Taylor drove them to the dietician's office, she tried to chat with Gracie on the way but the younger woman was too nervous.
As they sat in the waiting room, Gracie's leg was bouncing up and down anxiously. She glanced at the clock quickly – seeing they still had a few minutes until the appointment time, she turned to Taylor reluctantly "Tay, I don't think I can do this..."
Taylor smiled at her softly, giving her an encouraging nod "you can – I know you can!"
Gracie shook her head, taking in a short, shaky breath "It's too much, too soon. I...I have only realised this morning that this might be a problem – I think I can do this alone...I don't need to be here – it's not that bad!"
Taylor's face was sympathetic "I know this feels really scary and if she isn't the right fit for you then that is fine but I think you need to try."
Gracie bit her lip "what is she going to say?!"
Taylor gave a gentle shrug "usually she will talk about your activity levels, what your body needs – nothing too personal I promise"
Gracie nodded "ok...I guess that sounds ok."
Taylor smiled widely "I promise, you will be fine!"
A few minutes later, Gracie was called through – she immediately turned to Taylor "you're coming in too, right?!"
Taylor nodded, standing quickly and following them into the room.
Gracie took a seat and Taylor could see how tense she was – her shoulders were tight and her breathing was too fast. The dietician sat down and smiled softly "Hi, I'm Ellie – it's great to have you here today"
Gracie tried to respond but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat so she gave a quick smile. Ellie glanced down at the paper "now, I can see you're very nervous today – but you have nothing to worry about. We are just going to run through your typical day and then we can come up with a plan together, alright?"
Gracie nodded, whispering a panicked "thank you"
Ellie glanced at Taylor who was staring at Gracie "now, I have a few questions – do you want Taylor to step outside for this?"
Gracie shook her head, her eyes wide "No! No, thank you"
Ellie nodded, picking up her pen "OK. So to start with, we just need to run through a typical day's food intake for you"
Gracie bit her lip, looking down at her fingers anxiously "it varies..."
Ellie nodded but when Gracie didn't continue she pushed again "I need you to be honest here..."
Gracie looked up, staring at a spot on the ceiling "usually I don't have breakfast..."
Ellie nodded and Gracie took a deep breath, turning to Taylor for help. Taylor smiled at her "it's ok..."
Ellie put her pen back down for a second "let's keep it more simple for a second, before we go into your food intake – how about you tell me how many times a day you do eat? If you skip breakfast – do you have a bigger lunch?"
Gracie smiled, knowing the woman was trying to help her "erm – I usually have something about 11am – a brunch. Then I will have dinner about 7-7.30PM"
Ellie nodded "that's quite a big stretch without food. Do you find yourself feeling hungry?"
Instantly Gracie shook her head "no. I don't need a lot of food – my body just doesn't need it"
Taylor smiled sadly at the younger woman – knowing it was an excuse she had made herself time and time again.
Ellie pushed the younger woman again "and give me some examples of those meals..."
