Week 8 – The End?

They say nothing that is worthwhile having comes easy. I can attest to that. Two months, or if you you look at it another way, eight weeks or 56 days or 1,344 hours or (give or take), 44,800 calories, whichever way I calculate the time, it has been one hell of a journey.

Just in case there is someone stumbling across my blog and wondering what the hell I’m doing here is a little recap.
8 weeks ago I started the Blood Sugar Diet, created by Dr Michael Mosley. This is a low calorie, low carb diet aimed at losing losing, (most importantly visceral fat), with a goal of reprogramming the body of those who are pre-diabetic in danger of becoming type 2 diabetic and those who are already a type 2 diabetic.
I’ve over simplified somewhat, but this link will take you to more information –

https://thebloodsugardiet.com/

Those who know me know how much I love my food. Hell, I’m one of those bloody food bloggers after all, but what many didn’t know was that I was also a T2 diabetic.
Whilst I wasn’t unfit, I wasn’t healthy, (and this will be explored in my supplementary post).

I am 5’08”, I was 96kgs – that was 15 st 2 lbs in old money, and it was killing me.

I am a T2 diabetic who was being told by my diabeticians that I would eventually need to be on insulin to manage my diabetes, taking 11 pills a day, at risk of heart and liver disease and to cap it all my Dad had died of a massive heart attack.
Things weren’t looking great.

So after being sent a piece on the Blood Sugar Diet by my friend I decided to take the plunge.
For those who have kept an eye on my journey you will have seen the highs and lows of the last 8 weeks. My melt down at not knowing how to choose something in a restaurant or the discovery of how good and satisfying a teaspoon of peanut butter can be.
I won’t sugar coat it. It’s been tough. An emotional roller coaster at times and I have most certainly wanted to give up at many stages and have a burger – but I didn’t.

What kept me going was a number of factors.

Reducing my meds – I’m now taking 5 a day rather than 11.

Seeing my visceral fat go down – I’ve reduced this by over 25% in 8 weeks.

The desire to live longer – diabetics generally die 10 years younger than non diabetics

And YOU LOT.

I’ve spoken of the support I’ve had during my journey, but without it I couldn’t have achieved what I have so far.
Friends, family, food heroes and strangers alike have all been there for me, encouraging, willing me on. For that unwavering support I thank you from the bottom of my, (healthier), heart.

There are too many to name individually, but you know who you are.

It’s been a, (wanky term alert), a journey of self discovery too.
Finding out more about my strengths, and even more about my weaknesses.

Learning how my emotions are inextricably linked to my eating habits – good and bad.

I have been happy, I have been sad, I have been depressed, I have been euphoric. I have laid myself bare, and when I’ve been a total arse you’ve forgiven me.

Thank you again for that.

So to the figures.
When I started this I weighed 96kgs, my body fat was at 28.1% with my visceral fat 15%, my muscle mass was 34.2% and I was taking 11 pills of prescription meds daily.

Today I am 81.7 kgs, my body fat is 22.4%, my visceral fat is 11%, my muscle mass is 37.5% and I am taking less than half the meds I was at the beginning.



This is life changing, but it’s also only the beginning.

The next phase is the 5:2 – “Fast Diet”, also advocated by Dr Mosley, where I will be fasting for two days a week, restricting my calorific intake to about 600 calories on those days, whilst still watching. What I eat for the remaining 5 days of the week.

I’ll continue to write about my journey and let you all know how I get on when I go back to see my Doctor at the end of April.

So thank you once again for reading, commenting and supporting me.

Simon