ALIZONNE!

[Beccie77]

Hello all Alizonners out there, starting a new thread as the old one is full to bursting, and I still want to know how everyone is doing and any tips.

Oh dear Baloo, you seem to have had a traumatic 3 day stint which is a shame! I can honestly say I have never felt fitter or healthier and my self esteem is 100% now. Being on Alizonne has helped me in SO many ways and I too know that when I 'bow out' after phase 8 that I will also follow a ketogenic diet, which I have already been researching. But I do know I would never have even had that thought without having experienced the Alizonne regime, nor would I have lost so much weight because it's the slow progress which thwarts all of us who have large amounts to lose. We need results quickly to prove there is a smaller person still waiting to get out and when that happens it's the best feeling in the world. We all have to find the right method for ourselves don't we and this is definitely mine, but I totally understand your misgivings, especially as far as the aspartame is concerned. I'm not happy about it either but I see it as a short term solution and maybe it's not as bad for me as being 6 stones overweight, which I'm not now, thankfully . Good luck Baloo 2635- hope it all works out for you - let us know how you get on with the ketogenic diet and we'll maybe all use yours as a follow on.

@baloo With Alizonne I got rid of bad unhealthy eating habits, learned portion control, broke my bad habit of feeling like I needed to reward myself with food every time I had to celebrate something or I was feeling down (comfort eating), and discovered a new love for healthy eating, many new kinds of vegetables I wouldn't have tried otherwise, and I am 100% sure I won't go back to my old ways when I finish. Yes it might not be ideal with the aspartame thing, etc, but it's only for a few months, they give lots of supplements to make sure you don't lack anything, and they do monthly blood tests and weekly controls to make sure you're not experiencing anything bad. My Alizonne GP has phoned me a few times to alter my supplements slightly after my blood tests, and so far everything is good and under control.

Never felt healthier or more excited about healthy food and lifestyle, got my confidence back, and I don't find fast food appealing in the slightest now. And I will stay away from Aspartame as soon as I finish, but being a new healthy self.

I'm sorry you went through a bad experience though, and hope you find what you were looking for.

So weigh in No 3 - the dreaded plateau! Lost slightly less than 1 lb. I am not particularly concerned as I was 100%. It's just an inevitable adjustment. In three weeks I have lost nearly a stone. I more week & I should be half way through Phase 1.

I had my week 12 weigh in and lost another 2kgs. That's 20 in total, or 44lbs. So far I've lost a stone a month, which is wonderful! Another 3kg to go then I'm phase 2. This week I'm able to get back into my motorbike leathers. Honestly they're a little tight, but still delighted. They're size 14, but leathers are notoriously smaller than high street sizing.

Weigh-in today after 2 weeks and have lost 5lbs, so that's 41lbs in 9 weeks. I always leave the clinic feeling on top of the world after the treatments so I went to M and S to try on some clothes (not buying yet though as they'll be too big soon . Does anyone find M and S sizing strange? I have size 18s (BHS)at home which are fine but in M and S some 18s were ok but a couple of size 22 sweaters were tight. Left me slightly despondent but in a few weeks time all will be well I'm sure. Also does anyone find their mirrors SO unflattering, or is my mirror at home just 'on my side'?
Well done btw Moanranger and Munchkinbug- VERY positive posts- good on ya, keep it up.

Well done on the progress guys :D :D I'm happy for you all!!

@ Polyanna7 - I think it depends on body shape hun. I find that for me M+S clothes are made to more tailored sizing and fit me at the size I think I am but that BHS items come up loose. But every woman carries weight in different areas so that could be why as I'm losing more weight off my waist and slower on my hips. I totally agree with you about the unflattering mirrors!!

@ Baloo - sorry to hear about your bad experience. My GP (my normal NHS one not my Alizonne doctor) is totally supportive of me doing Alizonne! For him, at this stage, the health benefit of me losing the weight I need to lose outweighs any potential side effects and I totally agree! Obviously that would be reassessed if my situation changes. Personally I've had no side effects or problems with Alizonne.

I think it depends on your practitioners understanding of the diet and the support involved. No treatment for any condition will suit everyone and treatment needs to be put in perspective in terms of the patient's level of health and what they need/want to achieve.

From the discussion I had with my therapist, this is how I understood the metabolism part. If you have your 5 sachets on time, with the salad, the veg and oil AND combine in some regular exercise, your metabolism won't be suppressed. However your metabolic rate will decrease as your weight decreases...that will happen to anyone on any diet involving weight loss. If you weigh less, you need fewer calories to maintain yourself. If you skip sachets, don't exercise etc, then Alizonne will suppress your metabolism which is why at every appointment they check in if you have stuck to the routine.

I agree there is Aspartame in a lot of the sweeter sachets. It's not a huge concern for me as I do not intend on being on Alizonne forever! There was bigger health risks in my original level of obesity (risks of developing heart disease , high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc) then there is in short term consumption of aspartame. However, this situation could be different for someone only needing to lose a stone or two. Plus patients could have fewer sweeter sachets :) I've been testing myself using ketosticks and I've been in ketosis since day two of the diet. Its never fluctuated despite there being some weeks where I've had more sweeter sachets than other weeks. Also I've been told that any sugar free mint gum is okay, so long as its no more than 3 pieces per day so I don't stick to a particular make.

Since when did Alizonne not advertise? I've seen adverts in magazines and on busses! If it wasn't for advertising, I wouldn't have found Alizonne?!

The problem with treating obesity is the lack of 'facts' in general in terms of treating it. There are so many physical, emotional and psychological elements to it, there is no 'one cure' for everyone. I would say to anyone considering Alizonne to do your own research, keeping in mind your own health and your own goals. Research online but talk to an Alizonne therapist and then take that information to your own GP so they can help you assess the benefits against the risks.

I work for the NHS too. Would I recommend Alizonne to every person who comes to me for support losing weight? No as there's no need for this level of intensity for everyone. Many people out there are capable of losing it more naturally. But some people, like me, who have a lot of weight to lose and a lot of health to regain, it's worth it. It's all about perspective

I do agree with Ketogenic diets being the way to go for me too! Once I have reached my target weight, I intend on maintaining my weight using a naturally ketogenic diet and I hope such a ketogenic diet helps you lose weight successfully hun.

Keep us up to date with how it goes!

Sandy x

Good post Sandy! Well, my boyfriend is losing weight as well - no surprises, as I am not cooking much. He hopes to lose another six lbs by Xmas. Just cutting out the"cakes & ale" should do it for him.
Am eating the aubergine melansana from the recipe book. Tasty use of the sheeps cheese.
Feeling rather washed out & running on empty & wanting more actual food today, but I stuck with it. Every time I ruminate on cheating, I think, "the cost, the cost!"

Recently bought ketostix sandyxblog. What is the ideal reading which shows good ketosis?

@ Pollyanna7 - There's no reading for ideal ketosis hun. So long as it is pink/purple, you are in ketosis. Personally my readings are always 'moderate' on the colour scale. I have noticed that if I eat a lot of suede in one week then it reduces to between small/moderate so that has a small impact on my level of ketosis.

So long as you are in the pink/purple range and losing weight you are fine. The main thing is consistency, staying the same shade will give you regular stable weight loss. Don't obsess about what the actually shade is! Just because someone has a dark ketone reading, doesn't mean they will lose more than someone with a lighter one. Too dark is generally bad and it highlights dehydration etc.

I just use ketostix to check for patterns. Eg...when i eat more of this food...this happens lol!

Hope that helps

Sandy x

@ Moanranger - Thanks hun! I'm sure he'll hit the 6lb mark :) Feeling washed out isn't good though hun! I find that sometimes I need to eat more than 5 times to keep my energy levels up. What I do is use my veg allowance to make a curry and treat the curry as like my sixth sachet. So I eat six times a day. Keeps me feeling more energized. I used to snack on cucumber sticks too when I first started tho I don't need to do that anymore. The doctor said he was happy for me to do this as it clearly wasn't affecting my weight loss.

Sandyx

Sandy Thanks for the tip. Must prepare more allowed snacks. My favourite is cucumber/celery with puréed aubergine as a dip.

Slightly early weigh in this week as it was my review yestetday. I've lost 21.2kg in total after 12.5 weeks. I've only got another 1.8kg to go until phase 2, but I've decided to do another 4 weeks on phase 1. I'm unsure if my original target was enough, so I'll do 17 weeks on phase 1 and take it from there.

Does anyone do resistance training as part of their exercise? I love Body Pump, but was advised to stay away from weights as it slows down weight loss (but not fat loss). However just been told by the doctor in my review that it balances out as muscle burns fat. So just wondering if anyone else does weights?

So very upset - my blood results have come back and my liver is not looking good, so I've been told to stop Alizonne immediately. I have an appointment next Saturday, where they'll discuss my options, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to carry on with any of it. So, so, so upset. I thought I'd finally found a diet that worked for me. I now feel as though I'll never reach my target.

Munchkin Sorry you are so upset - but maybe you can do some sort of modified low-carb Phase 2? What is the issue with liver? Enzymes? Cholesterol? Hope that you find a solution. Too close to give up - keep us posted.
Weigh-in 4 & I lost 3lbs, so I am happy! I had a different technician-therapist (whom I liked better TBH) & she said I could go on Phase 2 when I lost 4 more kilos, which to me seems too soon - that would be 5k from my goal & I thought you went to Phase 2 after losing 90% of the weight, which would be more like 2k from my goal. She also thought I could do this in 2 weeks, which is pretty optimistic. I figure the best average weight loss I can achieve would be 3lbs a week, so more like 3 weeks. At any rate, I will defo be in Phase 2 by end of Oct, so I can look forward to that. Onward to week 5 & on the downhill run to goal.

@Munchkinbug That's really bad news! sorry about that :(

So what are you supposed to do until Saturday regarding the food? just go back to eating 100% normal? Did they tell you if that would reverse the weight loss you've achieved to date? Hope they give you a good plan, maybe a phase off that will work well for your liver. But most important is to get your liver back on track. Let us know how it goes!

@Moanranger well done! maybe that Therapist is a bit too optimistic but even if it's a bit slower than what she said, it's still good!

I am now in phase 3 since a week ago. And it happened the same thing as when I progressed from Phase 1 to 2. I gained one kg the first 4 days, and during the last 3 days I lost it again, so weight loss this week will probably be 0kg-0,2kg. So it seems like for me, changing phase makes me lose a whole week. But this time I was already prepared for this, so it didn't come as a bad surprise.
I'm really enjoying my breakfasts now, but I feel like I'm more hungry during the day than Phase 1 or 2. I think I will need to increase the size of my salad and veggies.

Hmm...I notice less action on this thread, maybe not the time of year when most people start a diet? My plan is to be completely done by Christmas. If I go on Phase 2 by mid-October, then the rest of the phases by mid-December, that would work.
Feeling pesky today, though I did a 5k run this morning. I almost felt like I was going to faint in Lidl. Not a day to try to do too much. Bridgid I envy you a real food breakfast! I kind of like the Alizonne "porridge" though.

Hi Zazzi
Do you still have your sachets up for sale? :-)
Thanks

Hi, I only came across this thread just today and am so pleased to have found it. I am three weeks into my programme and although my loss has been very slow but pleased that it is still dropping off. Lost 4.1 kgs in three weeks so although not massive but i guess it differs with different people. I have so far enjoyed all the recipes I found on the Alizonne website by lots of inovative ideas.

@brigidwasp, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Feel a bit abandoned to be honest!! All I got told was to eat as healthy as possible, high protein and avoid carbs. That's it! I was in shock so didn't ask any questions. I have no idea what to do now. If losing weight on my own was easy, I wouldn't have been doing Alizonne in the first place. But if I have no choice, I shall simply have to persevere.

Munchkin So they didn't tell you what exactly was wrong with your liver results? That's pretty bad - my sympathies.
Had a great moment yesterday morning. Got up , and my thighs weren't rubbing together. Only a fat bird can appreciate the joy of this.
On a slightly odd & possibly TMI issue, my urine was smelling really odd for a couple of days, but it has stopped. It may have been due to too much aubergine, as I was eating a whole one every night with the sheep's cheese, making their parmigiana. Got a bit sick of it so stopped. Weigh in tomorrow.

@Munchkinbug - I don't think it's right to have you waiting the whole week while you're worried about what to do. Did they not tell you what was wrong with your liver though? I hope you find out this Saturday and they give you a good food plan to at least not gain it all back.

@moanranger I am eating a whole aubergine every night too, (no goats cheese) hehe but didn't notice anything strange. I can't get enough aubergine! I think I'll carry on eating it very often after alizonne as well.

I am really disappointed with myself, I am on week 4 just starting went for treatment today and the girl was so gentle with the suction part I felt I had wasted my money and I only lost 1.5lb I was gutted I stuck to the diet to the letter :( then we had to go to a wedding I requested just a green salad I received chicken and veg I was gutted again but did not want to draw attention to myself and I ate it, will it have ruined another week if I only do 1.5 when struck do you think I will gain SOso upset

Annie I have been following it to the letter too & have had 2 weeks where I have only lost 1-1/2 lb. This is normal & you will have a big loss the next week. They oversell the rapid weight loss angle TBH. Chin up - & keep at it - it works!

Well I had my appointment on Saturday and I felt a lot better afterwards. I didn't see the usual doctor, but a different lady and she was very nice and thorough. First thing she did was apologise for the way I've been treated in this. She said that I should never have been left to my own devices, and shouldn't have been told by the lady who owns the clinic (but should have been told by the doctor). I should have been put straight on to phase 4 so that I could maintain my weight - simply being told to stop Alizonne completely wasn't correct. She also told me that the doctor I've had up to now has left. She didn't say why, nor did she go into any details - I got the feeling that they weren't happy with my original doctor, but that's just a feeling I got - the new doctor certainly didn't say anything to that end.

The doctor told me on Saturday that my liver has been working too hard, and it could be something like gallstones causing a blockage. She was happy that I'd not been experiencing any symptoms at all, and felt fine. She was also happy that going back to a "normal" diet hadn't affected me at all in terms of how I was feeling - all good signs. She mentioned that if it was something like gallstones, then it may be nothing serious at all, and I just need to let my liver relax for a while. If my blood tests still showed no improvement, or was worse, then it could be an indication of something more serious and she'd have to give me an eating plan and refer me to my GP. I'll be honest, I was a bit of a basket case in the appointment and actually cried (what a spanner!). She examined my abdomen and couldn't feel any enlargement of my liver. It was tender only in one spot when she pressed a certain way. She told me that she should have my blood test results back by Monday (yesterday) but that she'd phone me either way, but it would be late in the day.

Yesterday was very stressful waiting to hear back. She phoned at 6:45pm to tell me that my liver had improved massively - still not 100% but far better than it had been, so having a rest is working. This indicates it's nothing serious (fingers crossed). However, she's not too sure on where we go from here - she's going to speak to some of the other doctors in the Alizonne network to see if they've got experience of this. I'm going to do phase 4 for the next couple of weeks, and I have to wait to see what happens next. It may be the case that I can go back on to phase 1 again, or perhaps go straight to phase 2. I was only a couple of kgs away from phase 2 anyway (if I go by my original target), so she was saying perhaps I could do phase 2 for longer to meet the same weight-loss goal. She was also doing some research and investigation, as she is thinking perhaps the ultrasound may not be helping my liver, as it breaks down the fat-cells, and directs the fat towards the liver. If this is the case, I'll only do the deep-tissue massage part, and will forgo the ultrasound. I'm okay with that to be honest, because I find it itchy as hell!! And the beep is REALLY loud in my ears! lol.

So all in all I'm feeling much better about things. I'm very happy with how the new doctor is treating me - I feel like I'm in good hands again. I still have no idea what the outcome will be - there's always the possibility that Alizonne won't be the best approach for me, but hopefully this won't be the case. If it is, then I just have to keep telling myself that I have two more stone to lose by myself, and 2 stone solo is WAY better than if I'd never found Alizonne, and had the full 5 stone to lose by myself.

Sorry for the long post!! I shall keep you posted :)

@Munchkinbug thanks for letting us know. I'm really glad that you're feeling much better now. I am glad they accepted they shouldn't have left you go through the whole week without knowing what to do. Did you have a weigh in on Saturday? Do you know if you've gained any kgs back during this week off Alizonne?

I understand you were worried, and in a situation like that and not knowing what to expect regarding your liver, I think it's normal to feel a bit emotional. This new doctor that you've got seems to care more about her patients, that's good!

It's great news that your liver is improving so fast. Fingers crossed it only gets better.

And if you end up having to phase off completely, 2 stones are really doable on your own. I actually managed to lose 2 stones on my own before Alizonne, it took me a whole year though, but it's definitely doable. :)