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Writer and TV presenter Susannah Constantine has revealed how she managed to lose a stone in around 12 weeks, and how cutting one food from her diet changed it all.
Susannah, also a journalist, has spoken about how bad her addiction to chocolate and other sweet treats had become. However, through determination, support and a strong mantra, she made it through and lost a stone in around three months.
Writing in the Sunday Times, the 2018 Strictly Come Dancing contestant explained just how bad it got, the impact it was having on her life, and what her diet looks like now.
She said: “It got to the point where the choice between going out for dinner or staying home in bed with a box set and a stash of chocolate was no contest. Chocolate was affecting not only my weight and energy but also my social life.”
Comparing eating chocolate with her previous experiences as a self-confessed “high-functioning” alcoholic, she said the latter had become a strange version of the former.
She explained: “With alcohol, I sought out people who drank heavily, because it made my own drinking feel normal — safety in numbers. Chocolate had become my quieter equivalent.”
View 4 ImagesSusannah Constantine(Image: (Image: ITV))
However, the results paid off, she concluded: “Three months later, and a stone lighter, I no longer crave Lindt or Nestlé. For someone who, before March 1, had never gone a single day without chocolate, that feels remarkable. It is not rocket science, either. Loads of veg, blueberries, apples and nuts.”
And yet, Susannah said the transformation may not have been possible without help from her friend and former flatmate Lulu Hutley. She said that Lulu invited her to Portugal where they were accompanied by Lulu’s nutritionist friend Edna, who “supervised a full detox”.
She added: “Lulu had effectively thrown me blindfolded into a nutritional abyss devoid of joy. Edna became the conductor of this drastic overhaul….But rather than complain, I recognised it for what it was: divine intervention.”
This isn’t the first time Susannah has talked about her health. Last year she talked about how improving her gut health had helped her reduce her menopausal anxiety.
Speaking to Women’s Health about it, she said: “There was this whole buzz about gut health and I looked into it and found that so much of our serotonin is produced in our stomachs.”
Later using an automotive metaphor, Susannah said she didn’t mind so much what her face looked like, as long as her insides were in good condition.
4View 4 ImagesSusannah Constantine(Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
4View 4 ImagesTrinny and Susannah(Image: (Image: Birmingham Post and Mail))
She added: “I think as long as my insides look like the engine of a Ferrari, I don’t care if my face looks like a battered Land Rover. If you take care of yourself it goes a long way – exercise and healthy eating have a huge impact on our bodies.”
Links between gut health and the menopause have been looked at before, including by personalised nutrition company ZOE, set up by Professor Tim Spector.
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On the matter Dr Sarah Berry, Lead Nutritional Scientist at ZOE, said there was positive news for people looking to improve symptoms through their diet.
She said: “The good news is that what you eat may partially reduce the unfavourable health impacts of menopause, either directly by reducing inflammation and blood sugar spikes or indirectly by altering the microbiome to a more favourable composition.”