‘I went cold turkey on snacking’

What works for me

Mary Musker, 56, from London

At the beginning of lockdown in March, I remember thinking: “I’m not going to worry about what I’m eating and drinking with all this going on,” and I certainly didn’t weigh myself. But by the early summer, I was feeling much heavier, and when I did stand on the scales I was 11st. I’m only 5ft 1in and it suddenly dawned on me that I shouldn’t be eating the same portion sizes as my much taller, grown-up children and partner! I’m also aware that if I were to contract Covid, it could be much more dangerous if I’m overweight.

The changes I’ve made…

I went cold turkey on snacking as it’s so easy to consume lots of calories in snacks without even realising it. I started to track my weight using the Myfitnesspal app and logged everything I was eating, sticking to 1,200 calories a day. At first, the portions seemed tiny – but actually, once you’ve added lots of veg to a small portion of pasta or protein it’s enough to fill you up. There are some great recipes to try on the nhs.uk/change4life website: vegetable curries, chillies and stirfries for example, and I’ve learnt to reduce calories by filling up on veg, eating less pasta and less cheese.

I now don’t drink alcohol during the week and if I am going to have some wine, I’ll allow for it in my calorie intake and change what I’m eating during the day. For example, I might ditch the potatoes with my dinner.

I’ve also learnt that you don’t need to cook using oil – I’ll make a fish curry with onions, a can of tomatoes and lots of spices and it tastes great, without all those empty calories you get in the oil.