What really motivated me to get out of bed this morning is my diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back in May 2010, and at that time it didn't seem a big deal. But as I have read more about it I have begun to understand what a big deal it is. So in January this year I decided to do something about it. After much reading of many websites it became clear to me that the one avenue of exploration that was fairly neglected by the NHS was that of the VLCD. Very Low Calorie Diet. Newcastle University have run a small scale trial and had very good results. In a nutshell consume about 600 calories per day by consuming 3 meal replacement shakes, and one meal mainly of vegetables, drink at least 2 litres of water, and make sure to exercise for at least 40 minutes per day. Do that, and hey presto! Your fixed.

And you know what? It works.

On 1st January 2013 I weighed in at 119.8kg, which for a man of 172cm is a little heavy. After following that regime for 12 weeks I weighed 94.3kg. But the really important thing was my blood sugar had fallen from an average of 22mmol/L to 5mmol/L. And it stayed at that sort of level for months no matter what I ate or drank. My body was producing and reacting to insulin and controlling the glucose levels.

Now however I'm back to 108.9kg and the blood sugar is at 17mmol/L. And quite frankly Iam disgusted and ashamed of myself. All that hard work and money down the drain. So no matter what the hard work has got to be done again. By 4th September next year I will weigh no more than 13 stone. I will have blood sugar levels in the normal range. And I will not be drinking alcohol, which substance dear reader is at the root of the majority of my problems.