“My life is fantastic!” – Bernard’s story

15th August 2013

Bernard-thumbs-upBernard was referred into Gateway’s Health Trainer service by his GP at the start of this year, as he had raised cholesterol and was overweight.

Six months later, he recorded a statement on our Impact Assessment App saying, “I’ve lowered my cholesterol from 6.4 – now 4.2 – and lost 2 stone 7 pounds. I feel amazing!” So how did he do it?

During an initial hour-long appointment with Health Trainer Wayne, Bernard discussed his current lifestyle and talked about what he wanted to change. His first statement said, “my weight has been going up and up for four years and I feel now is the time to tackle it.”

First, Wayne asked Bernard to record everything he ate and drank every day for the next four weeks. This would help them to see where things needed to change, so they could set some targets for the next few months.

Then, based on Bernard’s food diary and the end results he wanted to achieve – a lower weight and lower cholesterol levels – Wayne and Bernard set some goals that they thought would be realistic:

  • to reduce his portion sizes
  • to eat two pieces of fruit every day
  • to eat three different vegetables, four days a week
  • to cut out high fat dairy cheese, and
  • to drink more fluids

Bernard said, “I know I don’t drink enough. My intake is low at three drinks each day, so I need to up this to six – and also drink four small glasses of water every day.”

Four months later – in May – Bernard’s recorded statements are a testament to his hard work. “I have lost two stone in weight and my cholesterol, which had been at 6.4, is now 4.2 – the best it has ever been.” (The government recommends that total cholesterol levels for healthy adults should be 5 or less, so this figure is spot on.) He continued, “thanks to the Health Trainer, my life is fantastic.”

But Bernard hadn’t stopped setting goals and working towards new targets. As well as changing his eating and drinking habits to become healthier, Bernard decided to increase the amount of exercise he was doing. He said, “My goal now is to go swimming for an hour three days a week, and to walk for 30 minutes five days a week. I want to lose seven pounds, which will bring me down to a healthy weight.”

Two months on, we met Bernard at the Gateway Fun Run. He’s now an exercise fiend! See what he had to say in this video, taken just after the Fun Run in Cannon Hill Park last month.

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