Eating starch and sugar just made me want more

MOTHER-of-one Sherran Harvey was so addicted to junk food she feared she would end up in a wheelchair.

She tipped the scales at 21st 9lb but has since shed 4st after embarking on a low-carb diet and ditching cakes and sweet treats.

Sherran, 48, said: “One of my earliest, happiest memories as a child was looking forward to baking with my Nan at weekends, but it was eating the cakes that was the best part.

“I started piling weight on in my teenage years and this just kept increasing. Every time I tried to lose weight I found it very difficult as the sweet cravings would just override all logic. I never realised it could be an addiction.”

In 2020 Sherran found out her GP David Unwin and his psychologist wife Jen were running a low-carb group in Southport, Merseyside.

Addicted

She signed up but was determined to eat cake for her birthday in February 2021.

Sherran said: “My addicted brain was determined. It got to the point where I ate something sweet daily. The more starch and sugar I had the more I wanted.

“Understanding it as an addiction has really made sense to me and helped me to eradicate all foods that would trigger cravings for sweet things. I haven’t eaten any carbs for five months. No bread, pasta, rice, sweets, chocolate, biscuits or my beloved cake.

“I still have a lot of weight to lose, but for the first time in my life I actually feel like I control food rather than food controlling me.

“I have now survived Christmas, my birthday, Mother’s Day, Easter and my son’s birthday all without succumbing to a cup cake or a Victoria sandwich. I feel more in control than ever before.”