ALIZONNE THERAPY?

[oinker]

Just seen this advertised in National Press.

Has anyone ever tried it?

Is it pricey?

More to the point, Does it really work?

I'm intrigued..... I had never heard of this programme before...

mrspannie, that's great news!! Well done, really pleased for you :)
x

LOL found this in a weight loss forum.. and thought it would be funny for all the alizonners 2 c what there weight loss equals so far....

1 pound = a Guinea Pig
1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs
3 pounds = an average human brain
4 pounds = an ostrich egg
5 pounds = a Chihuahua
6 pounds = a human?s skin
7.5 pounds = an average newborn
8 pounds = a human head
10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year
11 pounds = an average housecat
12 pounds = a Bald Eagle
15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs
16 pounds = a sperm whale?s brain
20 pounds = an automobile tire
23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year
24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream
25 pounds = an average 2 year old
30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year
33 pounds = a cinder block
36 pounds = a mid-size microwave
40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of water or an average human leg
44 pounds = an elephant?s heart
50 pounds = a small bale of hay
55 pounds = a 5000 BTU air conditioner
60 pounds = an elephant?s penis (yep, weights more than his heart!)
66 pounds = fats and oils an average American eats in a year
70 pounds = an Irish Setter
77 pounds = a gold brick
80 pounds = the World?s Largest Ball of Tape
90 pounds = a newborn calf
100 pounds = a 2 month old horse
111 pounds = red meat an average American eats in a year
117 pounds = an average fashion model (and she?s 5?11?)
118 pounds = the complete Encyclopedia Britannica
120 pounds = amount of trash you throw away in a month
130 pounds = a newborn giraffe
138 pounds = potatoes an average American eats in a year
140 pounds = refined sugar an average American eats in a year
144 pounds = an average adult woman (and she?s 5?4?)
150 pounds = the complete Oxford English Dictionary
187 pounds = an average adult man
200 pounds = 2 Bloodhounds
235 pounds = Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 pounds = an average football lineman
400 pounds = a Welsh pony

:) :) :) :) :) :)

hope this will keep u guys motivated lol!

malik21 ha ha that is so funnny!!! My category is the weirdest, ewwww!

60 pounds = an elephant?s penis (yep, weights more than his heart!)

I am laughing really hard!!!! Also, feeling a bit sickly ;)

@malik21 - did you have your consutation / medgem today? How was it all? Did the doctor give you the number of weeks you'll need to get to your target date?

Look forward to hearing from you x

@ Malik and @ Marlie - Really hope it went well for you today! Do let us know.

Wow so glad I found this site and all this info! I have decided to take the plunge.....turned 40 in January and have struggled to loose weight for the last two years... just seem to gain more pounds every time. So alizone, although costly seems like the best way to get the results. Have booked a consultation for the 27th April (1st free friday) and a follow up for Monday 30th can't wait. Need to loose 2.5-3 stone to get back to pre-children weight! (twins aged 10 and another aged 9) so have been carrying it far too long!!!!! Going on our first holiday abroad this summer so will have 13 weeks from 30th April to shift the weight and make a difference!!!! Really hope it works for me! From all the info I can find I'm guesstimating 10-12 weeks... not sure how I will cope with hols for two weeks following that.... any advice/support greatly received :)

Hi everyone quick update from 3 rd weigh in. Another 1.9kg gone, 6.8kgs in just 3 weeks - that's over a stone! Am so pleased! This really does seem to work for me!
Good luck everyone.
M

@Marlie - Wow!! That's great, so pleased for you :) My first WI is on Saturday and I well nervous. Have done everything right so hope I see a good loss. Fingers crossed.

@megemmal - Welcome to AZ. I am only new to this programme so can't advise you on phasing off but I'm sure someone with more experience will answer that for you! The number of weeks they'll calculate for you will depend on the amount of weight you have to lose + your metabolic rate. Good luck with your consultation and medgem. Keep us posted :)

HEY DAISYLONDON- yep went in yesterday had the medgem, weigh in,height, blood pressure and paper work done.wasnt told anytin about my medgem results bcuz i am c'in the doctor 2 day well...in 6 hours 2 b exact!!! im like an owl i cant sleep cuz im that nervous! so ill let u no 2day l8r on in the afternoon how it goes...lol and yes imagine wot it will feel like after you have shed the 60 pounds (elephant penis) :) p.s- cant w8 2 find out how much u lost on ur 1st weigh in also how r u finding ur first week? is the food reasonable?

MRSPANNIE- ur doing great... im hopeing i achieve similar weight loses. in 3 weeks n nearly a stone down... amaizing!

MEGEMMAL- WELCOME !!! I am also new to alizonne, i havent started the diet yet however i have my consultation 2day! so wil let u no how that gets on and what to expect..

MARLIE43- ur doing great !over a stone!!...wow! just keep going... also any advice you can give whilst on the diet?

Hello again.

Marlie - that's a FANTASTIC result. Well done and keep up all your good work.

Daisy - a few days ago you were asking me about good drinks to take to work. I normally have a hot drink when I arrive: either hot choc, cappucinno or vanilla latte. At lunchtime, I use the soup sachets (favourites are still Mushroom or Beef and Onion, but I've promised myself that I'll branch out when I next get food!) In the late afternoon, I have a cold drink sachet. My favourites here are orange & grapefruit, orange & pineapple, or another vanilla sachet (without the coffee). At my work, we have the use of a fridge and microwave which is great, but there's no kettle. I make up all the sachets at work. The only time I use the beaker or flask is on the nights I go to the clinic. I really hope your first weigh in goes v well tomorrow.

Malik - I can't wait to hear how you got on with the doc today. Perhaps you'll be able to start the sachets tomorrow? By the way, I started my sachets BEFORE I had my first combined treatment (by about 10 days). The clinic didn't really like me doing it that way round because they want you to have an hour with the therapist talking through everything to ensure you understand it all - number of sachets, timing, the foods your'e allowed / not allowed, the importance of drinking 2+ litres, etc. But because of this thread I was confident I could cope and I convinced them that I could do it. :) If you've agreed to wait though, that's probably the safest way to do it and I take my hat off to you for your patience.

Megemmel - really great to have you on board. We all found this thread invaluable in the lead up to starting the diet. It answers so many questions - and it's not the usual "hard sell" but more the "warts and all" view of the diet. There's also a patient's forum (you'll get given the password at your first treatment). There's some great advise on there about phasing off and maintaining. From looking at the forum, it seems that the reducing phases are the easy ones. It's when you have a bit more free reign that it becomes tougher. The advice is that we have to be as regimented then as we are during the diet. It's all about planning ahead, making sure you have the right foods at the right times (so as not to get too hungry), sticking to healthy options always and counting calories. Only those who learn from the experience and don't go back to their old ways will keep the weight off. Depressing, but good to know up front!

Girls - my most successful recipe this week is an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Poorman's Caviar recipe. Basically it's aubergine and lots of corriander, garlic, etc. Completely delish. You prick the Aubergine all over and cook in a hot oven for 40 mins. When you take it out, let it cool. Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil in a saucepan, and fry green bits from spring onions, green peppers, garlic powder, salt & pepper, etc. Then when the aubergine is cool enough, take the skin off and scoop the white flesh into your green vegetables. Then add a huge amount of chopped corriander (or parsley) and mix it all through. Serve with a little low fat plain yoghurt and flat bread (made from the pizza sachet). Not sure if anyone else has done this one before (couldn't see it on the recipe forum.) Let me know if you like it! I'll definitely be doing a big batch for my freezer next time.

I asked the therapist on Wed the answers to my questions a few nights ago.

1. Spring onions. How close do you go to the white bit? The therapist advised to use all the green bit as far as the tip / bulb. Even if that's not entirely right, she advised not to worry because Onions and Garlic all come back in Phase 3 (?) so even if we take more than we are supposed to, they're not a "bad" foods, Alizonne wise.

1. Is there such a thing as too many UNrestricted veg? Her response was that so long as you are sticking to just having salad at lunch and veg with your evening meal, (and nothing in between) then a LOT was fine. She said many people don't have enough veg and oil to keep themselves "loose" (if you know what I mean). Apparently a lot of people get consitpation on the diet. So you do need the roughage to keep things moving! If you do get constipated, increase the water, oil and the rhubarb!

Onwards and downwards, girls.

HEY mrspannie - WELLL YESS I HAD MY CONSULTATION WITH THE DOCTOR 2DAY.... Its kind of funny cuz i had to fast for the 2 days- 12 hours prior to my appointments. bcuz my medgem and bloods wre on 2 different days..
I WAS 12st 7lbs before i did the fasting for the 2 days and in my weigh in with the clinic i weighed in at 12st 2lbs lol :) :) :) loosing weight b4 iv even started is a bonus... 2 b honest bcuz iv bin so excited and also nervous for the last 2 days due to starting the alizonne treatment soon i had noticed i wasnt even thinking about stuffing my face with bad bood.. I think its cuz i want to b really focused while im on the diet and i feel as tho if im spending so much money i have 2 b commited!!!

Ok so here goes .... THE GOOD NEWS IS .. my medgem came back pretty good ( touchwood ).. well thats wot the doc told me neway.. hope it stays that way! i think it was like 2235 or sumat like that,cnt remeber exact figures

I am 5.4 and weigh 12st 2lbs. I wanted to get down to 8.5 st but the doc said according to my height i should be 9st. So my goal is now 9st... That means i have to shed around 3st which is 20kg and the doc said it would take me 3 months, which is what i hoped... however he said if i stick to the diet and DONT CHEAT ( that means no little sneaky snacks like choc, sweets etc..) i could achieve my goal within 2 months. He said i am able to loose 8kg a month and all in all including phaseing off i would have completed the hole alizonne diet in 4 months!!

I do however have a slight problem.. i no this sounds stupid but i cant stomach the taste of water ( which is ridiculous, i no) for many years iv bin buying flavoured water, u no the volvic 'touch of strawberry flavour' And i asked the doc 2day wetha i could have it instead of the plain water and he kinda lukd at me like - no way .. theres loads of sugar in that, so thats out the question. :( guess im gona have to get out my old habit and learn how to like drinking plain water.

So.. yes FINALY! lol i can start but just waiting for my bloods to come back which they said wil take 48hours and after hearing all the gud news 4rm da doc i was just like I WANA START STR8 AWAY!!! LOL so im going in nxt week 2 get my food n stuff!!! whooopiee!!!

Lovely to read your updates, folks. I am now 1lb off 5 stone shed since 15 Dec and have officially past the 50% line - by 1lb!

So if I have 11st6lbs as my goal, I'm on the downhill straight. I'm not sure if I'll go further or stop 1/2stone higher. It will depend how I feel and my face looks!

If you want to read about my excitements over jeans (who knew that jeans now have stretch? I haven't worn jeans since the 1980s and had no idea!) , come and join me at Minimins which has a very satisfying weight profile : www.minimins.com/very-low-calorie-diets/248043-120lbs-shed-alizonne-tightening-8.html

I post regularly there - most days and have learnt lots from the other vlcd gals and guys.

Ali

Hello everyone,
It is nice that so many of us on the programme are posting here and sharing experiences. As for me, I am a bag of nerves today with the WI looming tomorrow am. I am on my 7th day today and while I?ve gotten into a pattern with this style of eating, it is the boredom (yet to come) that I fear the most. I treat most sachets like medicine but I do like one good meal a day. I suppose I just need to be creative and try new recipes, herbs and spices. I?ve ordered some mixed spices of here: www.dwdips.co.uk/store.php was recommended on AZ forums. Should be delivered tomorrow so looking forward to experimenting with them.

@Malik21 ? wow!! Your medem is amazing ? you?ll be shedding the weight in no time. Mine was only 1320 something. I am no doctor but I reckon you?ll be done before the end of four months.

The sachets depend on personal taste but I found most of them palatable. Some of my favs are: chicken nuggets, sheep?s cheese, pot pie (made as a veg burger), hot choc, vanilla dessert, omelette, tropical drink, orange and pineapple drink. The other sachets were fine too; the only one I have disliked so far is the orange cold drink. I suggest you go with the assortment packets in your first week to find out what works for you.

Which clinic are you going to? They should be able to give you the pwd for the AZ forums where you?ll find tons of recipes. Re water, maybe you could chill it in the fridge and squeeze some lemon juice in along with a tsp of candarel/ splenda when you are getting sick of the water. You can also try herbal teas, my fav are fresh peppermint, jasmine and green tea. But really, water is great for you so maybe you could try and get used to it (in small sips!). Good luck and hope you get to start soon. Keep me posted!

@Mrspannie ? thanks for those suggestions, really helpful. I have access to a fridge and microwave at work, and am planning that 2 of my 3 sachets at work will be cold drinks or maybe pud ? hmmm wonder if I can make up pud at work?! I don?t want to draw too much attention to me using the packets, so won?t be taking a blender but will keep the shaker at work. For lunch, I am planning to prepare potato burgers/ pizza / sheep?s cheese / omelette the night before and take them in with a salad. I may take soup packets in but without a blender not sure how well it?ll mix. I have a thermos, so might make take that along. So not looking forward to carrying all this stuff everyday in crammed London tubes to work!!!

Thanks for checking re spring onions, I might start going up till the bulb too! Fab recipe btw, a bit like the Indian bharta: indianfood.about.com/od/vegetarianrecipes/r/bainganbharta2.htm which I am now inspired to try my hand at after reading about your recipe. I made a pretty decent pizza last night, let me know if you?d like the recipe. I am planning to post it in the recipe section of the patient forums at some point.

@Ali ? really amazing that you are half way there... I can just imagine how great i?d feel when I?m half way to my goal. At the moment it seems like a long, long journey. Although the doctor said my target it is 11stone, I really think we?ll be re-adjusting as we get closer because I am about 5?5 tall and have previously weighted 9.5 stone which I was most comfortable in. I therefore think I?ll be here till October at least if I want to get to 10 stone and that seems sooooooooooooo far away.

I think it?ll be better when I get to phase 2. Anyway, I am just taking each day as it comes and trying to make it a success. I read your posts on minimins (as you know!!) and was so excited to read about your excitement about size 18 jeans! The fact that you?ve already got a smaller pair waiting for you in the cupboard just shows how confident you are about your weight loss. I wish I had your confidence.. . I suppose it?ll start to build up once I start to see regular losses!

Ladies, I love meat and for the first time in my life I?ve gone as long as 7 days without it. Usually we eat something non-vegetarian every day. I am missing it but trying to trick my mind to think that the chicken nuggets are actual proper chicken patties (I think they are soy though!).

Right, long post bringing me to my 4th sachet of the day :)

Ciao lovely ladies xx

Hello all

Thanks for the recipe, mrspannie sounds good might try that tonight!

My current fave is turnip crisps - flavoured with lots of smoked paprika.

I take the cold drinks to work, mix them and then chill them in the fridge. I usually have the afternoon one on the train home. My staples for lunch are pizza, often as flatbread, and sheeps cheese. Potato pie travels well too. My attempts with soup and a kettle were disastrous!

Very best of luck tomorrow Daisy.Fingers crossed, excited to hear your update. (And don't worry if you haven't lost loads - yes, lots of people seem to have the biggest loss in week one; mine was week two, so I guess we are just all different).

My tips for you new starters - get organised! I bought Loads of different spices, a small nonstick pan (for the omlettes) fresh herbs in pots etc, plus new kitchen scales, lunch boxes and small tubs for the pills. Plan ahead, and use the recipe forum on Alizonne website. Get some extra sachets in the first few weeks in case you don't like one or spill it! I've been building up a supply so I have plenty of choice. I think it depends on your state of mind. I thought about this for ages, did loads of research so it was a relief to get started. And don't expect the sachets to taste like real food; they don't really, it's fuel. They do make you feel full, I can honestly say I've never been hungry, and it's true that you have more energy. I just keep telling myself this won't be forever, then real food, and lovely white wine, will be back in my life (in smaller quantities of course!). And take it one day at a time. The posts on this thread, and on the Alizonne forum are really useful too. Lots of inspirational success stories, and great advice. The cost also helps to keep me motivated!

Mx

Marlie: Good post. It's fuel and it's life saving for some of us who would have an early death if we didn't take action and stay at goal.

I love my salter kitchen scales - so I can weigh 10 or 15gs of sachets to mix 2 or 3 sachets!

It's lovely having you all on board. I found this thread and have returned as it was one of the few places where real life info was available and hoped it would help others decide if Alizonne would help them.

I certainly have rarely felt hungry and I think the quality of the protein and the ability to have lots of salad and the 200g permitted veg really helps us stay on track. The old habits need challenging - I found out how much I 'tasted' when I cooked. A few times, I'd taken a mouthful and spat it out as soon as I realised what I'd done.....Mind over matter is essential.

I was hungry a few weeks ago. It was a bit random - not sure why I was as I hadn't changed exercise etc The doc told me to have another sachet if necessary and I also increased broccoli or aubergine in the evening meals - so got through the period. My lunchtime salads were huge when I started and are now smaller.

Daisy: I certainly wasn't confident when I started. I knew intellectually that it would work - but didn't think I would get results. In fact my evidence of past regimes was that I wasn't successful. So it is exciting being successful.

It takes much longer to shift clothing sizes when you are very big. It's taken a few months to build up the confidence - so I just did what I was told and saw the scales go down. I didn't really notice the first couple of stones in terms of clothes or feeling different. Funny as my thin closest friends assumed I'd feel better. I had always had lots of energy so it was c 4 Stone off before I felt a difference physically (apart from first thing being less stiff).

At first the weight lost must have been visceral fat as there was no external signs of weight loss.

I'm now 15 weeks in - with a long Alizonning summer ahead - You find me here:
www.minimins.com/very-low-calorie-diets/248043-120lbs-shed-alizonne-tightening.html And of course the real work is staying at goal - with those monthly clinic monitoring visits for a year afterwards....

Ali

Hi, I just went for my first treatment today. I wanted to thank all of you for sharing your knowledge and experience with the program. Reading all of your posts prepared me for what to expect and made my appointment so much easier. I will be starting the diet tomorrow. I am looking forward to trying some of the recipes and ideas that have been posted.

I hope I am as successful as you all have been.

HEY EVRY1- CAN I JUST START BY SAYING.. HOW MUCH IM LOVIN THIS FORUM RIGHT NOW! WOW! ITS SO BUSY! I WILL DEFO BE TAKING EVERY1S ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS!
daisylondon- thanKs 4 da reply im at the birmingham clinic! and yhhh thats a really good idea about the water with lemon and splenda.. i willl defo be tryn that! i will defo cum on here 2morow 2 find out ur weigh in and i hope its a big 1!

AND ANOTHER THING ID LIKE 2 ASK EVERY1 HU IS CURRENTLY ON THE ALIZONNE DIET!... i received the ;alizonne birmingham orferform alizonne medical diet products' which is the sheet of the menu that i will be having whilst on the diet and every1 keeps going on about the POTATO BURGERS, POT PIE AND CHICKEN NUGGETS! HOWEVER I DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THESE ON MY MENU!! do u rekon its because i have other options instaed?
has anyone got any of these foods listed below (as no1 has spoke about them yet):

soup:
-potato and leek soup

savoury:

• salmon & lemon blinis with taramapuree
• cheese souffle
• pasta with tomato and carbonara sauce

-bacon and cheese pancake

sweet dishes:
-lemon flan? dont even no what that is lol
-rasberry clafoutis (new)

Bars: (phase 3 only)

• mint and choc bar

-nougat bar -fig bar

and readmade smokey BBQ soy nuts?

Day 8 & first WI - lots of excitement in Daisy land. I lost 3.6 kgs / 7.5lbs in my first week. So down from 14 stone 4lb to 14 stone 8lbs. Yayayay!!

My blood pressure has gone down too, so that's pretty amazing.

Thanks for all your encouragement, support and suggestions in my first week. It is soooooooooooooo appreciated!

I've also got myself new sachets, some favourites from last week, and some swaps to try exciting new flavours like coconut drink, raspberry clafoutis, cheese mousse, praline drinks... And the old favs are: pizza, pot pie, nuggets, hot choc & cheese! I'm such a big foodie, getting super excited about my new packets! What will become of me?

@Malik21: Good luck with the diet! Your order sheet appears to be incomplete, that is just about a third of what's on my sheet. Btw, all the differnt dishes we talk about, they don't all come in sachets. We modify some sachets i.e. add veggies + spices to the potato pie mix to make them veg burgers!

Good luck and catch up soon x

daisy london CONGRATULATIONS! uv dun really well i dont blamme you for sounding so happy! honestly im so happy for you! 7.5lbs ... thats like 1lbs a day!..or just over half a stone!

And about the diet sheet i only listed a few things that i havent seen any1 talk about, that isnt the full sheet. I think i must have misunderstood the sheet. Now i understand what u mean by 'modifying' the menu as i thought that they come in the sachet called that...

ill defo keep u updated n my diet, will be starting probz monday nxt wk. still w8n 4 blud tests results 2 cum bak

gud luk with week 2, i hope ur weigh in for the 2nd week willl be as good as ur 1st x

Well done Daisy, it's exciting!

One thing I'm finding after just 3 weeks is how much I used to eat when I wasn't hungry, picking at the kids' tea, just a nibble of cheese here and there, and as Ali says, tasting as I cook! And it's such a habit, I was making tea for my boys tonight, and almost popped a chunk of cheese in my mouth without realising! Just caught myself in time and hurled the offending item in the bin!

Mrspannie thanks so much for the poor mans caviar recipe - made it last night and it was delicious! Didn't taste like diet food at all. I am craving it now as I've run out of aubergines, otherwise would have make it again today.

Ali your posts are really inspiring, such an achievement to pass the halfway point. I think one of the positives about this diet is that it programmes you to think about "when" rather than "if". Having an end date makes it seem achievable.

I do often wonder if I will cheat at some point in the future. I haven't wanted to yet...so far I have felt strangely calm and in control for the last 23 days....

wow well done daisy that is truly brilliant. I am 2 weeks away from my app and start the diet on mon 30th. I have decided that as I want to try and hit target loss of 2.5-3 stone before my hols ( 13 weeks on alizone) it might be a good idea to begin healthy eating now up until the app! To try and lose a few pounds and get my head organized. So no alcohol chocs biccies or crisps from today onwards also try to increase my water intake. Do u all think this is a good idea or might it slow down the initial effect of the A programme????

Also could you ladies on the prog tell me the answer to two q's pls..... Will I be able to have milk in my tea on the diet? Can u drink diet coke/ chew gum? That's 3 q's!!!! Oooops getting nervous! ;-)

Megemmal - sorry, no milk in tea! Try green tea, or peppermint? I'm lucky as I drink tea and coffee black anyway. And no diet coke, officially, although I asked my therapist this week as I missed it. She said one or two a week was fine - it used to be allowed and wont affect weight loss, but they changed the advice on it (possibly due to aspartame levels as there is already a lot in the Alizonne food). I had my first dc yesterday after 3.5 weeks, and didn't like it - too sweet!

Personally I didn't diet before the start date, I crammed in as much social stuff as I could so that I'd be able to go to ground for a few weeks without having to tell people at work etc about the diet! I put on a kg between my consultation and my first treatment! It's hard waiting to start but I think it was easier for me to go cold turkey. And I know that every oz of the stone or so I've lost in 3 weeks is due to the programme, so I know it works!

THanks Marlie just gives me more info to get as well prepared as I can be. I'm a little concerned as I kno my 13 weeks I plan to be on the plan include 2 overnite stays!!!! One at a hotel in london if wxm fc make it to the play off finals!!( week 4) and One at a guesthouse with a visit to the eisteddfod with the kids (week 5)I am determined this will not throw me off but not sure how I will manage the situation! Not tellin the hubby exact details( or cost!) Of the programme!

Hmmmmmm from what I've read on here I can have salad some veg and sachets of soup desert drinks?! Am I on the right lines? Xx

Ps anyone on here at the Wilmslow Clinic? That's where I will be going x

Megemmal - Don't worry too much about your overnight stays. There's a lot of advice on how to manage trips when you get onto the Alizonne forum. (You'll get the password when you start the diet). Also, there's a great email on disappearing dawn's blog (type "Disappearing Dawn" into google to get to it), which I've tried and it really does work.

I'm going to Paris for 3 days in a few weeks time and am planning to bring mostly cold drinks (easier to prepare when you're away). I'll also bring some pre-made bread (from Pizza sachet), and some pre-made potato burgers (Potato Pie and Fine Herbs sachet) - so that I have some real food while I'm away. I've also asked my MIL contact the restaurant on my behalf and have given her Disappearing Dawn's email template. Unfortunately, the hotel we are staying in doesn't have kettles in the room, but at least I know in advance. It's really good to get organised before you go.

In terms of dieting / not dieting before you start, I think I would carry on as normal. Personally I didn't diet beforehand, but I didn't go mad either. I kept on thinking things like "well, this is my last trip to Pizza Express for a long time" or this is my last glass of wine, etc. But I was so fed up with my weight just before I started that even comfort food wasn't making me happy. The wait to get going really got me in the right frame of mind.

Have a good week everyone!