Judith Woods How I will lose three stone by Christmas
Shocked at being told she has a biological age of 70, Judith Woods plans to lose 37lb by Christmas. What’s more, she’s going it alone
Can you lose the best part of three stone by Christmas? It’s a tantalising idea – but probably not medically advisable in just 90 days. But the fact is, I need to lose weight quickly, having been told, in no uncertain terms, about the dire health consequences of being overweight for my frame.
It doesn’t matter that I don’t look fat. It’s immaterial that I don’t feel fat. According to metabolic experts at Newcastle University, who ran various state-of-the-art tests on me for a recent feature on these pages, I have a biological age of 70.
Put bluntly, that means I am at commensurate risk of age-related conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and even dementia, as well as Type 2 diabetes. However, if I can shed 37lb (2st 9lb, or 17kg), I will dramatically reel that back, and my birth and body ages will be in accord. So that’s what I intend to do.
I know I sound terribly matter-offact, but the way I see it, I have no choice if I want to stay fit and healthy for my children. Like the participants in the recent BBC programme How to Stay Young, I have given myself 12 weeks in which to effect this change.
Daunting? Just a bit. But my mother, after 40 years of heavy smoking, quit cigarettes overnight following a heart attack in her early sixties. That is real willpower. In theory, all I have to do is eat less and move around more. It’s not exactly rocket science, is it?
Cue mirthless laughter from serial dieters out there. So where to begin? I could, of course, call in a raft of experts to advise me. But do I really need to be told to avoid processed food? Cut down on sugar? Control portion sizes?
Like every other woman of a certain age (a perky 51, since you ask), I have read so many health and wellbeing articles, I’m practically a qualified nutritionist, albeit one who continually contradicts herself. And seldom practises what she preaches, else I wouldn’t be in this position.
‘I have no choice if I want to stay fit and healthy for my children’
I don’t need more advice, and I certainly don’t need to exercise more – I do high-intensity interval training at the gym, as well as random bouts of wild exercise at home. I need more willpower when it comes to saying no to food.
For now, at least, I’ve decided to go it alone, with just you, dear readers, and the prospect of public humiliation to guide me.
I’ve been told that it doesn’t matter what diet I choose as long as I find the one that suits me and I stick to it. But what’s it to be? I run through the possibilities on offer… and none are that appetising.
The 5:2 diet – an intermittent fasting diet whereby you eat normally five days a week, but on two, nonconsecutive days consume just 500 calories (600 for men) – involves too much planning for my liking; low-calorie meals don’t just magic up themselves. Plus, when they say “eat normally for five days”, they mean “normal for a church mouse”.
The Dukan diet – a strict, phasedriven regime in which a sudden change in eating habits, switching from carb-heavy to protein-rich, is said to trigger rapid weight loss – has worked wonders for the Middletons. But ever since my teenage daughter turned vegetarian, my appetite for animal protein has diminished, and the prospect of meat at every mealtime feels a bit icky.
The Paleo – so-called because it’s limited to foods that were available to Paleolithic humans, so meats, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and nuts are in, but grains, soya and any form of
dairy are out – has appeal, because baguettes have never held much allure anyway. However, mimicking the mealtime habits of our Stone Age ancestors, with their unprocessed produce, all grass-fed and lovingly hunter-gathered, won’t really hold with me, because I fear all that organic, locally sourced wholefood will pall in time, and may turn me into a raw-food bore.
The Atkins is a no-carb regime, meaning the body burns fat, rather than converted sugar, for fuel. Frankly, I haven’t knowingly scoffed a carbohydrate for such a long time, I’m not sure I’d notice the difference. But I really need to notice a difference.
Instinctively, I cavil at any single “regime”, and yet I don’t mind feeling hungry. Rather than getting grumpy, hunger makes me feel energetic and upbeat.
However, like many of us, I am prone to a spot of absent-minded grazing. The odd piece of cake here, or a cookie with coffee doesn’t look like much. But it is. It so is.
“Snacking is the downfall of most people struggling too maintain their weight,” says Dora Walsh, nutritional therapist and founder of Nutriheal. “A sweet muffin is around 360 calories, and a chocolate brownie is 450 calories. The average woman needs 2,000 calories a day, so that extra brownie represents an extra 23 per cent over above your daily intake. If you eat one every day, that will all add up.”
Walsh says a 17-kilo loss over three months is “a tall order”, but can be done if I axe alcohol, avoid sugar, and employ rigorous portion control.
“Your stomach is proportional to your size. When you cup your hands, that is the amount of food you should eat, and it should be 25 per cent lean meat or fish, 25 per cent wholegrains and 50 per cent vegetables.”
That bit is straightforward, but I have come up with a plan to cut down on calorific snacking that might help me reach my goal of being healthy in time for Christmas. Let’s call it the Squirrel Plan.
I resolve to set aside a palmful of unsalted nuts daily and eat one or two whenever I need a snack. Simple as that – and, say nutritionists, brilliantly effective at long-term weight-loss.
Now, munching almonds or pecans doesn’t seem the smartest choice if you’re looking to shed pounds, given that almost all nuts are fat-packed calorie factories. And yet studies on male lorry drivers have shown those who consume nuts in addition to their meals, lose weight even if they make no other adjustment. It works for women, too. “Walnuts are the best nuts to eat, in small quantities, because they are rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is a type of omega-3 fatty acid that balances hormones and promotes brain health,” says Shona Wilkinson, a nutritionist.
“People who lose weight quite quickly release toxins, which are stored in fat cells, into their body. Eating nuts helps counteract those effects and they also satiate so you don’t crave sugar.”
I have no intention of starving myself for three months, but I need to stand firm initially because this is the easy bit: weight loss can plateau after the first few pounds.
So on top of snacking like a squirrel, I will also aim to up my daily water consumption. Not only will it keep me hydrated, drinking water helps you feel fuller, so you don’t eat as much, and cold water can actually help speed your metabolism. Those people who reach for an afternoon Twix because they think they are hungry are, in fact, actually thirsty.
I currently drink about one and a half litres a day, and am aiming for two and a half litres, not least because it will fill the empty hours I used to spend eating leftovers. For the next 90 days, I’ll be keeping a jug of water on my desk, which I must get through twice.
Next, I want to shrink my stomach by eating less. Now, technically, this is an old wives’ tale – stomach capacity doesn’t diminish if you pour less in. However, intermittent fasting does recalibrate the appetite.
“The jury is out on whether it’s better not to eat snacks between meals, but there’s a lot of new research coming out about the benefits of intermittent fasting,” says Wilkinson.
“Eating before 8pm and not eating again until noon the next day is do-able, and a healthy smoothie is a great way to end the fast, but it has to comprise three-quarters green leafy vegetable, such as spinach, and one-quarter protein in the form of something like chia seeds, with a few berries added for flavour.”
Time to dust down the Nutribullet, methinks. Still, it sounds like a strategy, and more importantly one I can get behind. Lord only knows what will happen when I have to leave the house. Or when friends come round for dinner. But I’ll deal with those scenarios as they arise.
So you know how I’m getting on, I’ll be writing a weekly update for the Health & Fitness page of The Telegraph online (telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness), and if anyone has any useful tips or tricks, let me know. The more esoteric, the better. But for now, wish me luck… and let the Squirrel Plan commence!
‘There’s a lot of new research coming out about the benefits of intermittent fasting’