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Andy - newspaper editor
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| Age |
: |
In his prime |
| Starting weight |
: |
91kg |
| New weight |
: |
82kg |
| Starting waist |
: |
111cm |
| New waist |
: |
96cm |
| Starting BMI |
: |
30.7 |
| New BMI |
: |
27.7 |
|
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Waist loss in 12 weeks |
: |
15cm |
|
Weight loss in 12 weeks |
: |
9kg |
|
| "The frightening part was finding out just how big my waist really was.
OK, I knew my 36in waist trousers were snug and what used to be a little roll over
the top had become a sizeable overhang, but when I measured my waist
just below my tummy button with the fatmanslim
wasit tape, I was staggered it was 42 inches and putting my health at much greater risk." |
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| For years I have kidded myself about my weight – I’m short for my weight,
heavy boned, new trousers are being cut tighter and it’s just middle-age spread.
The truth is I’m fat and I come from a family that is, how shall I put it, on
the large side. I grew up with diets – my mother always seemed to be on one –
and, as a fat child, I was on one. Over the years, I’ve tried various diet fads
– alternating between cabbage soup, carbohydrates and protein – and spent pounds
and pounds... only to lose ounces. And I always seemed to be the odd one out at
slimming classes for the simple reason that I am a man and all the other
fat-busters were women. |
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But a few months ago I heard about fatmanslim, the first
weight-loss programme aimed specifically at men which hopes to help us tighten
our belts by getting rid of the fat around our waists that can cause heart
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and cancer.
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| So I donated my body, and there’s plenty of it, to medical science to give it
a go for the initial 12-week programme to see if I can achieve the target of
10cm, that’s four inches, off my waistline to improve my health. |
| Having taken the plunge, listened to the CD's and read the first- week
section on the online programme, I have to say most of the advice is common sense – eat when
you are genuinely hungry without skipping meals – especially breakfast, cut out
snacking, consume more fruit and vegetables and less fat and alcohol. It also
encourages you to build more activity into your everyday life – walking instead
of using the car, using stairs instead of lifts, gardening and washing the car
and a hobby that is active but, most importantly, enjoyable. |
| The first week was about motivation – listing why I put on weight, how being
overweight affects what I can do and what I want to achieve by reducing my
waist. It may sound silly, but tests showed that men who wrote down their
thoughts and objectives have been more successful. |
| Another key part of fatmanslim is the hunger score, a mental scale of
one to 10 of whether you are not hungry at all or starving. It helps you decide
if you genuinely need to eat or are just snacking from habit, stress or boredom.
For the first two weeks, I noted everything I ate and drank to build a picture
of my eating habits, when I felt most hungry and when I am most likely to be
tempted. |
| But the frightening part was finding out just how big my waist really is. OK,
I knew my 36in waist trousers were snug and what used to be a little roll over
the top had become a sizeable overhang, but when I measured my waist just below
my tummy button I was staggered it was 42 inches and put my health at much
greater risk. |
| My weight problem has not been helped by working nights, getting home in the
early hours, having a couple of beers and a snack before bed. Then, getting up
mid-morning, I skipped breakfast with a view to holding out until lunchtime,
only to have a couple of biscuits, a piece of cheese or a bag of crisps to keep
me going. |
| I have now finished the 12 week intial programme of fatmanslim. I now
have breakfast of healthy, filling high-fibre cereal and skimmed milk, even it
means I don’t want lunch until mid-afternoon, but I am not snacking during the
day, and try not to eat after 8pm. I’ve cut back on the alcohol, cheese is a
real treat and, actually, sandwiches taste OK without butter or mayonnaise.
And I’m enjoying it, rather than resenting being on a diet, and looking
forward to waisting away enough to get into that skimpy pair of swimming trunks
I have never dared wear. |
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