Swollen ankles, painful knees and hips, pain in your lower back when you stand for more than a few minutes, lack of energy, grossly obese, type two diabetes, does this sound like it describes you, well it did me just before Christmas 2012. Hi, my name is Trevor and I live in North London, UK, I am just sixty five years old, and I have had a serious weight problem now for over ten years. How did I get into this condition, well that’s simple, gradually. About fifteen years ago, my work changed, and instead of being out and about every day, I was spending more and more time behind my desk, and started putting on some weight, but I am over six feet tall and quite broad so it didn’t really show much. Working at a desk all day allowed me to smoke more, and I started to get a bad chest, so my doctor recommended that I stopped smoking altogether, and that I did with very little trouble. I was so pleased with the way I had stopped smoking, and the money I was saving, that I felt I deserved a few little treats, but as I had given up regular drinking years before, it only left food, well more to the point cakes, and rich creamy ones at that. More weight went on, but I was totally in control so I wasn’t worried, and my friends were saying, you’re not fat it’s just a bit of middle age spread, you should see the chap up the road, now he’s fat. The problem with friends is they never want to think they are being offensive, but sometimes it takes someone saying “wow what’s happened to you, you’ve put on a lot of weight” for you to take a proper look at yourself. Another disadvantage I personally have is living alone, and being able to cook rather well, when you make something nice that will do for two nights, and you enjoy it so much that you have a bit more, then realize that what’s left is not enough to keep, so you finish it off, and put more weight on. On and on it went, until December last year 2012, and I dropped a letter I was going to post, and I couldn’t pick it up, I could no longer reach the floor, in the end I got it with great difficulty but I knew it was time for a serious reality check. My scales had not seen any use for years, so I put new batteries in turned them on, stood on them and to my surprise they went straight to reset, because they only go up to 22 Stone or 140KG, so I went to my doctor who has much heavier scales and I was 159.1KG, 25 stone and she was not impressed.
That is basically how I got to where I was, so what have I done about it so far, well I can say nothing extreme or very drastic, but I have made some changes to my life style. The first thing I did was to accept the fact that something needed to be done, and then see how much weight I needed to lose, and I did have some help in that direction, as a big love in my life has been flying gliders, and now being semi retired I will have more time but I need to get under 18stone, and that is my aim for next year. In the past I have tried various fads, but they don’t seem to work long term, well not for me anyway. I think when you start talking about a diet it congers up all the wrong images, and anyway portion size I think is more important. The old saying if you are overweight just eat less and do more is very true in most cases, I know some people have medical reasons for being obese, but in most cases it’s too many burgers and chips, and no exercise. I knew for me exercise would be playing a big part, but straight away I was in trouble, because my weight was putting a strain on my legs, and I would get tired very quickly. A friend of mine who has been involved in fitness for many years suggested a simple exercise with an armless hard back chair, keeping my arms by my side just stand up and sit down 25 times at least once a day, just using your leg muscles, and it really worked and after a few days I could do it really slowly and put quite a strain on my legs. The other problem I had was walking, because of my shape I had far too much weight hanging out in front, which was causing pain in my lower back, and again my friend suggested a pair of walking poles, which really helped by taking some of the weight through my arms and off my back. I walk for at least 30 minutes every day and sometimes longer, and I have a lot more energy, and even taking time out to walk I still get far more done in a day, which is an added bonus. Food wise I have made some changes, but nothing drastic, just common sense really, the full English Breakfast with a fried slice, has been replaced with serial and a banana, with a cup of coffee, no sugar of course, my main meals I have really cut back on portion size, plus I have found by eating slowly I seem to get full with much less food, I do eat more vegetables and have cut right back on red meat and pork, and I do now eat more fruit. Some other things I have cut right back on are, bread, biscuits, cakes, but I still have a cake sometimes, and when I do I take my time and really enjoy it, so I will never say never about anything.
So where am I now, well we are half way through July 2013, and I just feel so much fitter, my energy levels are higher than I can remember, and my scales are trying to work and I think they will next week which mean I will have lost 3stone, that’s 42LBS or just over 19KG, there is a long way to go, but I know I am well on course to be under 18stone next spring, and it does get easier. I have achieved this without any drastic measures, just making relatively small changes, and sticking with it, and it took years to put on, so it is unrealistic to expect to be able to take it off in a few weeks, just stick with it and you will win. One last point, if you are going to walk for your exercise, do make sure you have a really comfortable pair of walking shoes, because nothing will put you off more than painful feet. Good luck with your weight loss, and I hope you have as much or more success than I have had. If you require more information on Walking Poles CLICK HERE For more information on Walking Shoes CLICK HERE