tl;dr


I'm losing weight, getting fit using VR and doing other things to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

My story

I am fat. For much of my life I actually struggled to put on weight, but at the age of 30 my metabolism seemed to change overnight.

Around that time I was formally diagnosed with reactive hypoglycaemia. My body reacts to ingested sugars by over-producing insulin, which rapidly reduces blood sugar levels, leaving me with low blood sugar and feeling weak, shivery, dizzy and unwell.  Sometimes I feel close to fainting. Sometimes I fall asleep. To rectify this, I have to eat and eat soon. 

Although the best advice is to eat protein and complex carbs, it is sometimes easier and quicker during a busy working day to eat a sugary snack to correct the effect of an attack. Either way, it's difficult to stick to a balanced diet when you have a meeting at 12:00 and your blood sugar is so low at 11:30 that you can't remember your name.

At first, the weight gain that came with the condition was welcome. However, when I hit 40 I exceeded my recommended BMI for the first time and, from then on, I've struggled with periods of weight gain, plateauing and weight loss.

I became significantly overweight. In clinical terms, I'm "obese" - a term that has always sounded horribly pejorative. Although I was and am very aware of the health impacts of obesity, I have always struggled to stick to the strict, low-glycaemic diet that would help me maintain my blood sugar levels properly, which would enable me to work and function with clarity and lose weight.

But I knew I had to try.

Here's the deal

On August 18th, 2019, I began a diet and exercise regime. My original target was to lose 52 lbs.

Why 52 lbs? That was about 1 lb in weight every week. I knew from experience it was a realistic target. A target that a person with reactive hypoglycaemia, a three-hour daily commute and a sedentary job can probably manage. However, as I began to lose weight and feel fitter I became more motivated. Even during the hellscape of 2020.

I started at 17st 12 lbs. I passed my initial goal a while ago and my current aim is to get to 11 stones. That's closer to 100 lbs weight loss in total. 

To give up smoking I slapped on the patches for two weeks and went cold turkey for another two. To meet this target I am sticking to a strict calorie-controlled diet and have embarked on a regime of exercise (mostly walking, rowing and a lot of Beat Saber in VR).

Macmillan Cancer Support

I lost a Grandparent to cancer, my Grandad Jack Chapman - and another Grandparent, Ada Hodge, suffered from cancer too. 

Any and all money that I get from sponsorship will go to Macmillan Cancer Support - a terrific organisation that helps people live with cancer.

Macmillan's Just Giving description says: 

"Macmillan Cancer Support is here to help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can, providing physical, financial and emotional support. So whatever cancer throws your way, we’re right there with you."

So, help me to lose weight, help Macmillan Cancer Support - and help them help others living with cancer.

How did this all start?

In July 2019, on the way home from work, I saw a poster funded by Cancer Research UK...

The poster was a mock-up of a cigarette packet with the words "Obesity is a cause of cancer too".

The message was clear. According to the advertising, being obese is like being a smoker... a lifestyle choice. 

It was an unfortunate and unhelpful simplification of a serious issue, and it came at a time in my life when I was already asking myself some hard questions...

Of course, Cancer Research UK does terrific work and Cancer Research is of the utmost importance - I fully support what they do -  but advertising like their "obesity" campaign targets and shames people. It should be challenged.