I have always thought myself to be quite savvy about food. I have however, at different times in my life be ruled by it; controlled by it even. For a large proportion of my life I have awoken in the morning determined to be in control and not worried about what I was going to eat during the day. Invariably after my first of several weigh ins the feelings of guilt/ self loathing etc. would raise their ugly heads. I have tried many diets over the years – never needing to lose too much but never satisfied with how I looked or felt.

About a year ago, after suffering continually with painful reflux, my husband went to visit the doctor. Several tests and examinations later, it was declared that he was alright but would need to take a prescribed antacid regularly for the rest of his life. Acknowledging my view that we are what we eat, he agreed to take gluten out of his diet to see if that had any impact. It has – significantly so. Whereas the norm was to take a tablet daily he now takes about 3 in a month. To support him and make daily cooking life easy I also adopted this change. We have both been gluten free for 3 months. Newbies to this lifestyle!

In addition, I also decided to take fructose out of my diet. I removed it completely for about 6 weeks to allow my body to recalibrate. I now enjoy the odd berry or piece of fruit but eat very little fructose – somedays none.

As a result of these changes I never feel bloated, my skin texture has improved and I have lost weight. I no longer count calories, I eat fats – coconut milk, avocados etc, I don’t snack between meals and most importantly of all the bathroom scales do not rule my life.