I’ve always loved food but I didn’t want to die because I was obese
Manuel GoMes, 45, is an IT consultant who lives near salisbury, Wiltshire, with his fiancée nathalie, 42, and stepson Drew, 19. He has lost 5st 9lb, going from 18st 2lb to 12st 7 lb and from a 42in waist to a 30in waist after joining WW and taking up running. Manuel has a family history of heart disease and was told by his GP he had a 52 per cent risk of having a heart attack within five years because of his weight before he joined WW; this has now reduced to 10 per cent. Manuel is 5ft 7in tall. He says:
MY sCHOOL friends would never believe it if they could see me now. i was always the chubby kid — and the last to be picked for any sports team.
But now i am a keen runner and recently did my first official half marathon after losing 5st 9lb with WW. i run most days. it’s my escape from the stresses of work and makes me more relaxed.
i didn’t think diets worked for me before joining WW in January 2020. i’d tried juicing and other plans before and lost 3st or so. But, after depriving myself to lose weight, i always put it back on again afterwards — and more.
this was because i love my food and never really changed my lifestyle. i could easily eat a packet of biscuits in one go!
But i was encouraged to join WW by my partner who thought i’d feel healthier. i loved walking but suffered knee pain and my gP said this was due to too much strain on my joints and advised losing weight. i was classed as morbidly obese and the doctor told me i had a 52 per cent increased risk of having a heart attack within five years. i had a family history of heart disease — my father was overweight and died of a heart attack aged 33 — but i’d ignored this.
With WW, i was delighted to find no foods were out of bounds. i learned that by making small, changes, such as using lowcalorie spray for cooking instead of butter made a big difference.
after about six months i’d lost nearly 3st and decided to try a Couch to 5k running plan. On the first day i was red in the face after just a minute — but i persisted and was quickly hooked.
initially i followed the Blue WW plan, but took part in trials for the new PersonalPoints programme. i loved the freedom it gave me to choose my own ZeroPoint foods.
Under my old plan, a bacon sandwich and a bowl of porridge cost me four Points for breakfast — so i usually chose the bacon
sandwich. But now i’ve picked oats as one of my ZeroPoint foods so i have a big bowl of porridge for breakfast every day.
My gP recently told me my risk of suffering a heart attack within five years had fallen to less than 10 per cent, which is excellent.
thanks to the WW programme i have learned simple changes can have a big impact on my health. i’d have never dreamed i could lose so much weight and transform my health.
i still have 10lb to lose before i reach my target and a healthy BMi score of 25 (calculated using a person’s height and weight) but i’m confident it’s possible. i am the healthiest i’ve ever been — and feeling positive about life.