Food Journey: Fifteen Years of Watching What I Eat

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in 2005 - and that (as they say) changed everything. Before then, I went on my merry way eating whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it... My weight would fluctuate a bit, often seasonally. In summer, if I walked more, I often lost weight... (if it was hot I ate lots of salads). But sometimes exercise, like working in the garden made me gain weight... Why? I discovered that outdoor physical labor gave me an appetite... To my surprise, June was a prime weight-gain month for me...

Since 2005 I have tracked my weight - and my daily early morning blood sugar readings, to see if there was a correlation between the two... And to make sure the readings weren't getting too high. I also often kept track of what I ate, trying to make sense of  changes... I managed to avoid medication for my type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise until 2017, when I developed endometrial cancer and my readings jumped...

I could go on and on... Over the years, by trial and error (and reading books) I have learned a lot... The prime revelation for me was that carbs (like bread) made me gain weight...

The book, Why We Get Fat, was my travel reading on a trip to the Maritimes a few years ago... and my food choices changed chapter by chapter as we travelled!

I could probably write a book on this journey of watching what I eat! But I won't! Not here, anyway...

All this, an introduction to an interesting University of Oxford diet study I recently read about online... The study lists 53 steps that will help one lose weight... The interesting thing is that, whatever step or steps a person chooses to follow will result in some weight loss.

The steps themselves come from various sources. I recognize them from diet books I've read over the years: Volumetrics, Intermittent Fasting, Low Carb Eating, even low fat diets (which I thought were no longer in vogue)...










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Studies on "glycemic index" (G. I) are reflected in the list.

The study recommends choosing 8 steps to follow for a few weeks or months (until boredom sets in, which it inevitably will!) But even following one step will have an impact... That's what I find so interesting... Mix it up, make one to eight changes, try new things... Whatever you do, if you persist for a few weeks or months, weight loss will result... Probably less with one change than with eight - but maybe not! I remember when Terry lost 10 pounds by simply giving up his evening snacks of chips and cola...

Not fair! I said... It's so easy for you! 

For me, giving up chips and soft drinks wouldn't change a thing... Those weren't my weakness... Mine always involve chocolate!

Tomorrow I'll list the 19 food changes suggested by the article, published in the Times of London.  Another article on the study can be found here...

Unfortunately, I put the Times article down, intending to look at it again the following day. But by then, I was told I'd have to subscribe to the online paper...

Tomorrow: 19 changes...