A diet loved by Tiktokers has changed the life of a 72 year-old woman, who shifted eight-and-a-half-stone in two years — a speedier rate of weight loss than you typically see with blockbuster slimming jabs like Ozempic.
Sue Myerscough, 72, from East Morton, near Keighley, began the low-carb diet in February 2022, weighing 19 stone and taking heavy doses of drugs to control her type 2 diabetes.
Today, she weighs 10 and a half stone, has reduced her dose of daily medication, and says she feels ’20 years younger’.
The diet plan, which involves eating just 40-60g of carbohydrates a day (about one medium sized bowl of pasta), has been recommended by the NHS to treat type 2 diabetes since 2018.
Mrs Myerscough, who has suffered the condition for 27 years, took part in a low-carb weight loss programme run by her local GP surgery.
The scheme, led by GP Dr Jackie Craven, has helped 141 patients put their diabetes into remission since the practice introduced it six years ago.
The course, which was initially a nine-month course but has since been reduced to three months, invites patients to group sessions to learn about diabetes and what foods to eat as part of a low-carb diet.
It is thought that type 2 diabetes is driven by excess weight around the middle, which affects the body’s ability to respond to insulin — the hormone that converts sugars in food into energy.
Sue Myerscough, 72, from East Morton, near Keighley, used to weigh 19 stone (pictured left) before taking part on the Type 2 diabetes ‘reversal programme’ at her GP surgery. But in February 2022 she started the GP-led programme and lost six stone in the first year and eventually lost a total of eight-and-a-half-stone — leading to huge improvements in her health and a reduction in medication (pictured right after weight loss)
Dr Craven explained that the low-carb approach works better than the low-calorie diet also offered by the NHS.
That’s because although patients are eating fewer carbohydrates, they stay fuller for longer due to the higher dose of protein and fat.
In comparison, a low-calorie diet can be difficult to maintain as it is essentially a ‘starvation’ diet, Dr Craven added.
The diet includes eating meat, eggs and fish as well as abundant quantities of leafy green vegetables, plus nuts and some fruit and full-fat dairy, including cheese, milk and cream.
Foods to avoid include sugary treats such as biscuits and sugary drinks — but also those that are high in carbs, including breakfast cereal, bread, pasta, potato, rice and couscous.
In August 2023, a a major study by Harvard University, published in the journal Diabetes Care and involving 10,000 patients with type 2, found that those who followed a low-carb diet were 24 per cent less likely to die early from any cause than those who didn’t.
Dr Craven said the patients on their programme were closely monitored and the higher levels of fat in the diet had not led to problems.
Ms Myerscough is thrilled with her results.
‘I just celebrated my 72nd birthday and to be fair I felt 20 years younger than that because I was the old lady and now I’m not, she said.
‘I’m able to walk, I’m able to go places I didn’t have access to before, and I can get up and play with the grandchildren, instead of being sat in a chair,’ she told the BBC.
Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that causes the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood to become too high.
It can cause symptoms like excessive thirst, needing to use the toilet a lot and tiredness. It can also increase the risk of serious eye, heart and nerve problems.
It’s a lifelong condition and patients often need to change their diet, take medications and have regular check-ups.
The latest major breakthrough for type 2 diabetes patients is the introduction of so-called ‘slimming jabs’, like Ozempic and Wegovy, that help patients shift around 15 per cent of their body weight within a year.
The drugs, which contain the active ingredient semaglutide, are prescribed to type 2 diabetes patients on the NHS.
However, Ms Myerscough’s weight loss of six stone in one year, and eight and a half in two, is a greater amount that a typical person who achieve on Ozempic.
Some experts have warned of the risks of following a low-carb diet for long periods of time, however.
For instance, some could be at increased risk of cancer due to the lack of fibre.
Fibre, also called roughage, is a term for carbohydrates found naturally in plants that we can’t easily digest.
Instead, it passes to the lower parts of the digestive system, helping bulk out stools and prevent constipation.
Not eating enough fibre is also a known risk factor for bowel cancer — a disease on the rise among young people.
