August Member of the Month - Mathew Clarke

Posted 29 July 2009

August's Member of the Month is Matthew Clark, 45, from Southampton. Matthew has lost almost 4 stone and feels fitter than ever! Here he tells us his story...

What made you join Fitbug?
In May last year my work started a new health insurance scheme through Pru Health, who offer Fitbug. My employer agreed to buy everyone who enrolled on the scheme a bug.

What did you hope to achieve?
I've never been a fan of diets. In the past I'd been quite sporty and that kept me reasonably in shape. But 15 years ago I damaged my knee playing American Football and I did less and less exercise after that. I don't have a physically demanding job and my weight steadily increased. I was always 'happy' - I never felt I looked terrible. But I was starting to buy clothes that fitted me, rather than clothes I actually liked. Mainly I just wanted to get a bit fitter.

What's your goal?
I'm beyond my original goal. When I started I was 6"1 and just under 19 stone and my goal was to get to 16 stone. I'm now 15 stone and I'd like to get below that.

What have you found most helpful about Fitbug?
All different aspects; the newsletter, the reminders, the points I earn for my health scheme, the website itself with all the nutritional information...I really like the leagues and step challenges too because I'm quite competitive! I'll probably never be number one, but I like knowing where I am in the league and challenging myself. When I upload my stats I always have a look and see how I'm doing.

How has your life changed?
I'm able to do sport again. I bought a roadbike last December and I’ve started playing American Football again. I play cricket, swim, go for long walks before work with my ipod on. I listen to music or Radio 4 comedy shows I download from the internet and I really enjoy it. I don't use lifts anymore (unless I'm on the 11th floor of a hotel!) and I park away from the entrance at the supermarket.

I still don't do diets, but I have started watching what I eat, keeping an eye on my calorie intake. I used to skip breakfast and grab a bacon sarnie from the snack van mid-morning. Now I have cereal before leaving the house and fruit as a snack.

I've replaced the things I've cut out of my diet with other things I like so I don’t feel like I'm missing out, even though I haven't had a chocolate bar in 18 months. I've found fruits that I like and new ways of cooking veg. I still have desserts in restaurants and ice-cream at the cinema. I just make sure I eat sensibly day to day.

Do you feel different?
I get a lot of comments. At first it was embarrassing when people said: "Oh you've lost weight", but it does keep you going. Now I quite like it when people tell me I look good.

Mainly though, I know I can do things I couldn't before. My girlfriend, who I met in October last year, used to be a triathlete. A year-and-a-half ago there's no way I'd have been able to join her on a 20 mile bike ride and I can now.

What are you most proud of?
Probably doing the London to Brighton bike ride earlier in the summer. I guess I'm proud of losing the weight too. I wouldn't say I've found it 'easy', but I've done it in a sustainable way. I haven't starved myself. I've just changed what I do, my lifestyle.

What advice would you give to other Fitbug members?
Set positive goals, whether it's do to with steps or losing weight and imagine what you’ll feel like when you get there.

Don't try too much too soon. If you set unrealistic goals you'll only fail and get frustrated. Small achievable steps along the way will keep you motivated.

Also, don't beat yourself up if you slip up. Focus on what you have achieved today and what you can achieve tomorrow.

Matthew before

Matthew Now

As this month's star member Matthew receives a fantastic Molton Brown gift set. If you'd like to feature as our member of the month - or if you know someone that deserves to -

send us your story!