Tom Watson - Lose Weight 4 Life

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Im Tom, and Im a sugar addict.

Well, a reformed one these days, but at one point it was an addiction that nearly killed me.

My obsession with the sweet stuff and with food in general, especially curries earned me the nickname Tommy Two Dinners as an MP and a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. To outsiders I may have appeared unconcerned about my weight but the truth was I felt overwhelmed by shame, embarrassment and fear.

The glimpse of a packet of chocolate biscuits on a supermarket shelf still makes me salivate. In fact, just thinking about them makes me euphoric. But ditching sugar completely has transformed my life. Ive gone from being a morbidly obese dad weighing 22 stone (140kg), with zero stamina to play football with my kids, to one who is a healthy weight, completes 5k runs and can cycle for miles without gasping for breath.

Whats more, Ive reversed my type 2 diabetes. Before, things had got so bad I risked not having a future at all. Now Ive got my future back, and can enjoy experiences that (at my heaviest) I never thought possible. Like the buzz from riding a bike or just being able to get on one. Waking up in the morning with a clear head and plenty of energy is a reason to be thankful for the new me.

My transformation was down to a combination of healthy eating, a more positive mindset, getting motivated to change my habits and making movement part of my everyday routine. Walking is now a must for me, even if it means 5,000 steps instead of taking the car to the gym. There was never one single point of motivation, but my children were one of the most important factors. I didnt want to die I wanted to live for them.

For a recent TV documentary, the producers asked me to jog around a racetrack wearing a vest weighing 20kg or 50kg including the backpack and other accessories. The point of the exercise was that the kit represented the excess weight I had been carrying before downsizing. Wearing it made me realise the scale of the journey I had undertaken and how I never ever want to go back there again.

Its important to make clear from the outset what this book ISNT. First, its neither a strict diet plan that involves you eating lots of weird stuff (although you will need to say goodbye to your sugar habit). Nor is it a sales pitch to get you to spend lots of money on products that dont work. And its definitely not about quick fixes that wont last.

Clockwise from top left: On holiday in Majorca. A giant rugby top from my friend, Dave Anderson MP. Taking the wheel on a boating holiday. Tired at Manchesters snow dome.

Clockwise from top left: Opening a new cycle lane in Birmingham. Filming for ITV. With my daughter Saoirse at the run for Jo Cox. At the summit of Snowdon.

Ive also done all I can to avoid sounding preachy. No one likes to be told off or lectured about their lifestyle when they feel bad enough about it already. Blame and criticism wont help it makes the situation worse.

What Lose Weight 4 LifeIS about is giving you a programme of helpful advice to assist you in losing weight long term. A handy blueprint for how you can change the habits of a lifetime. Throughout the book youll find tips, recipes, easy-to-digest medical facts on what does and doesnt work (and why), plus bite-sized advice from the experts. Ive also included simple food swaps that mean you dont need to give up what you like, you just need to switch to a healthier version that wont clog up your arteries.

For me, the road to shedding the excess pounds has been long and bumpy. So Ive also shared personal (and sometimes cringeworthy) anecdotes from my own journey and the journal I kept charting my progress to help you realise youre not alone.