LighterLife Community

It's all about me.... Hi everyone and welcome to my Blog ! As i start my LL journey, i hope to share with you the highs and lows of what i'm puting myself and my body through. This could be a hulluva journey ! My story.. Once, i was a svelt young lad that had to 'pull up' a 32" waist jean if i didn't have a belt on. Then sadly and gradually, the pounds crept on when i wasn't looking! I look back at pictures of my younger days and wonder, "where did it all go wrong!" (Probably the amount of food i ate) Now, i'm now at the point where i feel i have to do something to get back into shape. (I know 'round' is a shape, but that's not what i mean !) So, here i go ... With the support of my wife and children, this journey will be the trip of a lifetime that we will all benefit from for years to come. And being slimmer and fitter means they wont catch me (and my wallet) as easily, so i could even save money! The 'end goal' is to look good in a new pair of 'Speedos' as i prepare to show off my new slimline physique on the beaches of the Mediteranean this summer.. (and probably frighten some seagulls in the process). It seems a long way off, but if i can do that and look half decent, i'll know i've succeeded! Sea Breaze Image: http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/whZZEYg/weight.png Week 1. Lost 7.5 lbs Week 2. Lost 6.5 lbs 1 stone. Week 3. Lost 8 lbs Week 4. Lost 5.5 lbs Week 5. Lost 2 lbs 2 stone. Week 6. Lost 8 lbs Week 7. Lost 4 lbs Week 8. Lost 3 lbs 3 stone. Week 9. Lost 4 lbs Week 10. Missed Weigh In Week 11. Lost 4 lbs Week 12. Lost 4 lbs 4 stone

Weigh in tonight and it's 12 weeks to the day i started this journey. I lost another 4 lbs this week and i'm now 12 stone 12 pounds.

I started at 16 stone 12.5 pounds, 84 days ago.

Who would have believed i would lose over 4 stone in that period ! Certainly not me. It's amazing and i'm now at the point where i'm wondering 'what next'?

For me now, it's more about maintaining this 'new me' and n...

Comments

In Newcastle, just about to set off on the road back to see my wee family. Had a 'healthy' meal last night in the hotel as part of my LLL plan i'm now doing myself, and found it no problem to stick to things that aren't harmful ! Waiter asked if i wanted a side order of chips to go with my steak, ( i had ordered steamed spinnach), When i said 'no', he was very surprised ! That made me feel good i...

Comments

After missing last weeks weigh in and doing my own version of LLL, i was a bit nervous about tonight.. Would all that broccoli be my undoing ?

Well, i'm pleased to report that i've lost 4 pounds, albeit that's in 2 weeks.

Hey ho - 2 lbs a week, i'll still take that !!

Great to see the guys again tonight. Highlight of the week for me, and worth the price we pay for the packs, just for the 'crack' ...

Comments

Hey everyone !! .. No, i haven't left the country or done anything mad

I'm still here, BUT i'm now doing my own version of Lighterlife Lite now. I spoke to my councilor about 3 weeks ago and told her (and some of my group) that i felt it was time for me to move on reintroducing some food into my life. She was very supportive, but asked me not to talk about it within my group, as it's a total ab...

Comments

Well, lost another 4 lbs this week, so i'm pretty happy with that !!!!

Comments

It's another week of work tomorrow and i'm not looking forward to it ! I had a great weekend with my family. Took my 2 daughter (19 and 7) swimming today and just loved watching them having fun in the pool. Makes me sooo proud to be their dad when i see them having such fun. My 17 yr old son was in his bed till 1.30pm Boys eh !!
Did my Wii Fit + with youngest daughter yesterday and this morning...

Comments

In a hotel in Newcastle (again) and missing my wee family. Seems i'm having to spend more and more time away on business and i find being in a hotel room sooooo boring. You'd think in a party town like Newcastle, it would be great, but it's not when you're on business, and alone! Can't wait for the weekend..

I lost 3 lbs last week and i suppose i have to expect it to slow down as i get nearer t...

Comments

Well last week was a blur !

I had a very busy week and good, productive meetings in Belfast. The hotel (The Merchant if anyone knows it) was lovely and the service was fantastic. It was so posh they didn't have a kettle in the room though, so i had to call down to reception for anything i wanted. I had the receptionist briefed on my 'special' requirements. I had forgotten a bowl and a spoon...

Comments

Well, it's Monday again and back to the rat race .. Got a rubbish week ahead with 2 nights in Belfast which means i'll miss my Wed night class, so i'll have to go for a pop in tonight to get my packs for the next week. I'll miss the chat at our meeting as we all get on so well and have a good laugh. It's such a strength being in the company of other people who are going through exactly the same di...

Comments

It's Saturday, the sun is shining and it's great to have a couple of days to chill out with the family before the madness starts again next week..

Made a vanilla shake into 'milk' for my (now decef) coffee which feels like a real treat to me. It will last me all day .. i hate black coffee so using a pack in this way is something i like to do when i feel i deserve something nice. I'...

Comments

Passed my exam on 'investment and risk' today, so quite chuffed about that. A fire alarm went off and we all had to evecuate the building, which was a bit strange but finished off when we got the all clear. That's one monkey off my back anyway. (If anyone wants to know about derivatives or investment trusts, i'm your man !)

Apart from that, today has been fine.. not much to report really. Absti...

Comments

I feel so good and not hungry that i have to remind myself i'm on a VLC diet! I even went to a pub with my manager and brought a bar with me, and didn't eat it ! (I wasn't hungry).

I had 2 sparling waters and 2 black coffees. I even brought my own sweetners just in case they only had sugar!

Manager said he was going to have a BLT club sandwich, asked me if i minded, and...

Comments

Well, just back from my Wed night class. It's always great to see my group again. We're all really 'tight' and have a great laugh every week. Think our LLC loves it because she doesn't have to do much.. we all just blether away !

And the scores are on the doors .. A very pleasing 8 lb loss this week which makes me feel so much better about last weeks meesly 2 lb loss .. Drinking more water and le...

Comments

I'm confused ! Yesterday my scales told me i was 3 lbs lighter than they say i am today .. I went for a long walk yesterday and was 100% abstinant as always, so it's a bit of a kick in the *$"! when you go to bed and put weight ON.
Now, i thought i had figured this out.. less coffee, more water etc, and my OH was sure this was going to be the answer.. But a 3 lb increase !! Oh well, i KNOW i'm d...

Comments

Went to the supermarket this morning and came back and made my lovely wife scrambled eggs and 2 toasted muffins with cream cheese and smoked salmon (with a squeeze of lemon). Took it up to her with a coffee. She was still in bed playing on her iphone with my youngest. She scoffed the lot and it made me feel very pleased. I think it's the nicest food i've ever made her and she gave it a '10'.

Su...

Comments

Well it's all good news today! I'm off work till Wednesday so lots of time away from airports etc, and the temptation and boredom they bring. I was in Leeds airport last night phoning home, and i noticed right in front of me 3 8ft by 8ft posters with food on them (mixed grill / steak pie etc) as i was sitting outside a restaurant (with my water). I had a bar in my pocket which i ate on the plane, ...

Comments

Well my friends .. i'm a little bit puzzled, but NOT downhearted. I only lost 2 pounds this week which really surprised me, but i think i know what the problem is .. I've not eaten anything i shouldn't have, but i've drank probably too much coffee (retains water) and maybe not enough water ( which you p out freely!) So lessons have been learned and i'm going to knock the lights out at my WI next w...

Comments

I survived Manchester airport yesterday .. That was a tough challange !! I got back to the airport with about 3 hours to kill.. Now what would i have done before .. eaten ! I'd also forgotten my blackberry, so i couldn't catch up on e mails / work etc, so i was sat there like a lemon for all that time, sipping what turned out to be 1 litre of still, then 1/2 litre of fizzy water... I then su...

Comments

and very very bopred. can't wait to get home to normallity and away from all the restaurants in here !!

Comments

Doesn't the weekend go fast!? And to make it even worse, i'm off to Manchester tomorrow on a 7am flight Only a few hours to go of real family time then the madness starts again.
On the brighter side, i've been wearing my new jeans all day today
Took my 7 yr old daughter to the swimming baths today and she wore her 'beloved' Ugg's. Boy did i get into trouble for getting them wet when i got the...

Comments

I had got serious.. my jeans were falling down, much to the amusement of my family. Without the belt tightened up, they were pretty much falling off me.
So i took the gang to the local shopping centre today and whilst my wife and daughter went to Wagamama, i headed for River Island. Now, i took a pair of 36" and a pair of 34" into the changing room with me. I thought the 34" ones were a bit opti...

Comments

Well, i'm back from Bristol after a long day.. i'm not a big fan of Easyjet, even with Speadyboarding.. It still feels like a scrum getting on the plane.

I turned up at the office there and oh my god .. people couldn't believe the difference in me ! I had a procession of people wanting to speak to me about 'how great i looked' and wondering 'how i had done it' in such a short space of time! My...

Comments

Well, the scores on the doors from last nights weigh in, another 5.5 lbs off.. Thats 11 packs of butter (or fat) lost from my body and boy it feels good carrying less of it around! . I discovered that 1 ltr of water weighs 1 kg = 2.2 lbs. So to show my family what 5.5 lbs felt like, i got a 2 litre and a 1/2 litre bottle of water from my supply, put them in a polly bag and said, "hold this". The...

Comments

It's been a few days, so a bit of an update..

The Wii Fit told me i'd lost 6 lbs on Sunday (compared to the previous Sunday) so i'm happy about that ! Smashed my target of losing 10 lbs in 2 weeks (even though it suggests a loss of 2lbs every 2 weeks). It doesn't know about the power of LL !
My family are really noticing the difference in me, especially by face and tummy. I suppose losing nearly (an...

Comments

Well it's Saturday morning and the family are all up and getting ready for what the day brings .. Cheerleading for the wee one and me and the OH sitting in Costas waiting for her to finish.. OH with a coffee and me with a green tea ..
This has been a strange week. I think the overnight trip to Newcaste was a real challange, more than i thought it would be. It wasn't easy because it would have been ...

Comments

Back from Newcastle into the bosom of my family Great to be back. Seeing my wife and family is fantastic, - my 7yr old daughter was all over me like a rash when i walked in the door. I was only away for 1 night. Nice to be loved though. Also, being back in the safety of my home and away from restaurants / temptation is a relief. The last 2 days pushed my willpower to the limit, but i managed. I...

Comments

In Newcastle for meetings and entertaining various people. Had to go to a fantastic pizza restaurant today at lunchtime and sit there whilst the 3 people i was with had the most marvelous looking pizzas. Gosh, it was tough, but i was not tempted to break abstinance. I drank my fizzy water and ordered a 'mint tea'.

Tonight i'm taking another 3 people to a posh restaurant for dinner .. another challa...

Comments

Well i'm off tomorrow morning early doors , gang to the 'toon. (Newcastle) to do some work . Meetings, lunches (2) and evening dinner (1). Then i'm hot footing it back up the road on Wednesday, hopefully getting back to Glasgow in time to join Privatedoc and my new found friends for my 3rd weigh in. Feeling positive about it as i've been 2 four mile walks in the last 2 days !
My LLC gave us all a...

Comments

Had some good excersise yesterday and think i'll go out looking for Privatedoc at lunchtime today ..Should spot him from 2 miles away with his luminous yellow shell suit ! I really enjoyed my 4 mile walk yesterday (found it easier than expected) and this time i'm going to take Mr Ipod and listen to some podcasts .. an hour of laughing at Frank Skinner sounds good.

Took another vanilla shake and...

Comments

Morning !!

10am, up and shorts and T shirt on .. RIGHT.. Lets get going. Wii Fit is powering up and 7 yr old daughter is getting ready, We're going for a run over the golden gate bridge, the sun will be shining and the views will be lovely. (I'm keeping the curtains shut as a view out the window of a rainy Glasgow morning might ruin the whole thing! )
Also, daughter has a party to go to this af...

Comments

I'm not saying it was easy, but i survived ! 7 yr old had her favourite, Chicken Katsu with amai sauce (adult portion) and i had 2 green teas and a sparkling water .. Watching her was bad enough but you can't help looking at what everyone else is having as well (they sit so close to you). Gosh i liked the look of everything!



I told her i'd treat her .. guesse what she chose ...

Comments

Just a quickie before i take my 7 yr old daughter to Wagamama .(I'll be on green tea but she loves their chicken Katsu)
Not cheated since the olives incident on day 2 and to be honest, i'm not feeling hungry in the slightest! It's unbelievable .. mad .. ! For those starting this journey, trusy me when i say i'd have had about 1000 calories by this time today, and what have i had so far .. a porr...

Comments

Funny thing is, i'm not even thinking about food. Yes it's about, the fridge is full of it, and everyones in bed, but am i tempted ? Not in the slightest !
I'm actually feeling quite full right now, after having a shake, 2 soups a fudge nut bar and a savoury hot drink sachet today. Think i've tricked my body !!
I think i'm in a bit of a world where i'm blinkered to 'real food' now, i'm not thinkin...

Comments

Well, the anticipation was building like i was going into a boxing ring or something as i stepped on those scales..

And the news ... 6.5 pounds lost, making my total for 2 weeks, exactly 1 stone !

You've got to be happy with that in 2 weeks .. wouldn't get that anywhere else.. And i've just had a veg soup which was lovely.

Got a foodbag full of stuff i like and looking forward to week 3 !

...