Back from the West country - people didn't recognise me! Size 8 jeans and a decision

Gosh - well - there's a lot been going on this weekend

The great bits - I am wearing size 8 jeans. That's right. SIZE 8 and they fit! In fact - they're a bit baggy around the knees - but they were reduced to £9 and mum bought them for me. In fact mum was so chuffed that she bought me a whole new set of pyjamas and lots of bras in the sale!

A person whose known me and my family since I was 10 years old blanked me and my mother said 'This is Sarah!' to him and he said 'Should I know who you are?' - 'My daughter!' he did a double take and almost fell over!

Then on Saturday morning I got on my trusty old scales from when I lived at home and in my clothes (jeans) I was 9 stone 12.

Then I had to drive back speedily to try to make it to my counsellor's house to pick up my food for the next two weeks and turn round before the match traffic started up, but alas, although I made it there before the traffic, I ended up stuck in traffic for 25 minutes and panicked and ate my bar (within today's allowance, but not an entirely in control eating choice) My weigh in was badly planned - I had jeans on and had drunk so much before getting there so I guess that the 0.3 of a kilo. Hmmmm...


Dear LL,

There's a problem here - next week if I don't lose something I will have lost close to a pound in nearly a month - I'm very very happy with the size 8 jeans though so I'll forgive you

Love Sarah

The weekend has been very emotional for me - I've been awful to my relatives and very snappy so I had to keep apologising. My mother and I came to the conclusion that I should start management next Monday - I am exhausted all the time and snapping at everyone and having mild anxiety attacks triggered by the most ridiculous things.

I don't want to be a size 6 as it would be just as hard to buy clothes at that size as it used to be as a 24 so it has to be time to stop.

I also managed to get some calf length boots to almost do up - less than a centimetre to go means that I could do it by stretching them...so my body goals are just about there.

I have also been bingeing. On Morrisons Strawberry and Kiwi drink - I didn't have any fruit flavouring with me so I've been drinking that instead. I don't like how it makes me feel and I really don't want to form a low cal drinks habit but my parents' water supply got hit on Friday night (as they've returned the water to the affected areas our water pressure dropped and the water didn't taste 'right') I've been drinking Coke Zero too - and I think this rule bending is a sign that I need to stop.

On Wednesday night I need to depart from the LL plan slightly in order to break ketosis. My LLC and I have decided that I should eat something I have no predilection for and it also needs to contain a carby veg with no comfort connotations. I am not entirely sure whether I want to stay veggie or not so I will have a tub of cottage cheese and a load of frozen sweetcorn - a vegetable I am entirely ambivalent about to the degree that I tend to avoid it. So I'll be keeping it bland enough for me to remain disinterested, but caloric and carby enough to break my ketosis for the op.

Also I was freezing cold to the degree that although I had booked a car with aircon, I spent the entire journey there and back and to the shops with my heating on full blast. It's only when I'm around other people that I realise quite how weird my body thermostat is under ketosis! My poor mother was sweltering and I couldn't socialise as I was shivering.

The other week, I was on the tube and people were wilting and I was shivering. Freaky!

Funny. Yes I'm freezing too. Have the heating on right now, in fact, I'm not sure when I've ever had to put the heating on in London in July!

Size 8 - fabulous. I really do want to follow suit Sarah in terms of getting as low as possible pre management. I'm currently having to come to terms with how much longer this is going to take me, but I'm getting there.

Good for you on the decision to go the non-comfort food route into breaking ketosis.

Dear Sarah

How amazing - those non-recognition moments were almost my best when I was losing weight - the time when a university best friend walked right past me in a bar was a particular favourite!

Re your note about the slowing weight loss, in case helpful, this is something I sometimes see with a few of my clients as they get right down to their target weight. Those tend to be the clients who then drop another few pounds in Route to Management - IF they follow the Blue Book guidelines exactly! So sounds like a good time to be making the transition.

Also, another alternative to a pre-operation 'prescribed' ketosis-lifting substance that our Medical Team advise is to have a bowl of something like All Bran with milk (if that is a non-trigger food for you).

Hope that's useful, and good luck with the wisdom teeth and the move into Route to Management.