I have beaten my stubborn visceral fat—and an associated incurable disease.

It has not been an easy ride, and it's not over. I seem to be winning the battle: I am lean, physically fit, and people guess I'm 15-20 years younger than my passport age.

Discovering what works has been hard. I've had times when I thought it was all over. I've been documenting my false starts, my failures and my successes. I am writing down everything I wish I had been told when I first faced these challenges.

But I'll always write "I did X" rather than "you should do X"; and here is why.

I am not a medical doctor (much less your doctor)

I am in no way qualified to offer medical advice to anyone—not even myself.

I am just a patient, not a doctor. What little I know, I didn't learn in medical school. I found out because bad stuff happened to me and I had to find ways to deal with it.

The only reason why you might want to listen to me is because I've been there, I share your pain, and everything I talk about is stuff I've tried on myself.

But I have been taking risks with myself. I've gambled with my health, going against what my doctor told me. I've chosen to try stuff that had no medical safety net, and which might one day have detrimental side effects I don't even know about. Your doctor would be much more risk-averse with your health. Talk to her first.

As a scientist, I document what worked for me. But it's a sample size of one. No guarantee that any of that will also work for you in the same way.

Nonetheless, I truly wish I had been told all this bleeding edge stuff back then.

Ultimately, what you do with your health is your responsibility. But information is power. If you recognise yourself in who I was, I hope my story gives you hope (we can win!) and empowers you to explore solutions outside the safe medical dogma.