A FATHER-OF-TWO believes he has beaten diabetes by losing more than 7st and getting on his bike.
Ian Holmes was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in July last year after his weight soared to 24st.
But instead of giving in, he embarked on a fitness regime and started cycling to shed his excess weight.
Now, after doctors told him his blood sugar levels were outside the diabetes spectrum, he has been removed from the diabetic register.
Mr Holmes, 49, said: "When I was initially diagnosed, I asked 'what can I do to get rid of it?' but I was told I couldn't, I just had to manage it.
"But I didn't accept that. You have to change your mind-set and start taking control of what is going on in your body."
Reluctant to rely on medication to tackle his condition, he discovered research by the University of Newcastle that suggests a combination of intensive exercise and a lower-calorie diet can have benefits for some patients with diabetes.
Researchers claimed Type 2 diabetes is "not inevitably progressive and lifelong" and said their work demonstrated that major weight loss in patients who had Type 2 diabetes could cause insulin secretion to return to normal.
Mr Holmes, a manager at Pickering and Newington Development Association in Hull, said: "I'm not suggesting every person can do what I have done, but I'd like the message to get across that this is how I did it.
"I looked at my diet and, being vegan, it was easy to see where I was going wrong.
"I have never had a sweet tooth and I eat lots of fruit and vegetables, but my weight problem was down to fats and carbs and I was eating too much bread and stuff such as crisps.
"I'd always done a bit of cycling and, once the tablets they gave me at the start began to build up, I began to feel a bit better in myself and had energy to get back out on my bike."
About 14,100 people in Hull suffer from Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to lifestyle and is often found in overweight people, although it can be hereditary. Another 2,200 are believed to have Type 2 diabetes but have not yet been diagnosed.
Mr Holmes was initially prescribed statins to control his blood sugars, but disliked the side effects they caused in him.
"It was a bit like going swimming and having a leg cramp and I couldn't get rid of it," he said.
He stopped his medication, stopped eating bread and got on his bike, starting with five-mile-a-day bike rides and working up to 50 and 60-mile rides.
He took his daughter, Ellie, ten, on a 42-mile ride, assisted along the way by his 11-year-old son Alfie.
Almost 18 months on from his initial diagnosis, he has now been taken off the diabetic register.
"I'm quite comfortable with my weight now, although my BMI is 27, so I'm still classed as overweight," he said. "But if I was 12.5st, I'd be skeletal.
"I've kept the weight off for a year.
"The message people are given when they are diagnosed with diabetes is so gloomy. If you tell people they can't do anything about it, that delivers a very depressing message.
"I really don't understand why they push the idea that you can't possibly turn this around.
"People aren't getting the message. I wasn't, but then I'm pig-headed.
"I knew I didn't want to be sitting in, taking medication, knowing it would increase over time.
"I just thought 'if I hit this hard, maybe I can do something about it' and I did."
A spokesman for Diabetes UK said: "To lose 7st is fantastic and I'm sure his story will inspire people.
"People who do lose a great deal of weight have come off their medication and just manage their condition through diet and lifestyle."
However, she said people should speak to their GPs before contemplating stopping their medication.
"Diabetes is a progressive condition and it may be that you're diagnosed with the condition but it goes into remission. But it can come back in five, ten, 15 or 20 years.
"We would never say to anyone to stop taking their medication and they should talk to their GP to find out the treatment course that is right for them."
Lifestyle changes could delay or prevent diabetesEIGHTY per cent of Type 2 diabetes cases could be delayed or prevented with lifestyle changes.
Even losing five per cent of your body weight could make a significant difference to your risk of Type 2 diabetes.
About 90 per cent of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes. It can come on slowly, usually over the age of 40.
You are more at risk of Type 2 diabetes if you are overweight, you have a large waist, you have a parent, brother or sister with diabetes, you have ever had high blood pressure, a heart attack or a stroke, you have a history of polycystic ovaries, gestational diabetes or have given birth to a baby more than 10lbs.
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