Ditching double cod and chips helps man to lose nine stone in 10 months

A 56-year-old man from Bury St Edmunds who could barely walk a mile, had chronic backache and knee pain says he has got his life back after losing nine stone in just under a year.

Steve Markham was struggling with his overall health and had failed on multiple occasions to get any focus on losing weight.

With the constant backache along with his knees aching all the time, he struggled to get off the sofa, straining and groaning.

Lethargy was also an issue. Steve was so inactive all he could think about was his next meal. He would rarely leave the house due to his size and subsequent mental health issues and had very little social interaction as a consequence. 

But Steve, (pictured above after his weight loss) joined Slimming World in January 2022 after many failed attempts of trying to lose weight by himself.

He said: “I walked past the A frame at Southgate Community Centre that displayed the group details and took a photo. This will be my last bag of chips.”

Steve said he knew that he needed to make changes to his life.

He said: “In January I could barely walk a mile, had chronic backache, knee pain and felt totally wiped out for hours afterwards. Now I walk for 10 miles at least twice a week and I’ve had no back pain for months. I go clothes shopping too. At a 46in waist and a T-shirt size XXXL, all shopping was done online. Now I have a 30in waist and wear a size small.”

Steve added: “I found food optimising very easy and had no real problems at all. My diet before joining group was a quite often a daily loaf of bread, double cod and chips, grab bag of crips, frozen ready meals and lots of alcohol.

“What I love about the food optimising plan is just how flexible and generous it is. I love the variety of foods. I often enjoy a beef vindaloo, cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese and a tuna pasta bake. The freedom of the plan means I never have to miss out and nothing is off limits – I can still enjoy a pint of beer.

“I love that I don’t have to worry about weighing and measuring everything I eat or counting calories either. Before I started, I worried eating healthily might limit me but I try more new recipes now than I ever did before and have found food optimising fits around my life, rather than the other way around.

“I found those first steps into group exceptionally difficult. Nothing could ever be as hard as my first day back in January 2022. It was so far out of my comfort zone, I was close to tears, for 40 minutes I sat with my mask on, my hood up and my head down not wanting to make eye-contact with anyone but I was so desperate for help.

“I remember so clearly that first morning, the fear and anxiety I had when I went through those doors, the horrific moment when I got on the scales, it was so much worse than I’d ever imagined.

“Within no time, however, I seemed to have become part of the community. Surrounded by people who understood what it’s like to have weight struggles – I only ever received care, kindness, support and encouragement.

“The support from the consultant Susan, the encouragement and advice I got in group – people I now call friends – spurred me on each week, they all played such a huge part in me being able to achieve my goals.”

Susan Mcgregor, who runs the Southgate Slimming World group on a Friday morning, says she’s incredibly proud of Steve.

“He has done brilliantly and we’re all in awe of his transformation. He’s achieved what he set out to do – to become healthier and happier. And while so much has changed over the last year, his determination and motivation has never faded – he’s a real inspiration to the whole group. I couldn’t be prouder of everything Steve’s achieved.”

 If you would love to become healther and happier than visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk for your nearest group.