If I was running a surgery I would make everybody weigh and measure themselves and have a graph for each person so they can visually see what’s going on. Because and it would be easy to do because we could say, We do this for everybody And you can refuse to do it. That’s fine. And people can opt out but if I was running a surgery that’s what I would do.

Ok. So to visually present?

Yes, you know because people go to the doctor at different periods obviously but if they could see unhealthy because, and that’s often related to, you know, overweight, it can be, you know, diabetes. Lots of lots of things diabetes – You know, making people aware of what’s going on and facing up to what’s going on is, I would have thought would be the first thing that I would do.

Ok. And

In talking about it you could then talk about it if there’s, if it’s obvious on there but you can do a lot. You could do it electronically.

So two things changed it for me in February of this year and one was going to the doctor, [Health Centre doctor] where they have this amazing programme where they give you an MOT. They, I think it’s everybody over 55 they test their blood sugar, their cholesterol and their blood pressure and probably various other things. Anyway I was deeply shocked to find that my blood pressure was very high. And I, and there’s a history of it in the family but I always prided myself in being the slim one because I’ve got m-. Everyone else in my family is obese. And so I, I was very, very shocked. And they said, Well you really should be on statins So I said, Is there any other way that I don’t have to be on statins And it was suggested, and I grabbed this, that I lose some weight to see what would happen first. And so that was a huge incentive for me, absolutely massive because I don’t want to be taking statins every day.

Would you have welcomed the opportunity to discuss your concerns, your worries about weight and your sugar addiction and?

Yeah I would have, absolutely have done but I wouldn’t have been. I never fear. I don’t want to waste the doctor’s time, you know. I’m healthy overall. I wouldn’t have wanted to go and talk about my concerns with the doctor because I would have felt that was really trivial.

Ok.

Really trivial.

So it was you more?

Yeah

Ok.

Yeah but I did ask Dr [Name]. I said, If I lose weight does that mean I don’t have to take statins And he said, It could do. It could mean that So he

And that was all?

That was all. He’s a marvellous doctor and I’m quite sure if I’d had the courage to ask him more about it, you know, it would have, he would have gone deeper. But, you know, they only get 10 minutes. They can’t, they can’t

Ok so you were sort of, kind of conscious, too conscious about the time?

Yes.

About
Definitely wasting his time. My questions being very trivial because I knew I was hovering on the, and I knew my family was obese, I know I could tip easily into obesity and I was well on the way to, to you know. I was going, I was on the trend but I didn’t feel it was something that he could help me with.

I’m interested to find out what your family has, kind of how have they reacted? Have they been supportive or are they amazed or?

Well that’s interesting My sister says, You’re looking too thin. You’re looking peaky She’s very obese and so. I once said to her, What can we do to help you lose weight She didn’t speak to me for two years. So it’s a very sensitive subject in our family. And my father is always, my mother is always trying to make my father lose weight and it’s a sort of a family joke. And he won’t do it. And my mother she again says, Oh you are too thin, you’re too thin. You’re looking ill They don’t, they don’t like it. They don’t like it.

What about sort of support group? Do you have not a support group
Yeah

ut sources of support?

Oh close girlfriends. Close girlfriends in fact another girl, a very dear girlfriend of mine has also lost a lot of weight recently but she’s been through a trauma, a marital trauma if you put it like that. So she and I are texting each other to say, Look let’s go and buy some new pants and bras because we are too small now And so that’s been very supportive, very supportive. You know telling each other how good we look. And how we are having to buy new clothes and things.

Ok

Or dig out old ones, haven’t worn these for months for years. Yeah.

Well I will confess here that I’m a recovered alcoholic and that has a relevance in the binge eating because it’s the same feelings. So for example I used to drink to change my head. And I suspect the binge eating is the same. In fact it’s classified in the DSM in the same area that, you know, I used to eat, I comfort eat to change my feelings. I was feeling uncomfortable, feeling sad, feeling something and I used to immediately turn to food, to sweet foods specifically. And, you know, I’ve always done that so if I was making peppermint creams with the children for example I would end up eating them all, you know, but especially the scraps and things I’ve always had this inability to switch off the to, to stop. I’ve had this inability to stop. So I haven’t had a drink for 21 years so it was complete abstinence. But with eating it’s very difficult because it’s a process addiction. And you can’t stop eating but I have discovered you can stop eating sugar. And I don’t crave sugar and it’s now been since February. So I have actually managed to apply, apply the abstinence thing to sugar.