won't apologise for being a bit smug because I earn't it and I deserve it.
The people who said I would put it straight back on were wrong. I feel completely confident that I will lose the weight and even lose a little bit more.

I am much happier with the stage of the diet I am on right now. I will probably not do abstinence for any long period of time again - just the odd days here and there as it suits me to maintain my weight.

Its great being in control of all this

This lighter life diet is becoming a battlefield

I have spent all day thinking about how I should cheat on my diet. Should I even cheat at all. I have not had too busy a day which has led to me thinking about cheating on my diet. I don't really want to cheat on my diet but the craving for food has got me.

It's now 17.30 and I have got the evening to get through. All I can hear apart from the food calling to me is my lighter life counsellor talking about overcoming crooked thinking.

I hope the new way of making the shakes will help as I need some sort of change. I am now thinking of not doing abstinence for the month of may but just 2 weeks.

The reason for this huge mind battlefield is that I do not want to put any of the weight back on. This is a bit obvious but the statistics for maintaining weght loss are not pretty. I do not want to be on the wrong end of those statistics.

I will write here the result of my evening of temptation.
See you tomorrow.

Swimming and gym today - What an angel

I am going for my first swim this year.

The first since I lost all the weight. I hope I will float!
My costume is far too big for me but I will cope until I get a new one.

I still do not know how much exercise I am supposed to so while on abstinence. I keep meaning to clarify this with my Lighter life counsellor. I will take it easy and see how it goes.

Just the whole fun of being there thin is brilliant.

I am enjoying being back on abstinence but I only have a bit more to lose then I have to face the world of real food for the rest of my life. Ho Hum.

Best day for a week now I am back on abstinence

I have had a terrific day today with my 3 food packs and one bar. I can do this - easy.
All I had to concentrate on was my work. I didn't have to worry about food and what I was going to eat.

This little run in with food has shown up a real problem for me which I am going to try and resolve with my lighter life counsellor. I am obviously not in control of real food when I have all the options before me.

My wife says that after one more month that should be enough weight lost and she is right. So that's my timescale for getting my head straight wiht food. 52 years of unlearning in 1 months - not so easy.