MY SIX KEY WAYS TO MAKE PEACE WITH FOOD

1

Go slow and steady Bitter experience taught me that dieting doesn’t work because your metabolism relies on the hormone leptin, which is stored in fat cells. When fat accumulates, leptin increases and signals to the brain that enough energy has been stored, so appetite decreases. Sudden and severe loss of fat lowers leptin levels, reduces metabolism and increases appetite. So the weight goes back on unless you’re prepared to think about dieting every minute of every day, for ever. If you want to lose a few pounds, do it slowly and sensibly.

2

Small is beautiful Portion control is the key to sustained weight loss. I serve my food on small plates, so there’s never any excess. With my diminished stomach, I can’t overeat, but the small plate trick can help anyone control the amount they consume.

3

Mind your language I don’t describe cakes, biscuits or chocolate as ‘treats’. That was hard to learn, because puddings and sweets were always sold to me that way by my mother and grandmother. They’re not to be abolished altogether (no food should be feared), but one chocolate digestive will do far less harm than half a packet.

4

Watch those drink calories I hardly drink wine now; maybe one glass if I’m with friends.

It’s fattening and has little or no nutritional value. A friend suggested vodka and Fever-tree slimline tonic water as a less calorific alternative. One or two every now and then does the trick.

5

Opt out of the clean plate club I’m sure my unhealthy habit with food was fostered by my mother’s insistence that she would only be happy if I ate every mouthful of what she’d made for me. I never told my children they must ‘eat up’. They were listening to their appetites, eating when they were hungry and stopping when they were full. Sometimes it meant food was wasted. They didn’t get fat and grew up to love healthy, nutritious food.

6

Recognise if you are truly hungry In these days of relative plenty, a lot us of eat without thinking about it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner – it’s almost automatic.

A few biscuits or some crisps when we’re bored; I used to do it. It’s something to keep you busy and those snacks taste good.

I’m not someone who practises mindfulness, but with food, it matters. My smaller stomach helps, but before eating, I now ask myself: ‘Am I hungry?’ If I am, I eat slowly, savouring every mouthful. When a biscuit whistles, I think, ‘Do I really want it?’ If the answer’s ‘yes’,

I eat it. Just the one, mind.