Tom Watson investigates the dangers of sugar in Giving Up Sugar: For Good? a Tonight programme going out on Thursday April 29 2021 – so how did Tom Watson lose weight?
What is Tom famous for and how old is he?
Here’s everything you need to know…
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Who is Tom Watson?
Tom Watson is a former MP who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn.
He previously worked as the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
He played a significant role in the News International phone hacking scandal by helping to bring the series of events at the News of the World into the open.
Tom questioned Rupert and James Murdoch, along with former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, in a Committee session on 19 July 2011 and likened James Murdoch to a mafia boss.
As a member of the Labour Party, he was MP for West Bromwich East from 2001 to 2019.
He stepped down from politics in 2019.
He’s since been appointed chair of UK Music and made a senior adviser on problem gambling to Flutter Entertainment.
Tom is now a bestselling author of both fiction and non-fiction books.
How old is he and where is he from?
Thomas Anthony Watson was born on January 08 1967 in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Tom is currently 54 years old.
He was raised in Kidderminster and first became involved in Labour Party and trade union activism when studying at the University of Hull.
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Why did he lose weight?
Tom Watson received a wake-up call after being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.
His diet of takeaways, bacon butties, chocolate hobnobs and pints of beer had caught up with him.
After years of ignoring his weight, he finally decided to “reverse” the condition through diet and exercise.
He has said: “It was only when I heard that very loud voice in my head saying ‘you are going to die and you have got young kids and you want to live for them’, that I really committed to it.”
Between the summer of 2017 and September 2018, he lost seven stone after overhauling his diet and exercise regime.
He admits that he ‘s “battled weight since my early 20s”.
Tom has also written the book Downsizing, about “how he lost eight stone, reversed his diabetes and regained his health”.
How did Tom Watson lose weight?
Tom read the Fast Diet by science journalist Michael Mosley.
The book is based on research that an 800 calorie a day diet could reverse diabetes.
However, Tom acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to eat a very low calorie diet for the long term and started looking into the science of ketogenic diets.
He credits a book called The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living with changing his mentality.
The theory is that low carb diets keep insulin levels low, which forces the body to use stored fat for energy.
This state is called ketosis.
Tom ate just 20g of carbohydrate per day, and stocked up on lamb chops, salmon steaks, chicken thighs, leafy greens and mixed salad for his main dishes.
For desserts, he bought punnets of blackberries and raspberries, which have low fructose levels, as well as tubs of full-fat Greek yoghurt and double cream.
For snacks he ate hard cheese and unsalted walnuts, and gave up sugar and fizzy drinks.
How did Tom Watson lose weight? Is he married?
Tom was married to Siobhan Watson from 2001 until their separation in 2012.
They have two children together.
Why did Tom Watson quit politics?
In November 2019, Tom Watson announced that he would be standing down both as an MP and as Deputy Leader and leave office on 12 December 2019.
He stated his decision was “personal, not political” and declared his intention to continue campaigning on health issues.
Expanding on the reasons for his resignation, he later said: “Two weeks before I resigned, a guy was arrested for giving me a death threat.
“He was a Labour supporter. The police got in touch and said, ‘We’ve arrested this guy’, assuming I knew about it. But I didn’t.
“The Labour party had sent out a fundraising email that he had responded to with a death threat.
“The party reported it to the police, but didn’t tell me… the brutality and hostility is real and it’s day to day.
“So I just thought: now’s the time to take a leap, do something different. You’ve had a good innings. You’ve done good stuff. Go now.”
He has since said he became “too chilled out” for politics.
How did Tom Watson lose weight? Giving Up Sugar: For Good? Tonight on ITV1
Former MP Tom Watson 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.
He says: “I have an addiction. An addiction that nearly killed me. An addiction that in order to save my own life, I just had to break.
“Find out how I did it and why I am encouraging others to do the same on Giving up Sugar: For Good? tomorrow on ITV at 7:30pm.”
Giving Up Sugar: For Good? Tonight airs on Thursday April 29 2021 at 7.30pm on ITV1.
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