Losing 10 Stone - My Journey

I’ve wondered for a while about putting some of my thoughts on my weight loss journey down in a blog. I’ve not done it as there are already so many of them out there. However it’s quite cathartic to type it up and if there is a chance it can help someone then happy days.

I’m 38 years old and for as long as I can remember I’ve not been happy with my weight. As a child I always loved my food and therefore ate a lot. As a teenager I was not skinny but probably not massively overweight either. That is until, at age 16, I dislocated my knee, and then did it again a few months later, at which point I had to have surgery on it. This meant that I had a lot of time not being able to exercise and didn’t in anyway attempt to restrict my eating habits. That’s meant, for at least the last 20 years, I’ve eaten a lot of food without doing much exercise.

Throughout most of my adult life I’ve been ashamed of my size and found it hard to process. Some people don’t seem to have a problem pointing it out, I’ve had a lot of people think they’re making hilarious jokes about my size and every time I’ve tried to laugh it off whilst hiding my internal hurt and shame. If you ever make those jokes, stop.

Over the years I’ve tried to lose weight on quite a few occasions, losing nearly 4 stone a couple of times and smaller amounts at other times. However, it’s always stopped at some point and I’ve never kept the weight off… that is until now.

So what has changed? Post lock down I had an important meeting and needed to dress a little smarter. I went to my wardrobe and tried on a few shirts but none of them fitted. I went to get my “safety” shirt - the one I knew would always fit no matter what, and it did fit, but it was definitely a little too snug! Around this time I decided to weigh myself and I was at an all time high of 24st 9lbs/345lbs/157kg. When I got on the scales and saw that, I was gutted. I’m 6’4” so have always carried my weight reasonably well but as I looked at pictures of myself I was not happy and I wanted something to change. 

2021 - At my heaviest weight (24st 9)

Getting on the scales and realising the damage I had done to myself was scary. I had fear over my health and how that could impact me as a husband, father, son and friend. My life isn’t just my own, I have responsibilities and people who love me. I had put my life in danger, through years of over eating and it was time to bring myself to account.

I do quickly want to add a point here about health and the importance of looking after yourself: I’m a big advocate for body positivity and people being comfortable in their own skin, however, I think it’s crucial that this is not at the expense of looking after yourself. I know that during my time of being overweight it has caused me more health issues. There have been various times that I have needed healthcare which would either not have happened or been as extreme if it wasn’t for my obesity. This means that I have put extra strain on the NHS, caused stress and worry to my family and myself, and missed time at work, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I know I would have had illnesses and injuries regardless of my weight, but I am also very aware that my unhealthy lifestyle has not helped in these situations. As a Christian I also feel like I have a God-given responsibility to look after the body He has given me. I’ve not been great at that for too long and I want to change that now.

All of this being said, I try to live my life without judging others and I appreciate that people face many different issues and situations in life that can affect how easy or hard it is to address weight issues. I also realise that I come from a place of privilege in having the time, money and support to change my path.

So, the big question, how did I do it? 

(Another quick disclaimer: I’m no expert, this is what worked for me and that’s why I’m sharing it.)

My main plan was to count calories and then, later down the line, exercise. I started my journey with the amazing app MyFitnessPal and at first I limited myself to 3000 calories a day, which is 500 over the recommended allowance for a man, but still a big enough deficit compared to what my body was naturally burning in a day. I am not going to get bogged down in the science of things too much in this blog but basically, to lose weight, you need your body to burn more calories over a week that you take in. Food and drink both provide calories and your body burns a certain amount everyday through living/existing - your body uses the energy you take in from calories to keep you alive and exercise burns extra calories on top of that (end of my poorly worded scientific explanation).

So, my 3000 calories a day helped me to lose weight really quickly to begin with: anywhere between 3 and 6 lbs a week. Every week I would reduce my intake by 100 calories to where I am now on 1850 calories a day. This meant that I could still eat bigger amounts of food whilst I still had a bigger appetite and then, as that appetite got used to eating fewer calories and reduced slowly, so did my calorie intake. Don’t get me wrong, since I started I have had times of feeling hungry and I still do but I think that is a good thing. We’re not designed to be satiated all the time and being hungry is our bodies reminder to eat. It also made me realise that it had been a long time since I felt truly hungry…

One of the reasons I have failed in the past is because I have tried to go too fast at the start. I cut out most of the foods I really enjoyed (chocolate, crisps, cake, etc) and that meant that I constantly craved those things, so eventually my willpower would disappear and I would fall off the wagon. Once I had this feeling of failure, I would struggle to get back on the wagon. To conquer that I decided that I would have a day every week that I would not calorie count, one day a week - Saturday - where I could eat what I wanted and not feel guilty about it. Going back to the science of things, so long as my calories are in deficit over a whole week, I’ll still lose weight (for example, if I burn 3000 calories a day before exercise that is 21,000 calories a week. If I eat 2000 x 6 that’s 12,000 and 5000 calories on a Saturday (which would be extreme!!) then I’d still have a 4000 calorie deficit over a week which equates to about 1lb of weight. This is a very simplified way of looking at it but it works for me!).

2022 - Approx 5 stone lighter after 6 months.

Saturday means I have something to look forward to food-wise. I still really enjoy food and don’t want that to change. I like fruit and salad but most of the time I’d rather have a burger. If on a Wednesday I’m craving a Big Mac then I know I’m allowed it on a Saturday. The other benefit of calorie counting is that if I get to the end of the day and have some calories left then I can have a treat - a chocolate bar or a bag of crisps and have no guilt about it.

Some of the other things I’ve done as part of the journey are as follows:

1. Eat five fruit/veg a day. I have a rule that if I get to the end of the day and have not completed this then I have to finish those before I’m allowed any treats. As it is I pretty much always have my 5 with breakfast and lunch so any at teatime are a bonus. I want to make sure my food intake has plenty of nutritional value (I could easily just eat chocolate up to 1850 calories a day but not sure that would do my insides any good!).
2. I sometimes do intermittent fasting - this is meant to boost your metabolism which helps you lose weight. Quite often I will not eat between 7pm and 10am. It’s hard to measure if this works but it does help me focus better on my goals. 
3. Eating less of something instead of going for low fat choices. I don’t enjoy low fat cheese or low sugar baked beans or flora lightest of light spread so I’d rather have a smaller portion of the foods I do enjoy. This is personal preference of course but, for me, when I’m calorie counting, the food I consume has to be as enjoyable for me as possible.
4. Exercise - the idea of me doing any serious exercise has always felt unlikely, but as time has gone on I’ve found it really helpful in equipping me to lose weight. I tried running with the Couch to 5k app but, after several attempts, my body simply doesn’t agree with it, After shin splints twice and a stress fracture I decided not to risk any further damage! A lot of this could be to do with dislocating my knees when I was younger. Anyway, I started to make use of the exercise bike that had been collecting dust in our house and I bought an electric bike - that has been a game changer for me. I’ve done over 1600 miles in a year on it and, as time has gone on and I’ve got fitter, I’ve been able to reduce the amount of electric I use when cycling and gradually push myself harder. I think if I’d gone for a regular bike, I wouldn’t have had the energy, so would have probably given up on it.
5. Allowing myself special occasions is really helpful. At Christmas and birthdays I might have an extended period of not counting calories: a weekend, or even a few days. In fact, this Christmas just gone I didn’t count for the full two weeks holiday, though I am now still losing some of that weight (and that’s ok!)!

A few last things it’s worth mentioning that have helped me massively are, firstly, the realisation that this needs to be a life long goal and isn’t a quick/temporary fix. I’ve previously had my eyes on getting to my goal and then thinking I’ll be fine forevermore. The reality though, is that changing that perspective has been crucial! I now understand that my affinity with food means that, if I let things slip, I could undo the hard work I have put in. I want to make sure that, for the rest of my life, I try to get the balance of treats and nutrition right. I want to be able to enjoy food in a way that is good for me and not constantly go drastically up and down in weight. I don’t know if I’ll forever use MyFitnessPal to track calories but I certainly want to have something in place so that I have accountability and a record of what I am consuming.

Secondly, support from family and friends: Louisa (my amazing wife) has done this journey with me (along with her sister Elinor but I won’t mention too much without permission!) and she has been such a massive help for me, picking me up when I felt sorry for myself on the weeks when I gained weight and when things started to slow down (which is normal as you get closer to your target weight!); friends who kept asking me how things were going and encouraging me to keep on going (shout out Matt, Joey, Kim and many more); my mum who I know has had this battle herself so being able to understand the journey and talk about the literal ups and downs of weight loss. Having a support network is the biggest thing that has made the difference for me and it’s why I am always happy to talk about this and always willing to be a support to anyone who is fighting this same battle.

2022 - 14 months on and finally no longer officially overweight.

I’ve been so inspired to hear about other people who have begun/restarted/continued in their own journey after hearing about what I’ve done. I genuinely believe anyone can do this! No matter how long someone has been overweight, it’s never too late to change.

Many people along the way have asked me what the secret is to my weight loss. The honest answer I give is always, sadly, there is no secret; there is no easy way; there is no instant fix. So many diets make it sound like you can get to your goal in days or weeks, but the reality is that it takes hard work! I’ve actually (mostly!) enjoyed the process and I feel so much better for it, but it has taken a lot of discipline, a huge change of lifestyle, and a willingness to say no when people offer me doughnuts on a Monday morning!!

I know that this is not the only way to achieve weight loss goals but, like I said, this is what works for me, and it has genuinely changed my life. My physical health is so much better than it once was but, possibly more importantly, so is my mental health, not just the way I feel about myself when I look in a mirror, but also the freedom I feel physically has only helped to make my brain feel freer too if that makes sense.

I really hope this has been helpful to read. Please get in touch if you want to chat about any of this or comment if you don’t agree with it. Tell me your own stories. Ask questions and let’s break down some of the taboos around weight and the shame that is so often attached to it.

Covid Testing

I thought I’d give a brief a run down of our Covid-19 testing experience as loads of people seem to be finding it difficult to work out what to do and when to do it. My disclaimer is that this is only my experience and I realise it may be different for other people and could have been considerably harder/more stressful.

Over the weekend myself, Micah and Tabitha all had a bit of a cold. It seemed to hit Tabitha hardest and on Monday she had a bit of a fever. In line with government advice we decided to quarantine at home and hunt down a test. I suspected it was just a cold but I’m not a doctor and we didn’t want to put anyone else at risk.

So from Tuesday morning I started the hunt for a test. I went online and there were tests available in Liverpool and Barrow-In-Furness. However by the time I put my details in, they’d all gone. I asked friends via Facebook for any tips and I tried ringing 119 after people recommended it, but their wait times were long and they repeatedly said they had no different appointments to those online. 

I spent most of the day refreshing the browser and checking for spots. My parents very kindly did the same and eventually about 6:30pm some spots came up for 3 different testing places in Leeds. I got a spot for both myself and Tabitha. 

It took a decent amount of time and effort but if I put in to context it’s really not that bad. I’ve queued for 8 hours to get Leeds United play off tickets (they lost 3-0), I’ve been on hold for hours to get tickets for various concerts in the past and I’ve lined up in the winter to get one of the first PlayStation Portables on release. In the grand scheme of things sitting on my sofa tapping refresh, occasionally having to re-enter my details isn’t too bad.

The actual test process was straight forward. Tabs and I drove over arriving 30 mins before our appointment and we were ushered straight through. They scanned our QR codes through the window and handed over 2 testing kits.

We parked up and I read the instructions throughly. I did the test on myself first to get used to it. It was unpleasant, especially trying to get swap right to the back of my mouth for my tonsils, but nothing too bad. I then did it for Tabitha and sealed all the bags, etc. I passed it through the window into a box and we drove away about 30 mins after we arrived. 

Less than 24 hours later we got the negative results texted through and we were free(ish) once again: Micah back to school, Tabitha’s first day in reception and Judah’s first day in nursery could all go ahead. 

So, in summary, was it a perfect process? No. Did it have a lasting negative affect on our lives? No.

The NHS are doing a cracking job and the press are inevitably hyping it up more than is ever necessary. The government can always do more to make things smoother but to be fair to them it is prime time for the essential ‘sport’ of grouse shooting so give them a break...

Teaching a 4 year old consent

There has been a lot in the media recently about consent. Both historically and recently, there have been many cases where people’s lives have been damaged, and often ruined, because people have not gained consent before engaging in sexual activity.

Sadly, having worked in youth work for many years now, I have seen cases where this has happened. I have had to support young people after they have gone through the trauma of sexual assault and help them as they come to terms with it, whilst negotiating the legal system, which often sadly adds an extra struggle to the situation and doesn’t always end in the justice that they long for.

It got me thinking about consent and how we teach it to young people. At the charity I work for (www.lfis.org), we teach lessons to high school students about various aspects of relationships and sex. A key thing we focus on is consent, making sure that young people fully understand what consent is and how they need to get consent before engaging in sexual activity. However, I have realised that high school is too late to start teaching this, it needs to be something we teach from a very early age. I realised this with the help of my 4 year old son (Micah) and my 2 year old daughter (Tabitha).

Micah loves to give cuddles, he’s very affectionate and caring and is forever coming for snuggles with his Mummy and Daddy. Tabitha also loves cuddles but has very much shown us that it’s all on her terms and only when she wants to! - which is exactly what we want her to be like growing up! If she doesn’t want to do something then no one should be able to make her!

The consent part comes when Micah wants to give Tabitha a cuddle but she doesn’t want to, because she’s tired, or grumpy, or quite simply not in the mood for a cuddle. She’s at the age where ‘no’ is her favourite word and she uses it a lot! It means that we’ve got an opportunity early in both of their lives to teach them about consent.

If Micah asks Tabitha for a cuddle and she says no, that means stop. It doesn’t mean try to give her a cuddle anyway in the hope that she changes her mind. As parents we need to make sure they both follow this rule no matter how cute it is when they cuddle! I don’t want any of our children starting their lives out thinking that if someone says no they don’t have to listen to them.

Tabitha does like cuddles sometimes and it’s great to see Micah learning that he has to ask and he has to get her permission. This is something I want him to continue for the rest of his life.

It might sound a bit trivial in this situation but they need to know what is and isn’t ok so that it is still clear to them in other scenarios that they encounter as their lives go on. They need to know about consent before they get to high school. Boundaries are so important and consent is a boundary I want them to know well.

Bringing meaning to the banter.

It's a little while since I last blogged... But this subject is something that I've been thinking a lot about recently and it's caused me to finally get behind my keyboard and get typing!

It might be a long while again before my next blog as baby #2 is due any day now so time will be at a premium. 

I've set up my whole youth work career based around the gifts that God has given me – something that I really believe is an important thing to do because it is God who wants me in youth ministry.

Whilst I'm never one to rave about my skills in youth work I do find that an easy entrance point is humour. A lot of the young people I meet engage better if we can have a laugh and a joke about something – a bit of banter. It's something that is so easy to do and if being a bit silly means that I can engage with young people better then it's something that I want to keep doing.

The challenge is, though; how do we get past the banter and bring meaning to the conversation? 

If I want to be an effective youth minister then I need more than just fun relationships with young people. I need more than a bit of banter. I want to see young people come to know Jesus and have their lives transformed by his love and grace, to see them have self-esteem in the knowledge that their identity is in Christ and not in the world. I want to see teenagers rejoice in the power of God and His amazing works and not feel that what the world has to offer is the better option.

I could quite easily have a big youth group where we have a laugh and a banter and go home, but what's the point? Of course it's important to have a safe place for youth on a Friday night and it's definitely more effective to have a big group together, but if I get to the end of my career in youth work with 100 young people that don't know Jesus but love a bit of banter, surely that's not furthering the Kingdom of God. If I get to the end and have impacted a few young people to know their maker then I think I'm doing something better.

For me, the break from banter to building a stronger relationship involves me stepping out. Some young people are more willing to ask bigger questions and find out more about Jesus, but often I have to be brave and step out in faith.

In Deuteronomy 31:8 it says:

'The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."' (NIV)

God goes before us in every conversation. It's up to us to allow Him in. The more I pray the better conversations I have. The more I seek His will the more impact I make. It sounds simple and that’s probably because it is simple. More of God in our lives means we will see more of God in the lives of the people we meet as the Holy Spirit is at work in us.

Of course there will be times when what we are hoping for is not what happens but that's where the 'do not be discouraged' part comes in. Keep fighting the fight and don't give up. The banter is important for me because it initiates conversation and helps start a relationship, but if I just stick to banter and don't move on then I'm unlikely to make a life-changing impact.

I really believe that God can work in any situation and I trust that in the times when I haven’t gotten past the banter that God can still do amazing things, that the people I meet will see something different in me and whether it is 5, 10, 15, or however many years later, something will switch inside their head and they will want to know more about Jesus.

The most important thing though, is that I don't just hope that God will work later in their life, but instead I take time to invest now, that I move past the banter and challenge myself to challenge other people. If God goes before us then we have nothing to worry about!

Youth Ministry in action:

I recently met up with a young person who had come on the Youth Alpha course that we ran last year. Quite often our conversations had been all about the banter and topics that were easy to have a casual chat about. This time I wanted to break the barrier and go a bit deeper. When we did it was great and we had some great conversations about various different things and how God can work in their life. We discussed some of the big questions that came about from Alpha and hopefully we can now move forward to really seeking God in new ways.

It might not have happened if I wasn't willing to bring a bit of meaning to the banter.

NekNominate - Breaking the cultures of a fallen world.

Something that I keep seeing is the current trend for NekNominate. Essentially what this involves is people downing an alcoholic beverage and then nominating other people to do it as well. There are different variations of how it's done, but what is becoming more popular is increasing the amount of alcohol from a pint of beer to excessive amounts and in some cases pints of spirits.

What scares me most about this trend is how much it is growing, becoming popular and acceptable, but also that so many young people are getting involved with it.

There are already reports that people have died from the 'game' yet it does not seem to stop the concept from growing and spreading.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/second-death-linked-to-online-drinking-game-after-body-of-teenager-found-29971962.html

What strikes me most about this is how indicative it is of the culture that we live in, where something like this can be celebrated as comical whilst the reality is that it is damaging. We live in a fallen world and this is another thing that I personally feel emphasises what is wrong with the world.

The question is: how do we fight this dangerous culture? How do we look to make a difference? It's not easy, but the first thing to do, as Christians, is set ourselves aside from it. That doesn't mean ignore it, but it does mean that we don't condone it and it definitely means we don't get involved ourselves.

I think things like this come from the wider view that alcohol abuse is ok, when the Bible tells us quite the opposite.

Galatians 5:21 says:

'Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.' (ESV)

And 1 Corinthians 6:19-20,

'Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.'

Firstly, the Bible talks, in a few different verses, about the dangers of alcohol and drunkenness and how it is not of God. This verse in Galatians clearly shows that it is a sin.

The Corinthians verse talks of our body being a temple. I know that people damage their bodies in a number of ways and alcohol is not the only bad thing, but I think it has become one of the more acceptable ways, which is particularly dangerous.

As a youth minister, I see my role as setting an example but also being willing to challenge the young people I work with and teach what God wants me to teach on this subject. 

I personally don't have a problem with alcohol consumption in moderation and like to have a drink every now and then. What I am of careful of is knowing my limit and not exceeding it, alongside not making a habit of regularly drinking.

I'm not perfect and I have a history. I used to be into the drinking culture in a big way. For me though, that is what drives me to want to beat this particular problem as I know the mistakes I made from being drunk, and I want the young people I work with to be so confident in their identity in Christ that they don't need to get involved with this sort of thing.

Let's create a culture where we can lean on God's Word and use that to battle the dangers of this world. We're not called to stand by and let things happen, we're called to fight it and invite the Kingdom of God into the dark and dangerous areas of our lives.

If you want to chat through anything I have said in this blog or if anything resonates with you, please get in touch as I would love to help you think through this issue further & really appreciate your feedback.

Loving the broken

Sorry for the delay in a blog, I've had typer's block and have started 2 different blogs over the last few months and not been able to finish them. Instead of battling with those I have decided to write one about something that has been on my heart recently and especially over the last week or so.

I was browsing the news the other day and noticed that Justin Bieber had been arrested for drink driving. My first thought was, 'what an idiot', and sure enough I went on Facebook to see that a lot of people agreed with that.

Straight after that judgement it caused me to think about the world we live in and how there is so much that is trying to trip us up and so many things out there to damage us all and especially the young people in the world. The boundaries between what is sinful and what is not seem to be slipping and blurring and for all of us that is a huge danger.

Justin Bieber has gone from being a 'normal' person to being thrust in to the lime light, having a load of money, masses of adoring fans and unfortunately it seems that he is responding in a way that at the moment does not look great. However, it's almost like the media and the world think that he does not have the right to make mistakes, that because he has all those things that I mentioned above he should be perfect.

People immediately jump to blaming him and, whilst he has to take responsibility for his own actions, I can't help feeling that the world is not doing much to set him an example. Whilst he is an example (not always a good one) to lots of young people, he has grown up in a world where there is a lot of hurt and brokenness and it's hard for young people to understand what is right and how to escape what is wrong.

We can spend all our time blaming celebrities and politicians for all that is wrong with our country and all that is messed up in the world or we can try and make a difference.

In Matthew, Jesus talks about us being light in the world and how that means not only do we have to be different from others but we have to set an example..

Matthew 5:14-16 says:

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV)

We are not here to just live and be happy that we are doing good. We are placed on this earth to shine and light up the world with the goodness of Jesus.

That means that we should be setting the example to young people - showing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives is hugely important: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It's not an easy task but it is one that we are called to. If we live these out in our day to day life then we are going to make a difference. People are going to see that there is something that sets us apart from those that live in the world. Jesus will permeate every area of our lives if we let him and that is hugely important.

Let's stop blaming other people and change the world through our own actions. It's not always about doing massive things, we can make an impact through caring for the people around us and not being afraid to let Jesus fully impact our lives and theirs.

This is something that I am really battling with at the moment. I want to be a youth worker that makes a difference to the people that I work with. If I go through each of the 9 fruits of the spirit I struggle with them all in one way or another but I want to grow and seek ways of bettering myself with them all.

I can't expect the young people I work with to grow in their faith and relationship with God if I am not modelling it myself. This is where I feel for Justin Bieber, there is so much expectation on him and pressure about how to behave, but realistically how many people model this in a positive way to him? How many people support him instead of just having a go at him?

As Christians we are called to love people no matter what (1 Peter 4:8) and this means loving those who mess up, because no one is perfect. 

Doing it all for Jesus

In this blog I'm going to be starting a short series looking at how we can live a life that honours Jesus in every area. Whether at school, work, with friends, playing football or even what we're eating we are called to do it for God.

Colossians 3:17 says:
 

'And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.' (NIV)

This is one of those things that is easy to say but not always so easy to do. Whether you have been a Christian for years or just a few weeks, getting God into every area of your life can be tough. Despite it being tough though, I think it is important that we put the effort in and aim to more Christ like.

One area that I have always struggled with is my health and looking after my body. I'm a big fan of food and have always struggled with weight. It is only recently though, that I have seen the importance of allowing God to work in this area of my life. God wants us to look after ourselves:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:

'Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.' (ESV)

Lately I have seen the importance of not over eating, and it has given me a desire to do something about it. I was initially inspired by seeing my Mum lose some weight and how it impacted her life. It has brought me to the stage where I want to get in shape for a few reasons.

1) For health reasons, I was at a dangerous weight and it is not good for my body.
2) For my self-esteem, I have never been happy with being over weight and it has definitely impacted my confidence.
3) For my role as a Youth Minister, I want young people to know the importance of looking after themselves and being confident in themselves and I can not do this with integrity if I'm not living it out myself.
4) Finally and most importantly: God! I want to look after myself because God has created me and wants the best for me. The least I can do is look after the body He created.

I have lost 3 stone and 10 pounds so far and still have a way to go, but however long it takes I am confident I'm doing it for the right reasons and not because of other people or the media's opinion.

Looking after ourselves is not just about weight though and I think that consumption of alcohol, drugs and various other vices can cause serious damage. The way the world looks at sex and encourages people that it's fine to have sex with anyone is another way people don't look after their bodies. It encourages us to take something that God has made so precious and trample all over it.

Looking after the spiritual side of who we are is massively important too! Prayer, Bible, having loving people around us and having community through church are all essential to help us grow but also these things help us to keep looking after ourselves. I want the young people I work with to understand that our lives are a gift and whilst God wants us to have fun, He also wants us to look after ourselves in every way.

This blog isn't about trying to make you as the reader feel guilty every time you have a mars bar, but instead I want people to understand how God wants us to look after ourselves. It's not always easy and that is why we need accountability from friends and family. I know I could not have lost as much weight so far without my wife and other people supporting me.

Thanks for reading and please feedback on here or through Facebook if you have any thoughts on this blog.