DEB LARGE - 'I'VE LOST NEARLY TWO STONE THANKS TO MY BUG'

Deb Large was introduced to Fitbug by Channel Five's Diet Doctors and found that daily activity not only helped her to lose weight and gain more energy, but it also cleared up some painful and very visible skin complaints.

A VICIOUS CIRCLE

Weighing in at 16 stone and a size 22, Deb Large knew that she was putting her health at risk if she didn't do something about her expanding waistline.

Unfortunately, the combination of being overweight and suffering from two skin conditions: psoriasis, that caused painful raised red patches of skin covered with silvery scales, and rosacea, which made her look permanently flushed, had left Deb suffering from depression.

And the more depressed she felt, the less motivated she was to do anything about how she looked.

Then Channel Five's Diet Doctors, who used the Fitbug to monitor their clients' activity levels, came to her rescue and showed her that by making small changes she could experience great health benefits.

A NEW WAY OF LIFE

Phase one was to get her out and about on her feet by giving her a Fitbug membership to monitor her activity levels.

'Before Diet Doctors, it would never have occurred to me to go for a walk,- she says. 'I work in an office and I am often so busy that I end up eating lunch at my desk.

'There didn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do all the things I needed to do, let alone make time for walking.'

Inspired by the Bug, Deb soon discovered that it wasn?t as difficult as she had thought to get a few more steps into her day.

She adds: 'The Bug is a fantastic little thing. I don't think I could have done so well without it. It was permanently stuck to my side and I wouldn't put it down.

'I was always checking it to see how many steps I had done so far and if I hadn't done well that particular day I would find a way to cram a few more steps in.

'I would go for a walk in the morning and make time to go out at lunchtime. Even though I didn't think I would have time, it actually gave me much more energy and I didn't feel like I was going to fall asleep all the time.

'As it turned out it made me more productive, gave me more time to do things, made me feel much more upbeat and did wonders for my skin.'

When Debs completed her Diet Doctors programme, one of the first things she did was contact Fitbug to make sure she could keep using her membership.

'I knew that I couldn't go back to how I was. And I'm one of those people who needs motivating so I knew I had to stick with the programme.'

SUFFERING A SET BACK

Initially Deb stuck rigidly to her new healthy lifestyle, but as is so often the case Christmas came and threw a spanner in the works and it took a while to get back on track.

'It all want horribly wrong over Christmas and I put four pounds back on,' she admits. 'But by getting back to the regime I have shifted that again.

'Unfortunately, the weight loss has slowed slightly but I am now very much aware that I have got to be more active.

'I'm very conscious of how much I walk during the day now, whereas before it didn't even enter my mind. And I am really looking forward to Spring when I am determined to increase my steps to 10,000 a day.

'For the time being, my main priority is not to put the stone and a half back on. But with Fitbug by my side, I don't think there is any way I will let that happen.'