A mixed bag

The last few days have been really really tough.

On the one hand I'm excited, and for once can't wait for Christmas as that means the 28th Dec will arrive quickly and I'll be able to start the programme.

On the other I've had masses of crappy things going on at work which are really bringing me down. I don't think they will be fixed in the short term, but I really need to get rid of all this negative energy surrounding me right now in preparation for the 28th. All this stress has led to flare up of my IBS - again.

I need to be in a good place by the 28th...... but I don't know what the solution is.....

Switching gears

I've been absent for some time, mostly as I've been doing a bit of soul searching, which has resulted in 2 things:

• I've stopped seeing the nutritionist I was going to - it wasn't working, I wasn't feeling better and I started feeling like a kook
• I've started exercising consistently (yay!). After years and years of trying and failing at different exercises I started doing Power Plate sessions with my husband twice a week. These, together with wearing a pedometer linked to a website that sets daily steps targets have helped transform my fitness level and general wellbeing - although sadly has not shifted any more weight

So, what's next?

Well, I stumbled on a programme called Alizonne, which promises to not only help you lose the weight under medical supervision, but also monitors you for 12 months afterwards to make sure you keep it off.

I had my doctor's session this week, and have qualified for the programme. The day after I went for my detailed blood tests and I've set my start date for 28th Dec. I would have started sooner but with all the functions I've got on and a weekend away in Paris there's no point trying.

I'm feeling really positive that this programme, together with the consistent exercise, will get me there!

So, I've decided to change what I use this blog for. From 28th Dec my plan is to use this as a daily (-ish) diary of what I've eaten, how I'm feeling and off course documenting the all important weight and inch loss.

Getting started

As I am a real fan of alternative therapies I really wanted to find a homoeopath/nutritionist who could help, and having seen a nutritionist at The Hale Clinic some years ago I decided to start there. I found a programme on their website called Fat Loss/Inch Loss Integrated Low GI System, which seemed to take an integrated approach looking at nutrition as well as the emotional side using NLP.
My first appointment revealed a few interesting sensitivities: wheat/gluten, dairy, scallops, lettuce (?), cigarette smoke, pet hair and dust among others. On top of avoiding these I was also given a stack of homoeopathic medicines and supplements from a company called Mannatech. And I booked my first NLP session for the following week.

The end of my tether

After many years of trying pretty much every diet out there (sound familiar?) I finally reached the end of my tether towards the end of 2007. From weight watchers and the Atkins diet to Sure Slim - with very few exceptions you name it and I'd tried it. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a big appetite and eat less than most average sized people. I am not as active as I should be, but certainly not as unfit as many people - but in the absence of any other knowledge kept resorting to diets to solve my problem.
Having reached this point, and having seen a Louis Theroux documentary on liposculpture, I decided surgery was my last resort. After a lot of online research I found a clinic, had a consultation and even booked the surgery - that's how desperate I was. In the end it was actually something the surgeon said that changed my mind. He mentioned that he thought I had fat below the ribcage, which would be difficult to remove, which got me thinking there must be something wrong with me, something small but significant enough to cause my body to so stubbornly refuse to give up the weight. It simply didn't make sense.....
So, I postponed the surgery and, determined to find answers once and for all, set off on my journey of discovery......

So it begins

Hello.
I've decided to start this blog following a quest which began in my early twenties to lose weight and be 'normal' (whatever that means) and the twist this has recently taken.
If you've stumbled upon this blog then I'd like to say welcome, I really hope you find some of what I write here useful and please let me know how it could be better - I really hope that sharing my experience with others will help us all.