The Fat Fight

It's hardly a state secret that I've got a lifetime membership to the 'Chubette' Club. The battle of Avoirdupois began in about 1954 when at 5 years of age I had my first taste of ice-cream, and continues to this day. All because I love food. I wish I could say it's only the good stuff that I like, but unfortunately, I'm quite partial to some of the junk, too. Just put a plate of fries in front of me and watch what happens next.....you'd better stand back!

And so over the years, my enthusiasm for a plateful of 'lovely grub' has been catching up with me. By June of last year (2008) the evidence was overwhelming. Or rather, my spare tyre was overwhelming. I was as big as I never wanted to be; and no, I'm not telling you exactly how big. 2008 was also the year I turned 60. So, I had a bit of a panic.

I don't feel like I'm 60, or anything near it. But in the last couple of years I have noticed a subtle decline in my energy levels. Having spent 12 years in quite close contact with a group of lovely Golden Oldies, and watched how difficult life can be as you age, it became obvious to me that the aging process slows everyone down. And I found myself thinking that maybe hauling around some extra pounds of lard (and that's what it is) wasn't going to help.

So last May, after a lovely boozy, foodie holiday in Spain (see ice cream, above) and finding yet another 7lbs lumbering onto the scales, I resignedly rounded up a pile of diet books and started reading. On the menu were the South Beach diet, the Best Life Diet, Atkins- you know, the usual suspects.

The one I ended up with is called the 'Idiot Proof Diet' (IPD). It's not written by thin and earnest nutritionists, but by 2 journalists who between them lost 10 stone (that's 140lbs) in a year. And kept it off. What made the diet different was that first of all, they write as 2 women who have 'been there, got the T-shirt'; they sound, in fact, just like me. And it's a funny book, a good read, which is something you can't say about most (any) diet books.

Better still, there is lots of food on it that I actually like. It's a low carbohydrate plan. I have battled for years with low-fat regimes. I love how some people (usually skinny ones) warble on about how after a while on a low fat diet, fat begins to taste disgusting. All I can say to that is: "Ha!". I love fat. And the IPD allows you to have some: you can put butter on your veg, olive oil on your salad and if you crave a desert, it's OK to have some mascarpone cheese with vanilla and sweetening. Hell, after the first part, you can even scarf up some 80% dark chocolate. After years of choking down skim milk, I will never forget the pure bliss of that first cup of coffee with a luscious dollop of seductive double cream floating lazily across the top.


In truth, IPD is really the Atkins diet in a dress. By which I mean, it's written by women who live in the real world and who don't mind admitting to their own struggle. And there's a great web-site, with an excellent forum. It's at http://www.pig2twig.co.uk/ . Go and have a look, if you're interested. You'll have to sign in, but that's easy and then you can just lurk. Read the threads and see some amazing success stories. Join in, if you like. There are some lovely, funny people there, who chat about all sorts of things from issues at work, to how to cope with P-in-the-A relatives, to where to buy new shoes. And of course diet.

So how much weight have I lost? Well, from the end of June to the beginning of November, I shed 24 lbs and 2 dress sizes. I didn't realise quite how much that was until I was weighing my suitcase before going to Italy and realising that it, too, weighed 24lbs and I could barely lift it!

But then I got to Venice. Well, try sticking to any kind of diet in Italy. I'm sure some people can do it, but I'm not one of them. After that came Christmas. Then came the dark and depressing winter months. The only way I could cope with them involved a sustained assault on the entire chocolate supply of the UK. However at mealtimes, I stuck with the basic rules of no carbohydrates. Of course I gained back some weight, but it was only 5-6lbs, not as much as I had expected.

And so I have concluded that I'll follow this plan for life, because for me, it's livable and it works; and when the occasion demands a departure, it's OK, because apparently, it doesn't do too much damage.

After all, it's unreasonable to think that I will give up any food for ever. Food is one of my passions. Other people may remember events, my favourite recollections usually involve a meal: the wonderful soft, rich truffles, hand-made and rolled in clouds of cocoa, enjoyed from a paper bag amidst the beauty of Padua; an enormous plate of fresh crab legs served with golden melted butter in the Bahamas; and that incredible, luscious slice of Key Lime pie, enjoyed with my good friend BC in the warmth of a lazy Florida afternoon. We had already dined well, so in a rare moment of restraint, we decided we'd share a slice. Whatever were we thinking? It was gone, demolished, consumed in a heartbeat. It's a good thing there was no sharp cutlery involved. We ordered another one.

As a bribe to myself to stay on track on a day to day basis, I've booked a trip to Paris on May 16, for a week. How does that work as an incentive? Well, because of my weight I have always hated having my photo taken. I have been to some amazing places, and have great snaps from most of them- but I'm rarely in the picture. I didn't want to block the national monuments. However, when we went to Italy, with 2 dress sizes gone, I was OK to stand in front of a camera. The Rialto bridge could still be seen.

And I definitely want to be in those photos in Paris!