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.

lighter life counselling comes to an end - for now

On monday I will have my last lighter life counselling session. I should have one more but I am working and will not be able to go. So I will have one more weigh in and buy the last 2 weeks worth of lighter life bars.

I have maintained my weight loss completely on this diet and know I have cracked it this time. If by any twist of fate or food I put on more than a few pounds I will rush back in a flash. But I do not think that will happen.

What I will be doing next January is going back for 1 months to lose 1 more stone - should I need to. Regular readers will know that my body has taken a lot of readjusting to being thin and I stoppped short of my full weight loss target to recover. I am still delighted with losing 5 stones.
I am now on the GI diet which is how it will be for life. I have never felt healthier or enjoyed my food so much as now.

This blog will be updated regularly as I know it has helped me keep focus and will continue to do so. I will write how things go on the weigh in on monday

Staying in a hotel will be easy this time on maintainence

This evening I am staying in a hotel in Stratford before seeing a customer tomorrow morning. This will be the first time on my diet that I can just sit down at the table in a Hotel and know I will be able to find a whole load of food I can eat.

When I was in France over easter I was still on the abstinence and ate nothing for six days. All the french food was driving me wild with temptation. Tonight is a pay off night for all my discipline as I can just not eat too much all day and enjoy a well ordered meal.

There is a pool and a gym at the hotel as well - very luxurious - I can work some of it off in the morning and have a light eating day on thursday. As I have said before, I am getting used to controlling food rather than food controlling me and the feeling of power is huge. I can coolly and calmly choose to eat the right things and happily decide not to eat rubbish like burgers and chips. I do not even miss them.

I am enjoying the food options that the lighter life allows me. There are very few foods that are off limits now and I can control my consumption of these as a matter of course.

This is the life...

Been unwell on this diet so back to real food

I have not been well in the last week with dizziness and faintness. I have on a couple o occasions had to sit down in my tracks rather than fall over.
I'm not quite sure what is causing this but to be on the safe side I have gone back on to my route to maintainance.
So my daily regime is a shake for breakfast. A light salad type snack for lunch. A meal for dinner including a small amount of protein with lots of low gi vegetables. A bar for supper.
I can live on this very well so I will probably stay on this for the rest of the year to lose the last bit of weight that I need to lose.
I have a lot of work on in my real job - this blogging is just for fun - and I think that very heavy work schedules and abstinence do not go well together.
The route to management takes 12 weeks normally but I plan to stay at week 7 for a long time with occasional treats when I am on holiday. The calorie intake for this phase is still below 1000 per day so losing the extra weight should not be a problem.

Techniques for weight loss management on lighter life

I've been thinking about what techniques for weight loss management I am using. What am I actually doing to keep me managing my weight loss.
The main technique is that as a result of following the lighter life diet program I no longer spend every waking minute thinking about food.
When I do think about food I am much more circumspect than before. I think rationally about whether I am really hungry and what I can eat that is sensible.
So what I am not doing is dashing out to the nearest fast food place and tucking in.
It is also very important to have a good stock of permitted foods in the fridge. When I feel I must have a snack I tuck into fruit or raw vegetables. So far so good as I have pretty much maintained my weight loss.
The other technique is to think before eating. Checking that the food is allowed before deciding to eat it. This is all very obvious to non dieters but not to me - until now

week 4 food plan for lighter life management

Not many food s added this week. Not a problem because there is so much I can eat now that these are just a bonus.

Additional vegetables for week 4
Artichoke
Asparagus
Aubergine
Bean Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts
Greens (Spring Greens)
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leek
Marrow
Mooli
Okra
Onion
Pak-choi
Shallots
Swiss Chard.

The big difference this week is that I can now have cooked vegetables as well as raw.

Week 3 Foods for Lighter life management

For week 3 of lighter life management has bumper list of foods that can now be eaten in this phase of the lighter life diet.

Additional Protein

• Lean Bacon
• Lean Beef
• Eggs
• Game
• Ham
• Kidney
• Lamb
• Liver
• Pork
• Offal
• Quinoa
• Soya Mince
• Tempeh
• Veal
• Venison

Additional Condiments etc.

• Cooking Sauces, Fat Free
• Fruit Juice
• Smoothies

Fruit

• Apple
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Clementine
• Currants
• Damson
• fruit salad
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Kumquat
• Lemon
• Lime
• Lychee
• Mandarin Orange
• Nectarine
• Ornage
• Passion Fruit
• Peach
• Pear
• Plum
• Pomegranite
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Satsuma
• Sharon Fruit
• Strawberries
• Tangerine

• Plus Tomatoes

As you've probably guessed this week is a bit of a life saver with a great range of foods to choose from. I knew lighter life diet would get easier - this week it did!

Food Diary O(Sorry Forgot what I had yesterday)

B: Vanilla Shake

L: Egg and Bacon on salad

D: Quinoa and chilli stir fry

S: Nutty Bar and Glass of Cognac ( Not really allowed!)

Route to management week 1 foods allowed

I was asked yesterday what foods am I now allowed to eat so I thought that it would be good to list each week what new delights I am allowed on my lighter life route to management.

So Week 1 route to management food list:-

Protein

• Chicken - skinless
• Cottage Cheese - plain low fat
• Egg whites - hard boiled
• Fish - any type
• Quorn
• Shellfish
• Tofu plain
• Turkey - skinless

Raw Salad

• Cabbage
• Celery
• Chicory
• Cress
• Endive
• Lettuce
• Salad Leaves
• Spinach
• Watercress

Condiments, dressings , sauces etc

• Chilli Sauce
• Herbal and fruit teas
• Lemon Juice
• Lime Juice
• Skimmed milk
• Mustard
• Salad Dressing - fat free
• Salt & Pepper
• Soy sauce
• Spices - dried or fresh
• Tabasco Sauce
• Vinegar
• Worcester Sauce

I found that these food were more than adequate after 12 weeks of abstinence on lighter life.

Every meal time is fantastic because I have lost nearly 5 stones and can now learn to enjoy real food at my new weight.

Lighter life at a restaurant - a good meal out

We found a restaurant that meant we could eat out on the lighter life diet. Tandori chicken on a bed of green salad leaves.
It was nice to be out and about after 13 weeks not going out for a meal. Made me feel almost human.
My son in law has just completed his second week on the lighter life diet and has lost 20 lbs. He is finding as hard as I did but is sticking with it for now.
The only problem I have at the moment is a bit of a cold which I haven't had for a long time. Because of this I have starting eating fruit 2 days before the route to management instructions say. I think I need the vitamins.
B: Caramel Shake
L: Roast Chicken pieces on a giant salad. 1 Apple, 1 Tangerine, 1 low fat yoghurt
D: Thai chicken Soup
S: Nutty Bar

Route to management is superb for me

I have found the route to management on my lighter life diet much easier than I thought.

The 1 meal a day I am allowed has really helped me keep on the straight and narrow. The meals are a bit repetative but not as bad as the lighter life food packs which can be quite boring.
Having real food has really made a difference to me.

The other good thing is that I think I have lost another 2 lbs this week which is an unexpected bonus. 4 stones 9 lbs in total so far.

At church this morning a whole load of people noticed my weight loss and wanted to know all about it which was great for me. I still need all the encouragement I can get.

A few people wondered how I am going to maintain the weight loss to which I say "no Idea". I have never done this before. I think I will be able to stick with the whole route to management phase but who knows.

I am just beginning to get some energy back now and the dizziness symptoms have gone.

Food Diary for Saturday
B: Caramel Shake
L: Thai Chilli soup
D: Quorn fillets in chilli sauce on a bed of green salad
S: Nutty bar

Sunday
B: Chocolate Shake
L: Chicken in basil and chilli sauce on green salad
D: Thai Chilli Soup
S: Nutty bar

I could get used to this eating

I am hooked on food again but am sticking rigidly to my lighter life route to management.
My scales say I have lost a lb as well which is a bonus. Food diary for last 2 days was the same as wednesday. Tomorrow I am going to have something different. My mum has given me some freah salmon which is great except I don't eat fish - but I might just this once. Many people are at last commenting on my weight loss. I was beginning to think no one was interested.

Just had my second real meal - that's better

I just had chicken with cottage cheese on some salad leaves. This is much better as I have missed food dreadfully. I am concerned that I will put weight on but that is unlikely to happen as I am still on very low calorie intake even with a meal - about 800 per day.
I can sense my inner workings beginning to respond to the meals which is nice. I have been told that my metabolism will wake up and I will have more energy so that will be good.
Food diary
B: Vanilla Shake with added coffee granules
L: Thai chilli Soup
D: Chicken and cottage cheese with some salad leaves
S: Nutty bar

First day of route to management on lighter life

Well
The final weigh in on abstinence came out at an extra 6lbs loss
For the 12weeks that is a total of 4 stones 7 lbs. Which I am delighted about.
I have today started what is called "route to management" by the lighter life diet people.
My BMI is still a bit high at 29 but I know I can tackle this later on once I have consolidated the weight at this level.
So today I have my first real food since January 6th. A piece of chicken breast with some low fat cottage cheese. It might sound basic but it was delicious. The thing also was the sensation of eating food again. You cannot imagine how good real food tastes and feels after 12 weeks abstinence.
So food diary day one
B: vanilla shake
L: Thai Chilli Shake
T: Chicken Breast with low fat cottage cheese
S: Nutty Bar

Route to management here I come

I have decided that I will start the route to management phase of my lighter life diet after my next weigh in tomorrow.
I have lost over 4 stones so far in 12 weeks and am still a bit short of the ideal weight for my height but I need to consolidate the weight loss I have acheived so far.
So I am now looking forward to a real meal once a day for the next 3 weeks.
I do not know if I will still lose weight on this route to management stage but I hope I do lose a bit more.
I plan to keep a bit of a food diary here of what I eat.
I think I would have found this helpful myself but there seems to be a bit of secrecy about what you can eat on route to management. I do not know why.
So final weigh in of the abstinence stage of my lighter life tomorrow. I will post as soon as I get home from the meeting.