Green Prescription helps lose 42kg
At 189kg, Ricky Tipene was heading down a path that he didn’t want to go.
He’d had his blood tests done and the results showed that his sugar levels were in a diabetic range.
Ricky’s doctor referred him to Sport Waikato’s Green Prescription programme (GRx).
‘‘The day after that visit I met with GRx coordinator Watene Hema,’’ says Ricky, ‘‘and that’s where the change really began’’.
With a family history of men dying early from things like Type 2 Diabetes Ricky decided he needed to change his outlook – for his own sake, and that of his wife and four children.
Ricky found it helpful being able to talk to someone like Watene face to face - working with someone he’d built a relationship with and who knew his journey.
Being able to have in place that support - the gentle reminders, the texts, the ‘‘how you going?’’ messages - was the encouragement he needed.
‘‘It’s been awesome,’’ says Ricky.
‘‘As the weight has dropped off I’ve even been putting my own Facebook posts up - of the trousers I used to wear.
‘‘I bought some in December to go to a wedding and even those are too big now.’’
Ricky says Green Prescription helped him take ownership of what he needed to do to make a change, with the programme being there to support, help and give ideas along the way. ‘‘GRx has been a guide for me. ‘‘The food resources really set me up in the right direction.’’
Learning to understand food has been really important - what he can eat plenty of and what he needs to eat in moderation.
‘‘It’s about learning to eat real food - things that I’ve never learned before.
‘‘I do a lot of label reading now. I know what to look for.
‘‘If you can make it a lifestyle change then you’ll be around a heck of a lot longer.
‘‘For me it’s about my kids, about my grandkids. You have to be ready to change.’’
With his weight now at 147kg, Ricky has lost 42kg and plans to keep going. ‘‘My goal now is to get to 110kg. ‘‘One goal at a time, and then I’ll look at a new goal, perhaps 90kg.
‘‘But I know I can get to 110kg. Then I’ll re-evaluate how to get to that 90kg goal.’’