Killing it with keto

British Deputy High Commissioner to AP and Telangana Dr Andrew Fleming credits his keto diet for his recent transformation and believes the happier you are, the healthier your body is
British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Fleming (Photo | EPS)
British Deputy High Commissioner Andrew Fleming (Photo | EPS)

HYDERABAD:  If you are somebody who follows British Deputy High Commissioner to AP and Telangana -- Dr Andrew Fleming -- on Twitter, or are an active Hyderabadi on the microblogging site, you probably are a fan of the cheerful diplomat. The fun-loving person that he is, reflects in his easy-going lifestyle. You’d be surprised to know that he barely ever finds himself stressed!

He sits down for a chat with CE, sipping on cold black coffee. We ask him the secret to his weight loss, and he says -- keto! Andrew started on his keto journey strongly believing that it would not reap much result. “But, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of weight I was able to shed within just weeks and months of starting the diet, and there has been no stopping ever since,” he shares. For the unversed, keto is one of those fad diets that many have been swearing by, especially since the lockdown. The ketogenic diet is said to be low on carbs and high on fats. 

It basically means replacing carbohydrate intake with fat. If you’re wondering how that helps lose fat, the reduction in carbs intake forces your body to burn nothing but fat for energy. You’d think this works perfect, but most people, who have tried this diet, complained of something called the keto flu, which made them give up within two days or a week. 

pic: Vinay Madapu 
pic: Vinay Madapu 

“The first two weeks of the keto diet are very crucial, if you manage to get by that, you’re good to go on this super-fast journey to weight loss,” says Andrew. He did feel tired and exhausted easily within the first two weeks, but with proper care, he was able to overcome the ‘flu’. 

On a lighter note, he says, “Many complained of headaches, the only headache I had was the one my wife gave me about my increasing waistline.” He says he had no other reason to start keto other than to be able to see his feet when he stood up! 

While he wouldn’t call himself a foodie, Andrew does miss his pre-keto lifestyle, sometimes. “But, I make it up by eating pita bread with butter once in a while, and a tiny can of beer on Sundays,” he smiles. Asked if the diet has caused him any discomfort ever, he reaches to touch wood, as he responds: “I’ve never felt healthier than I do today. The diet is more than about just losing weight, it keeps various other matters of my health in check.”

The British diplomat, being the great companion that he is, is invited to a lot of parties and get-togethers in town. How does he manage maintaining his diet during such a time? “Indians love to feed you to your full. As much as that is endearing, I sometimes have a hard time telling the hosts about my diet. But things are changing, while some know about my diet, thanks to Twitter, most others serve me meat, which is encouraged in a keto diet. For instance, Finance Minister T Harish Rao invited me over for dinner last night and I had no qualms eating the chicken, prawns and everything healthy they had to serve. It was so good, I ate more than I should have,” he laughs. 

Indians, and Telugus especially, love to have our food spicy, but that was never a problem for Andrew when he came to Hyderabad four-and-a-half years ago. “My spice tolerance was always high. Even as I grew up in the UK, we had this Indian restaurant near our home that we would visit on special occasions. So, spice is never a problem, my body loves it. I can eat it better than most Telugus here,” he says beaming with pride. Andrew is grateful for being blessed with good health and has been to the doctor only once in the past four years. He, however, suffers from sleep apnea, which he believes isn’t that big an issue. “It’s pretty manageable with the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) mask that I wear. It’s a pretty unromantic thing to wear at night, but I can’t really help it. Carrying the machine around wherever I travel is the only sense of discomfort I feel, if ever,” he says. 

Andrew is not a fan of structured exercises and dislikes hitting the gym. “I don’t even enjoy running, walking is something I can do and do. I go to a park nearby every other day, with a few ‘walking friends’ I made in the neighbourhood,” he shares. Andrew’s connection to sports is limited to watching them because he has dyspraxia (a condition affecting physical coordination). “I was a football referee back in the day. I enjoy cheering for the Hyderabad Football Club as they compete in the Indian Super League.” His latest memory of playing any game, has to be a friendly badminton match with his son during the lockdown last year. You’d think that a man of his stature would be busy all the time and stress is his way of life, but not for Andrew. 

He surprisingly loves being busy, and if things ever stress him out, he balances it out by getting busier! Reading a puzzled face, he leans in to explain. “It gets stressful only if you’re busy doing something you hate or don’t enjoy, and that’s never my case. I enjoy interacting with young people, I grab all the energy I can from them. So, there it is, the secret to all my energy.”

Andrew listens to music, reads and sometimes watches the most random shows on Netflix to unwind from a long day, but his favourite pastime has to be Twitter, and we’re not surprised. “It is so nice to connect with people you’ve never known. I enjoy making friends and staying in touch, social media makes you feel more human,” he says. Something he has been working on recently is his mental health.

“I’ve not given it much thought until I saw how being bottled up affected me to the point of having to seek help. Today, I open up and speak freely, and I encourage people working with me, too, to never keep things to themselves. Life is too short for that. I also believe that it’s a cycle -- when you’re happier, you tend to be healthier, and when you’re kind to the people around you, they do that to many around. It’s beautiful how your behaviour can make or break things around you,” he concludes. 

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