30 Pounds Weight loss

Short Update

I have been so busy that I have forgotten to post to my lighter life blog. Well I have lost 30 pounds in the first 5 weeks of my return to lighter life. It has not been easier or harder than the first time. Just the same really.

I am going to do 3 more weeks for sure and then decide what to do.

Second weigh in on returning to lighter life

Last Monday saw me back at the the lighter life centre in Wokingham. My weigh in was quite spectacular at 18 stones 1 pound. That is a loss of 1 stone (14 pounds) in 7 days. One of the other guys just starting lost even more but he is much bigger than me.

I am very chuffed to have lost so much at the start. I know that from now on it will be 3 - 6 pounds a week for the next seven weeks but that is fine. I have got over all the initial headaches that come in the first few days.

Because my work is very physical I have been very tired at the end of the day. This means that not much else happens other than me working and resting. At least I don't have to do the cooking.

I was not going to weigh myself at home because my scales never say the same as those at lighter life but on Friday I couldn't resist. They showed a further 3 pounds weight loss - but of course I will have to wait for the proper weigh on Monday.

First The Good News - I'm Back On Lighter Life Diet

Now the bad news. I have put a lot of weight back on in the last few months. I have a great set of excuses but the main one is some real rubbish events at work. I will not dwell on them as they are in the past but suffice to say that any control of my eating went out of my thoughts and actions.

So last Monday saw me back at my lighter life counseling group to restart my diet. One thing about the system is that there is an inbuilt sense of grace and mercy to people like me who put weight back on. What I mean is there is no sense on condemnation or guilt put on you for failing. So my counselor and the guys in the group just said "Hi, how are you" and we got on with the business of weighing in and discussing where we all are in the program.

Because of this system of grace I am hoping that my blog readers will also be the same towards me. I have many email saying how my story on lighter life has helped them. Well I hope that this next section of my story will not send too many people down the tube.

My weight was 19 stones 1 pound. I will do the first 8 weeks and see where I am then. Look back here as I post weekly if you want to follow my progress.

Been a long time since my last lighter life food pack

It has now been about 6 months since my last lighter life food pack. I am maintaining my weight loss and have fully recovered from cold hands and feet. I am now on a raw food diet which is not a weight loss regime but does keep me slim. It's like the GI diet but with a large emphasis on eating food raw.

So what do I think about the lighter life diet now that it is behind me. Well to be truthful, I do not know how I kept to it. I tolerated the food packs. I attended the counseling sessions which were not as bad as I feared. I only wavered on 2 or 3 occasions which is why I did so well.

The reason I succeeded this time was that I was really desperate to lose the weight. Something went click in my head and the decision was made. What I would say is that I did it. No one else did it for me. everyone was encouraging (Well most people) but in the end I was the person who decided to eat only the food packs and not cheat when no one was looking.

I will still drop in here to keep the blog going from time to time because of the number of readers who have written to me so positively about my story. Speak to you soon

A Holiday in France Without Lighter Life

I am in France for a short weekend break. This weekend is in complete contrast to the last time we came here. The last visit was very difficult because I was still on abstinence.

You cannot imagine how hard it is to sit in a street cafe in Cognac and just have a lighter life bar and plain water. The waiter was completely confused by it all and our beginners french only seemed to make him more confused.

This time I am simply maintaining my weight loss so I will go to the same restaurant tomorrow and enjoy the meal. There is nothing quite like real french food.

I am eating hardly any food packs now as I do not need to. Sometimes I will have a soup for convenience at lunch time but other than that I just eat normal food.

In the new year I may try to lose one more stone but I am very happy with my weight now and can live like this no problem.

Where have I been?

A number of regular readers have written to check that everything is OK. I am well and still keeping my weight off. I am on a special lighter life program at the moment to take me into the new year. The weight loss is slower but it will help me to regulate my eating for the rest of my life.

I have a Lighter life shake for breakfast, a lighter life soup for lunch, A low carbohydrate meal for evening dinner with an apple or other fruit. I finish the day with a lighter life bar.

I can keep this up for ever in the week as my work is very busy and I do not have time to think about food. The weekends are still a struggle and I sometimes cheat. This is not really very clever but I am working on how to get through the weekend without messing up the good work I am doing in the week.

Keep asking questions. I like the feedback

Event of the year - New weighing machine purchased

This must be the saddest post ever. Our old weighing had seen better days and we have sent it to weighing machine heaven. Mind you it had seen a lot of frontline action.
Can you imagine the excitement of buying a new weighing machine and then fighting over who is going to weigh themselves first?

Well it wasn't as bad as that but it is reasuring to know that they measure accurately.
Seriously though - I had decided to not weigh myself at all and just go with the program. I know that the lighter life diet works so I am not concerned about losing weight. I know it will happen if I stick to the diet.

My lighter life counsellor suggested it might help me to weigh once during the week just to keep me motivated and on program. So I weighed this morning and was 15 stones 3 pounds. very pleasing.

At least I am not weighing 3 times a day like I was in January. That was a bit mad. Now if the scales are right I have lost one and a half stones in three and a half weeks. Pretty good I reckon.

3 more lbs lost this week

Not very much weight loss this week and I am not sure why. Still I am taking up golf again so maybe the exercise will help for next week. I am trying out some of the lighter life soup flavours and they taste a while lot better than they did last time. The vegetable one has a new recipes and is now very tasty. It used to taste and fell like polyfilla.

I have got to the point where any whiff of food is testing me. A colleague at work decided to have chips for lunch and the smell was lovely. Not very helpful for me though.

4 lbs more lost this week

I am now at 15 stones 10 lbs - a loss of 15 lbs for the two weeks. I feel like the weight is falling of me and all my clothes fit perfectly again.

Six weeks to go before I review what I will do. If as I expect I will have lost 2 more stone I may do an extra 2 weeks as I would like to get to 13 stones before the end of the year.

I tried the new recipe vegetable soup today and it is a big improvement on the old won. Makes a nice change from the sweet milk shake type food packs

Will anyone notice if I cheat on my lighter life diet?

I have been near food all week for various reasons and the temptation to cheat on my lighter life diet has been almost overwhelming. I have also had to collect my home grown potatoes from my garden and not eat any of them. Now that is difficult. I am hoping there will still be some when I return to normal eating in 6 - 8 weeks.

The thing is I keep saying to myself that no one will notice. That is true - I am so thin compared to when I started in January that a bad week is something I could easily get away with.

But I know that the way the lighter life diet works using ketosis. This is completely messed up with even the slightest cheating. If I really do want to finish my life of dieting once and for all then I have to be good.

Cold Feet on the lighter Life Diet

I know have gone into ketosis because my feet are cold even though this is the middle of summer. My hands will follow in a few days time I am sure. This is the one big negative for me on the diet. Speaking to the other guys it is quite common so I just have to live with it.

Looking forward to my next weigh in on monday. Speak to you soon

Great weight loss on my first week back

I had my first weigh in today and I had lost 11 lbs. So from 16 stones 11 lbs to 16 stones in one week. I do not know any other diet like lighter life that would give me that level of weight loss and encouragement.

I feel completely positive and confident about getting down to my goal weight. I think my goal weight is 13 stones and I expect it to take about 12 weeks including a 4 week fast track to maintenance program.

The lighter life cousellor feels just as confident as I do because I am so focussed on sticking to the plan. So 7 more weeks of abstinence and then 4 weeks of route to management. At least thats the plan.

One difficulty on the horizon is that I am running an alpha course at my church and part of that is having a meal every week. So I will have to sit out the meal and explain to everyone what I am doing. I do not want to appear rude.

I am now allowed food bars as well as food packs so I am looking forward to something solid to eat this evening for supper. Crunchy nut flavour I think.

2 days in after return to lighter life diet

I had a huge work day yesterday 7.00 - 11.15 and the temptation to order a burger at paddington station late last night was almost too much. I didn't. I got a bottle of water for the train and moped.
Other than that my return to the lighter life diet has gone a lot smoother than anticipated.

I haven't had quite as many withdrawal symptoms as the first time. This is probably because I was eating quite healthily anyway so didn't have lots of 21st century toxins to get rid of.

I can feel my body redadjusting to losing weight. I will not weigh myself at home as I am trying to not get too obsessed about weighing myself.

I have only had sweet food packs so far. I haven't bought any soups as I can't face them as yet.

The only other issue is do I tell people I am back on the wagon again. No one has noticed any increase in weight so I will keep quiet abd just enjoy all the compiments and adulation from my family and friends.
One of the guys in my group has started on lighter life because his wife knows me through work and recommended him to do it. I do not know whether I should let on that I am responsible in part for him being on a diet.

Bad news at my lighter life weigh in

This was very unexpected.

I went back to lighter life tonight for the next phase of weight loss and discovered that I had put nearly 2 stones back on. I was a bit stunned but the scales cannot lie. I have not weighed for months so it was aa bit of a killer. But I have to be honest about where I am.
So its back to the food packs for at least 8 weeks for me.

My weight as of tonight is 16 stones 10 lbs.

The group of guys is completely different now and it will tke some getting used to them. And them to me. One interesting thing was listening to all the excuses I was using last year coming out of other peoples mouths. What is encouraging is that I now know that they are simply excuses and not straight thinking. This means that my thinking about food has improved quite a bit since last year.

Food packs taste a bit better after a break but for how long. Today I had 2 caramel, vanilla and a chocolate one with a bit of instant coffee.

I will write more now I am back on abstinence as I need this to keep me focussed

A Complete Change of Direction - Hope it Works

As many of you will know I stopped short of my ideal weight when I did the lighter life diet earlier on this year. The reason I stopped was because I was finding it very difficult adjusting to being a lot thinner. This is both physically and mentally. So I have taken a break since May.

My plan was to do lighter life all over again next january and february to finish the job. I do not need to lose so much now. I already lost 5 stones. But there is a problem. Next february I am spending a week in Stuttgart for a trade show so I do not really want to be dieting with all that weiss beer and german noodles (Schwabien/schwabisch noodles I think they are called).

So the only other 2 options are to wait until march 2009 or do it now.

I have decided to go back on my lighter life diet now for 8 weeks and then go onto route to maintainance which should see my BMI down to below 25 and my weight within the normal range for my height and age.

I am just waiting for my lighter life counsellor to give me the OK and then I'm back on the potions (Sorry - Lighter Life Food Packs). I have been told that lighter life is much harder the second time but I do not know if I will find this true for me. I do not find the packs particlularly tasty but they do keep you going for the day provided you take them at regular intervals.

A bit of me is very excited because in a few weeks I will be of normal weight for the 1st time in my adult life. Amazing really.

There is one mystery left to be solved. I haven't weighed myself since june so I do not know what I weigh. I will find out at the first session - hopefully tomorrow. I know I have put a little bit on. It will come right off anyway so its not a problem.

To save you looking back in the blog these are my stats for the first part of my diet

Start weight January 2008 - 19stones 11 lbs
Finish weight May 2008 - 14 stones 11 lbs

New Target weight - 13 stones

I will post more often now for a while as it helps me keep focussed knowing there are a whole load of people following my progress

Wish me luck

Are you allowed to drink alcohol on the lighter life diet?

Another of many questions I have been asked on my lighter life diet is can I drink alcohol.
Well the simple answer is no - not even a little bit - In fact don't even think about it!!!
The whole point about doing the lighter life diet properly in the first stage is to ABSTAIN from normal food and drink.

I must admit that there were some dieters in my group who did not stay the course because they could not get their head around this. They would come to the meeting and say how they had been tempted to eat this or drink that.

The whole point about lighter life is that you commit to doing things differently for a time for the long term benefits. So alcohol is off. I can hear some readers asking "Does this mean that you didn't have any alcohol while you were on the diet?" Well yes, of course. No alcohol for 5 months.
For me this is no great hardship as I am not a huge drinker anyway. For some of the guys this was a major issue. Some of them had a beer problem, others a wine problem and of course the hard core whisky and brandy drinkers hated the restriction.

When you drink alcohol you lose some of your willpower and you will cheat on your diet so it is not worth risking an evening of drinking to stop your weight loss.

After about week 5 on the route to management you are allowed some drinks but you get the feeling that the diet is better for you if you abstain totally. Now I am back to my new form of normal eating I do have the odd glass of red wine or a german Weiss beer and it does not make me put on weight.

The lighter life diet only really works if you "get it". And the "it" is follow the rules of abstinence. Just do what the diet says. The weight will fall off you. You will be thin.

Until january 2008 I had lived life as a fat person. I was clinically obese according to my doctor. Now on the 4th August in the same year I am living life as a THIN person. That is worth the abstinence for me. So what If I couldn't have a drink for 5 months. so what. Look at the positive benefits now. Its a no brainer.

Lots of positive comments for my lighter life blog

I have over the last few weeks received some very encouraging emails from readers of my lighter life blog. Did you know that a whole pile of men are losing weight on lighter life. I am so pleased that I am maintaining so well having finished my diet.

I think there is one very good reason why men are successful on this type of diet.

The rules are easy to follow.

The hardest bit is coming back onto normal food. This is so so difficult for men because the love their food and there is no way they can go back to their old ways. My food now is almost unrecognisable from my old way of eating.

I am even publishing my new maintainance diet on the internet as people have asked what I am eating now. When it is completely ready I will post the link here.

As well as good comments on this site many doubters are eating their words now as I have maintained for 3 months. They almost want me to fail to show they were right. Well maybe not quite that bad but they are struggling to come out and say "well done"

I have now set in my mind that I will go back on abstinence for 8 weeks early next year to finish my weight loss and get down to a BMI of about 22. I almost can't wait. Just imagine a fat old geezer finally beating this obesity for life. I notice other fat people all the time now which I never did before. My wife keeps telling me off for commenting on all the fat people.

So if you are reading this and you are still fat just do what I did. Do the lighter life diet and break the spell food has over you. This is not easy. IT is the hardest thing I have ever done but I have not only won the battle for my own health. I am close to winning the war for my health. That os definitely worth fighting for.

Back from careful eating on my holiday - Diet? What Diet?

If you go on holiday you expect to let things go a little bit and overeat. It would be a crime not to.
This has been my thinking for 30 years but this year my thinking has changed.

My 10 day holiday has been completely controlled as regards eating. I have chosen to eat healthily some days and gone mad on other days. The difference this year is the feeling of being in control and having choice.

My lighter life diet has given me that control and I love it. I am not weighing myself at the moment so I do not know if I have put on any weight - I suspect 1 or 2 pounds. It doesn't matter because I will now be very careful for a week or 2 and the weight will just come back off.

I had an email today from a chap wanting to know some details about the route to management on lighter life. This is the hardest part of the lighter life diet because you have to re-learn how to eat normally. This is the one area where the company who market the diet fall short. The information is minimal and confusing. My lighter life counsellor is brilliant but the materials do not cover the 12 weeks route to management phase very well.

All the information is there but for people new to controlling their eating it is hard to understand. I have vast experience of cooking and menu preparation but I could not devise a day's meal plan very easily from the info given. The authors of the program do know their stuff but they assume that we know what they are talking about. After 5 or 6 weeks I ignored the route to managment guidelines as I couldn't make sense of them.

As I have maintained my weight loss I think I got the idea but some more complete information from the lighter life company wouldn't go amiss.

Strawberries are allowed on lighter life- I'm not sure about the cream

I have been thoroughly enjoying fresh strawberries all week. My fruit and veg intake is much bigger then before my lighter life diet. I have to admit that it all seems a long time ago. How quickly we move on.

So how am I doing. I haven't weighed myself for over a month which is driving my wife mad but I am quite happy with it. I know I am not piling on the pounds because all my new clothes still fit perfectly.

I am being very careful with what I eat and am still following the GI diet in the main. I hardly touch Bread and butter. No biscuits or crisps. The only problem tempting food for me is nuts. In particular macadamia nuts and peanuts. I have to eat the whole packet. It is like a rule. So I try and not get near them.

Now I no longer have any food packs I am having juices in the morning with the occasional bran flakes when I can't be bothered to make the juice. My favourite recipe is as follows.

2 carrots, 2 apples, 1 inch of fresh ginger root, 3 large slices of pineapple, 3 handfulls of spinach.
This concoction looks and sounds dreadful but tastes stunning and really sets me up for the day.

If I continue to lose weight I will not return to my lighter life diet as I will not need to. If however I stay as I am I think I will do another 8 weeks early next year to get down to normal for my height. I am not too concerned about it as I am enjoying being so much thinner now.

It feels like a new life with food

I have 3 lighter life food packs left which I will have when it suits me. I am maintaining my weight loss with the occasional up and down on the scales. I do not weigh myself very often now as I am not worried about putting weight on. I know that if I do put a lot of weight on - say 1/2 a stone I can simply do a week or 2 on the food packs to correct it. Better then this I can just watch what I eat for a month and the excess weight will be gone.

Being in control in this way is great. We were in an italian restaurant for dinner today and I ordered some grilled chicken on a salad. I had 3 spoonfulls of my wife's dessert and it was easy. I did not overeat and so I know I will not have put on any weight. This being in control is quite addictive but it is better than my previous food addiction.

In 30 days time I am going on a family holiday. I have 3 new swimming costumes (Size Medium instead of XXLarge). A holiday is usually an excuse for overeating but not for me now. I will enjoy all the eating out and special meals with the family but I will also enjoy preparing for the eating out by being controlled at other times of my break. I can do whatever I want and I choose to control my eating and make this a pleasurable part of my holiday. This is, I know, the musings of an ex addict but these are feelings and experiences very new to me. I am enjoying them hugely.

Posts are going to be weekly from now on but do comment on this site and I will respond back.

Still sailing along nicely on my lighter life

I went to my last weigh in and counselling group on monday. Knowing I am not going anymore is yet another readjustment to my new lighter life.
More and more people are reacting very positively to my new look which is great. I still haven't tried out certain no no foods and may not for quite a while. I am sticking to salads and low fat meals. I still have some lighter life food packs but they will run out in a few days.
The big decision is what to have for breakfast instead of a food pack.
I will probably have home made juices most mornings and standard breakfast cereals the rest of the time. The juices I make have a good mixture of fresh vegetables and fruit and taste lovely. My favourite sounds and looks dreadful but tastes great. The ingredients are

Spinach
Carrot
Apple
Pineapple
Celery
Root ginger

I run them through my juicer and close my eyes. I really doesn't look good but the flavour is wonderful. It almost feels like drinking pure vitamins and is a great set up for the day.