When I listed myself on Guardian Soulmates in 2011, I
stated categorically that I wanted a partner who preferred to stay in bed on a
Sunday morning for some shenanigans, not one who wanted to go out for a jog, or
whose profile picture was a shot of them skiing. I have nothing against skiers
per se, it’s just that there only seemed to be two tribes of people on
Soulmates in those days: artistes, and skiers. Also, I can’t see your face in a
ski mask. Now, I haven’t started skiing. And I’ve barely begun jogging. But if
you see me in the near future, I may bore you senseless with my talk of
Banting. Not to be confused with ‘having a bant’ or some ‘bantz’, or indeed our beloved Swan Company Whatsapp Group ‘Dr Bantermist’.
You can all google, I won’t go into the specifics, but Banting is a diet, or as the Banters like to call it, a WOE – way of eating. You
basically can eat as much fat as you like, moderate protein, and hardly any
carbs. I really do mean hardly any – under 30g* per day. As an average day, I
have scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, protein and salad and cottage
cheese for lunch (plus 2 squares of 90% dark chocolate which isn’t really permitted,
but I’m still breastfeeding and I need some chocolate in my life), and protein
and veg for dinner, followed by blackberries and double cream. Booze has
sugar/carbs, but they don’t limit your booze – they leave it up to you.
Those that know me or have read previous blogs, know that
weight has always been an issue. I’ve done most diets. I’ve had colonics. I’ve
been to the gym. Hell, I even did a couple of 10k’s about a decade ago (the St
John’s Ambulance lady looked vaguely worried at my shade of purple, and I
probably jogged/walked it in the same time your average Joe could walk 10K but,
I did it). The only common denominator during all this time was that I was always
hungry. I literally cannot ever remember being on a diet and not being hungry. In
fact, most of my life I have felt peckish. All the time. Or been thinking about
my next meal ;-)
So, why did I begin Banting? Well, I felt pretty lethargic and
kept getting poorly, and I was fat. But
primarily, I had high blood pressure and wanted to get off the medication for
it as I hate taking pills. I also wanted to be in a position that when another
job came along (please God), I was ready and able to do whatever the director
wanted, which is kind of important as an Actor. In Don Quixote, I kept busting
my knee attempting to step onto a tall ish box (actually I had two people helping
me up, bless them, but it still hurt), because I was overweight and I had zero
stomach muscles post C- Section. It still bugs me that I couldn’t do what they
wanted choreography wise. That I felt scared I might bugger up the routine or
the symmetry of the piece. We’re watching ‘This Is Us’ on Sky at
the moment and the character Kate had this scene where her boyfriend told her
she had to stop letting the ‘fat’ rule her life. She explained that it is ever
present – when you’re sussing out the gaps between tables in a restaurant to
see which way you should go, when you have to put your bum in the face of
people at the theatre as you edge to your seat (I used to face them but we were
practically humping), the airplane seat belt, the knife edge every time you
take in some clothes to try on in a changing room. I could go on. It’s not
really a way to live. Though to be honest, most of the time I don’t even notice
I make all those calculations and adjustments – they’ve become part of my every
day life. And it wasn’t until that episode that I realised, shit, that’s what I
do. Husband helpfully told me I wasn’t as big as her, but that’s not really the
point.
So, said husband kindly said we could put a little of our
savings towards me having some personal training, so that I could feel a tad
more confident about what my body could achieve. My trainer, Malcolm,
recommended Banting. And I’m not sure I could be more grateful to anyone. Ever.
Because, after the first two weeks (I’m not going to lie, they were pretty
tough folks), during which you’re in sugar withdrawal and what they call ‘Carb
Flu’ descends, the hunger stopped. And I really do mean that. My husband didn’t
believe me. It took me about 3 weeks to persuade him and then he tried and
realised it was true. I’m not saying there are zero cravings, especially when I
pass a doughnut shop. But I can go hours without food. I’m not thinking about
food. My body feels calm. And it’s probably not just the diet – it’s the
training (we started at twice a week, and are now down to once a week so that I
get used to doing it on my own as well, quick smart before the dosh runs out!),
and I’ve been doing yoga once a week at Battersea Yoga which is a true haven. And probably does more for my emotional and
mental health as much for any toning or fitness. Malcolm is high energy and,
for a trainer who primarily works in the parks, has OCD about dog poo, which I
find highly entertaining. It’s like they can smell his fear and they all run
over to him and look like they’re about to mark their territory, whilst he
stands still as a statue pretending it isn’t happening.
Now, the key is, does the weight stay off. And I guess we’ll
have to see. But every other major diet I’ve done hasn’t ever seemed
sustainable, and this is. I began just shy of 4 months ago. I’ve lost 15kilos,
20cm off my waist, my blood pressure is 118/80 and my resting heart rate has
dropped from 93 to 70. I list those not to brag, but to emphasise that all has
happened WITHOUT being hungry. And I’ll be honest, I debated about posting
this. Because I look at the women’s magazines on the shelves and they’re all
covered in diet stuff. I’d say at least a third of all the posts in my various
groups on Facebook (primarily for mums, but not all) are about wanting to lose
weight or getting fit. And the story is always the same – always hungry, fell
off the wagon, back on the wagon, etc etc. And I feel sort of evangelical about
this WOE. And I want to shout it from the rooftops. And I know for many of my
friends, weight isn’t an issue – they can eat what they like. But since the 70’s
when the US suddenly decided fat was bad, and carbs were good, obesity has
steadily risen. And it makes me beyond angry that we were fed advice that was
actually wrong. The US has recently changed their dietary guidelines and there is now ZERO limit on fat intake, but there is on
sugar. I could go on about this all day, but if you want to read more, I’d
suggest starting with Jason’s Fung’s The Obesity Code. Similarly, if you want some personal training or Banting
coaching, I’d highly recommend Malcolm. Just bring a
pooper scooper ;-)
It’s probably also worth saying that according to the joy of
the medical profession that is the BMI Scale, I still have 14 kilos to lose, just so that I fall into the ‘overweight’
category, rather than the ‘obese’ one. So, I have a little way to go, though I have
no desire to be super skinny. I like being curvy. I like the freedom of it. The
non conformity of it, I suppose. I like falling into the ‘character’ actress
category, and given that even if I do shed another 14 kilos, I’ll still be
larger than most actresses, I think that casting bracket is safe, though I
might need some new headshots soon. Most importantly, I’ve assured the husband
that even at my smallest, the boobs didn’t really decrease, so he’s happy.
Yours,
Gem (soon to be seen high kicking for 2 hours non stop in
the West End. I’m not, but you know, I could… ) x
*for the breastfeeding mums – I started at 80g of carbs per
day and reduced by 5g per week, so that I could check it wasn’t affecting my
supply. I now average 40g per day.
