Clive’s Story.

 

It was January 2008 and I had been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with a blood sugar level of 13. I was in a mess, but I shouldn’t grumble, I was just a few weeks off my 69^th birthday and had had little illness in my life. I wasn’t happy with my medical advice provided by the state and a good Google search provided a medical summary I could relate to, which was that weight loss could ‘manage’ the problem, in all probability, if carried out correctly.

 

Since I had been dieting for 50 years on and off, trying everything from the Mayo clinic, Weight Watchers, the grapefruit diet, bread diet and other diets best forgotten this really was something I could relate to. It was an imperative I could not ignore, since the consideration of self injecting insulin would be a major problem. This was compounded by a body that stored energy as if the world was coming to an end, so it was either the knacker’s yard or some serious help, since I was metaphorically stood at the edge of the grave, and it did not feel good.

 

The beautician that my wife visits recommended Ginny McArthur of Outlook for Life in Pukekohe, and we began a rollercoaster ride together which still continues to this day. This lady is a down to earth Welsh exile with a wicked sense of humour, who, with the help of some great staff, can motivate even a couch potato like me into some serious action, where the dieting and the hard yakka in the gym actually seems a pleasure. Don’t ask me how, but Ginny manages to pull off that stunt for almost every person she deals with.

We have had some tribulations along this journey. The walking exercises gave rise to angina pain (my parents and two brothers all died of heart problems) which eventually necessitated the insertion of a total of eight stents in my heart over an 18 month period- it feels like having a well used bicycle inner tube inside except that the repairs are internal, not like a rubber patch on the outside.

 

So where are we now in mid 2010??

 

We are doing really quite well. The weight loss has been 42 kilos in total, with some12 of those kilos lost in a recent 12 week health challenge we finished just a week ago, which was 11% of my total body mass, and , much to my surprise, I start another 12week challenge this next week with a much more modest target this time round..

 

I can walk 5 kilometers in 50 minutes and do an hour in the gym without using the “nitro “ puffer most angina sufferers use, and I have stopped long ago doing the regular blood sugar tests as I haven’t had a blood sugar above 7 in two years or more. I also feel great but with just one downside which is the expense of changing my wardrobe for every 20kg lost!! Even shoes are too big now!!

 

 

So, I think, with the continue help of this Welsh wizard, I have stepped back two or three paces from the graveside to a place I am very happy to be.

 

Put your body (and your soul) into the hands of Ginny McArthur and her team. If you summon up imperative for change, you will not regret it.