The Times Weekend - UK (2020-08-01)

Body + Soul 3

Life Without Diabetes

by Professor Roy

Taylor is out now

(Short Books, £9.99)

Step 2

Introduce larger meals

Reintroduce ordinary meals (

calories for dinner or lunch) once you

have reached your target weight.

Moving from the weight-loss phase

back to eating ordinary foods needs

some careful planning. But there is

an opportunity here: eight weeks of

limited calories for each meal creates

a blank slate on which to write new

dietary habits.

Just as there is a clear focus during the

initial weight-loss phase, there must also

be a definite plan for the stepped food

reintroduction phase.

Start with the evening meal of

400 to 500 calories, going back to eating

a normal (but smaller than usual) plate

of food instead, but continuing your

weight-loss diet during the rest of the

day. A “normal” meal should still be

relatively low in carbohydrates and

contain plenty of vegetables. Avoid

sweet or starchy foods.

After two weeks you can add a

lunchtime meal of about 400 calories,

stopping the shake, but, again, exercising

portion control.

After four weeks you can be back into

a fairly normal pattern of eating what is

sustainable for life — without regaining

weight. And drink alcohol if you wish.

It is normal during this phase for your

weight to rise by about 1kg (2lb) because

glycogen stores are building back up —

and water is always stored along with

glycogen.

Step 3

Keeping the weight off for good

Eat smaller portions of healthy food

(three quarters of your former intake)

to maintain your size. By this stage you

Professor Taylor’s 12-week, 3-step programme

Step 1

Rapid weight-loss phase

Start with an 8 to 12-week programme

of 700 to 800 calories a day, with soups,

shakes and salads to kick-start fat loss.

For this period of fast weight loss you

need to have meals that contain about

200 calories each, consuming no more

than 800 calories a day. Your meals will

need to contain a good proportion of

protein foods to meet your daily

nutritional needs and to keep you

satisfied for longer. You’ll also need

plenty of non-starchy vegetables to fill

you up and keep your bowels regular.

A multivitamin is a good idea too.

Try to have some quick, easy,

calorie-counted options at the ready —

a small piece of grilled chicken or fish

with a pile of green vegetables, for

example. Make this your default main

meal every day if necessary.

However, many find that the simplest

option is to have a “liquid diet” —

replacing some meals with a packet of

one of the many commercially available

liquid meal replacement shakes.

Whichever brand you choose, it must be

described as “complete nutrition” — in

other words, it should contain vitamins,

minerals and trace elements in addition

to protein, sugar and fat. It must come as

one packet per meal (no decisions or

room for inadvertently adjusted doses)

containing about 200 calories.

Liquid diets are often easier, and this

is the method we used in our research

that showed significant weight loss and

lasting remission of type 2 diabetes. It is

also quicker: reaching a target weight

loss of about 15kg takes roughly two to

three months as opposed to three to four

months with ordinary food.

To maintain an adequate intake of

fibre, you might want to replace one of

your liquid meal replacement shakes

with a meal of non-starchy vegetables

or a vegetable soup.

Find a range of vegetables that you

can eat and enjoy to carry you through

this stage and beyond. Experiment with

your own herb and spice combinations

— or just keep things very simple and

have a green salad every day. But avoid

vegetables with a high starch content,

such as potato, sweet potato, parsnip,

yam, plantain, cassava, sweetcorn and

beetroot. The same goes for fruit, nuts

and seeds because these are too calorific.

Do not embark on an exercise

programme during step one. Perhaps

surprisingly, this can seriously impede

weight loss, especially in very overweight

people. This may be the best-kept secret

in the weight-loss field, and I came

across it only from listening to

participants in one of our exercise

studies. They described “compensatory

eating” (part conscious and part

subconscious). So just remain normally

active during step one.

No alcohol is allowed during the

weight-loss phase. Alcohol is high in

calories. It might help to think of it as

liquid fat. But you can continue to enjoy

tea and coffee, with skimmed milk if

preferred (not more than 50ml a day).

write down your weight each week. This

is essential. Your weighing scales will tell

it how it is. Day to day, your weight may

fluctuate, but week to week if you see

steadily rising numbers, you are eating

— or maybe drinking —

too much.

Be more active

each day. This has to

be built into the

routine of life and

not something

that requires a

decision. Get

into the habit

of walking

rather than

driving.

Always take

the stairs.

Are there

any

particular

activities

that would

encourage you to

be active for longer, most days?

If it is your thing, go dancing or

get back to badminton. Is there a local

five-a-side football league? Remember,

the best form of exercise

is the one that you enjoy.

If your weight rises by 3kg (half a

stone) above target, take immediate

action. You need either to go back to the

liquid formula diet for a few weeks or

drastically decrease your daily amount

of food. Ask yourself whether your

alcohol intake is the problem.

will have lost a substantial amount of

weight; if you have type 2 diabetes, you

will hopefully have achieved remission

and you will be feeling dramatically

better, in mind and body: more

energised, confident and motivated.

If you want to keep the

weight off you simply must

avoid slipping back into

your old ways and habits.

Stick with the following

rules and you will be

fine.

First, as a rough

guide, you will need

to eat only three

quarters of the

amount that you used

to eat. Next, remember to

You need plenty

of non-starchy

vegetables

throughout the

three steps.

Experiment with

herb and spice

combinations

Vegetables

Lettuce and other

salad leaves

Broccoli

Cabbage

Spinach

Pak choi

Kale

Cavolo nero

Fresh or tinned

tomatoes

Sugar snap peas

Carrots

Squash

Cucumbers

Peppers

Mushrooms

Radishes

Beansprouts

Peas

Spring onions

Onions/shallots

Water chestnuts

Artichokes

Cauliflower

Asparagus

Green beans

Courgettes

Brussels sprouts

Leeks

Aubergines

Turnip/swede

Celeriac

Fennel

Herbs and spices

Basil

Garlic

Cinnamon

Curry powder

Chilli powder

Black pepper

Ginger

Coriander

Soy sauce

Balsamic vinegar

Malt vinegar

Chinese five-spice

Harissa paste

Rosemary

Turmeric

Oregano

Thyme

Cumin

Peri peri seasoning

Tarragon

Dried chillies

Sage

Parsley

Lemon/lime juice

Shopping list

Excess weight puts you at greater

risk of serious illness or death from

Covid-19 — and the risk grows as

body mass index (BMI) increases.

A study of 430,000 NHS records

from Glasgow University found

that being obese doubled the risk

of being taken to hospital with

coronavirus. For most adults, having

a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is healthy, while

a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

Nearly 8 per cent of Covid-

patients in intensive care have been

morbidly obese (BMI of 40 or above).

One study found that people who

were morbidly obese had almost

twice the risk of dying compared

with those of normal weight.

Overweight people are more likely

to have type 2 diabetes, high blood

pressure and heart disease — which

increase the dangers of the virus.

Covid-

and weight

GETTY IMAGES

needs to go on a diet

Low-

calorie

recipes

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