LighterLife - www.lighterlife.co.uk

I absolutely love lighter life have lost 3 1/2 sone, recommended it to friends and family and probably introduced at least 6 takers to it.

I recently joined an on line group and although internet savvy did not see the bit about Lighter Life will take £60 every month - I thought it was a one off payment for one month and as I do not have too much to lose - that was for me. Lighter life has continued to take the £60 - I have asked for a refund of the two minths taken without my permission but got dismissed abruptly and was told it was very clear that it says we take ithe payment indefinitely.

I have asked them to stop it but I am still getting invitations to join the online groups. Just everyone be careful when joining on line

group - the direct debit continues for ever.

Sorry to complain about such a great company.

I did L L a few years ago and although it was hard it did work and the weight fell off. This time you get 4 packs instead of 3but it seems much harder to do. Had telephone support and was fed up of been told if you,'re hungry have some water! Incidentally all in my group had done it before so, it does work but the weight does,nt stay off.....and who can or would want to live on packets for the rest if their lives.

It's all about the money....it is very expensive for the packs and £20 a week for the boot camp calls which are not very good.

Only way is to just cut down yourself and save loads of money.

Wish I,d remembered how soon the weight crept back on from the first time I did it and saved myself over £300

I just started the 5:2 so it was unfortunate I picked the carbonara (I choke as I type the word) first! Argh!!, the taste memory STILL haunts me. It is totally inedible. I ended up throwing it away as it made me gag. I didn't want to add seasoning (not that any could help it) because that defeats the point and could, potentially, mess with the calories - a complete waste of money. Having said ALL that, everything else I've tried is wonderfully tasty (I adore the porridge especially) so I'll continue. Whatever Lighterlife was aiming for with this, they missed the mark by a country mile. So I ask them, please, either look again at the recipe or remove it from the line - it's absolutely horrendous.

How I wish I'd read these reviews before signing up. As there are no classes in my area I signed up online. I completely misunderstood what I was signing up for - thinking I had signed up for the food plan, ie, I would be receiving food packs in the post, and there was also the telephone group which I thought was part and parcel of the food. Not unreasonable as I'd paid out £60 I don't think. I had my first telephone counselling session the next day, thinking it was odd I'd had no notification re food despatched etc. hardly managed to get a word in edge-wise and when I eventually did, right at the end of the hour-long (!!) session manage to query what I'd signed up for I was just told to call customer services. Which I did. Not helpful. They said they'd pass it on and I'd receive an email. I did which said they'd cancelled my 'group' but that I wouldn't be getting a refund for the 3 remaining weeks (which I have no intention of participating in). Very poor customer relations as I've now said I won't be buying any further food packs (foolishly I ordered a week's worth after speaking to customer relations - more fool me). If they'd handled this differently I would probably have bought a few more week's packs. Short-sighted. Can't comment on the food as not received my packs yet. Would like to cancel them but as they've been so rubbish on the other matter I doubt I'd get any satisfaction

As an aside, I found the 'counselling' pretty excruciating but that might just be me. However, I learned nothing apart from just about being able to hear what the other group members were saying and could barely hear what the group leader was saying - apart from the tumbleweed moment when she asked if the group members had anything to say to another group member who'd just shared her life experiences with us. Very awkward-making. I could not in all conscience recommend this diet due to their poor attitude to customers, however if you are intent on it then I would urge you to check and double check that you are purchasing online. And read the terms and conditions from start to finish. I'll do what I should have done in the first place, practice sensible eating and keep my money for lovely, healthy food.

I have to question why Lighter Life clients are made to undergo 'counselling' with a so-called trained professional, when all they do is state the obvious, while I for one had to give up virtually a whole Saturday morning to listen to what was just common sense. Lighter Life are making a fortune in misleading people to a 'dramatic weightloss' as they put it, when in fact they are overcharging for virtually inedible shakes, soups and bars. Anyone can see that it's possible to lose weight on a very low calorie diet and there is no mystery about it. But as far as LL goes it's an unbelievably expensive option. Try working out the cost of an individual soup mix or a shake. These can be bought at the local supermarket for a fraction of the cost. I would question LL on where the money goes for what can only be described as the most tasteless, hideous 'food' imaginable. I stuck it out for 2 months and did lose weight at great expense. As soon as I came off the diet it went back on quicker than I'd lost it. LL only works because it's so low in calories. Anyone could copy this principle at a fraction of the cost.

I attempted the Ligther Life weight loss plan in May this year as an attempt to lose some weight ready for the summer!

The lady running the group was lovely at first! She had all the time in world for me , inviting me to one on one sessions and taking her time to understand my life long struggle with food!

This soon changed! I was absolutely horrified at how expensive the plan was. I was originally told when I joined that it would cost approximately £80 a week! (Which to a serial over eater like myself didnt seem that bad)

The items are all individually priced unlike other VCLD'S where you pay a set price for a weeks supply that is pre packaged for you! My first week , I watched in horror as each item was put through the till and my bill came to £92!

The following week it increased to £96! Even though I ate badly , I know that I didnt spend £100 a week on food!

I began to grow suspicious of the class I was attending , although apparently lots of people went , I only ever saw one other person!

I will admit , the weight loss is amazing which made me reluctant to stop the diet but I found myself selecting cheaper products which I didnt like just to make the diet plan as cheap as possible which made me not want to continue!

I couldnt justify spending more than my mortgage on a diet plan! When I advised my consultant that I was leaving , I just got an 'ok' text! I was angry at the fact that I'd spent near enough £400 with her on the plan and she didnt have the decency to send a polite text!

Its a brutal money grabbing scheme! Be prepared to spend alot of money if you decide to follow the lighter life programme!

Lighterlife decided to close the Weston Super Mare office - the award winning one with more clients than anywhere else.....and didnt bother to tell anyone. Just made a phonecall to each member and offered a phone conversation for the same price as counselling session and order our food online!!! Just like that!!! Now everyone feels completely abandoned by LL. Some people have been on the diet and paid a lot of money over many months just to be dumped with no explanation whatsoever. They made the award winning counsellor redundant too. Disgusting behaviour and I will never trust them again, nor will the other groups all dumped with no notice. They never warned us this would happen and there is no other group nearby so we can no longer do the diet unless online.

I've just lost considerable weight with LighterLife and if you follow the diet it does work but at a high cost - around £60 per week plus a fee of £60 every month for the meetings and support. I felt the whole time that I was there to make money for the leader and LighterLife and that they only really wanted people who believed in the diet. I raised queries once or twice and just got treated like I was simple whereas in fact I felt they didn't want to hear from anyone who wasn't a believer. I went on holiday and was asked to pay the £60 which became due while I was away before I went.... I bought bars that I didn't eat then asked if I could not buy bars for a couple of weeks on my return. I got a scandalised email back saying no, that I had promised not to eat. Where is the support in that? Making money is by far the most important thing and I feel had. I'm off to a Cambridge Diet meeting this evening - I'm assured it's much more supportive so fingers crossed

I lost 4 stone in 8 weeks this may seem unbelievable but it worked for me yes I did put the weight back on over a period of time this was because after I lost the weight I thought I was cured? Went back to my old habits it does not matter what diet u do if u go back to living the way you used to of course u will put the weight back I have gone back to lighter life and would recommend it to everyone. It is misunderstood it's not a 3 month crash diet it is a life changing tool and encourages you not to have shakes and bars for the rest of your life but to educate yourself to eat properly exercise and remove your demons of food and to manage your weight forever go for it !

Yes, I lost 3 stone in 9 weeks....great at the time! Despite following all the guidelines, I suffered terrible stomach cramps, very dry skin, blurred vision, flaking nails.....and most traumatically for me...lost loads of hair! (My pride and joy) My hair has never recovered it's thickness and texture! This diet wreaked my metabolism. Had to eat like a mouse for several months, very slowly adding a little bit more in an attempt to get it back to a more normal balanced range.

I lost some fat, yes but I also lost a lot of muscle. Overall effect left me more flabby. Think of the story of the TORTOISE AND THE HARE.....the hare might get to it's destination faster but ultimately, the tortoise wins the race!

Don't be tempted by this diet....it's a short term fix...at a price...at least for me!