Barbara Scully: 'I'm now a healthier version of the happy fat person I once was'

I am a changed woman. Oh yes, I am still a bit fat but not as fat and I am much fitter. My body is much happier. Well, it is mainly happier. Improvements in my previously sore knees and ankles were initially joined by my improved eyesight, which necessitated new glasses about two weeks after cutting sugar from my diet. However, three months later and it has morphed back to where it has been since my mid-30s. My new, trendy glasses are currently languishing in a drawer awaiting an outing to the opticians to have the lenses changed.

My hair also recently embarked on an odyssey of its own, and not in a good way. Suffice to say that the dreaded ‘thinning’ that menopause delivered suddenly ramped up, to the point that my scalp is now seeing more sunlight than it has done since I was a baby. OK, maybe that’s a tad dramatic. I am not bald. But when my rear view appeared in someone’s Instagram story recently, it took me a few minutes to work out what the ‘mark’ was on the back of my head. When I realised it was my scalp, I got very upset.

My new lifestyle and weight-loss have generally made me feel younger but losing my hair was having the opposite effect. A visit to my wonderful local pharmacist resulted in an expensive purchase of special shampoo, conditioner and tablets which apparently should help, over time. This was followed by a visit to my hair salon, as I was convinced that I should cut my hair very short in order to hide the ‘baldy’ bits. However, I was assured that although shorter was a good idea there was no need for the buzz cut I had envisaged. Instead, highlights and some strategic layers should do the trick. So along with my ‘reduced’ body I have new, reduced hair too.

It was this new-look me who bounced towards Christmas with a mixture of excitement at the homecoming of my eldest and my beloved granddaughter from Australia and trepidation that the celebration of us all being together would demolish my resolve and set me backwards spectacularly.

But I am pleased to say that the universe conspired to help me with what I always feared would be my greatest festive challenge, that of the Christmas pudding which I tend to be still eating in March. Truth is that I made a shite pudding this year; it was dry and crumbly instead of moist and sliceable. So I am done with it.

My exercise regime did suffer though because there is something more important and that’s spending time with my favourite two-year-old which has been good for my heart and soul.

So, what words of wisdom can I leave you with as this series ends?

Well first of all, there is hope. If I, the happy fatty can make major changes and lose a stone and half, anyone can.

Second is that if you have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, don’t panic. It is overwhelming to suddenly have to learn so much, largely negative stuff about food when up to now all you cared about was how it tasted. There was one day shortly after my diagnosis when, having spent hours online reading up on ‘diets for diabetics’, I banged my laptop shut and screamed “yeah, but what the f*ck can I have for lunch.”

But it’s not as complicated as it initially seemed. What is important is that you find things you like to eat. For example, my previous low-calorie breakfast was ‘healthy’ cereal with a banana and low-fat milk, which was grand till I became diabetic. Sugar rules almost all cereals out. So, I tried granola, natural yoghurt and various other nutritious options, all of which I hated. Then I discovered that overnight oats, heated in the morning and into which I add a mashed banana is something I like enough to stick with.

I had a similar problem with evening snacking. After some experimenting, I hit on an apple (has to be a jazz apple) with a bit of peanut butter which sorts my 10pm sweet craving.

So, if you are embarking on a lifestyle change (and with diabetes it’s not a diet, it is a change for life) you have to find your own way. You will be bombarded with advice and suggestions but remember different things work for different people and only you know what suits you.

For example, most sane people I know, exercise in the morning. But I am not an early riser and this is the first year in 30 that I don’t have a school run, so I wasn’t prepared to go back to 7am starts in order to get in a walk. I walk or exercise in the evening. It wouldn’t work for everyone but it works for me.

I found that the biggest obstacle to making the lifestyle changes was my own mind. Once I learned to control my brain, things became a lot easier. And again, that isn’t as complicated as you might think. It is merely a case of telling your mind (and yes, sometimes out loud) to shut up because you aren’t listening to its enticements and temptations.

Take comfort in knowing that the changes, difficult as they might be at first, are going to make your body healthier and therefore work better. And if you are ‘midlife’, like me (that’s a laugh as I am unlikely to live to nearly 120 years old), know that it is never too late to take on a healthier way of life and that ultimately your body will love you for it.

Finally, against most advice, I told everyone about my diagnosis and subsequent lifestyle overhaul. Because although failing would be painful, failing publicly would be excruciating. That is why this column was so important to me. So, thank you for allowing me to share all of this with you. I did it my way, but you were part of that way too. I hope I can manage to carry on now without you.

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