Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Monday, 13 August 2007
And so it starts (almost)
I had my first LL session this evening. It was such a relief to finally get to the first meeting and know that I am about to embark on this, I hope, life changing journey. There are about 8 of us in our group so far and everyone seems really lovely. Hopefully we will bond over the next few weeks and it will become a really open environment for us to share our worries, and for us to talk each other out of any inclination to lapse back into bad habits! Our counsellor also seems very genuine and enthusiastic so I think that will help to motivate the group and put us at ease.
Tonight our counsellor asked us to reveal what we were thinking about on the way to the meeting and how we feel about embarking on an abstinence programme. Unlike every other diet I've started in the past, I can honestly say that I just feel excited and enthusiastic. I genuinely feel that I can do this and succeed in losing the weight where I have failed before. I don't know what to attribute this positive attitude to but I think maybe that the time is finally right. I think I'd be foolish to imagine that I won't feel like throwing in the towel in the first few days when the cravings I have been told to expect are at their worst. However, I have so many supportive friends and family members who are willing me to do well that I think I'll be ok. I'll try to post every day so that I can keep track of the high and low points, and hopefully distract myself when I'm not doing so well.
On the way home from the meeting tonight I stopped off at the supermarket and stocked up on peppermint tea. I'm not a big fan of black tea or coffee so this should be my lifesaver!! I also bagged myself a hand-blender for the shakes etc and some nice toiletries so I can pamper myself later in the week when I'm feeling in need of a lift.
The first thing I did when I got in was de-clutter the kitchen of all the junk food I had stored in the cupboards. In their place there is now just a very neat row of foodpacks (colour coded and arranged by sweet / savoury - how sad am I?). Finally, the diet coke was binned and the fridge is now full of numerous bottles of water. All set for Day1 tomorrow then.
Wish me luck xx
Tonight our counsellor asked us to reveal what we were thinking about on the way to the meeting and how we feel about embarking on an abstinence programme. Unlike every other diet I've started in the past, I can honestly say that I just feel excited and enthusiastic. I genuinely feel that I can do this and succeed in losing the weight where I have failed before. I don't know what to attribute this positive attitude to but I think maybe that the time is finally right. I think I'd be foolish to imagine that I won't feel like throwing in the towel in the first few days when the cravings I have been told to expect are at their worst. However, I have so many supportive friends and family members who are willing me to do well that I think I'll be ok. I'll try to post every day so that I can keep track of the high and low points, and hopefully distract myself when I'm not doing so well.
On the way home from the meeting tonight I stopped off at the supermarket and stocked up on peppermint tea. I'm not a big fan of black tea or coffee so this should be my lifesaver!! I also bagged myself a hand-blender for the shakes etc and some nice toiletries so I can pamper myself later in the week when I'm feeling in need of a lift.
The first thing I did when I got in was de-clutter the kitchen of all the junk food I had stored in the cupboards. In their place there is now just a very neat row of foodpacks (colour coded and arranged by sweet / savoury - how sad am I?). Finally, the diet coke was binned and the fridge is now full of numerous bottles of water. All set for Day1 tomorrow then.
Wish me luck xx
Sunday, 12 August 2007
A new beginning
This is my first ever blog so I hope people will be gentle with me. To be honest I'm quite surprised that I even managed to create the thing to begin with. I really am not the most technologically minded person in the world so I hope this first foray will lead to bigger and better things.
Not that I expect many people to read this, it's really just a tool for me to motivate myself and keep track of what I'm doing. So, what am I doing? For the last four weeks I've thought of nothing but starting the Lighter Life programme and finally beginning to lose the extra weight I've been carrying for years.
Pretty much ever since I can remember I have been overweight and unhappy about it. Recently someone at work told me that they had started the LL programme and had lost over 2 stone in around 6 weeks. The more that she explained the concept of LL to me, the more convinced I became that this was for me. I have tried other diets in the past but nothing seems to work. I would always lose a bit of weight (maybe a stone) but then lose my motivation when I started to feel better about myself and end up putting it all back on again. I also find it really hard to pick and choose the healthy options when it comes to food so I have always found things like WW difficult. I guess that's quite a common story. What appealed to me about LL, is the idea that you remove yourself completely from conventional food for a time and start to address the reasons why you overeat to begin with. It's only after you have addressed these issues that you then gradually reintroduce conventional healthy foods.
So, tomorrow I have my first proper meeting with an LL group. After tomorrow evening I will be eating nothing but the standard soups and shakes provided by the programme for the next few months.
As a kind of last hurrah I had the most delicious evening tonight. There was divine food (asparagus, duck and chocolate dessert), wine (red, sumptuous ... - that's all I can tell you) and grand marnier (think that's the right spelling), and perfect company. It was one of the best nights out I've had in ages and definitely seemed a fitting last supper before I start on the programme. I also got the chance to meet my friends' partners' brother and his partner (complicated) who were both absolutely lovely.
Now I know that the big day is (almost) finally here, I can hardly wait. I'm so excited as this is the first time that I have anticipated going on a diet with a sense of enjoyment rather than trepidation. I think it is because, for once, I feel that I will actually succeed whereas everything I've embarked on in the past has always felt doomed to fail even from the outset. I also think that this will be the thing to really change my life for the better. Hence, I have titled this blog 'Life Begins at 28' as, even though I am only 28 for another few months, I think this will be the best year of my life.
Finally, I am starting this programme with my friend so I just wanted to write a quick note to her:
L - thank you so much for all the encouragement you have given me over the last few weeks as I was thinking of starting this. I know that we will find it hard at times but I think, with each others help and encouragement, we will succeed and be happier than ever.
That's all for now. Quite a long one to begin with but I'm sure they'll get shorter as time goes on. Will post an update once I've had my first session.
Not that I expect many people to read this, it's really just a tool for me to motivate myself and keep track of what I'm doing. So, what am I doing? For the last four weeks I've thought of nothing but starting the Lighter Life programme and finally beginning to lose the extra weight I've been carrying for years.
Pretty much ever since I can remember I have been overweight and unhappy about it. Recently someone at work told me that they had started the LL programme and had lost over 2 stone in around 6 weeks. The more that she explained the concept of LL to me, the more convinced I became that this was for me. I have tried other diets in the past but nothing seems to work. I would always lose a bit of weight (maybe a stone) but then lose my motivation when I started to feel better about myself and end up putting it all back on again. I also find it really hard to pick and choose the healthy options when it comes to food so I have always found things like WW difficult. I guess that's quite a common story. What appealed to me about LL, is the idea that you remove yourself completely from conventional food for a time and start to address the reasons why you overeat to begin with. It's only after you have addressed these issues that you then gradually reintroduce conventional healthy foods.
So, tomorrow I have my first proper meeting with an LL group. After tomorrow evening I will be eating nothing but the standard soups and shakes provided by the programme for the next few months.
As a kind of last hurrah I had the most delicious evening tonight. There was divine food (asparagus, duck and chocolate dessert), wine (red, sumptuous ... - that's all I can tell you) and grand marnier (think that's the right spelling), and perfect company. It was one of the best nights out I've had in ages and definitely seemed a fitting last supper before I start on the programme. I also got the chance to meet my friends' partners' brother and his partner (complicated) who were both absolutely lovely.
Now I know that the big day is (almost) finally here, I can hardly wait. I'm so excited as this is the first time that I have anticipated going on a diet with a sense of enjoyment rather than trepidation. I think it is because, for once, I feel that I will actually succeed whereas everything I've embarked on in the past has always felt doomed to fail even from the outset. I also think that this will be the thing to really change my life for the better. Hence, I have titled this blog 'Life Begins at 28' as, even though I am only 28 for another few months, I think this will be the best year of my life.
Finally, I am starting this programme with my friend so I just wanted to write a quick note to her:
L - thank you so much for all the encouragement you have given me over the last few weeks as I was thinking of starting this. I know that we will find it hard at times but I think, with each others help and encouragement, we will succeed and be happier than ever.
That's all for now. Quite a long one to begin with but I'm sure they'll get shorter as time goes on. Will post an update once I've had my first session.
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