Gateway Family Services
Changing Lives, Changing Services.
We work to improve health, develop skills and opportunities and fight inequalities. We change the way public services work.
John Crawford on Middle Age Spread, Health Trainers in South Birmingham and his diabetes
John admits he had a problem with middle aged spread – what you could call his “Guiness gut.”
He was putting on weight around his middle and was worried that his type 2 diabetes would get worse. John didn’t fancy injecting himself everyday. He put his weight gain down to “basic laziness” comfort eating in the cold weather and the fact he liked a Guiness. He knew he had to do something about it.
We set him a target for his weight lose and he started coming to us every month for encouragement, in 6 months he went from 14 stone 2 pounds to just under 13!
Last week I asked him what had made a difference – you can hear why he thought he was successful in the video clip above but essentially he said “it was enjoyable to come and speak to someone who would give you some encouragement.”
He took up walking twice a day and altered his diet to cut out bread (bar the odd slice) and cut back on the Guiness too. When cooking everything is grilled instead of fried and if he drives to the shops he parks a little bit further away so he can walk in - John said he “educated his mind and taste buds” to change his habits.
As a Health Trainer working in Birmingham I have helped a lot of people like John and my top tips for combating middle aged spread are;
- Regular exercise but doing something you enjoy rather than something you think is good for you
- Reduce calories, people take on way more calories than they need to in a day, reduce these and remember there are claories in alcohol too.
Last week John completed 5k in aid of Cure Leukemia – he admits he walked instead of run and that he couldn’t have done it twice - but we are very proud of him.