Weighty Matters

So, nearly 7 years ago I fell gravely ill with postnatal cardiomyopathy (heart failure). This was, understandably, a huge shock for both me and my family as it came out of the blue. 

After spending nearly a week in hospital receiving treatment one of the main goals set for me was to lose weight to reduce the strain on my heart and, hopefully, increase my longevity. This was of particular importance to me as December and June were both very young still (June was just 3 weeks old) and I was (and am) very keen to be around to see them grow up.

I have had problems with my weight since I was quite a young child - both of being quite big and also of having to deal with other people's attitudes towards my size.

Often I would say I have had more difficulty dealing with negative, rude, nasty comments from close family members than with complete strangers. Words hurt and stay with you long after they have been spoken.

So, being told I needed to lose a deal of weight for health reasons was quite daunting especially as I have never found a diet plan that works long term. I have had some success with one or two however, the moment I returned to my normal eating the weight I lost returned, often with a few extra pounds added on.

This continued until late 2012 when I had a mini-epiphany, brought about in part by mixing with a broad cross-section of people with many different ideas and views on how to approach life, including diets ranging from Fruitarian to Palaeo. I decided that I didn't need to follow a diet, what I had to do was change the way I ate forever.

I knew all too well that failure was easy and that the moment I put myself on a diet my first instinct was always to eat - especially sweets and cakes! I decided that my approach was to be one of healthy eating, increasing my vegetable and fruit intake but reducing carbohydrates.

I completely cut potatoes, bread, cakes, flour, processed foods, pasta, rice and sweets from my diet. I stopped taking sugar in my tea and reduced the amount of sugar I ate (which was helped by my not eating cakes, etc.), swapping to more natural sweeteners when possible, such as organic maple syrup. I also increased my protein intake.

We (my husband and I) decided from the beginning that we would only weigh ourselves once a month. This was mainly my idea, as I knew how soul sapping daily weighing could be as weight can fluctuate quite widely for no apparent reason. Also, we agreed that we could have desserts but that, for the first few months they should be fruit or yoghurt. Often we ate cheese and fruit, which I found more satisfying.

Breakfast was usually eggs, sometimes with bacon and/or sausage, but always with tomato or mushrooms and other vegetables.

Lunch was often a large salad with prawns or chicken.

Dinner consisted of protein and vegetables such as a large grilled beef steak served with mushroom and onion sauce and a large mixed salad.

The weight started to fall off.

Three months in we made an interesting discovery, quite by accident. December baked some cakes to sell at our local church to raise money for a nearby homeless shelter and I bought a cupcake and ate it. For the next 48 hours I thought I was in the grip of some sort of awful stomach bug and then realisation struck: the IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) from which I had been suffering daily for over 10 years had, sometime in the period of starting our new eating plan and having that cupcake, stopped.

I couldn't believe it. 

When June wanted to do some baking a week later, we bought some spelt flour and I tried one of her cookies. This time I felt ill for just one day. We realised that it was quite likely that my IBS was being triggered by gluten, so we bought some gluten free flour and I baked a simple Victoria sponge and then ate a slice. I was fine - no reaction whatsoever. Wow.

Just by changing how I ate and in the process accidentally removing all glutens from my diet, I had pretty much 'cured' my IBS. All those strong medicines I had taken for years just so that I could step away from the bathroom and leave home to get to work - unnecessary. I was delighted and very relieved.

Two years further down the line I am now 5 stone lighter than when I began, which I am very pleased with and believe to be realistic.