Climate analyst, 33, lives in London and Paris

I’ve been following the Glucose Goddess Instagram account since the early days, after I heard about it through a friend. I liked her advice straightaway, because she takes a scientific approach, and all her hacks are data driven.

I put on weight when I was 12, after I broke my arm, although I’d lost most of it by adulthood. Aged 30, I weighed 15st 3lb. I am 6ft 2in, which made my BMI nearly 27, classed as overweight. And I was conscious I could put on more weight.

I lost my father at the end of 2019, to prostate cancer, and that felt like the right time to focus on getting healthier. I realised that if I kept going with some of my habits, I’d eventually be at risk of developing a chronic disease. The first Covid lockdown gave me a good opportunity to work on this.

Using Jessie’s hacks, I’ve lost just over a stone. I’m now at the upper bounds of healthy BMI, at just under 25. My doctor told me I’m in the range I should be. It’s not perfect, but what’s good is that I’ve sustained that weight for nearly two years.

Before, I’d go through phases of trying to exercise more, but none of those attempts lasted. Now, I’ve got much better energy in the mornings, and that’s playing out in the rest of my day, too. I’m more focused at work, and more motivated to work out.

One of the first things I did was give up my sugary breakfast of bread with butter, or a croissant and orange juice. My parents are German, so I’ve moved to my German roots by having a savoury breakfast: tomato and cucumber, ham, cheese or eggs.

If I’m about to go out for a big meal, including dessert, and I haven’t done any other exercise that day, I do the online Scientific 7-Minute Workout. In restaurants, I’ve found it pretty easy to make sure my starter is always fibre-rich, such as roasted vegetables with tahini or a seasonal salad. I haven’t come across a restaurant that doesn’t do a green salad. I now pretty much always have greens both before and alongside what I eat, even when it’s pizza.

I enjoy cooking, and it’s easy to find dishes that work with Jessie’s hacks in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, but I’m sure it is in other cooking traditions, too. I love throwing together some marinated vegetables, green leaves, tuna, feta, pine nuts and whatever herbs I have in the fridge into a big salad that works as a main course. If I use apple cider vinegar in the dressing, that’s two hacks in one go. After all those fibre-rich greens, I know that if I have a chocolate mousse afterwards, the impact on my blood sugar level won’t be as bad .

I drink my apple cider vinegar (ACV) with sparkling water, as it tastes better. My Iranian friends tell me that it’s traditional there to have a spoonful every day. Be aware: there are 50 shades of ACV, some are way more bitter.

Overall, I feel more in control. I don’t apply all the hacks all the time. But that’s one of the good things about Jessie’s approach – she doesn’t say you have to do everything.