Five months later - The End

Today was a hugely momentous day – as I had my very last LPG/endermologie appointment and weigh in at Alizonne

I booked it especially as we just got back from a 2-week holiday in the US (large portions!) and it’s just after Christmas, so in a way this was meant as a bit of a test to myself to see how well I’ve coped

First – the holiday. Generally I found it easier than I thought I would, largely because as I can’t have gluten or dairy it does cut out pretty much all the bad temptations out there. Although I did watch what I ate, I did have some treats and did sometimes have 2 courses, so definitely didn’t feel deprived at all. Unfortunately during the holiday my husband got sick and ended up in hospital for 5 days, cue eating from a hospital cafeteria again – although I will say at least the choices weren’t just hot sandwiches, so I was able to keep to a balanced diet

Second – Christmas. Again, with a bit of foresight and planning I managed to navigate this. I make a dairy free chocolate mousse which everyone loves, and which I did have some of. I stayed away from snacking outside the 2-4 hour windows, but aside from that it was fairly easy

So, although my home scale has me slightly lower, I weigh myself first thing in the morning at home, whereas my Alizonne appointment was this evening:

Current weight - 67kg (200g loss since last weigh in) - 42.9kg lost to date
Weight in stone - 10st 7lb (1lb loss since last weigh in) - 6st 11lbs lost to date, or 94.6lbs

So, at the end of this momentous journey, what have I learnt?

Well, I’ve learnt that I’m much stronger than I thought I was. I’ve always been determined, but usually became despondent if I didn’t see results – but I guess the beauty of Alizonne is that you do see results, and fast. What I mean by strong though is how I was able to stick with it during what has without a doubt been the hardest year of my life emotionally: from my parents’ accident to the challenges at work and from starting a new job to my husband’s illness. I don’t know whether it was easier given this was frequently the only thing I felt I had any control over when everything else was falling apart, maybe it was

I’ve finally figured out that not every diet works for everyone, and the reason Alizonne worked for me is because it matched my personality and who I am – this is I think the trick that so many people are missing and something I intend to do something about

I’ve learnt that there are a few essential Alizonne fundamentals that are good practice to follow for the rest of my life:

• Eat every 2-4 hours

• Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day

• Drink 2 litres of water every day

• Understand calories – the book they give you at the end is an invaluable source of helping you get a grip on what is a good vs bad calorie

• Know your medgem and mentally keep tabs on how you track through the day – without being obsessive

And my own three little additions:

• Weigh yourself regularly – it helps you keep a check on things so you can nip problems in the bud, and when you see things are under control it is a fantastic morale boost and helps keep you motivated

• Listen to your body – it will tell you whether it’s happy or not

• Look at old photos of yourself regularly – it will remind you what you used to look like and each time you do make a promise to yourself “NEVER AGAIN”

I’ll be dipping in and out of the blog now, as I think it has served its purpose – but I do hope if you’ve found this it provides you with some help on your own journey. Good luck!