You may have noticed a lack of embarrassing tales of disaster within these pages over the last few weeks. I’ve had a few months off and apparently you’ve been missing them.

Here I am trying to give you invaluable nutrition tips that will enrich and extend your lives, but instead you find it more entertaining when Jasper (the dog) raids the laundry pile and bounces out to greet guests with a thong in his mouth.

On the other hand, my husband has been enjoying the break. The month I tackled a series of awkward health issues (such as cystitis and constipation) wasn’t much fun for him.

But the fact is, it’s human nature to be fascinated by embarrassing incidents and issues, and that’s what gets you reading. However, hopefully this will too, because here I am six weeks after writing my last column, 155 pounds lighter.

How so? It’s not that I’d been overweight previously (career limiting for me, surely?) but after two years, I took a break to gather some more ideas and also to start-up a six-week optimum nutrition and group-training class.

Fifteen of the 20 participants in the class wanted to lose weight and at the end of the six weeks they had — 155 pounds collectively.

Why did I feel 155 pounds lighter? Well for years I’d been teaching other people’s methods of weight loss, and when you do that, you see lots of things that work, and lots of things that don’t.

This was the first time that I was able to put everything that I’d see work, together into one package. It was exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking — I had a week of sleepless nights prior to the first weigh-in— what if they don’t lose any weight?

Fortunately, they did — 155 pounds of worry morphed into 155 pounds of exhilaration, because watching people get the results they hoped for was really exciting.

I spend a lot of time explaining to people why they need to cut back on some of the foods they love, so having someone hug you when they get off a scale is definitely rewarding.

And this wasn’t just about weight; by living healthily, many people saw their skin, energy and mood improve, and their cholesterol drop by as much as 40 points over the six weeks.

Why did we have so much success?

Firstly, every week, I taught a nutrition class that covered the basics of healthy living. We spent time understanding how to balance out blood sugar, and covered other fundamental topics such as the importance of healthy digestion.

In the digestion class, I handed round Play-Doh models of poo (I’m not joking) to demonstrate what everyone should be aiming for. Sounds odd I know, but good digestion is critical for all round wellbeing, and especially for healthy weight-loss.

We also had a fantastic group trainer, Yves Paul, who led training sessions in the Botanical Gardens and was able to accommodate all levels of fitness.

Yves managed to get everyone to the point where they were able to repeat what they had been taught independently so the group still meets regularly to work-out together.

I think this aspect of the training was a critical success factor — it’s amazing how many excuses you can come up with not to go out and exercise, but training in a group makes you accountable and boosts morale.

What’s more, it’s embarrassing doing walking lunges and bunny hops by yourself — less so in a group.

I did also adopt an “if in doubt, use bribery” approach. I really wanted the nutrition information to stick, so we had two quizzes during the course, testing the knowledge everyone had gained so far. Fortunately both Lindo’s and Bersalon came up with some great prizes, so the winners were well rewarded — just as well, I’d forgotten how competitive adults can be.

Finally, I think one of the biggest factors that contributed to our success was that we had a laugh doing it. People were surprised by how much they enjoyed the course, by how much they liked the healthier food and by how good they felt after exercising. This has to be the biggest lesson of all.

I really don’t think that any “diet” works, because the word implies a big level of restriction, and also something with a beginning — and an end. In my view, the only way to achieve and maintain weight-loss, is to make permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle. And if they’re going to be permanent, they need to be changes that you love.

This may mean trying lots of different things until you find something you like, it also requires a level of flexibility — for example, if it’s too hot to go jogging after work in August, try going for a walk along the beach later on, and cooling off with a swim afterwards. To get results, you really do need to change your life forever, but if you enjoy the changes, it’ll be the best thing you ever did.

It’s easy for me to say though. I’ve been at this for years, so eating and living healthily (the majority of the time) come second nature to me now. One of the hardest things can be actually getting started (there is always tomorrow after all), so for more inspiration, here are the experiences of one of the girls on the course, who over the six weeks, changed her diet and lifestyle radically: Lisa lost 15lbs within the six-week period. Her total cholesterol came down from 230 to 195. Her good HDL cholesterol increased and her bad LDL cholesterol was reduced. To top it all off, Lisa’s blood sugar levels improved. Two hours after lunch, her blood sugar used to be average 120, it’s now around 86.

What was your motivation for joining the course? “I was tired of being big. I just got to the point where I didn’t want to be there any more. I don’t want to be older than I am and when you’re bigger, I think you age faster.”

What helped you to stick to the programme? “I work hard, with long hours, so the classes and training sessions gave me a structure that I committed to fitting into my day, no matter what. The meal plans gave structure to my life which used to involve skipping breakfast and buying take-out often. I loved not having to figure out what to eat. I also enjoyed all of the new foods and I feel great!”

What was the most important thing you learned? “I learned a lot of things that go hand-in-hand with each other. Such as combining carbs and proteins, reducing sugar intake, reducing the amount of processed food in my diet. Also proportions of food.”

Did you enjoy the group-training? “I think Yves is brilliant. He was able to structure the class for all fitness levels, and that was very important to me because of my weight. He was also incredibly encouraging which was excellent motivation for me.”

Have you maintained the dietary changes? “I couldn’t tell you the last time I had candy. My staff gave me some chocolate four or five weeks ago and it’s still sitting on my desk. That day we had the class on sugar levels, I realised how bad sugar was for me. I went home and threw out $15 worth of candy.”

What did you gain from changing your diet and lifestyle? “I feel better than I have felt in years, and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way I felt— now I know the difference. I just did not understand how damaging some of my habits were— the result is weight loss and feeling great. I prefer my life this way.”

My next six-week optimum nutrition and group-training programme starts on April 7. There are seven spaces left. For details and testimonials, please go to www.nutrifitbermuda.bm or call 291-4725. The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted at 291-4725 or clinicalnutrition@gmail.com