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.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
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
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
Sunday, August 17, 2008
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
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
Monday, August 4, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 21, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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.
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.
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