
Picture:time to tackle obesity
In Staffordshire 1 in 4 adults are obese. What should we do about it?
To mark the end of the debate, we hosted The Big Fat Chat Live event on 1 March 2017 in Hednesford,...
Sugar free snacking can be a challenge, especially when kids are involved. Here are our top tips for a healthy snack...
We explore the size of the obesity problem in Staffordshire.
Going sugar-free for a week can do wonders for your health. Why not give it a try with help for our...
We take a close look and find out if it's sugar or fat that is more responsible for obesity and other...
We tested some everyday groceries for their sugar content and think you'll be shocked at what we found.
Dr Maggie Bailey
February 8, 2017 at 11:05 am
I used to weigh 16 stones 7 pounds, about twelve years ago, and had battled with my weight on numerous diets for all my life (I am now 67). I was well aware of the health issues – I was a physiotherapist and Senior lecturer at Keele University, and I am well-educated, I have a PhD. I started the final diet (alone, using sensible eating) when I was 55 as a result of a chance remark from a close friend about my weight (somehow, we manage to avoid being truthful with ourselves!). I took two years to lose 7 stones. Since then, I have managed to maintain my weight loss to within 7 pounds (Unusual for most folks to maintain for so long)and consider myself a bit of an expert from the personal experience point of view. I now walk more, ride horses again, bike etc. and am healthy. I try and avoid sugar wherever possible – top tip, and believe that diet ‘buddies’ could be a useful notion.
Big Fat Chat Team
February 8, 2017 at 11:33 am
Wow, 7 stone. That’s a lot of weight to have lost. Congratulations Dr Maggie, and thanks for the tips.
Jack Stevens
February 21, 2017 at 4:21 pm
Shouldn’t there be a service to help people to lose weight in a supported way – not like a diet or a fad but just gradually and have someone to check in with who knows how to help people change their lifestyle. It says all over these pages that most people know what they need to do but as it’s getting worse so they’re obviously not doing it!
Big Fat Chat Team
February 22, 2017 at 10:26 am
Hi Jack, you’re right. I think people know the science behind weight gain – calories in vs calories burned – but it’s easy to say and not so easy to do. There’s lots of people who see the environment we live in nowadays as a huge factor in our ability to maintain a healthy weight (the ready availability of high sugar/high fat foods for example or the fact that most of our modes of transport don’t involve much in the way of burning calories).