#BEATTHEBELLY: My weight story. Find Your Keys to Success

How did you get to the weight you are now?

We all have a back story.

My story?

I used to be active at school; I was short and "stocky" and had a taste for sweets. As a child I had taken steroid tablets for asthma which tended to delay growth and cause weight gain through appetite - but maybe I was just small and greedy.
I was the second shortest guy in the class at 14. I was a good sprinter on the rugby field and rarely fell over as I was so close to the ground.

Then I grew, I stretched out and became a skinny 6 ft 11 stone bean pole - my sisters teased me for being a "L" shape as I had big feet and wore DM boots to complete the picture. I liked rock climbing and began to get into cycling mainly to get around. Outdoors exercise became a touchstone.

When I went to university I joined the territorial army and spent weekends running around with with my weapon, heavy webbing full of ammo and a back pack full of 15 Kg of kit - I began to "Fill out" as my wife calls it. I was also training 6 days a week for the university boat crew. Exercise with others is key.

All the weight training and HIIT with the forces gained me an extra 2 stone of muscle so I was up to 12.5-13 stone. By now I was lifting heavier weights in the gym and did a charity cycle trip across Europe without training in the summer of 1998. Cycling became a passion.

At that time I was still trim and had an 8 pack.  I just found a photo from that time; Mens Health Mag would have been proud, but perhaps the "curtains" hairstyle was better left in the nineties.

Through hospital training, medical exam finals and less time to exercise I slowly became unfit as I worked more. Married life, drinking wine and eating pudding with dinner put on yet more weight.
Night shifts were the worst as I knew I would need to sleep at the end of a shift, so tended to eat to stay awake rather than drink coffee which might keep me awake. By the end of my GP training in 2006 I was over 14.5 stone. Stress and appetite control became a challenge.

We took a 9 month career break in 2007. While travelling I saw some photos of myself by the pool in Australia looking quite disgustingly fat. I had drunk too much beer on the east coast and eaten too much junk, not exercising enough along the way - I had reached 15.5 stone. Finally self esteem became a challenge.

My wife had been politely and quietly hinting at me to lose weight for some time and the message finally hit home when I saw those photos. I looked terrible.

Something had to change. We had moved to York because I had a job there; I had got the job because I had rowed on the river in York, but rowing had stopped when I started shift work. The balance of weight gain and work/life was definitely not sustainable. We spent some time while away deciding how life would be different when we returned. Work life balance and diet were the key.

Fortunately part of my Sabbatical was to spend 4 months living and working in Cambodia for a small development charity teaching health and performing clinics. While there, due to the climate and the lack of decent food I lost almost 2 stone! I had a suit made in Bangkok and it used to fit really well; now it is slightly tight around the middle 4 years on.

This weight loss gave me a head start when we returned to the UK in september 2007 and I was 13.5 stone which I was pretty happy with.

Since then I have hovered around 14-14.5 stone. I have worked no more than 3/4 time and I gave up alcohol for the large part of last year to keep weight and units down which helped. I cycled 600 miles for charity last year which was a good goal to keep me going.

This year after an MRI of my knees gave the all clear I started running to fit in with shorter bursts of exercise as a father. Appropriate and sustainable exercise is a touchstone.

Since I started #BEATTHEBELLY in July 2011 I haven't lost any weight, but neither have I gained it through a stressful period, which I take heart from. I have become fitter with running, but lost out on cycling.

As with every life change the weight story and lifestyle must to adapt to maintain flexibility and sustainability.

I still aim to lose a stone by Christmas. Now we are getting more sleep, I am setting the goal to run > 20 minutes a day for the next month 6 days a week. I am going back to the 2 pints at the weekend rule and cutting back on portions again. Realistic goal setting is key.

I will let you know how I get on.

Whats your story?

Where are you now?

What are the touchstones of your challenge / success?

The keys are in your hands, you just need to search your backstory to find them, then use them to unlock your potential for a healthy weight and sustainable lifestyle.


Dr Ben Sinclair
Twitter: @menshealthtips

Comments

  1. I kept my weight below 14 stone up till christmas but had to cut back on running due to shin splints - i need to take a dose of my own medicine here as i was too enthusiastic and started training too fast on the running!

    Now I have slowly built up to run 3 miles at a steady pace and aim to train 2x a week at this level slowly increasing the distance to aim for a 5 mile target to fit in with my triathlon aims later in the year.

    i found that my weight hovered around 14 stone unless i really pushed myself with a hard session of weights or endurance acitivty alongside regular running which seemed to just keep me where I was.

    Will keep you posted this year...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have hovered around 90Kg 14 stone for the last few years but never regained the six pack!!

    ReplyDelete

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