Ed Davey: ‘How I lost two
The Lib Dem leader has slimmed down with a diet of kimchi, cauliflower and kefir. By
Voters observing Sir Ed Davey on the campaign trail this week may spot that there is less of the politician than there used to be. The Liberal Democrat leader, 56, has lost more than two stone in just seven weeks, crediting a diet of lentils, edamame beans and fermented Korean cabbage.
By the end of last year, Sir Ed’s weight had crept up to more than 16 stone, which – for a man who measures five feet 11 inches in his socks – prompted him to take action.
Sir Ed, a meat-lover who once worked in a pork pie factory, now weighs 14st8lb, having taken up a plant-based diet that could win him even more friends among the Lib Dems’ grassroots supporters.
Sir Ed joins a string of senior politicians who have slimmed down over the pandemic: Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, and Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, have also lost weight in recent months.
He decided to change his diet radically in February, after a fitness kick failed to shift the dial on his bathroom scales in the right direction.
“You get to a point in your life when you think you really need to do something. Because I had put on quite a bit of weight,” he says.
“I started thinking about my health during Covid, as lots of people did. I started running and I used the NHS app Couch to 5k,” he says.
“The problem was, while I really enjoyed it I hadn’t lost any weight… I was putting too much strain on my knees and so I injured one of them.
“And that made me think: ‘You know what, Ed, actually, fitness is great, but you’ve got to lose the weight.’ So, I became a bit of a rabbit for a while.”
Along with wanting to improve his health and ability to run, Sir Ed’s motivation came from wanting to be around for his children. His son, John, has an undiagnosed neurological condition that means he cannot walk or talk. He and his wife Emily also have a daughter, Ellie.
The diet started in earnest a few weeks later, in March. Sir Ed, whose wife is a pescatarian, drastically cut down his carbohydrate intake.
“Potatoes, rice, pasta, bread – gone, totally. No dairy. No meat – that was tough… is tough. I’m still keeping strict,” he says. “I eat vegetables, fruit and fish, and I’m careful about certain things. I was ‘zero alcohol’ for two months. I have to confess that I have the odd glass now – it keeps me going.”
He is delighted with the outcome: he says his knee is now less painful, he has more energy and is getting better sleep.
On a typical day, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton has Earl Grey tea for breakfast (with no milk) and berries or kiwi fruit, with almonds or walnuts.
Lunch is salad or some fish, while supper is often roasted cauliflower, lentils, beans and broccoli. He likes to snack on nuts, carrots, edamame beans and – his favourite – kimchi (fermented cabbage from Korea). He says: “I live in New Malden and have lots of Korean friends; I really recommend Korean food, particularly kimchi.
“There are many, many types but it is effectively fermented cabbage. It is a bit spicy but I love it.”
Sir Ed has also started drinking kefir, a fermented milk similar to yogurt, which promotes a healthy diversity of gut microbes. “Part of my regime is making sure my gut is healthy.”
Plant-based diets have soared in popularity of late, as evidence grows for their benefits to health, including weight loss.
Studies show that our gut bacteria play an important role in appetite as well as metabolism; people who eat a high amount of plant-based fibre,