Around the same time a friend had taken a picture of me at a wedding and I almost didn’t recognise myself. When I looked at the picture I just saw someone in a body that looked ill. I couldn’t relate to that person. I didn’t like what I was seeing. Beyond the chubby smile I was putting on for the camera was someone who’s body was suffering from years of lazy eating. I was literally eating myself to an early grave.

Seeing that picture of myself made me want my old body back. I stuck the picture on my fridge door as a warning to hopefully stop me from grabbing a sneaky cheese sandwich. Luckily for me I have some healthy friends that work in the fitness industry, and my good friend Matthew Nairn from Mint Fitness put me in touch with a clinical psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) and nutrition practitioner he was working with and suggested I contact her, but only if I was serious about getting my health back on track. He told me that Adele Wolstenhulme could help me get back to a healthy weight and good condition, but only if I was committed. He told me she wasn’t into ‘faddy diets’ using quirky magic pills or gimmicks or powders, but instead she advocates sensible, sustainable evidence-based approaches to eating and lifestyle change that would be the start of a whole new level of fitness to set me up for life. I knew that I was going have to dig deep and was going to have to find a new level of commitment and determination if I wanted to really make the change. I pondered over it for a while, and when I felt ready to commit, I made the call.

I met with Adele who explained the simple, yet thorough approach she uses to reverse the adverse effects of poor diets like mine using a combination of clinical PNI principles and BodyReset. I signed up to have my body evaluated using optional blood testing and bioimpedence measurements. I already knew that I was out of shape, but when Adele gave me the results I was shocked to learn that my metabolic age was equivalent to that of a 63 year-old man! She determined that my liver was in pretty poor shape and I was definitely on track to an early grave and a miserable time getting there unless I was prepared to make some changes and commit to myself.

It wasn’t just the fact that Adele had shown me bare facts in black and white detailing my deteriorating body that shocked me. I was already fed up feeling the way I was. Some people kid themselves they’re content being out of shape and say the benefits of eating a care-free diet outweigh the time it takes watching what they eat and getting on top of their eating habits. I was not one of those people and Adele knew it, which is why she agreed to coach me back to health. I followed her instructions and fully committed to the short 90-day BodyReset.

I was amazed at how quickly I started seeing results. Pounds were literally melting off my body while I slept. I was impressed at how fast my metabolism started getting back to peak performance, simply by eating the right foods at the right times during the day. In just 3 months I transformed my body from 110kg at the end of October 2013 (with a waist measuring 110cm and hips at 114cm) to 88.8kg in January 2014 (waist down to 98cm and hips 103.5cm).

It was a strict eating plan, which meant I had to follow it to the letter, but it was certainly doable and I'm so glad I did. I even managed to stick to the plan when overseas on various trips. It just meant I had to plan ahead and be a bit more organised than usual, but it was easy to stay on track and keep motivated when the results were so worth it. The planning and organising was a small price to pay for the amazing transformation I was going through. It’s set me up for life with a new approach to food, and the benefits are huge. I feel so much better in my mind and body. I have so much more energy I’m able to put to good use. People around me see the difference and I get comments and compliments all the time. Some think the results are so drastic they think I’ve had surgery. Others don’t even recognise me!

I’m applying my new found zest to areas in my work and sporting life. I’ve got rid of my chunky boy parachute and replaced it with a much less embarrassing smaller one. I’ve had a massive clear out at home and all my big boy clothes have gone. Those expensive shirts I grew out of years ago, but didn’t want to throw away, now fit me perfectly. It’s like I’ve been given a second chance to enjoy living my life without the compromises. Various doctors who’ve seen my results have also congratulated me. One radiologist who inspected my liver in an ultrasound was amazed when I told her my weight just a few months earlier. She was gob smacked at the healthy state of my liver, and said she was expecting it to be in a much worse state than it was. Adele my cPNI therapist / nutritionist puts it down to a determined effort to return my body back to the original way of living, from an evolutionary biology perspective. Basically this means eating the way we’re naturally designed to eat, which means not eating little and often as so many of us do when we snack mindlessly. Whenever I made that trip to the fridge for that extra chunk of cheese I wasn’t really hungry. It was just a habit I had to break. We just need to regain our natural hunger and thirst feelings Adele explained, and stop the snacking. Just eat when we’re hungry and drink when we’re thirsty. Makes complete sense! It’s all based on our ancient physiology from hunter gather days. We haven’t changed much as humans since then, but fast forward a couple of hundred thousand years, and the way we eat and move certainly has. All this has helped me to ‘re-set’ my metabolism, as she put it, so I can use fat for fuel much more efficiently, instead of my body always being in feeding mode, and storing fat all the time. You can’t use fat for fuel if you’re constantly fuelling the body’s tank.

Loosing the bulge allowed me to fix a hernia in my belly button that I’ve struggled with for years. I was previously denied the operation because I was too overweight and had to live with the tear in in my stomach wall. As soon as my doctor saw my weight loss in just 3 months he was actually excited to refer me for treatment. The actual surgeon who performed the operation was equally impressed at the lifestyle change I had made and wanted to know how I did it. I went on to explain the PNI/BodyReset process Adele put me through, which he’s now interested in learning more about to see if its something he can recommend to more of his own patients.

Today I’m enjoying living at a weight I feel excited to be at. I'm not falling faster than the rest of my friends on sky dives and I’m looking forward to snowboarding in the mountains this winter without getting out of breath or worrying about how long my friends have to wait for me. I’m now at a weight where I enjoy life to the full, where my mind can work at its best with a new enthusiasm for life. I’m currently enjoying working as a free-fall cameraman in New Zealand – something I could not have considered a year ago. And I’m already planning new challenges for the rest of the year and beyond. I’ve signed up to run a marathon and I’m going to be embarking on challenges that Adele is setting for me, including a high-altitude mountain climb, along with endurance cycle rides and some adventure racing. My goals are ongoing and I want to get my body into a state where I can take on bigger and greater challenges. These are all things that I would have wanted to do this time last year but my body just wouldn’t have allowed me to do. For me there’s no going back. I’ve embarked on one heck of a life changing experience and I have no plans to turn back the clock. Life is for living and that’s exactly what I’m planning on doing from here on in.

The final straw for me was perhaps when I went to my GP surgery for some help, advice, direction or recommendations, and they didn't want to help me. I didn't tick a box as I was neither “anorexic”, nor “excessively obese.” I asked if they could recommend me to a dietician or nutritionist so I could have a better understanding of food, but they wouldn’t help.. oh apart from the doctor’s final flippant comment while collecting my bag as I was about to leave. She said “Have you ever tried smoking?” I quickly turned around and said, “No, why?” She replied, “its just that people who do smoke don't ever seem to have a weight problem.” I was so shocked a professional person, a doctor, suggesting I take up smoking to lose weight!

Then, at a company conference in 2011 we heard a 60-minute talk from Dr Dorian Dugmore about wellbeing within the workplace. Wow, he was so good, extremely inspirational and motivational, so much so that I signed up for the programme (along with 399 others) instantly there and then. Over the months that followed we had a process of tests and assessments, then on the final part of the programme we spent a day with Dr Dugmore and others. They talked about the importance of well being, and how stress effects you at work, health, fitness, etc. When we broke for lunch I took the opportunity and spoke with Dr Dugmore and explained all of the above to see if he could give me any advise. I asked if he could recommend a nutritionist, “Adele Wolstenhulme,” he replied. He said: “If Adele can’t help you, no one will.” That was it there and then. I was given my first glimmer of hope.

Now unfortunately for me Adele lived and practiced in London at the time, but with her having family in the north and her travel schedule, this wasn't a problem for her. The rest is history as they say. We met, we talked, I talked, Adele explained, but most of all (although Adele has probably heard similar stories to mine 100 times or more) she listened. And then she explained the BodyReset diet in great detail. I’m not going to say the programme is easy at first, because it isn't. However, if you are ready for a challenge, are focused, and want a life-changing healthy eating programme, this is for you. And Adele was there to support me every step of the way.

Although Adele told me how effective this programme was, nothing really prepared me for the amazing results that followed. In just 12 weeks I lost 22lb, 31cm from my waist and 15cm from my hips. AMAZING! BodyReset has changed my life, improved my confidence, given me a sense of good health and well being, totally changed my mind set on foods, oh and done wonders for my relationship with my husband! In fact it has done everything Adele said it would and everything I wanted too. So Adele, the BIGGEST thank you for helping me get my life back on track and becoming a friend for life