Intro & First sessions

Monday 26th February:
The intro session was probably the biggest hurdle for me, in terms of committing to do this - I've never been a big fan of counselling sessions, think I'm a little self-conscious, coupled with being a bit cynical is not a good combination! However, being determined to do this, I put all that to one side. Actually, the intro session was really good - there were 5 of us there plus the counsellor. She talked a little about the programme, then we watched a DVD which went over what to expect, as well as a number of interviews with people who'd been through it and were now maintaining their weights happily.

She talked us through the cost, which is expensive at £66 per week, but that does include all the foodpacks, the counselling & support. I'm still a little grumbly about the cost (the Cambridge Diet is considerably cheaper) but it does include the counselling, which I think will be one of the key things for me. So I'll keep an open mind for now!!

She also weighed us & worked out our BMI's, then gave us a form for the Doctor / Practice nurse to fill in & sign before you can start the programme. You also have to have further blood pressure / health checks after each month.

We were then told that our sessions would be on a Tuesday and would be starting for the next 3 Tuesdays in succession before she closed the group. If we could get our forms back tomorrow, therefore, we could come & start ll then, otherwise we could come the following week.

The counsellor was nice enough, she just seemed to be a little unfocused and quiet, which made me worry slightly. However, the others in the group seemed really nice and positive, and that made me think that they'd be a nice bunch of people to go through this with over the coming months!

Tuesday 27th February
Phoned the surgery this morning - would have to wait till Friday for a doctor's appointment, but the practice nurse could fit me in today! Cool :-)

Things were not so peachy when I actually got there though - she was really skeptical about the whole VLCD approach, saying she knew people who'd been on it, lost a load of weight & put it all and more back on again. She also said she didn't think I needed to lose all that weight and it was unhealthy (this was right after she weighed me in at just over 15st!). After practically reducing me to tears (and believe me, that doesn't happen very often!!) she signed my form but made me promise to think about what I was doing.

So I was on a downer all afternoon, however I did what she asked and really thought about what I was doing. This for me isn't a quick fix to lose a bit of weight so I look alright for my wedding, this is a start-again point in my life. This is where I turn round to myself and say "Stop", and change something that's plagued my thoughts for so long. I know I can do this, and I needed something drastic like a break from conventional food, for me to do so. It's so easy with the other diets I've tried to make excuses ('it's so & so's party / wedding / event at the weekend, so I'll wait till Monday'... 'let's wait till the holiday / Christmas is over'... etc) and I end up getting nowhere, or at least I'll lose a bit of weight then put it back on over the next month that has a lot of events in!

Anyway, duly thoughtful & motivated, I went to the first session that night. There were 4 of us in total (two from the intro session the night before). She weighed us again (how did I put 1lb on overnight?!?) played us the Week One DVD and gave us our foodpacks (a mixture of each flavour so we can try them all!) and our groovy lighterlife bag. There's an optional drop-in on Saturday if we want to change any packs, but as I'm away I won't be able to go. She didn't seem worried though & said we only needed to come if we wanted to change the packs.

Anyway, left feeling really excited actually :-) Got takeout on the way home (partly as we had no food in the house & partly as a last meal!) - we don't have it too often any more so was a real treat. Also had a gin&tonic, don't know how long it'll be before I can have one of those again!