"Waiting patiently for the weight to fall off"

In summer 2023 I started my journey to losing weight. My guide on this journey was Val, Community Team Leader from the Type 2 Diabetes Food & Health Service.

For years, like so many people, I struggled with my weight, eating was my escape from the stresses of work and life in general. I struggle with depression, and this became worse when my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, which he lost the battle back in 2020. To help me through the stresses of his illness and after I lost him, I took comfort in food. However, I would then get depressed because I was putting on weight then I would eat because I was depressed, and it became a vicious circle I needed to break, but I did not know how to.

Then in July 2023 I saw Val, Community Team Leader, from the Type 2 Diabetes Food & Health Service, who told me about the food programme where I would be going on the total diet replacement where I would have four meal replacements per day. It was a bit daunting, but I was really interested, and my head was in the right place for me to do this.

I went home and read the book which was given to me and decided that the only way I could do this was to have no food in the house, so as I live in a block of flats, I gave all my food away and emptied my freezer. The only food I had was the TDR’s. I followed the guide in the book for eating and drinking as having a plan was the right thing for me. I had a whiteboard stuck on my fridge and wrote on the times for eating and drinking. It was hard for the first month, but I suddenly noticed that for the first time in years I was not feeling hungry and was having to set my timer to eat. I had porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and dinner and a milk shake at 8.00pm and 2 to 3 litres of water throughout the day. After 12 weeks I started eating proper food and decided that I would steam everything which is going well.

My start weight was 24.8kg more than my weight is now. I was a type 2 diabetic and on tablets and had high blood pressure. Now I am not a type 2 diabetic, and my blood pressure has stabilized.

The help and confidence I have had in Val and her team is immense. My health is improving, I have gained more confidence in myself, and my mobility has improved greatly.