Jayne's story

My name is Jayne, I am 50 years old and I have been fat for as long as I can remember. Sorry, I mean overweight, big boned, out sized, cuddly - any euphemism you can think of. But we all know that it really boils down to being fat. Actually that is not quite true - I have also lost a shed-load of weight over the years and have gone from 10 to 20 stone. At the moment I am nearer the top!

Last year (before Fern Britton was exposed), I thought about having a Gastric Band Operation. I really could not see any way out of this constant misery without something drastic happening. I have a good life - I live in Spain, have a job I enjoy, a loving husband (and yes, as usual, my weight is not a turn off for him, just me) but I could see no way out of my obsessive hatred for body image and my love/hate relationship with food.

I have done all the diets - Scarsdale, Atkins, Grapefruit only, Weight Watchers, Herbalife, Lighter Life etc etc. In some I have lost huge amounts of weight (6.5 stones the last time!) but, as we know, it creeps back on again as soon as you eat 'normally' and you often end up being heavier than before. When I eat 'normally' it can range from a very healthy fruit, veg, fish diet to vast quantities of cake, ice cream, cheese sandwiches (which always taste better at night) - I think you get my drift.

I have bought all the exercise equipment - my husband calls them 'dust gatherers' and have had limited success. By this, I mean no success at all.

I decided to research gastric band ops and at first was really hopeful. It costs a lot, can be done in Spain, and hey presto the weight falls off. I told my husband I wanted the Op. As usual, he then went on the web and properly researched gastric band ops and was not convinced. Probably because some people have died having this done and although this may have seemed a small point to me to overlook, it was a huge area of concern to him.

Then I found an article on the Internet about a clinic offering 'The Gastric Band, now without the surgery', so I looked at it, spoke to my husband about it and we agreed it looked like a better first step (before I had the real thing, mind you!).

I went to the Elite clinic in Fuengirola early July. I was very open minded about what I was going to find. I wanted this to work because surgery is a really drastic measure to take and I would prefer not to go there. To be honest, I was paying good money for this as well so I thought I had better at least take an active part in this and try to make it work. My husband came with me each time and sat outside the clinic having lunch and enjoying a rare treat in 'tourist land' - shopping mainly.

My first session was really a 'get to know each other' time. Marion listened while I recounted my life story. She asked pertinent questions about the things I know most about - my eating habits, my health history. Nothing felt intrusive and I knew I had met someone I could relate to. After the long chat, we went into a very relaxing hypnotherapy session of about 30 minutes and I left.

My first week after the session was most unusual for me. First of all, I had absolutely no feelings of obsessing about food. Normally I think about what I will eat for breakfast, what I should not have eaten, what to have for lunch, what 'naughty or bad' things I can grab at work - constant 'should I, should I not' existence - it went!

Secondly, my eating habits changed - I didn't binge at night on cheese sandwiches, fruit, ice cream etc. I didn't eat between my meals; I didn't even store chocolate, cakes etc for when I fancied a treat. For the first time in my memory, food was a small but important part of my life. Necessary, enjoyable (I was beginning to choose the foods I liked the best and eat those rather than eating everything). I contemplated exercising (didn't do it, but thinking about it was a change - I dusted down the treadmill - my husband fainted!).

Week 2 - same thing, no overeating, in fact tending to eat smaller portions and twice I even left food on the plate! Dusted the treadmill once again and left it.

Week 3 - I was ill. This usually means I stock up on all my comfort foods, sit in front of the telly, read books and eat. I didn't do it. One day I even gave my aching stomach a rest by having a 'water only' day (well it was gastro enteritis, not that that has stopped me eating ice cream in the past). 4 days away from work and even boredom didn't make me overeat.

Week 4 - by now I was beginning to think something may be working. I started on the treadmill and exercised with an interactive video programme. Not going crazy but just enjoying moving a bit, although it is very hot here in Spain in July.

The big changes are:

I am having the sessions slowly on a weekly basis and I'm now getting ready to have the final part of the therapy, which is the fitting of the gastric mind band treatment as I really want to continue this exciting weight loss method. I haven't finally decided when to do this but I will keep you posted.

What excites me the most is that I although I haven't got as far as the gastric band part of the therapy, I'm already experiencing life-changing differences - I'm losing weight easily and naturally, but above all I'm no longer completely obsessed about food, which is something I've had as long as I can remember. It's really fantastic to be free from that at last.

If anyone has any comments, questions or just 'life stories' to share - please feel free to send me an email c/o Martin and Marion at the Elite Clinicmail@gmband.com

I would love to hear from you.