Weight loss plus better health pulls in the converts
FOUR people who have collectively lost 140kg on the Noakes diet say the results have changed their lives.
Weighing 153kg and suffering from type 2 diabetes, Brian Berkman was a perfect candidate for gastric bypass surgery.
He heard Professor Tim Noakes discussing the diet on a radio show before the surgery. He ditched his dietician’s advice and swapped his morning oats for two boiled eggs.
He has since lost 70kg on the Banting plan.
He now manages his diabetes without medication and no longer suffers from the painful neuropathy that was a result of his badly controlled diabetes. “I know my diabetes isn’t cured, but I’m so grateful that I can maintain its remission status by the way I eat and move.”
Sharon van Wyk and her husband, Walter, have been on the diet since January, losing 50kg between them.
She said her husband’s “debilitating and unexplained head- aches”, which had plagued him for years, disappeared and her health improved too.
“The list of changes in my health is rather long. Most notably, I no longer struggle with irritable bowel syndrome. I have no bloating, stomach cramps or bowel issues. My insulin resistance also seems to be under control because I no longer struggle with mid-afternoon slumps in energy,” she said.
But the eating plan has pitfalls and, with its focus on butter, grain-fed meats and special flours and nuts, is expensive.
Van Wyk, who loves macadamia, almond and hazelnut butters and uses almond and coconut flours, said “initially it was quite tough on my budget”. But once she and her husband made it past the snack- ing phase, their portions got smaller. And she has become a savvy shopper, looking for deals at speciality stores and farmers’ markets.
Berkman said his commitment to eating free-range and grass-fed produce was costly, but it balanced out with the saving on doctors’ bills.
Eating out can also be difficult, but Berkman, a former restaurant critic, said: “Banting seems to be a growing trend and I’m thrilled so many quality restaurants are embracing it.”