Hi I’m Adam and I’m trying to raise money for my wife’s skin reduction surgery. My wife has lost over 12 stone in the last year, please see her journey below. Very proud and looking forward to the end results!!

This is not my normal post but I’ve been encouraged by my cheerleaders to shout about my journey and achievements, and I am proud of myself, so here goes!

In April 2024 I decided enough was enough and that I didn’t want to hit 50 severely obese with multiple serious health conditions - I couldn't even walk around a supermarket without pain! I’d had surgery in 2021 which was aborted due to my weight, and led to the NHS putting me on the bariatric surgery route....3 years later I was still waiting for that sleeve. I knew I needed a drastic change. So I joined the gym and I focused. I loved it and my weightloss/fitness journey began.

Today I weigh in 10 stone lighter and have dropped from a size 28 to a 12/14. The last time I weighed my now weight I was at primary school - before I was even an adult!

It’s been the hardest but most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I now weight/strength train and do cardio six days a week - I’ve never had this level of fitness before! And from a health perspective, I've reversed my diabetes and seriously reduced my blood pressure and cholesterol. I used to rattle from medication, yet now I’m slowly reducing it all. Yes, there are negatives: the reality of huge weight loss is there's loose skin, and I’m bloody freezing all the time but my god, am I happier. And I’ve changed my life.

Since I had that surgery in 2021 I’ve lost 12.5 stone in total and next year I will now be attempting that surgery again, my surgeon is amazed at what i've achieved.

Being honest, I felt relief at declining the bariatric surgery earlier this year- not that I would ever judge anyone who did, if i'd needed it I 100% would have taken this route. More than anything, I’ve learnt that a wellness journey is a personal choice, and we each have our own path to health. Just the fact someone steps on the path in whatever capacity should be applauded.

Of course, it’s not all been shiny - there have been some negatives: It’s allowed me to learn who truly supports me and is cheering me on, who is happy for me and cares about my health, despite the lifestyle changes I’ve had to make, i've learnt about competitive insecurity in others. It’s been eye opening and I’ve hurt learning some of these truths. I’ve also had a lot of wonderful support along the way - you know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The daily pickups, the constant 'you're amazing', 'you inspire me', keeping me focused, and generally helping to build my confidence along the way. Even when I bore your socks off talking about protein, fibre, supplements and calorie deficiency, you’ve stuck by me and kept me going. And massive thanks to my husband and friends who help me daily to also come to terms with the loss psychologically.

My head still needs to catch up. I still see the woman who is 21+ stone in the mirror. I automatically pick up the plus size in shops, and am still astounded when I need a much smaller size, it feels unreal. I’ve always been big; I've been overweight for 40 years so it’s obvious that my brain has been trained to think that way over so many years. Fitting in size 12 jeans was the most elated yet surreal feeling ever. Weirdly, I’m harder on myself now than I ever was. I scrutinise my body - something I never did when bigger. So thank you Adam and the people who are constantly trying to help me overcome that, whilst I catch up with reality and get used to the new me. I’m getting there.

It doesn’t escape me that now I’ve reached this milestone, the really hard part starts and I need to shift my focus to maintenance and saving for the resulting skin removal. I’ve suffered from PCOS since I was 14, I’m peri-menopausal, and I’ve had type 2 diabetes - all of which makes it challenging for a woman to loose weight. But I’ve learnt about macros, nutrition, the science behind diet, fueling my body, UPF's and fitness to help combat my conditions when (early on) I realized that this was less about loosing weight and more about being healthy and lifestyle choices. So I’m determined to keep working on it.

When I was 42, after 25 years, I gave up smoking. When I was 44 I learnt to drive. Now at 46 I can say I've tackled my weight and I've drastically improved my health.

I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve achieved and how I’ve changed my life forever. I'm buzzing.

If you got this far, thanks for reading ❤️

What a Christmas gift to myself!

Merry Christmas everyone…here’s to a happy and healthy 2026!!