"Wonderful weight management support"

I initially attended the specialist weight management session by referral from my GP, because my aim was to be accepted for weight loss surgery. 

I met with Mairi, in Nairn, who was very kind and listened to me without interrupting. She had to tell me that because of my good health (read: no diabetes or other scary things lurking in the depths of my body) I didn't qualify for surgery. I hadn't seen that one coming and felt disappointed but fortunately Mairi was able to offer me a series of appointments in which she and I would look at the reasons why I overate and we'd focus on finding healthier alternatives instead. Would I be interested in attending those sessions? She asked. I said that I definitely was willing to take on anything that would help me loose weight.

The wonderful part of our sessions was the absence of a focus on my weight. Instead of being put on a diet we looked into the reasons why and when I do overeat and we came up with useful alternatives that I could use when those occasions would occur. 

We also looked at changing my perception of food - food was either 'good' or 'bad' in my opinion - and I managed to start enjoying food more, once I got rid of the guilt that would often accompany my eating 'bad' foods.  

Of course we focused on the relationship between emotions and the urge to comfort eat and we came up with a useful list of questions I could ask myself when feeling emotional - such as: what emotion am I feeling, what is this emotion telling me, what is it I really need instead of food etc -and created a list of alternative options instead of using food to regulate my emotions.

I have learned to recognise my body's hunger/fullness signals, I manage a daily eating routine and am able to treat myself to 'bad' foods and enjoy them instead of feeling guilty. 

We also discussed nutrition and vitamins and minerals but in an empowering way, in order to learn what an average body (and mind) needs in order to function well. 

Mairi has shown me wonderful, supportive and non-judgmental support. It's easy to see how she was passionate about helping me gain back control over food in my life. These sessions have really helped me. I am slowly losing weight, without focusing on diets or food restriction and instead focusing on the things/activities/people/animals that make me feel happy and content instead. 

A few months into our sessions I also gained support through an app called Flo. The app would send me daily questions about where I was on the hunger scale, was I thirsty, had I planned my next meal, when was my last meal etc, which I found very helpful. Flo helped me become more mindful about my eating habits and was very easy to interact with (and free of charge!). 

So if you are desperate to have bariatric surgery but for whatever reason can't have it, I can recommend you seeing Mairi and ask for her support. 

I attended some sessions in person and others through 'Attend Anywhere', which allows you to see and speak to each other through an internet connection.

The first 6 sessions (or so) I did see Mairi once every two weeks. That progressed onto once every month for 3 months (or so).