‘It's not the number on the scales that rewards you’
Jesse Binch, 37, from Surrey
I’ve always had a very difficult relationship with food. Comforter and reward. From around the age of 8 I was put off physical activity by the competitive nature of teachers, and it took 23 years and a hefty dose of life for me to re-engage with exercise at 31.
It all came to a head 7 years ago when two huge stresses led me to munch my way to 36 stone. I’d put my life in danger. I struggled to breathe while lying down, had to sleep with my chest and legs elevated just to make sure I woke up in the morning. It took a chest pain which would occur after eating to scare me into taking action.
In the beginning I felt afraid of exercise and embarrassed to be seen doing it. So I’d get up at 5.30am when no-one would see me, and walk a single kilometre route around the park. It wasn’t much but it was enough to start to change my relationship to food and exercise. My first target? Lose enough weight to be able to weigh myself in Boots – because the scale didn’t go that high.
Now I’m doing #walk1000miles and I feel like I’ve come full circle. I’m at 18 stone and 824 miles. To get here I joined a gym, discovered new activities and walking with my friend became the biggest activity in my life. I used the challenge initially as a training tool to help me get through the London To Brighton challenge, something I’ve attempted twice and not yet got past half way! But with the unfolding of the pandemic, it’s taken on an extra dimension ensuring that every day I get outside and do a little bit of walking that I wouldn’t have ordinarily done.
When I’m out walking, I notice so much more. Things like watching the swans grow, having a heron walk up to me, watching a cormorant fishing – all things I’d have missed if I wasn’t out here or I was moving faster.
The hardest thing now is letting go of old ways of thinking about my abilities. I no longer have to consider where I have to rest, or if I’ll make it up a hill; if I’m too big for a restaurant seat, or too heavy for that glass floor! Walking gives me the time I need to think all of this through. And the #walk1000miles community has been overwhelmingly positive in its support.
If I was to give simple short advice I’d say this is not a walk, or a diet, this is a lifestyle. There is no magic pill – you can’t just do it all straight away. There will be ups and downs and when you begin to achieve, it’s not the number on the scales that will reward you, it’s the way being healthier opens up the world to you.
You can connect with Jesse in the #walk1000miles Facebook group or on Instagram (@Jesse_df). “I’m always open to talking to people about my experiences!”