myni
Food glorious food
Most people know something about the irresistible and increasing pitfalls of processed foods; ultra-processed foods the worst culprit of all. And yet, increasingly, we conveniently
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Myni is in her 70’s. She has type 2 diabetes and a lifelong history of obesity and battling with food. This is her ongoing story of taking responsibility for her health and wellbeing.
The Big Issue:
I was born into a theatrical family in south London, and we actually had a small but fully functioning theatre in our basement that had been built by – and was the all-consuming passion of my Grand-father (he died just before I was born). My parents – both tall, slim and beautiful ‘golden’ David Niven-era people, were both professional actors – and my mother was a successful model too, which, with hindsight (I’ll get to that later) probably didn’t help my case much, because I have always had an issue with weight.
At the age of three I was chubby and by the time I started school at five I was, in a word, fat. Everyone tried to spare my feelings and the word ‘puppy’ was regularly added to the word ‘fat – as if that made me feel any better. But it did set me apart from the crowd – and rather like ‘the only gay in the village’ (Little Britain-style), I was the only fat girl in the class. It affected every aspect of my life – socially and physically, of course, but actually survival of the fattest meant that I instinctively developed (it could have been the theatrical gene) a sense of humour broader than my beam and learnt to deprecate and make fun of myself to get laughs at my own expense, long before anyone else had the chance – meaning – defence mechanism or not, I was always one step ahead in this respect at least.
Popularity – or not, was an issue that I subjectively felt, and although I have gained many life-long friends, at the time I felt stigmatised and in all sorts of situations felt left out, side-lined and when it came to pairing off, inevitably I was left (the worst indignity of all) to be partnered by the teacher. It is a sinking feeling of dread triggered even in certain social situations today, that is still with me. Being a vulnerable only child, I guess, even though my Mother did her best to socialise me (an artificial introduction to the world – rather than siblings, I’ve always felt) made me easy-prey and further ill-equipped to deal with all of this.
Would this come under the heading of bullying – probably. It wasn’t really that anyone set out to get me or to say hurtful things – they didn’t have to actually, because the bullying – if you want to call it that, was in the other children’s ‘not in my gang’ behaviour i.e. implicit. I guess it pales into insignificance against the hideous trolling and worse that are part of today’s social (more anti-social really) media.
I wish I could paint an upbeat picture of my educational achievements – but I can’t. Although my father’s passion for teaching meant that I could read, write and recite the Greek alphabet – a party piece, (my Father also had a passion for all things classical Greek – hence my name – no, I’m not telling) before arriving at school, from then onwards a combination of being turned off learning, panic about the environment (it took a year of being prized bawling away from my Mother every morning at the start of school to get over it) and a total lack of self-belief – ‘will never be able to do this’ attitude meant that, although I eventually settled in happily, I didn’t thrive educationally, spent much time on a distinctly un-PC (by today’s standard) disgrace bench and eventually failed the 11-plus in spectacular style. I think it was at about this time that, as my Father was set on me following precisely in his footsteps and pursuing a future at Oxford University and then onto the stage, my parents called in an educational psychologist in the belief that my ever-burgeoning weight was tampering with my academic development.
I won’t go on about this too much more – but as I hit the streaming of the High School my performance in the 11-plus guaranteed my placement at the lower end of all of this. Not content with this I sank to the lowest of the lowest stream (if there had been a lower stream still, I’m sure I would have been at the bottom of that). In addition to this I had found social entertainment in the shape of the lowest life at school.
My parents were in despair and in desperation and with the help of our local vicar sent me off to a boarding school convent. Here, as my Father had assisted in my completion (at home!) of the entrance exam paper, it meant not only that I got in, but because they assumed I was bright, I was put in the top stream. As has been shown in many research projects – because they believed in me I became clever – and as I sailed through O Levels and A Levels to prove the point (Carl Rogers of Person-Centred Counselling fame calls it self-actualisation – and pretty much everyone’s got it inbuilt), it was a turning point in my life from which I have never looked back.
Although my stupidity went, I retained the weight – and only once, as I approached my first marriage at the age of 21 years did I get down to a reasonable (for my 5’4” height) weight. But, after the school days – in a life that took me through a challenging (to say the least) first marriage, two children followed by a long period as a single parent and bread-winner, and then onto a sensible and successful second marriage and eventually into a very different but slightly bohemian life (my natural habitat) in Cornwall, my weight, which eventually peaked at over 18 stone, never really bothered me or got in the way – in fact I seldom gave it any thought at all.
This has been some journey – a life journey, actually, that continues to twist and turn as I get older – but hopefully wiser too, and it is individual to me – as although people may have many similarities, no two people are ever completely alike.
As I mentioned earlier, ‘things’ came to a head as I was sailing carelessly through my mid-sixties.
Always an avid avoider of the medical profession, my doctor had finally caught up with me (actually, I gave myself up, as I thought I had pushed ‘things’ far enough and was mindful of my Mother’s mini-strokes, which, ultimately ‘finished her off’) and diagnosed me with Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Although to anyone else my fate health-wise was probably blindingly obvious, even with the extreme response from the bathroom scales (normally a no-go zone) and the soft pleadings of the sitting room couch – my best friend, I had never really bothered about such things. But with the doctor’s verdict and the requirement to take medication – which I hate, some deep force for change must have stirred and spurred me into action. And now as I have reached 70, I have, with the right help, and to my own utter amazement, completely changed my diet, formed an unusual relationship with the deadly enemy of exercise and lost some weight – nowhere near enough weight, but enough to enable me to come off medication.
Actually – admission time, my own small success story doesn’t end here and so, no, it’s not quite a ‘happy ever after’ ending, as due to a heroin-like addiction to cake, ice-cream sundaes etc (i.e. old habits), my weight, over the last year, has started to creep back up again. So, I decided that reinforcements – in the shape of a knowledgeable mentor or buddy was necessary to ensure that my backward slide (and there have been quite a few of these – the latest being during my 70th birthday celebrations. You should have seen the cake that Bob organised for me – a bale of hay with a saddle on top of it – a monument to sugar, it was meant to feed 40. I’m not saying I ate all of it – but certainly I went for the record. Well, you’re only 70 once!) – wasn’t terminal.
The steps I have taken – still ongoing
This has been some journey – a life journey, actually, that continues to twist and turn as I get older – but hopefully wiser too, and it is individual to me – as although people may have many similarities, no two people are ever completely alike.
This has been/is a journey that for me encompasses weight loss, an effort to control Type 2 Diabetes by diet and a philosophy of wanting to optimise health and well-being by whatever means I can.
ALWAYS talk to your doctor first before you embark on any life changes. Usually doctors are incredibly supportive, ALWAYS they are the professionals.
First Steps – Help
After I had followed up the Diabetic mini-courses suggested by our local surgery, I felt I needed professional help to lose weight – but in the right way. I have never been much of a groupie, and the thought of happy-clapping my way into a smaller dress size filled me with dread. So I was looking for an individual.
There are a dazzling array of practitioners out there – naturapaths, nutritional therapists – and the rest, all promising to make you a shadow of your former self for vast sums of money. I found it really befuddling but after a false – but intriguing start that led me to a naturapath, I eventually discovered that a registered dietician (the only part of this industry to be properly regulated) was the right path for me. Yes, it costs, but after the first couple of consultations there’s no need to go that often, and pound for pound – I reckon it is good value – and you can’t put a price on health, well-being and hopefully increased longevity.
Through Elizabeth (my registered dietician) I was introduced to ‘a balanced diet’, (a key element – a foundation stone, I believe, to the start of any diet) in which the calories she allowed me were spread carefully among the nutritional components of my diet. I seem to be a person who thrives on lists and by keeping a diary it seemed to give me an anchor and a foundation stone to cling to. Even all this time later I still keep a food diary most of the time.
And then I had to start moving… still a bit of a brat, I decided initially to do the sort of exercise I might enjoy – a bit, ie swimming which I find effortless (I long ago stopped bothering about what others thought about the sight of me in a swimming costume) and dancing, which, even though I am inept and like Dad’s Army always at least one step behind our ‘gorgeous babe’ of an instructor, it does keep me perpetually grinning from ear to ear and almost in a drunken state of of happiness – a path straight back into my youth.
More recently – and for the first time in my life, I decided to have a go at the small gym that Bob attended. (This is a small non-threatening, lycra-free zone, a friendly place – open to all, but founded by a local cancer charity, where, for example, people with cancer are referred by our local hospital after they have had – or are still undergoing cancer treatment. It is an awesome place of many parts, where, ‘shed men’ – not usually known for their communication skills, not only get to exercise but also – and perhaps more importantly, safely share their experiences and support each other. The exercise professional, Steve, who works there has specialist knowledge in different areas of health and gently encourages people of all ages and in every state – from those who can barely put one foot in front of another to others that are thrashing themselves on the equipment, clearly hell-bent on reaching the Olympics (only joking!).
Anyway, after much frivolity, humour and questions about the possibility of cardiac arrest (on my part, Steve took the whole thing completely seriously), I have settled in here for an hour or two a week and have now been going for about six months. Yes, I regard the gym as the enemy and the equipment as instruments of torture and mass destruction – and I find it utterly ridiculous that a person of my age should come to this at my time of life. But I’ve decided to think of the whole thing as my medicine, plus I get to chat to interesting people over coffee (while trying to avoid the cakes) in the cafe/restaurant next door afterwards.
Food
Well, gradually over time and in very small steps I have completely changed – and continue to change and improve, my eating habits. Too long a list to include here – but after much reading, much glucose testing and much chatting to health gurus… my obsession with starchy carbs is more or less a thing of the past, fresh vegetables are massively increased (never enough actually), fruit (fruit juice went out the window on Day 1) – I am mindful about how many pieces of fruit I have a day and which fruits are better than others. Vegetables too have a hierarchy of helpfulness (or not) when you’re a Diabetic. I seek out the recommended natural ‘rainbow’ of colour in fruit and vegetables in my diet every day.
I am careful to make sure I drink plenty of water each day. Bob says I drink systematically (before and after meals), otherwise I forget altogether.
I am really keen about the quality of the food I put in my mouth – as much organic as I can and when it comes to meat – from pasture or grass-fed animals. And call me a cynic, but I just don’t trust food manufacturers, as mostly I don’t feel they care about our health and nutrition; it’s all skinniest ingredients and fattest profits. So, I’ve pretty much given up processed food, which I think of as just about anything that is put together by someone else other than me. Organic food may come at an additional cost, but convenience goods – which we’ve all been brain-washed about, comes at a different type of cost altogether.
What with a holiday, Christmas, a 70th birthday party with obligatory cake (oh yes it was!), my weight has started to creep up again over the last year, so I decided I needed to find another individual ideally with a specialism in Diabetes but definitely with much more knowledge than me.
My research led me via Patrick Holford’s publication (‘Say, No to Diabetes’) to his ‘Zest for Life’ site, who put me in touch with a practitioner in the Midlands.
When I was introduced to Glinys Johnson I scored a goal in one. Glinys has worked in all parts of the NHS for the last 37 years, but is now a Diabetic Specialist nurse. And even more importantly – for me, she is a Nutritional Therapist also working her way through accreditation as a practitioner within the Institute of Functional Medicine. Glinys has hugely broadened my horizons and is still taking me to places I didn’t even know existed.
Information and help – the truth, the whole truth…
If you decide to make changes regarding your health and well-being it is really important to get the RIGHT information and help – and, almost without exception, the professionals really do know best. Of course, there is masses that anyone can do to help themselves – and rightly so, but alongside that, are the infinite number of diversionary, enticing happy-clappy but ultimately often untrustworthy paths out there beckoning alluringly to the vulnerable. When it comes to health and well-being, the whole world and his brother seems to have at least one opinion on the subject – mostly unsubstantiated. Add to this the individuals and agencies that have an agenda ie they’ve got a vested interest and are trying to sell you something, and it can be treacherous out there; so listen to all, but make your own decisions about what is best for you.
In my own case… much of my earlier employed life was taken up with research and investigative journalism – which is why I have got ‘a thing’ about research, science-based evidence and professional expertise and so it has seemed entirely natural to divert any residual skills and interest towards making the most of my own life in this respect. The people I mention here have been the key people guiding and informing my journey so far.
Elizabeth Campling (Eat Health) is a Falmouth based Registered Freelance Dietician who has trained and worked in the NHS. Elizabeth is interested to support people to make changes in their diet to help with preventing ill health and to feel better. She provides nutrition guidance grounded in science and evidence rather than based upon fads and personal beliefs. Elizabeth tailors her advice to the individual by attentively listening to their food preferences, their lifestyle and their confidence to make dietary changes. www.eat-health.co.uk
Glinys Johnson has worked within the NHS for 37 years across many areas of health and is currently working as a Diabetic Specialist Nurse. Glinys is also a Nutritional Therapist and functional Medicine practitioner working her way through accreditation for the Institute of Functional Medicine. glinysjohnson@aol.com
Active Pants is an exercise referral scheme for cancer rehabilitation specifically aimed at those with pants area cancers including gynaecological, testicular and prostate cancer – funded by local charity Pants Cancers.
Steve Winnan who manages the programme is a cancer rehab exercise specialist but welcomes a wide variety of people with needs such as Diabetes and being over-weight, depression, neck and back pain or just wanting to feel fit and strong again but just don’t know where to start. Steve offers gym-based exercise sessions for small groups as well as one to one. www.intelligentfitnesscornwall.co.uk
Books
There are just so many books out there, but on the subject of controlling Diabetes through diet Reverse Your Diabetes: The Step-by-Step Plan to Take Control of Type 2 Diabetes by Dr David Cavan has been universally recommended to me.
Again, always talk to your GP before embarking on any life changes likely to affect your health, well-being and lifestyle.
Myni x
First of all, it must be said that of course I am much younger than Myni and will always be known as her toy boy! (I am in fact nearly 8 months younger as can be seen in my life style choices, dress sense and choice of music!)
But seriously, our two childhoods couldn’t have been more different the only similarity being that we were only children. Myni’s early days can only be described as magical, growing up (did she ever grow up?) in a house full of retiring theatrical types, in a large detached house in Dulwich, South London, with a full-size paying theatre in the basement! Her Mother, Wendy was an ex-model and her Father, Raymond, a producer working in Radio at the BBC – his most famous production being the infamous Dick Barton. In their earlier years both had acted on the stage including the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and of course performed in many of their own productions in the basement of the ‘Northlands Private Theatre’. For this reason, Myni became shy and retiring and in her teens a real rebel, I suspect there were many fights with her parents. Her schoolwork suffered and she only really shone once sent off to a Boarding School where she went from a ‘D’ grade student to an ‘A’ grade student leaving school with a number of good A levels.
Her rebellious side continued however with her overland trip to Iran at the age of 18, dressed only in mini-skirts, finding an Iranian boyfriend (later husband) which resulted in her being escorted from the country by the British Embassy (she was under the age of 21 of course) as by now her parents were frantic! She of course did the right thing and married her Iranian man (I believe the main attraction was that he looked like Cliff Richard) and had two children by him. Of course, I wasn’t around but can say that the marriage wasn’t successful apart from the two children.
Poor Myni then had a few stressful years juggling at least two jobs to keep the household going but during this time making some very good friends (they are still around) who supported her during the bad times. It can be seen that these earlier years prepared her for her role in setting up the Bridleways project (www.bridle-ways.co.uk) where her caring side came to the fore in trying to help people using her beloved horses ably assisted by yours truly. We had of course met as Samaritans so this trying to help the less fortunate was there for us both.
Myni has a real interest in ‘fixing people’ (my words, Myni prefers ‘facilitating’) and uses herself as a guinea pig. With her life experiences, her continuing research and with Glinys’s help she has positioned herself well to carry on the success of Bridleways into further helping ‘the 9 lives’ (and more?) with this innovative and exciting project.
Therefore, I can honestly say how supportive Myni has been over these years which can be demonstrated when I was diagnosed with Cancer in 2013 and recently when moving to our present house had the knee problem as described in my story here.
Thank you for an exciting & interesting 30 years – here’s to the next 30!
Myni’s response:
…..Hmmm, how can I argue with this!
Myni’s measures (currently employed to help with diabetes – and weight loss – always ongoing)
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