I am documenting my journey from being overweight, out of shape, and generally unhealthy to being a multi-sport endurance athlete. My weight and general fitness has always been a struggle, but more so from my mid 20s until the summer of 2021, which is where this journey began. I received a photo from my parents, which they took of me on a recent visit, and I was disgusted in what I saw! Without realising it, I had become obese, weighing in at over 17 stone (around 110kg). As far as I am aware, this was the heaviest I have ever been (or at least the heaviest I have been and dared to stand on the scales). There is no two ways about it, I was lazy, and I ate too much, and too often, the wrong foods, so something had to change.

So I started to diet, drastically at first, and then settled into a comfortable calorie deficit diet. I signed up to some local running events, starting with a 10km, to spur myself on. It was when I booked this race, I seen an ad for a triathlon in York the following year (2022). I had always been intrigued by triathlon, and thought it was just too far out of my abilities, so I booked it, no time like now! I joined a local triathlon club in December 2021 where I learned to swim, and so far in 2022, I have completed 3 sprint triathlons and 1 middle distance triathlon (1/2 iron man distance).

In terms of my weight, I am currently sitting at 11st 11lb (around 75kg), which puts my total lost at just over 5 stone (just under 32kg).

I am not sure why I have started to document my journey in this way. Whether it is to keep myself motivated, to remind myself how far I have come, what I am capable of and what I could achieve if I kept going. Or whether it was to show other people that it can be done, to encourage and motivate others. To be fair, if it did either of those things, it will have been worth the time taken to document my journey.

If you are on your own journey, whatever stage you may be at, do it at your own pace, don’t compare yourself to others and most importantly, enjoy it, and enjoy the results at every stage.