Hi Brendal
Ligherlife (LL) is a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) involving foodpacks (shakes/soups and bars).
You have to be at least 3 stone overweight to be able to follow the plan and will need to be checked out my a Dr before hand who will give the okay. If you don't think your GP will go along with it, then there are plenty who think it's a great idea. I plan to go back to my private Dr when i've lost the weight to show him just how good the diet is.
You follow the plan (total food abstinance) for 100 days during which time they almost guarantee that you will lose 3 stone plus. During this period you also attend weekly meetings which involve a weigh-in and counselling session. These sessions are designed to teach you a whole new way of looking at yourself and what and when you eat... I think!
The cost is £66 a week which may seem steep.. but i honestly believe that, having done it for 2 weeks, I'm spending less on food (packs) now than i did when i was eating normally. No more going out, takeaways.. snacks. I live with my boyfriend and he is eating normally which I thought would be hard but is actually not too bad and i actually quite enjoy cooking for him now.
I'm not going to lie and tell you that it is easy because the first week is really quite tough. This is the time when your body goes in to a state of 'ketosis' or 'fat-burning'. They explain it by calling the food that we eat during meals as fuel from the larder.. when we've used that we go to food from the fridge which is the glycogen that is stored in the liver and once that is used up we go the freezer which is our fat. Once you get in to ketosis you lose the hunger pangs as you have ample energy in you fat to keep you going. Some people have amazing amounts of energy on the diet but i'm not sure i've got that but do feel absoluetely fine and am really chuffed with myself each time I say no to food. From somewhere comes this amazing will-power.
If you need any more advice, have a look at the Lighterlife website or at the Cambridge Diet as this is similar without the structured counselling and is almost half the price. It depends on how you feel about dieting and whether you'd find the counselling helpful.
I hope this has helped you.
Claire x
Fat Ass (aka Claire)
