# Using lighter life to avoid long term type 2 medication



## Philinmerthyr (Jan 9, 2021)

This week I had a HBA1C test result of 49. I want to see if I can quickly lose weight to avoid the need for long term medication. I am very overweight at 25st. Is lighterlife a safe and good option at this stage?


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## nonethewiser (Jan 9, 2021)

Being shake diet better having look at Newcastle Diet instead, developed for those with type 2.

2019 wife was told she was pre diabetic, could have tipped over. Anyway she joined Slimming World & lost 5 stone eating good delicious meals, still follows diet on maintenance program & has kept weight off. Good news is her bloods since are all normal & feels much more healthy for weight loss.


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## AndBreathe (Jan 9, 2021)

Philinmerthyr said:


> This week I had a HBA1C test result of 49. I want to see if I can quickly lose weight to avoid the need for long term medication. I am very overweight at 25st. Is lighterlife a safe and good option at this stage?



Philinmerthyr - There are many ways to take steps to avoid long term medication for your diabetes - especially as your diagnostic score is just over the diagnostic threshold.

At 25st, it is likely your overall health would benefit from a bit of trimming up, but to be honest, doing it by using expensive meal replacement products perhaps doesn't lay down the foundations for the longer term?  It certainly is an option though.

Do you like to cook, and are you living in a family unit, or just catering for yourself?

If you could give people a rough idea of what a routine day's food looks like, people could maybe make suggestions for easy switch ups.


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## Docb (Jan 9, 2021)

Hi @Philinmerthyr. 

I am in the same camp as @AndBreathe.  Let me say up front that I am very sceptical of approaches like  "Lighter Life" and I will try and explain why.

I have looked at their website and it seems that they are selling prepackaged processed foods as meal replacements.  Fair enough, but nowhere can I find any nutritional information on the items supplied.  I find that disconcerting. 

Look at what it says about T2 diabetes.  Says that T2 is due to the pancreas deteriorating.  That is a gross oversimplification and is inconsistent with the idea that losing weight can restore glucose control which they imply their product will achieve.

They mention Diabetes UK but when you look carefully you see that they are referring to a public meeting.  They are using the Diabetes UK name, in an attempt to add credibility without actually making any claims about DUK endorsement.  I find that sneaky.

The site implies a lot of things, but is very short on anything you can check.  It is a marketing exercise, designed to influence rather than inform.

Personally I would look at what I am eating now, and make adjustments to reduce calories and carbohydrate and use my bathroom scales to monitor progress, aiming to get a steady and sustainable weight loss over a reasonable time rather than try and adhere to any of these low calorie crash diets.


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## Ditto (Jan 9, 2021)

Wotsername did Lighter Life I think, the fat one from Birds Of A Feather... Pauline Quirk! My memory! She did great but did have her own personal trainer which might have helped a bit.


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## Sally W (Jan 9, 2021)

I think the key to any diet & exercise regime is sustainably. For me personally, I tend to avoid packaged, processed food and shop from the fresh section, bulk cooking & freeze.

What I find sustainable is time restricted eating. So I just eat within an 8 hour period. No processed shakes, no banned foods but I’ve kept it up for 7 months now and am planning on sticking it. My appetite has naturally reduced and I don’t do deprivation.

However, I’ve reversed my diabetes now so you may want to check and see if this is suitable if you blood sugar is high with professionals.


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## DaveB (Jan 9, 2021)

In my opinion No. It may be safe but it may be expensive and no better than changing your eating lifestyle yourself. Having a quick read it talks about Calorie control which in my opinion is based on bad science. Carbs are the main cause of weight and blood sugar gain and not fats or proteins. By controlling Calories you may end up reducing fats rather than carbs as fats have twice the calories than carbs; not the best approach. So, set yourself a daily Carb limit; perhaps 150gm/day to start with. Then have enough Fats & Proteins to keep you feeling full. Reduce the carbs further if needed. I'm generalising of course but many on the forums find this works.


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## Lucyr (Jan 9, 2021)

I'd agree with the others that losing weight will certainly help you, but that shakes dont really set you up for a longterm lifestyle change. I am using the nutracheck app for calorie and carbohydrate counting, it's easy to use as the database is UK based, and there are different options such as higher protein or lower carb targets. There is also a forum to connect with others who are trying to lose weight. It's worth looking up, as i think tracking your intake helps you set up a more sustainable meal plan.


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## Maca44 (Jan 10, 2021)

One good thing about being told I am type 2 is that I now know that all the years dieting & failing using slimfast/slimmerworld/Cambridge diet etc is what has been said, it's long term not a quick fix, which work but I could never stick to them the diets were not enjoyable. I used to just look at calorie intake and nothing else but since being type 2 the only thing I look at is the carb content and I have learnt so much about food but I am eating well really enjoying my food and the weight is coming down but I don't feel i'm trying too hard in fact i'm eating more but lower carb stuff.

Yes these fad diets work but some taste horrible and cost alot of money, look to the rest of your life, can you see it's not a race to get weight off it's making small changes then weight loss will naturally come.


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