I try to practice what I preach – or at least what I recommend (I try not to preach), and it bothered me that my weight was going up and up, year on year. The problem had worsenened ever since having massive doses of steroids for multiple sclerosis back in 1995 and 1996 (known in my household as the years B.H. - before homeopathy), when I developed the classic steroid-induced‘moon face’, a host of other drug side-effects.

Doctors I discussed this with weren’t convinced that past high-dose steroids could be having an influence so many years after they were given, but it set me thinking about whether a hormonal approach to weight loss might work.

After all, I already ate very healthily, choosing natural wholefoods and relying on unprocessed options, so why was I weighing more each year? True, exercise is tricky for me – although homeopathy seems to help keep me drug-free (and my neurologist, though puzzled at how well I seem, tells me to carry on doing whatever I’m doing, as it’s clearly working), exercise can raise my body temperature too high, and lead directly to flare-ups of MS symptoms.

Greed may play a part: I confess that I love food, think it’s one of the joys of life, and am not known for holding back, so a simple ‘calories in, calories out’ equation would probably have explained some of the weight gain, if not all.

Thinking about hormones and the role played by insulin and glucagon in blood sugar balance led me to explore a low glycaemic (low GI) way of eating, and although I’ve only made really quite small changes to my diet (making sure I eat small amounts really often; substituting low GI almonds and apricots for high GI walnuts and dates; choosing oatcakes over rice cakes; and sticking to slightly undercooked brown basmatic rice, for example), I’ve lost a massive four stones in nine months.

So it looks like comedian Billy Connolly wasn’t totally right when he said the only way to lose weight is to ‘eat less, move more’: it does seem to make a real difference what you eat, and when you eat it. Impressed by my new trim look, patients are continually asking for my top low GI recipes (speedy chicken curry with spinach, one-bowl chocolate cake, and sticky onion chicken with steamed-fry, in case you’re interested).

For more information about how a professional homeopath may be able to help you stay in charge of your health and get weight loss underway healthily, visit www.phoenixhomeopathy.com.

Disclaimer: Any views or advice in this blog should not be taken as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, especially if you know you have a specific health complaint. Prescribed medication should not be stopped or varied without conventional medical advice. Please remember that homeopathic remedies and other health measures should be individually-selected to match the whole person, not just the unwelcome symptom. Seek professional advice rather than self-prescribing if your complaint is chronic, severe or long-standing, or if you are pregnant, elderly or on orthodox medications.