Success Story: Matt

AKA "Beermatt" on Weight Loss Resources

Weight Loss History

Other than a non-scientific “trying to eat well” attempt, none. I did quite a lot of reading on the subject and took advice from friends and family with sports coaching background to get a basis for an exercise regime. I had just bought a Heart Rate Monitor and I was just starting to use it when I discovered the site.

Have you lost weight before and regained the weight?

No. I lost a small amount before my wedding a few years ago, but it was only a couple of pounds. Hardly a crash loss and gain!

How being overweight has affected you…

A general feeling of low self-opinion due to being so much less fitter than I had been. It has been more interesting seeing the reactions of people who haven't known me as a thinner person.

Motivation to Lose Weight

A desire to get fitter, to fit into my clothes properly, to be able to exercise better. Obviously the health benefits of not being obese are welcomed as well!

Discovering Weight Loss Resources

I was trying to set up a spreadsheet to chart my calorie intake and the calorie counter I had bought didn't have an entry for raw aubergine (before cooking it!). A Google search pointed me to WLR, and it was just the resource I wanted! I signed up for a free trial and bought a 6 month subscription the same day.

How Weight Loss Resources Helps

On a simple level, weight loss is just a question of making sure your calorie intake is less than your calorie usage. WLR has everything I need to balance my intake against my usage. It's then up to me to record everything and to keep motivated to keep at it! I do like the fact that most 'junk' foods are included in the database, so I can stay in touch with the wagon even if I decide to eat something 'unhealthy' once in a while!

I find the Research area useful for finding out about different 'diets' and exercise routines.

The Best of Weight Loss Resources

Exercise and Food databases, mainly. The news, su-doku and other articles are a good read, too.

I don't use the message boards much these days, but I did find it helpful to read about other people's progress. Answering questions helped me to focus on what I had to do to keep going, as well.

Matt's Tips for Losing Weight

There's a wealth of information on the site – read it!

For me, focus has been very important. I tried 'losing weight and getting stronger' for a year without any success. I've seen best results from ignoring my running times and the weights I lift: as long as I burn the calories I know it's doing me some good, and as a result I am much happier just watching the pounds come off. Fitness and running times can wait till I reach my target weight.

Exercise is very important to 'earn' the calories for each day. The worst thing is being unable to exercise due to injury. I've found that doing a variety of exercises from one day to the next helped to 'spread the load' on my muscles and joints, so one group of muscles was recovering while I was exercising another. At the moment I'm doing free weights, rowing, running, walking and swimming.

If the weight doesn't come off: check your portion sizes (weigh things religiously!), your diary-keeping and your activity level. My activity level seems to be midway between Moderately Active and Moderately Sedentary, so I had to get used to eating within 1-200 Calories over the allowance WLR gave me. Anything less made me very light-headed and lethargic.

An update at the moment: I've finally hit my target weight, and it's been the hardest part of the whole process. I've got a reputation for not finishing what I start, and I was determined to shift this last little bit! Next job is installing a kitchen, and I expect I'll put a little bit back on while I'm living off ready meals. Having got here though, I'm a lot more confident about being able to knock a couple of pounds off once I can get back to stir fries and balanced food!

Matt's Vital Statistics

	Before	Now
Weight	17st 2lb	13st 12lb