I realised I needed to make a more permanent change to my life, health and body. I faced the prospect of being a bed-ridden 60 year old, if I even made it to that age!
Self-confessed binge eater, Clifford James was always overweight; as his emotional state of mind fed his appetite for unhealthy foods. This emotional eating soon developed into a lifestyle of unhealthy choices that caused him to become ill, and even affected his sex life!
Discovering Weigh-Less not only helped him lose weight but also resulted in an improved quality of life, giving him a new, more positive outlook.
Facts and Figures
Height: 1.82m
Weight before: 112kg
Goal Weight: 87kg
Weight lost: 25.6kg
Time taken:8 months
Binge eating and unhealthy living
I was born with a tumor on my stomach, and spent a lot of time in hospital, and generally I was never interested in any sport but rather took after my mother, an Opera singer, who was a huge lady, full of life and larger than life. I therefore identified with her. She passed away when I seven and that was when my feeding frenzy started. I was always a chubby child, and my weight gain continued into puberty, and early adulthood. After my mother passed away I became a very needy child, and my father chose to feed me to keep me calm. Anything I wanted, I got.
I developed an appetite as a binge eater, and my family catered to these needs. As I entered adulthood, and the working world, my eating habits and lifestyle became erratic, as I would eat late in the evenings, drank loads of beer and wine, and did no exercise whatsoever. I also ate irregular meals loaded with sugar, fat and starch; this was to keep me going through late nights and fluctuating sugar levels.
A life-changing journey
At my heaviest, of 127kg, I suffered with backache, swollen ankles and knees, and acute gout. I was emotionally all over the place, I was prone to colds, flu and any stomach bug out there, and because of this I missed days at work, and became unreliable in general. I also developed high blood pressure and cholesterol. My doctor prescribed various meds to stop the swelling, and bring down my blood pressure and cholesterol, and some of these drugs had negative side effects on my body as well, with rashes and acne appearing, in addition to a loss of libido; it really was terrible.
Socially I struggled to meet new people, as I was ashamed and lacked self confidence in a beauty-conscious world. My career was hinged on me making contact with people, so it all became a circus, me being shy, but having to go out and meet people. This caused me to revert to extreme measures such as shakes, tablets, injections, foreign-hospital diets, and hundreds of stop-starts at the local gym. It was always a knee-jerk reaction to my weight gain. It would last a month or two, and I would lose six to 10kg and think it was amazing, and then just revert to my previous ways, and end up putting the lost weight plus more, it was a vicious circle.
Turning to Weigh-Less
Two years ago on a flight to Canada, I struggled to fit into an economy class seat; it was uncomfortable and emotional. This was when I realised I needed to make a more permanent change to my life, health and body. I faced the prospect of being a bed-ridden 60 year old, if I even made it to that age! Something just went ‘click’ in my brain. I started by joining a gym with a personal trainer, who assessed me, and set me on a path of exercise. For 19 weeks I persisted and lost 14.4kg, but was fatigued, not eating well, and had even less libido. I was looking for an excuse to give up, but then a friend introduced me to Weigh-Less and that’s when my real weight loss journey started.
I had heard of Weigh-Less before, and did some research as to how it works. It appeared that the Eating Plan was balanced, and it looked as if my love of food would be incorporated into it, so I decided to join. I soon found out that my Group Leader was a wonderful motivator, and was always on hand to help me when I felt I had hit a wall. In fact she motivated me so much, that I persuaded her to move the Group to my office, and got a few of our staff to join!
Making the right choices
Thinking back, my first Group meeting was strange, I was the only male, surrounded by ladies, and when my Group Leader told me what I had to lose 25.6kg, I was shocked when I weighed 112.6kg! I thought that combined with what I already had lost with gym, it would only be another five or six kilos! My weight loss was quick and steady, and within three short weeks I had sense of accomplishment that was grand. However, more importantly I was full of energy and less fatigued!
Stopping my binge eating, and letting go of chocolate were my biggest challenges. The binge eating was associated to my sugar-level fluctuation, and by just eating the correct food at the correct times, that was solved. However, the chocolate craving was a lot harder! I decided to not let go of the chocolate, but to allow myself a block a night (of the best available chocolate) and that solved that problem, I no longer finish a slab in a sitting, but take two weeks to finish it.
Feeling 20 years younger!
Everything in my house soon became geared towards healthy eating. My family and friends soon began to eat what I ate (mostly because it was delicious)! Having made Weigh-Less my lifestyle, I soon reached my Goal Weight. People were astounded at my transformation; customers that I had dealt with for over 20 years were astonished at how I look now, this was a real boost for my confidence.
I now feel 20 years younger; I am more alert, and have so much more drive and ambition! I am doing things I never thought possible, like triathlons, swimming the Midmar Mile and actually enjoying exercise – something I never thought I ever would do. My personal life is much more fulfilling, as my libido is back and I am feeling in love with me, and to me this is the greatest change! I have been off all medication for the past year, and that is thanks to Weigh-Less, I also have not had a gout attack in eight months. All swelling of the joints and the back ache has gone!
My weight loss journey has been life-changing. It has given me new life, hope and dreams, it has widened my horizon, and brought me inner peace, joy and self respect. I am now out in the world speaking to people about the positive aspects of weight loss, and of healthy eating, and want people to know what a difference it can make. When I started this journey, no one could have prepared me for the life-altering experience I have had, thanks to Weigh-Less.
Clifford motivates you to Goal
- Don’t think of Weigh-Less as a diet, diet has negative connotations, think of it as a school where you take your body for classes on nutrition, eating classes so to speak.
- Get support from other people going through or people that have been through the process, they will understand, empathise and provide words of encouragement and some sound advice.
- If you travel a lot, and stay in Hotels and B&B’s; the food on offer is plentiful and a great temptation. Solved this by, when making reservations, stipulating you diet preference with the hotel – generally, they were very helpful.
- As a manager, I would eat out often, and entertain a lot. If you are going to a restaurant apply the general rule of choosing fish or chicken first, have no sauce and opt for veggies or salad.
- If wine appears, remember to drink one glass of wine to two glasses of water. I find that this method works for me best.
