Ian's 20kg Weight Loss Success After Heart Surgery

Ian, Age 66, Height 1.88m

Start Weight	119.5kg
Current Weight	99.9kg
Goal Weight	95kg
Weight Lost	19.6kg
Working to Rate of Loss	1kg per week

About Ian

I am semi-retired but still working whenever possible. I do sales, visiting customers in their homes (refusing offers of tea, coffee and cakes etc.!)

And I look after visiting sons as if they were still children (they behave like it!)

I am divorced and live alone. I have three children (36, 25, 22) and 2 grandchildren (3, 1 8/12 th). I quite often buy cakes for grandchildren as a treat when they visit and have been known to have half a YumYum if they leave me any (doughnut?)

I've always worked in sales management both in this country (most recently) and in exporting i.e. many and frequent overseas visits of short and medium duration. Much of the business involves entertaining (lunch and dinner) both here and abroad and an obligation to have lunch in the Directors’ dining room when available in this country.

When I was younger I was very active, playing university and club squash regularly to a very good standard and golf regularly until work commitments interfered.

More recently (15 years) I am very often out and about during the day when my preferred eating habit (once a day – dinner about 19:30) has worked well.

Non-Dieting History 

This is the first ‘diet’ I have ever followed. I am not comfortable with the word ‘diet’ and prefer the association of words such as ‘regime’ / ‘regimen’ / ‘lifestyle’.

"The word 'Diet’ has a punitive, short term connotation to me and I believe that any success in a weight control program has to be reflected in an ongoing long term i.e. lifestyle change."

I do not want to be one of those people who happily (?) say "Oh yes – I’ve tried many diets and none of them worked for me."

The key to success has to be in finding your own motivation for changing your ‘lifestyle’ be it health, self-image or self-esteem / vanity, peer pressure, financial etc.

Without that motivation it will always be easy to fall back into bad habits which is by my definition a worse or lesser lifestyle.

How Being Overweight Affected Ian

Whilst nobody ever called me ‘fat’ or indeed ‘overweight’ to my face I felt that I wanted to appear in public as little as possible because I was uncomfortable in the way I looked and the way my clothes fitted.

Motivation to Lose Weight

Body image / self-image or self-esteem / personal vanity / health.

Three years ago I had major heart surgery (valve repairs, bypasses and atrial ablation) without which my life was becoming physically difficult and very tedious (totally out of breath simply when getting out of bed or up out of a chair!).

The surgery has been completely successful and I feel very fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to have and to benefit from this operation.

It must be much better for me from a health perspective (and resulting in a better self-esteem) not to carry around the 25kg excess baggage as I have increasingly for the last few years.

How Weight Loss Resources (WLR) Helps

It suits me to manage my ‘diet’ based upon a fairly lengthy list of pre-prepared (but changing and increasing) list of daily plans (My Plans).

For example, Friday is ‘Spag Bol’ day and the plan lists all of the elements I would normally consume including drinks, alcohol, dinner etc. However, if I choose to have steak and chips instead I would then simply delete the ‘Spag Bol’ entry and add the Steak and Chips components to that day’s Diary without changing the ‘Spag Bol’ Day Plan. I could then save the amended Diary as another daily Plan e.g. Steak and Chips Day. Simples!

These are readily easily changeable and can form the basis of an additional plan by using the Duplicate tool.

"I use the Calories History to monitor my status on a weekly basis and don’t worry too much about an individual (hopefully) minor fall from grace. I view this ‘regime’ as a lifelong marathon and not a short term sprint."

Once I have achieved and reviewed my target my aim is to maintain my weight, improve the nutritional aspect of my food and drink intake and improve my fitness and body conditioning i.e. flab, skin tone!

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

I enjoy using modern technology as far as what it can do for me and what I can get out of it (not what makes it work!) and the precision of the WLR software program and the way it is presented enables me to accurately monitor and adjust my progress towards my target.

The graphical representations work well for me but I can see that some people would de demotivated by graphs going upwards, and by pie charts clearly indicating too many pies!

"I think that the continual gentle emphasis on the fact that you can eat and drink whatever you like (although not necessarily as much of it as you would like!) is a hugely positive message."

Nobody likes to be told that you cannot have something you really like (even when or perhaps even because you know it is bad for you!).

Have you struggled at points in your weight loss journey? Experienced a weight loss plateau? What has kept you motivated?

We are all familiar with phrases like ‘There’s no gain without pain or strain’ and nobody likes either ‘pain’ or ‘strain’ so it is understandable that one can fall slip or fall behind. But that is where the personal motivation to achieve a determined personal goal must support you on an ongoing basis.

Provided that the trend (see the Goals & Results graphical representation) reflects the ongoing achievement of that goal and that you still want to achieve that goal you should be able to accept the changes that the regime brings with it and the better ongoing and continual benefits it brings.

I presume the need for a new wardrobe is a motivational factor although I have not yet done a cost benefit analysis to see if the lesser cost of reduced food and drink will pay for it!

"A couple of months ago I woke up one day and I thought to myself - I feel wonderful today! I actually feel better! It is worth it! I’ll have another gin tonight!"

Lifestyle Changes

People who did not comment about my size and weight before comment now about how I look now and I do sometimes think you can become a ‘Diet’ bore. Once again, as an ongoing lifestyle change all interest in those changes will cease both from others and from yourself.

Exercise Changes

15 minutes on the exercise bike every day watching food programs on the television!

What do you love about your body now?

There is less of it to lug around, my joints don’t protest as much and my heart is functioning better than it has since I was a child (I probably had the defects which eventually required surgery from birth).

Ian's Vital Statistics

	Start	Current
Weight	18st 12lb (119.5 kg)	15st 10lb (99.9 kg)
BMI	35.1	28.3
Body Fat	32.5	27.8
Blood Pressure	159/89	137/83

Ian's Weight Loss Tips

• Find your own personal motivation

• Enter the program as a lifestyle change not a ‘fad’ or a ‘quick fix’

• Tailor your use of the program to suit yourself

• Listen to what the WLR team suggest. If you like their approach and rationale concentrate on that and try and not be influenced by other inputs e.g. Have you tried this? It’s done wonders for me!