As a high-flyer in the tech industry, I had an exciting, well-paid career and a fantastic group of friends. However, it was also a job that came with a culture of big drinking and socialising.
Slowly my weight began to creep up until, by the time I was 30, I was a size 18.
I hated how I looked, which in turn lead to me comfort eating and gaining even more weight. At my heaviest I was 17st, with a BMI of 38 (a healthy range is 18.5 to 24.9), and I felt trapped in my body.
Following the birth of my daughter I knew I had to address my weight, but having previously tried WeightWatchers, calorie counting and the Atkins diet, I needed something new.
I was so desperate I even investigated gastric-sleeve surgery. But then I learned about something that has since transformed my body and my life – and, no, it wasn’t GLP-1 drugs!
Thanks to mindful eating I have shed 7st, and now weigh 9st 10lb and wear a size 10. At 50 years old, I feel healthier than ever and believe I look better than I did 20 years ago, too.
My method is so simple and effective that I want to help others, which is why I launched my own programme – Eatiful. My followers are mostly women over 40, including people coming off the jabs, who all want to free themselves from the toxic cycle of yo-yo dieting.
Here are the six things that helped me drop 7st and stay trim…
At her heaviest, Katie Lips was 17st, with a BMI of 38 (a healthy range is 18.5 to 24.9), but following the birth of her daughter she knew she had to address her weight
Thanks to mindful eating, Katie has lost 7st, and now weigh 9st 10lb and wears a size 10. Now 50, she feels healthier than ever and looks better than she did 20 years ago
Understand hunger
How does hunger show up for you and is it a genuine need for food? It could be thirst, for example, a desire for emotional comfort, a response to boredom and stress or simply because someone has brought a box of doughnuts into the office.
Perhaps you’re telling yourself, ‘It’s lunchtime, therefore I must need food’.
It takes time to tune into your body and understand your cues, but if you stop and question yourself every time you want food, you will start to differentiate between true hunger and something else.
Ignore the clock
Eat when you are hungry regardless of time.
Don’t feel conditioned to eat at set meal times or to believe that you should only eat when you are also feeding others.
If you’re hungry at 11am, then eat, don’t wait for lunchtime. Society invented meal times hundreds of years ago to fit in around working hours during an industrial age, but things have changed and set meals no longer suit our modern way of living or our bodies.
When you are starving you make bad diet choices, which is why fasting has never worked for me.
No foods are banned
Tell anyone they can’t eat certain foods and I guarantee they will become deeply miserable and the diet will fail.
I lost my weight while still eating chips and chocolate, it’s just that I ate a lot less than I used to.
Katie says we should view eating as a positive thing, a chance to nourish your mind and body. That it’s an act of self-care that will lead to good health and better mental wellbeing
You should feel free to eat anything you want without guilt. As you learn to eat mindfully your appetite and palate will change and you’ll find you naturally eat smaller portions and don’t crave sugary food as much.
Today, I rarely eat pastries or cake because they just don’t appeal, something I couldn’t have imagined years ago.
Take your time
There’s lots of science that proves that slow eaters have lower body weight than fast ones.
When you keep food in your mouth for longer it becomes easier to digest and allows you to focus, savour and enjoy it. Eating slowly also makes it easier to recognise when you are starting to feel full.
There are no rules about how long to take, but I generally take around three times longer to eat a meal than I used to.
When you really take your time you’ll often find you no longer enjoy some foods, while others become more appealing. If you can, eat at a table and away from the distraction of a TV, and present the food as nicely as you can – we eat with our eyes, too.
Pause every few mouthfuls and consider how you are feeling. Do you feel full? If not, carry on.
Stop before you’re stuffed
The Japanese have a phrase for this ‘hara hachi bu’ – meaning to stop eating when you are 80 per cent full. You want to eat to nourish your body, but feeling stuffed and uncomfortable isn’t pleasurable.
The problem is that we have guilt around wasting food and feel obliged to clean our plates. You have to, initially, be OK with leaving food. Once you learn to eat mindfully you will eventually become attuned to how much you can eat and so will cook smaller portions and waste very little.
See food as self-care
Sadly, so many of us don’t view eating as a positive thing. Try and reframe it as a chance to nourish your mind and body. Remind yourself that you are important and deserve to be cared for.
It’s not woo-woo to think that way, it’s an act of self-care that will lead to good health and better mental wellbeing. Pausing just before you eat is not a big thing to do and yet such a simple step on the way to feeling good about yourself.
As told to CLAUDIA CONNELL