Over the years, I have been lucky not to have had to worry too much about my weight. I have played a lot of sport and kept myself healthy. At the age of 40, I was still actively involved in squash, tennis, and golf, although the latter two were not as strenuous as squash. At the age of 41, I gave up competitive squash, and over the next six months, put on over 5 kg’s (11 pounds). By my early 50’s, I was about 84kg (185lb), diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, depression, and wondering where my life was going. At only 170cm (5’8″), my BMI was much too high. I had to find a way to slim down.
After getting the doctor's advice on my diabetes, I started to do the right thing and lose weight. I ate a diet of cardboard and grass, or if you will, crackers and salad. I tried to starve, ate just protein, all the usual fads, and lost a bit. Christmas came around, and I was back to top weight and again feeling depressed. After trying all sorts of diets, I would always fail. I then began to understand that losing weight was not an easy thing to do. I have subsequently read how many people embark on diets and how many fail to lose weight or simply stack the weight back on after the diet is over. I was one of them.
It became apparent that the only way I was going to succeed was to change my mindset. I began to see that there was no miracle diet. I had to reduce my calorie intake or burn more calories through work or exercise. I began to read as much as I could on the subject, and the internet was a fabulous tool. A great resource is http://www.o-weightloss.com, where there are over 1400 pages of information. There is also a lot of diet information there. I became a bit of an expert, especially as I began to lose more weight. I found that providing I cut out the saturated fats, and cut down (not out) desserts, and ate smaller meals; I continued to lose weight. I cut down beer and mainly drank wine. In essence, I continued to enjoy all the foods I had previously enjoyed, but with the motto, everything in moderation.
A simple exercise regime was begun; I walked for 40 minutes a day, four days per week. I play golf at least once per week, and during the warmer months, tennis once a week. This is not body-breaking stuff. The reality of all this is that with severe diabetes or obesity, you can lie around all day and night in a cemetery if you do not confront your weight problems.
Now at the age of 55, I am down to 75kg (165lbs), the last blood test showed I was no longer diabetic, and I feel better in myself. While I know, diabetes cannot be cured, I firmly believe that it can be controlled by controlling your weight, particularly your fat percentages.
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