Technical consultant Duane found himself permanently working-from-home when his role changed during the pandemic. The 27-year-old had a knee operation in late 2021, which made it harder for him to exercise \u2014 so he put on a bit of weight. He went to his GP for an appointment about a blocked ear, and during the course of the visit was told about our programme to support weight loss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Duane said: \u201cI thought I\u2019d give it a go and see what happens. I was basically just looking for an opportunity to get out in a group and do some activity, and maybe learn something new about weight loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore my knee op I played a lot of football \u2014 training on Monday, five-a-side on Thursday and a game on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I go for walks with my partner at the weekend too. But my eating habits consisted of pretty much whatever I wanted and whatever was easiest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rotate the same 10-15 meals every couple of weeks. Some would be fairly healthy like chicken, rice and some vegetables, others would be less healthy like a stuffed crust pizza with garlic bread.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy portion sizes would vary quite a lot, some meals would be big and others not as big. I didn\u2019t tend to snack much, but when I did it would usually be chocolate or biscuits.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One big change Duane made was to drink more water, helping him feel less hungry throughout the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also focus more on my portion sizes, I pay a lot more attention to the traffic light system on food packaging and I go for things with the most greens where possible,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have found a new healthy snack I enjoy too \u2014 rice cakes with peanut or almond butter and I even throw on some raisins for a bit of fruity flavour.\u201d<\/p>\n
His injury has meant he still hasn\u2019t been able to exercise much, he\u2019s looking forward to getting training again soon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing I learned is that small changes will eventually add up,\u201d Duane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew about this approach to weight loss, and probably wouldn\u2019t have without the programme. I would\u2019ve stuck to the mainstream thinking of extreme dieting and intense exercise. But I feel I have achieved my goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked the nature of the whole programme. It wasn\u2019t in your face, and it was at your own pace. It felt like it was there for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weekly sessions helped me realise it isn\u2019t just me with these problems, even the guys running the programme have them and it\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so helpful seeing everyone in the same boat. I felt 100 per cent comfortable sharing my goals and what I went through each week.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Technical consultant Duane found himself permanently working-from-home when his role changed during the pandemic. The 27-year-old had a knee operation <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n