Hi there,

I am 5 weeks into the lighter life programme and have so far lost 2 stone so here's my guide up to now ...

What is Lighterlife

Lighterlife is a very low calorie diet which is only suitable for people with at least 3 stone to loose and a BMI of 29 or more.

You need to be signed off by a doctor to make sure you are well enough to take part in the diet, and be checked by your doctor every 4 weeks

How does the diet work ?

The programme is based on food replacements, lots of water, peer support and counselling which aims to transform your relationship with food.

1. FOOD REPLACEMENT

You will achieve significant weight loss by putting your body into 'ketosis' a state where you start to burn your own fat reserves. 

If you think of yourself as a fridge freezer, the fridge is filled with the food you eat each day and the freezer is your fat reserves.  Your body prefers to fuel itself from the fridge and only dips into the freezer when it has to.  When you empty your fridge by stopping eating conventianal food your body is forced to use its fat reserves and this is when you really start loosing the weight. 

It takes most people about 3-4 days on the diet to get into this state.

For the first 100 days of the programme you abstain from ALL food, sounds scary but you really do have to make a commitment.

Instead of your usual diet you will have 4 total 'foodpacks' which contain everything your body needs and at least 4 litres of water per day

The foodpacks come in the following flavours .....

MilkHotshakes...Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Raspberry, Caramel and Banana

Soups ....... Thai Chilli, Chicken, Mushroom, Vegatable

Bars (available from week 2 onward) ........ Lemon, Cranberry, Toffee, Peanut Crunch, Fruit (only 1 per day)

You can mix and match the packs ...............eg: Chicken and Mushroom soup, Chocolate and St Clements makes chocolate orange,  

You can do different things with the packs ........................... eg make the Thai Chilli into a thick paste, paint onto to a plate and microwave for 3 mins to make a popodom, or mix up the vanilla with some good quality coffee to make a cappucino.

You can serve in different ways ................. eg chocolate can be a cool iced milkshake, a hot chocolate at bedtime, a chocolate mouse, or a really thick cake mix which you can put into a ramakin and microwave into a muffin ! 

but you may have no more than 4 foodpacks per day

2. DRINKS

You must drink at least 4 litres of water per day, If you are planning on going on this diet then start upping the amount of water you are drinking in preparation as soon as possible.  4 litres sounds a lot but think of water as your ally in this !! ... it fends off hunger, helps with the detox and your skin will look fabulous so measure it out and get drinking !

Your water can be tap, mineral, spring, still, or sparking but NO slices of lemon, lime etc

You can have it as black coffee with tablet sweetner (eg hermastea, saccarine) but NOT spoonable sweetener (eg canderel)

You can have it as any leaf tea (english breakfast, assam etc), or herbal tea (peppermint, nettle) but NOT fruit tea (eg blackcurrent) or flower teas (eg camomile) and NO lemon NO milk

To make the water more palateable you can also purchase ...

Water flavourings........................ Fruits of the Forest (a blackcurrent type), St Clemants (a citrus mix) and Savoury (like veg stock cube) 

3. PEER SUPPORT

You will be put into a same sex group of 8-10 people all at the same staege in the diet who will meet once a week for a weigh in, video and a group councelling session based on the video.

The videos take the form of a pacy weekly magazine show with women recounting their experiences of the programme, perhaps a medical talk, a counceller challenging negative thoughts,  a suggested exercise for the week, a clothing or style guru offering advice etc 

There are lots of freebies given out normally associated with the video, an excercise ball, a shaker maker, a resistance band, a hessien bag to keep your food packs in, a pedometre etc.

The weigh ins are private and not everyone will share how much they have lost, it is not a competitive environment and everyone is very supportive of each other, no-one is forced to speak or divulge anything that they do not want to and confidentality is expected and observed.  Food talk is not allowed !. 

In addition to these sessions there is normally a pop in session where you can get additional support, swop foodpacks and get weighed more often if you need to.

4. COUNSELLING

The group counselling is normally based around the video, there are two main techniques both of which are effective in making you question why you turn to food, the type of food you turn to and the effects.

There is quite a bit of talking about your relationship with others including your parents but no-one is forced to divulge anything that they would rather not.

Confidentiality is observed.

What happens at the end of the diet ?

After the initial 100 days you gradually re-introduce food and immediately put on up to half a stone as you come out of ketosis .... however by staying on for the 'management programme' it is very possible to keep the weight off for ever !

If you have found this guide helpful please vote ....