I lost 6st in my 60s, mainly spurred on by fear. A diagnosis of diabetes came with advice to lose weight and increase exercise. It took me 18 months, and I have maintained my weight at 8st 9lb for two years. My blood sugar is now normal, and my cholesterol and blood pressure are also normal after years of being too high. Best of all, I feel really good. I have energy, look good in size 6 clothes, and sleep well.
I had to completely change my relationship with food. I went low carb, 16/8 fasting, and stuck to mainly salads of various kinds, mostly with cheese or fish, very little meat, and no UPFs. It’s easy now because I have come to enjoy fresh, crisp, uncomplicated food. I keep a food diary of everything I eat. Once I’d lost a couple of stone, I started going to the gym regularly, and again, once I got used to it, I found that I actually wanted to work out every couple of days. Now, if I go more than a day or two without a lot of exercise, I feel quite twitchy.
Most days I have overnight oats with yoghurt, seeds and berries for lunch or before I go to the gym, and then in the evening I have a big salad. You can eat almost any amount of green stuff without worrying about calories. Sometimes it’s spinach, avocado, carrot, pomegranate and feta with nuts and a lemon and tahini dressing. Other times, lettuce, tomato and cucumber with smoked salmon with a simple French dressing. Occasionally I’ll have a simple pasta dish or a vegetable curry, and if I get in late, it’s usually some kind of vegetable soup (butternut squash, mushroom or tomato) with a sourdough roll.
If injections had been a thing when I started, I might have been tempted, but they weren’t, so I had to work on my own attitude to food.