Success Story: Anthony

Anthony, Age 49, Height 6ft 6in

Start Weight	22st
Current Weight	18st
Goal Weight	Aiming for BMI of 25
Weight Lost	4st
Working to Rate of Loss	1-2lbs per week
Time Taken	5 months

Weight Loss History

Have tried many diets – including the soup diet, slim fast and Weightwatchers online’.

Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?

Yes, I have lost weight before, most noticeably on ‘slimfast’ but lost strength on this.

Also. I wasn’t happy, as I have always felt before that I had certain core strength – used to be a competitive rower.

How being overweight has affected you…

I like to travel, and felt very self conscious on aeroplanes,

"..particularly having heard an article on the radio about charging people for ‘overall’ weight rather than baggage weight.." 

..although I understand the airlines work to an average for the weight of their passengers.

Mood seems to have improved with feeling that my physical appearance is more acceptable.

It is nice to have people comment how much better I look especially my wife – although many of these people have seen me lose weight before, and put it back on – something I am determined not to do this time.

Motivation to Lose Weight

Apart from the above – i.e. feeling better, more comfortable, and fitting in aeroplane seats.

My father was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer recently, and my mother died of Breast Cancer some years ago.

I know this puts me in a ‘risk’ category, and so did being overweight.

"I can’t do anything about my parent’s illnesses but I can do something about being overweight – the less risk factors counting against me – the better chances I have got."

Discovering Weight Loss Resources

I knew I needed to start keeping a food diary, and knew I wouldn’t keep it on paper – so was looking for an online one.

"Checked out a few, including the Weightwatchers one which I had used before, but I felt WLR offered the best option – also accounting for cost."

I like the facility whereby you can update the database with any foods not already on it. I like the ‘favourites’ facility also.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

I am encouraged by the wealth of tips on the site regarding weight loss diet and exercise.

"The food diary encourages me not to eat fatty food as I had before." 

I often check the nutritional value of foods before deciding what to eat.

The diary tells you how many calories you have left for the day, and with the ‘history’ section you can ascertain your weekly consumption quickly.

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

I mainly use the Food/Exercise diaries, but sometime look at other areas.

There are a number of interesting articles included on other areas of the site especially the ones about ‘Diet and Prostate Cancer’, ‘Overweight Cancer Risk’ – relating to my own circumstances.

Also have visited sister site ‘Diet and Fitness Resources’ which also has areas of interest.

Anthony's Tips for Losing Weight

I feel that exercise is also important – at the end of the day if you burn more calories than you eat you will lose weight.

"The exercise tips included on the site are very good, including the fact that ‘resistance training’ can be as beneficial as aerobic training." 

The more lean muscle mass you have the higher your metabolic rate and the more calories your body burns – even when you are not doing anything specific, exercise wise.

I have always been active and used to be a competitive oarsman when younger.

The fact that I wasn’t able to work out as effectively as I wanted (due to excessive weight) was worrying.

I also used to be a part-time instructor at a gym and felt that I was not practising what I preached.