“We had meat and veggies, but accompanied by potatoes for dinner, and simple desserts like tinned fruit and tinned cream and a family roast on a Sunday. There was not much in the way of snack foods in the house and eating between meals wasn’t allowed—but, I always had a healthy appetite and would overeat. My parents divorced when I was young so comfort eating featured quite a lot, and still does if I am not disciplined. I was close to my grandmother and would spend weekends with her. She would teach us to bake pies and cakes—which we were too tempting to resist as a child, but we always ate real food cooked from scratch.”

“I was never sporty. Having been born with a back and knee defect I always found sport at school painful and difficult, and often couldn’t take part. In honesty, I wasn’t disappointed as I didn’t enjoy it anyway but as a family we would walk a lot—and, as there was only one car, spent summers at the beach swimming in the sea or a pool, if there was one available, and I kept pretty active. But in my teens I started to struggle with weight gain, and so I joined Weight Watchers for the first time in my late teens.”

“I was heavy when I got married but managed to shed the weight after my first daughter was born in 1985 and started working for Weight Watchers as a class leader, coaching and supporting hundreds of people to their goal weight and a healthier lifestyle. Back then it was a high-protein low-carb diet based on real food! Sound familiar?”

“My grandmother followed the plan, with my support, and lost her extra weight and maintained this throughout her life. It was a clean, simple way of eating. But the main problem was it didn’t teach you anything about why you had gained weight. Insulin was never mentioned or explained. The mechanism of weight gain wasn’t taught. It just told you how to follow the diet, but not why.”

“Back then, there were none of the hundreds of ready meals, desserts and snacks they promote now, purely to boost profits and tell people what they want to hear, rather than focussing on the actual diet itself. After my second pregnancy in 1987 the weight proved much more difficult to shift and it increased. I was then in a broken marriage, becoming a single parent trying to juggle 3 jobs. I had to give up the WW job with no childcare support and by 2000 I was 100 lbs heavier than I wanted to be.”

“But I took the bull by the horns, dug out the old WW books and lost the weight entirely by myself—as I couldn’t afford the classes and had no child care, just following the high protein low fat plan that had worked so well before and it did again. I lost all the weight and maintained it for over 11 years.”

“By 2009 I had a better job working in the control room for the UK police and life had improved a bit as the children were older and more independent. I had maintained my weight loss since 2000. In 2009, I was seriously ill with swine flu during the pandemic and had to self isolate. I never really felt I fully recovered from it and I was pressurised to return to work before I was really well enough. I developed multiple ailments and health issues as a result—and the weight went back on. I was trying to manage exhaustion, constant chronic severe pain and a highly pressurised job working shifts including nights and weekends.”

“After five years struggling, I was eventually diagnosed with CFS/ME - chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia as well as my joint dysfunction and chronic inflammation but there was no treatment, help or support and many people had never even heard of it so I was just left to struggle on. Throw in the menopause as this point too and things began to get worse with weight again as I battled exhaustion and a highly pressurised job working long shifts including night duties.”

“I slipped back to eating carbs, junk food and snacking to deal with stress and exhaustion. I was almost back up to my heaviest weight relaying on coffee, chocolate and junk foods to get me through a shift and I was eating for stress but managed to keep 20 lbs off of my previous heaviest weight. Finally in 2018 after years of battling ill health and pain I was burnt out andI had to be medically retired from my career after a serious episode resulting in a collapse and an ambulance. I just couldn’t continue like this.”

“Once I retired I was determined to make my health became my full time job and I secured some part time work working from home. I was made aware by a friend that Dr. Micheal Mosley - a well known UK based doctor and tv presenter - had written a new low carb diet book and it was said to help fibromyalgia and chronic pain - so it got my interest. I bought and read his new book. It was low carb, high protein, moderate fat Mediterranean based diet using real food and incorporating time restricted eating - I had never heard of this before.”

“The food that dissimilar to the original WW plan that had been successful before, just less carbs and adding in TRE. I was too unwell to exercise but I read the book cover to cover, downloaded the audiobook, followed the plan religiously and it was working. Weight came off rapidly. Inflammation decreased. Pain was easier to manage. But the difference was it was the book was also educational. Dr. Mosley explained it was based on science and what that science was. He explained nutritional ketosis and insulin resistance - I had never heard of these before. He emphasised the health benefits of reducing cancer and Alzheimers risks factors highlighted. It focused on reducing blood sugars and revering type 2 diabetes as he had done himself and how to switch the metabolic switch to bun ketones and not sugars and become metabolically flexible.”

“I had great success on this losing 80 lbs in a year and was supported by my GP who had politely told me when I retired I needed to lose weight. A lot of it. I was pre diabetic if not already diabetic, although he refrained from actually saying those words. He didn’t know I had actually already started the new diet a week earlier. I told him I would lose 65 lbs. He looked sceptical.”

“He did blood tests every three moths and my weight steadily went down. My liver ALT was extremely high but by the first repeat blood test it was already optimal. My blood sugars had improved and I was able to achieve my lightest ever weight. I was 80 lbs lighter. My doctor was shocked. He thought I looked too thin now, although I was right in the middle of a healthy BMI range for my age and height. My waist measured under half my height and was a UK size 8. I felt amazing and was able to start to do some walking. My health was improved and easier to manage. The crucial difference was for the first time I understood about weight gain and insulin being the biggest factor. Fat burning and fat storing.”

“I started the low carb and now keto way of eating back on that day in 2018 and I have never gone back to eating the carbs, except maybe a little on Christmas Day or my birthday but I really don’t want or miss those sugary foods now. All this success got my interest and I started to help and support others on an online support forum for the plan. I did further reading and research sighting Dr. Mosley’s research referencers, discovering Dr. Jason Fund and Dr. Ben Bikman and Insulin IQ in the process. I joined IIQ and watched the metabolic classrooms on YouTube religiously each Tuesday. Followed all the advice on the website. Attended as many group hangouts as I could. I was welcomed, supported and embraced especially as I was across the pond! I made friends with the regulars and coaches.”

“There is such a great IIQ community and you really can’t underestimate the power and support of this support. One of the best aspects of being in the IIQ family. I have become more and more hungry for information rather than food and loved understanding the science and evidence especially around insulin and gathering my own labs and data. I am now a committed data geek, but you don’t have to be if it’s not your thing. I read lots of studies and followed many advocates on YouTube of low carb and ketogenic diets.”

“By this time I was maintaining my 80 lbs weight loss and had naturally progressed to being Mediterranean keto. The diet I had followed was then also spookily updated to a keto version of the book. Dr. Bikman’s book had been also been published and I had read and listened to it several times and I had the luxury of being able to join the Zooms with him and ask questions. I eventually decided to have a one to one IIQ chat with Rich Hart with a view to some private coaching, but he very enthusiastically said “Jackie, you don’t need coaching - you need to be one of our IIQ coaches!” So I took the IIQ coaching course and became and IIQ certified coach and continued to support the IIQ community throughout the Covid pandemic and making many online friends from the IIQ community in the process.”

“We all helped and supported each other through Covid and our respective personal health and weight challenges continue to do so. The great thing is we are all like minded. We all understand insulin resistance and the benefits of eating low carb or keto. We all understand and can be empathetic to each others challenges. We can help and support and offer suggestions, compare our data like our ketones and reach out to each other if we need advice, help or support. Share challenges and experiments.”

“Over the last 5 years I have also supported many people online to lose weight and improve their health as well as family and friends who have been able to lose weight, improve their health and reduce or stop regular medications. It’s been both a reward and rewarding. I am an advocate of being able to follow low carb or keto on a budget, eating real food and cooking simple meals from scratch, without the need for processed foods, lots of supplements or so called speciality diet foods or meal replacements - although some of these can be useful and have their place for some, but aren’t essential. I favour the clean, simple uncomplicated cost effective approach which works if you live alone or with family.”

“I may not have any fancy qualifications but I have empowered myself with knowledge and experience of other and myself and can empathise with those with metabolic and weight struggles. I understand the challenges of eating healthily on a restricted budget and with limited physical ability although I now walk as regular as I can British weather permitting and try to remain as active as possible, especially as I age and live on my own it is vitally importance for maintaining future independence, mobility and health and better manage those health issues that come with older age and life.”

“I still have a thirst for more information and science and a desire to help both myself and others achieve their health goals and live a healthier longer life. I’m here to help and would be delighted if you would like to reach out….I look forward to meeting you.”