Former This Morning presenter Fern Britton has revealed how she managed to get back on track following her gastric band surgery U-turn.
The 67-year-old was encouraged to have the procedure done by doctors back in 2006, while a reported size 22 at the time.
With the help of the operation, she went on to lose a staggering five stone but admits she struggled to keep it off.
Writing in her new book The Older I Get: How I Repowered My Life, Fern reflected on her weight loss journey and how she’s managed to get back on track naturally.
In what she referred to as her “era of indolence”, the presenter by her own admission said she “gained too much weight” years after the procedure.
“It helped me lose a lot of weight while exercising regularly and eating good, wholesome food,” she wrote.
“The band works by restricting the capacity of your stomach so that you don’t overeat. However, in my era of indolence, not only did I stop exercising, I also stopped eating well.”
Fern said while the gastric band creates a smaller pouch to hold food, this didn’t stop her from consuming unhealthy meals.
“The irony of a gastric band is that it allows wine, chocolate, cakes and almost anything else full of sugar or fat to slip down very easily,” she commented.
To get back to her old self, Fern got back into a fitness routine and shed the pounds while waiting for a shoulder replacement operation.
In order to do so, she cut out cigarettes and put on her running shoes to do Couch to 5k, a running programme for beginners.
“The slow and steady approach is a great confidence builder and soon I was running just a few minutes more each time and my legs were getting stronger,” she recalled.
As for her diet, Fern incorporated more protein and vegetables into her diet and swapped out unhealthy snacks for healthier alternatives.
“I once again found the feeling of satiety. The thing in your brain that tells you that you are full.
“I’d been first class at overriding that for quite a while,” she wrote.
Now with a new shoulder and back to feeling good again, she reflected: “If we can manage to consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats, while minimising processed foods, sugars and excessive salt, we’ll be doing ourselves a real favour in the long term.”
