I WAS HEADING FOR DIABETES... UNTIL I GOT ON MY BIKE

By his own admission, Pat Scully was a diehard foodie until a visit to his GP gave him a serious wake-up call. “I love my grub and I’m the kind of person who would have two steaks instead of one,” says 60-year-old Pat, a businessman from Redruth, Cornwall who runs a slate signage company. “I’m only 5ft 3in and weighed nearly 15st. I knew I was overweight but I didn’t know how to go about tackling it.” But a routine blood test in 2016 revealed Pat had non-diabetic hyperglycaemia – or pre-diabetes. This meant his blood sugar levels were dangerously high and, without some kind of change to his diet and lifestyle, he was almost certainly heading for a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes within a year or two. Father-of-three Pat says: “As a young man, I used to love playing badminton and football. “Over the years the weight crept up. But it was still a shock to hear I was on the verge of getting diabetes.” Pat signed up to a weight-loss programme which encouraged him to eat healthier foods and smaller portions, and taught him to read different food labels to understand exactly what he was consuming. It also included practical cooking skills and tips on knocking up healthy meals in minutes. At the same time, he took up cycling to help burn off the fat that had accumulated around his waist. After months of regular training, he was able to complete a 75-mile ride across Cornwall in just six hours – raising £500 for the charity Diabetes UK in the process. In less than a year, Pat shed four stone and his blood sugar levels dropped back into the healthy ‘non-diabetic’ range. Now he still cycles, goes to the gym regularly and enjoys long walks with his partner Anne. He says: “I weigh myself every day, keep a food diary and have an app to check what I’m eating. “I want people to know that it’s possible to make lasting changes and avoid a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.”

CYCLIST Pat shed four stone