Behaviours - Playing Devils Advocate

Hi all

As a new started to LT and the site I am very interested to read other peoples experiences as I find it reassuring and motivating

But just as topic for discussion; I notice that some of us seem to get focused on daily weigh in, buying stix etc.

My question is this? As an over eater I know i used to have a lot of unhealthy patterns/behaviours around food and I am using my time on LT to identify these, their triggers etc with a aim of breaking them so when I refeed (some day ) my whole attitude to food, eating etc will have changed. Is there a risk of swopping behaviours from food to stuff like daily weighins etc? If so is this potentially a transfer that could stop us addressing the underlying issues? Should we be trying to just do our 3 shakes, glug our water, dream of thinner times but otherwise just get on with living our daily lives so that when we reach goal we eat our healthy meals, glug our water, and live our lives without overthinking things?


A negative thought/behaviour pattern is those things we do/think that may be detrimental to our wellbeing in the future - could these things we do be considered to be in this catergory?

Comments on a post card

I'm not sure- when I have a 'project' in my life I tend to go at it full-steam ahead.
When I was getting married I had the folder, joined forums, became a ebay hag etc. etc.
When I was trying to get pg I obessed about temps, mucus, cycle lengths, joined relevant forums etc. etc.
When I decided to get healthy (beat eating disorder, started cc-ing) I kept daily food/exercise journals, joined relevant forums, weighed daily to see when/why I fluctuated etc.etc.
So now I'm on LT- I'm living on here! When I get to my target (because I WILL get to my target! LOL!) I'll just find something else to obsess about!

Daily weigh ins are certainly unhealthy I agree. Peoples weight normally fluctuates from day to day whether you are on a diet or not. In regards to ketostix, isnt the whole point of this diet that you get into ketosis otherwise why would you put yourself through such a gruelling diet.
Things like diarys help us to understand our own bads habits and then take action to break these bad habits that we may not even have recognised previously. This is not being obsessed but practical. Following a diet blindly does nothing to rectify issues that normally have taken us years to develop and will only ensure failure when we restart feeding.
Its up to you people respond differently, you have to do what works for you!

This is a really good point. I don't agree with it, but an interesting read

Goreygirl said:

Is there a risk of swopping behaviours from food to stuff like daily weighins etc?

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Umm, well it's necessary to swap bad habits for good habits. After all, we will always have habits...that's part of being human. We have routines...get up, clean teeth etc. It not only gives us security but makes sure all the necessaries are done in the way that we have learnt from past experience, works the best.

So what's a bad habit? A bad habit is something you do that could stop you reaching your full potential.

So if weighing yourself daily, sends you into the cupboard to drown your sorrows, or to celebrate, you could say it's a bad habit. I wouldn't say the scales are to blame though, just the behaviour in response to the scales.

I'm a maintainer, and I weigh daily as the National Weight Control Registry thing recommend it in maintenance anyway. It's not a bad habit, as I've learnt a lot about my body and it's fluctuations since reaching goal. I have also been able to find out what suits me best and learnt about how much I needed to eat to stay well

If so is this potentially a transfer that could stop us addressing the underlying issues?

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I think there is a danger of this happening, but only if we let it. The diet is short term and sometimes it's useful to have motivational tools to help stick with it. Most of the learning process comes during refeed and maintenance though, so I believe in whatever keeps you to your plan so you can successfully get to the testing stage and beyond.

My concern is always with those who get 'addicted' to the diet. They love the security of it so much, that they fear moving away from it, or when doing so, subconsciously put weight on, so that they have a good reason to get back on.

Should we be trying to just do our 3 shakes, glug our water, dream of thinner times but otherwise just get on with living our daily lives so that when we reach goal we eat our healthy meals, glug our water, and live our lives without overthinking things?

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I'm incredibly proud of my overthinking skills I've learnt loads by overthinking.

Good post though. Got me thinking

I have been food obsessed as long as I can remember and I am an all or nothing sort of gal. If I'm on a serious diet its 100%, if I decide I'm not on a diet I'll pig out ferociously...not 1 choc bar but the whole 5 bar economy pack at once. Same with hot-cross buns, can only do 6 at a time ...with butter! I am hoping that going without real food for all this time will make me realise that I will be able to eat sensibly and healthily from then on....I love all fruit and veg anyway, theres never been a problem with choosing the right foods, just eating way too much of it.

Hi Goreygirl

I did Lighterlife last year, similar to Liptrim only it has counseling.

I agree with what you are suggesting. I abstained for 39 weeks, and only stepped on a scale at the weekly meetings. I did not want anything that could become obsessive attached to my diet as that was what I was trying to get free of.

I am now complete with the program where I lost 10 stone (half of me! ) , and have been maintaining since Christmas. I still only weigh once a week.

It's different for everyone, but that is what works best for me.



Good luck to you!!

Well said KD, I was just going to say the same thing myself. Phew, saves me typing all of that.......lol.

I am new to maintaining and I too weigh each morning, I dont class it as a bad habit, but because I am new to refeeding, I want to see what foods are working for me. I know I am not great on carb meals, so I like to see the effect these have on me. I am managing to control the weight, which I am delighted about, and popping on the scales each day gives me the buzz that makes me think - Yeah, I can do this. It gives me positive energy. On the other hand, one day last week, the scales showed a 1lb gain overnight (I weigh first thing each morning), and I could see what pattern had been changed, so it teaches me what works for me, and what doesnt work for me.

I was obsessive with weighing each morning before I started lipotrim, but its just like my morning routine now, pee, weigh, brush teeth, shower.

I think we all need to do what is right for us and what is right for me, may not be right for the next person.

Good luck on your lipotrim journey and I hope you can find and focus on what works for you.

Hi again all

I think what is evident from what your are saying is that:

- a habit in itself is not a bad thing (I wasn't saying it was) as long as the motivation behind the habit is a good thing and has a positive health enhancing effect (not just physically but mentally/emotionally also...The WHO definition of health is "not just an absence of disease but a state of mental and physical well-being").

So I guess it re-iterates my final point in the original post -"A negative thought/behaviour pattern is those things we do/think that may be detrimental to our wellbeing in the future ". Brushing your teeth is obviously a postive action/habit as it stops dental decay etc. Same with a diary for exploring behaviours, and weighing if it is a positive experience.

But as KD says if weighing daily sends you into the emotional doldrums and gets you all anxious then in those cases could be a negative and really need to address that? As for obsessions ...well that's a completely other topic all together

I'm a guilty person who jumps on the scales everyday. I'm new to lipotrim and in my second week (day10). I think I needed to see the weight coming off to justify what I was doing and to remind me that sticking to the shakes and not heading for the fridge is working.

I agree about becoming obsessed with the scales as it is the first thing I do when I get up. Now I know it's working I hope I can kick this habit and it is becoming one and just get through each week untill weigh in day.

Jo x

oh my god suppaslimma - i'm EXACTLY the same! My personality seems to be obsessive in everyday life as well as dieting though, if I start the gym I go all the time or not at all, if I diet I do it 100% or totally go mad eating everything in sight! Its something that scares me alot as I worry that when I come off this diet I'll be just the same, I dont know if its just me or if it started due to something in my life, can't remember not being like this! I've started to keep a bit of a diary to recognise what makes me want to eat but I know that its always due to either being bored or due to emotions (it can be anythin - happy, sad, down etc). Its just my problem is that I dont know how to change these, I was actually thinking about going to a psychiatrist to sort me out for good but i dont know how i'd go about that without it costing a fortune! I'm just hoping that I'll be able to eat healthily in the week and eat what I want on the weekend and as I'll feel great after losing the weight hopefully I wont want to eat loads again. I think as well that I need to only eat until i'm satisfied rather than FULL which is another terrible habbit! Its like when im having a 'day off' my diet I'll go mad and think I have to eat everything unhealthy so I can get back on the diet the next day properly and not crave the foods as I've eaten them all the day before lol, do u know what I mean? Any advice anyone?xxx

Hey Louise

Don't got to a psychiatrist; you need a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. I've just had a major binge after having a fantastic week on LPT; complete self sabotage and I don't know why i did it. I felt like i was arguing with myself in my head but still the old habits won out cos i was feeling lonely and once i allowed that cycle to start......:-(

try the BCAP website for a registered CBT practitioner near you

I would not dare weigh myself everyday, I'd only be setting myself up for dissapointment.

My habits and attitudes towards food has completely changed. Before, food was just something that I had to have. I had wierd issues with food. It's not that I got enjoyment from eating all that much, I kind of just put it down my throat because I had nothing else to do. I ate most of the time from boredom. But if there are foods that I really enjoy, I just can't get enough, and I don't stop until I am uncomfortably full.

At times I used to starve myself, with all the ridicule and bullying I endured. But this made me gain weight, as I obviously ate a lot later as I went for long hours without food. I've even made myself throw up a few times. I didn't start doing this until August 08.

I was oblivious to calories, I didn't even take a second thought to even look at the package, I just saw what it was and it was gone in a flash.

Being on LT, I've been looking at food very differently from before. Reading on nutrients, what is actually in the foods that I indulged in, and what I should have been eating. I apreciate food more than ever before. Wasting is not an option and I can't stand it when my friends and family are ignorant to foods, especially for what it can do for you.

I am only on week 4 but Lt has already been showing me my behaviour patterns to food. I also weigh daily like the others to try and notice patterns in myself, but truthfully i think it will benefit me more when I go on re-feed and maintanance. i do not look at it as negative, even if I gain 1 or 2 lbs in the middle of the week, i know this is tempaorary. Before LT it would have sent me into the fridge to see a gain. But I agree that many of us get caught up with being skinny fast. while having a goal and a positive outlook is good plus dreaming of ourselves as slim is good too, I think noticing our attitudes and behaviours around food is probably more important in the long term. Even so, this forum is great for encouragement even if we dont mention these more serious things that often. We all have different things that trigger our behaviour but we all have the same dream=get to goal, and thats what we like to talk about together. im sure the ones that are the most successful losers are the ones who recognise their bad habits and form good ones. there is a lot to be said on the subject