As a production manager for a theater company, 37-year-old Craig Fleming from Glasgow now moves around lighter after losing 5st 5½lbs*.
“Being overweight gave me a pain in the neck. And back. And wrists. At times I felt so uncomfortable, I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been a theatre production manager for 16 years and it’s an intensely physical job: lots of loading and unloading equipment, putting up stage sets, and lifting and driving. I love my work, but at my heaviest (and constantly at the chiropractor and in agony every day) I began to wonder if I could cope.
He’s gained his extra weight at his 30s due to a lot of eating on the road brought about by his work. He took full advantage of service-station meal deals, whether he was hungry or not he’d grab a bag of chips, chocolates, sandwiches and sugary drinks.
“In summer 2014, I got a call from an old friend, Fiona, who’d lost lots of weight with Slimming World and who was starting her own group. ‘Why don’t you come along with me?’ she asked. I said I’d go… but I was deeply sceptical. How could someone with my kind of lifestyle develop healthier eating habits?
He realized that he can make packed lunches. After a month of swapping full-sugar cola drinks for diet ones, service station for homemade healthy salads and crisp fruits, he lost a total of 1 stone and he hot hooked. By September of 2015, he has lost 4½st and in February of 2016, he achieved his target of 10st 11lbs. By then, his body, overall, was feeling much better.
“My regular chiropractor appointments dwindled to an occasional maintenance session and I felt much more energetic.”
“A day at work couldn’t be more different! Little things like climbing a flight or two of stairs used to leave me breathless. Now I can spend a long, physically demanding day in the theatre, lugging around pieces of set, and still have the energy to walk my puppy, Foss, when I get home… It’s an amazing feeling!”
His own method to make it work:
I walk and cycle to stay fit. I make use of the bike-hire scheme in Glasgow to get around the city.
I’ll make healthier choices. If service-station sandwiches are the only option, I’ll go for something like plain ham salad on wholemeal bread to keep down the Syns.
I love my stash of Free on-the-road snacks – cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and lots of fresh fruit.
Credit: slimmingworld.co.uk
