Former Labour MP Tom Watson has 'put his old weight back on' for a TV experiment and admitted it would be “impossible” to run if he hadn't gone on a diet.
Watson, 54, also tells ITV's Tonight programme he made changes in his life after realising “I didn't want to die” and wanted to live for his two children following a doctor's diagnosis.
In the Tonight ITV show he investigates how much damage refined sugar is doing to the nation's health. Three years after ditching it from his own diet - losing eight stone in the process - he discovers if others can follow his lead and asks what impact eating less sugar would have on the NHS.
Tom says: “Before I lost all that weight, I could barely walk up the stairs without losing my breath.
“I used to just grab food and go - cakes, pasties - like many people I ate whatever worked because life was very busy. But a diet high in refined sugar and carbs meant that my weight soared to 22 stone. I was morbidly obese and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
“I think when my doctor confirmed I had diabetes he was only confirming what I already knew but I was still overwhelmed by shame, embarrassment and fear.
“That diagnosis was a wake up call. For me the most important factor was my kids, Malachy and Saoirse. I didn't want to die - I wanted to live for them.
“I have an addiction that nearly killed me, that in order to save my own life, I just had to break. So I did. As part of my new regime, I've taken up running and regularly run 5k - about 5,000 steps.”
On his experiment, he explains how he wore weights for an exercise session which saw him carrying his old weight on his body – with shocking consequences which meant he could not finish the session.
He added: “For old times' sake I decided to do that at my former weight - with 50kg of added weights - around a running track. The weights went into a backpack, and over my shoulders like a bib.
"I could not believe how much it weighed. Frankly, running was impossible - and within 100 yards of walking I had broken sweat, I could feel my chest working, and it felt like a massive struggle.
"Yet that's what I was carrying every minute of every day. To be honest, I only lasted four laps of the track, heart pounding, and out of breath. It's no exaggeration to say I was completely exhausted. I was desperate to get the weights off and feel free again - my old back ache had even returned.
“When I dropped the weights I felt like I was floating in air - and I realised that every step I had taken to get the pounds off had made it quite a journey. And I never want to get back into that situation again.”
*Giving Up Sugar: For Good? is a two part Tonight special starting on ITV at 7.30pm tonight and concluding tomorrow at 8pm
