Life took the usual course, went to University lived the student life of beer and fast food but still maintained a level of fitness and weight thanks to football training. I then graduated, got married and the weight started gradually increasing though being comfortable in lifestyle and of course marrying a fantastic cook.

It wasn’t until a photograph was taken of me when I won a prize at Presidents Night at the golf club when I realised that things were a little worse than I imagined and my size was possibly greater than expected. At this point I knew I should lose weight but there was no motivation and no knowledge of how to change. I didn’t eat during the day, I maybe had breakfast and that was about it but then by the time I got home I was starving and portion control went out of the window.

My wife kept trying to lose weight but I was always the one swaying her with the usual Chinese routine on a Saturday night.

My wife though took matters into her own hands and whilst at a Sunday Fashion Fair in Queens University she got talking to the representing ladies at the Unislim Table who advised her to go along to her nearest class which is Hillsborough and told her that Eunice would be so welcoming and wonderful.

So on the Tuesday night on our way home from work she took that detour home via Hillsborough and turned into the Downshire Village Centre, she stopped in the car park and told me to get out of the car. When she told me what was happening (we were joining Unislim) I said I wasn’t getting out, it would be a room full of women, looking at me and I would be embarrassed and I wouldn’t be going in. So my wife said she was going in and if I didn’t join her she would send the ladies out to get me! So reluctantly I followed her though the door and into the meeting. And Eunice and ‘that room full of women’ were such lovely group of people, we were welcomed and every week the atmosphere was buzzing and the meeting is such good craic!

For weeks I refused to tell anyone I had joined Unislim as it’s not usually something a bloke would do! But the weight was dropping off so I had to start confessing about having joined Unislim and my friends and colleagues didn’t laugh, they were shocked that I had joined Unislim but they’ve supported me and joined me on my lunchtime walks.

There is the old cliché about saying ‘it’s not like being on a diet’ but genuinely it’s not a diet, yes we follow a series of rules but all the food that we eat comes from the recipe books and planners. The food is delicious and we have developed a new lifestyle and interest in the food we eat, and make. We have actually noticed that the food shopping bill has reduced as well.

I am loving my new shape, my new clothes and it literally is a new wardrobe of clothes as nothing in there fits anymore.

I love shopping in places I couldn’t before as not a lot of fashion retail shops stock 38/40” waist jeans!

And most of all I love the comments from my colleagues, friends and family.  

But I couldn’t have done it without the motivation and the direction of Unislim and of course Eunice