A man who weighed 25 stone has reversed his type 2 diabetes after losing almost half his weight.
Kevin Sartorius, from Toxteth, Liverpool, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008. He was 39, and had been steadily gaining weight during his 30s.
Kevin’s health started to suffer, and he knew that he was going to have make changes. “I woke up one day and couldn’t stop weeing,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“I was thirsty all the time so I was drinking bottles of full sugar Coke every day, but that didn’t help. I went to the doctor and had blood tests done. They phoned me within two hours and said ‘don’t drink any more sugary drinks, you’re diabetic’.
“When I got diagnosed I thought, this is time to change your life. So I took all the foods that were harmful for me out of the cupboards and swapped them for healthier ones.”
Kevin knew the decline in his health was attributable to his regular DJing at a club in St Helens. He had picked up some bad habits, but quickly addressed them.
“The big lifestyle change came when I started DJing five nights a week. I’d finish work at 3am, I’d be hungry and the only places open were takeaways. So I was eating fast food all the time and I’d drink six or seven pints while I was working plus pints of sugary soft drinks in-between. I just let myself go.
“I was still DJing at the time [of the diagnosis] but instead of going to the takeaway at 3am I’d make sure I had a nice healthy meal before I went. Then, if I felt hungry afterwards, I’d wait until I got home and get myself some fruit before I went to bed.”
Kevin used to be a bodybuilder, but he stopped exercising altogether during his late 30s. His weight increased to 25 stone, and he felt self-conscious about exercising in public.
“You can see people looking at you, you can see in their faces that they’re shocked because they can’t hide it, and it’s horrible. Nobody ever really told me to my face because I think they didn’t want to be hurtful but one summer a gang of schoolgirls shouted at me ‘ey mate, pull your belly in’ and that really hit me.”
Kevin now runs every morning for up to an hour and a half. He has also replaced the sugary soft drinks and 14-inch pizzas for healthy food options.
Through making lifestyle and diet changes, Kevin has lost 11 stone. He has also been told by his doctor that he reversed his type 2 diabetes in the process.
“I’d been going for blood tests every six months since 2008 but now they’ve told me I’m off the register because I’ve done so well. The nurse said I was one of only a very few to have done it; in a way I’ve cured it and reversed what I’d gone through eight years ago.
“When they told me they didn’t need to see me anymore I actually cried because I was so happy. I’d achieved something I never thought I could.
“When I go shopping I look at all the labels for fat and sugar contents, I’ve really educated myself, and I help other people now too.
“I know I got myself into this state, but through fitness and healthy eating I’ve got myself out of it. I’m proof that you can do it, with willpower and exercise.”
Picture: Liverpool Echo
