Haroula, mother of three, lost 30kg in 12 months

A diagnosis of pre-diabetes inspired Haroula Giameos to make big changes to her eating habits in order to improve her health

Within 12 months of starting her new approach, the mother of three is proud to have lost 30kg and have her blood glucose levels right back where she wanted them.

Were you surprised to be diagnosed with pre-diabetes?

It did come as a bit of a shock. I’ve always been overweight and I’ve never really cared about what I was eating or looked after myself. Then, three years ago, I damaged my spine and had surgery, which left me bedridden for three months.

I was 30 and everything started to go downhill.

I was heavily medicated and feeling very sorry for myself; I’d rather give birth 50 billion times than ever go through that pain again. I put on more weight and I started feeling really lethargic.

My GP decided to do a blood test and he called me with the results. He said ‘You are prediabetic and you need to do something about it or you are going to end up with diabetes.’ I changed my diet straightaway.

What changes did you make to your diet?

I had never been on a diet before, but I’d heard about the 5:2 diet and intermittent fasting, so I started on a version of that and it has really worked for me.

I fast for one day a week, sometimes two, depending on what my weekend is like (birthday parties, other functions etc), for a minimum of 16 hours at a time.

But I don’t end up starving hungry, because I can have up to 2000 kilojoules. I’m just careful not to eat any carbs.

So I might eat something with carbs at 6pm and then I won’t eat carbs again until 11am or so – I’ll go as long as I can.

I might have some bacon and two eggs with sundried tomatoes, which is 585 kilojoules. Or I might make a salad with rocket,

strawberries and a little bit of cream cheese.

Lunch might be 100g of double smoked ham, 200g of rocket, cheese, sundried tomatoes, apple cider vinegar and an egg fried in butter. That’s filling and it’s about

1548 kilojoules.

I weigh everything out on a digital kitchen scale and I put the grams in my food diary and it tells me how many kilojoules it has. It gets easier after a while, because you get to know how much you can have.

On the five days when I’m not fasting, I eat whatever I want, in moderation. It’s much more nutritious food than what I used to eat.

If we go out for dinner, instead of getting chips on the side I’ll just have salad or vegetables and I’ll just have a few of the kids’ chips. I don’t think you have to cut everything you enjoy; you need to indulge a little bit.

I also drink a lot of water and herbal teas, especially green tea.

Does 16 hours sometimes seem like a very long time?

You are sleeping for most of that time, so it’s not as hard as it might sound.

How dramatically has your diet changed from what you used eat?

The biggest change has been cutting out all soft drink. I used to drink a couple of cans of Coke every day and, after having my first daughter, I drank a 1.25L bottle every day. I’d often have a piece of cake with a glass of Coke. Looking back, I don’t know how I did that. Just recently I tried a little sip, but it was so sweet it made me feel sick.

I used to eat a lot of unhealthy food. If there was pizza at a party, I’d keep eating more and more.

I’d also go to the pantry for chips and chocolate when I was feeling low on energy, which made me feel better for a little while, but then I’d have a slump.

Do you have any little routines or tricks that help you to stay on track?

I weigh myself religiously, every morning. I do it to remind myself of what happens if I have a binge and to enjoy seeing

that I’m still doing well. It was a huge motivator, just seeing that first couple of kilos come off, and knowing that my diet was making a difference.

I’m also aware of my triggers and I make a point of avoiding them. If I feel like something sweet, I don’t give myself a little snack of chocolate, because

I know that’s a trigger, too. It’s too tempting to say I’ve been so good, I can have one, but then that can easily turns into having another one. Instead, I’ll have a small amount of yogurt with some fruit and a tiny bit of honey.

I also quite enjoy a stock cube in boiling water. I feel like I’m having a soup with lots of flavour, and it doesn’t have all the carbs you get in a cup-of-soup.

I try to adapt what I might already be cooking for the rest of the family. So I might still make a creamy pasta for the kids with mushrooms and garlic. I’ll have the same sauce but have mine with zucchini noodles.

When I buy yoghurt or bread, I always look for the brands that have the least carbohydrates.

How much weight have you lost?

I was 95kg and a size 18 when I started and now I’m currently sitting between 65-67kg and a size 12 at the bottom and 10-12 on top.

Have you added any exercise to your daily routine?

I don’t go to the gym, but I get a lot of incidental exercise just looking after the kids. I get my workout at shopping centres and doing housework. I’m pretty cautious about any other exercise because of my back. I was born with an extra vertebra in my spine, which I didn’t know about until I herniated a disc.

Do you feel any different to how you did before?

I feel so much better. I enjoy food more and really appreciate the flavour of everything I eat.

I also feel so much happier being able to walk into clothes shops and try on what I like, without having to worry that it’s not going to fit me.

How much willpower has it required?

A lot initially, but now it is easy. Because I’ve worked so hard to lose weight, I’m really not prepared to waste that effort. When I’m going to all of the trouble of counting kilojoules and organising what I’m going to eat, I really don’t want to stuff it up.

How has the rest of your family responded?

The kids have always said ‘Mummy, you are beautiful’, but when we look back at old photos, my eldest daughter says ‘You look a little different here’. They didn’t really notice day-today as I was losing weight.

My husband is really good support. We’ve been together since I was 16 years old and he was 17, and I know he loves me regardless of my size. He just wants me to be happy.

If we are going somewhere we know there will be cakes, I say to him ‘When you see me going up for seconds, knock the plate out of my hand.’ He doesn’t do that, of course, but he reminds me how I’ll end up feeling about myself. Last week I said I was just going to have a chocolate and he said no. When I asked why, he said ‘Because if you do, you’ll be really annoyed with yourself tomorrow.’

What has your doctor said?

My GP said he was very impressed with my blood test results and that I no longer have pre-diabetes. I think that is pretty awesome. I’m quite happy with that. ■

My heaviest weight ever was 107 kilos – this was after kids