KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK STEPHANIE!

Well done to February Member of the Month, Stephanie Longden, who is taking her health and well-being into her own hands. Back in September she packed in her 20-a-day smoking habit. As a result, her weight started to spiral out of control but now she’s using Fitbug to tackle that too.

When Stephanie Longden decided to give up smoking she knew she was doing the right thing for her health, what she didn’t completely bargain for was the havoc that it would play with her waistline.

After gaining the best part of two stone in under three months, she realised it was time to take action.

"Back in September I gave up smoking and as result I gained about two stone," she says. "I became really indulgent and, to be honest, I lost control of what I was eating.

"I knew I had to do something about it and I was starting to think about going back to Weight Watchers, even though it’s never really worked for me in the past - I always start well, lose a bit of weight then lose interest!

"I decided to look for something fresh and different and came across Fitbug when I was surfing on the Internet.

"I was instantly drawn to the idea because I really liked the combination of exercise and healthy eating. I’m intrinsically lazy and I could see how this could fit into my life and work for me!"

Come December, most of us put our good intentions off until the New Year. Not Stephanie. Once she has decided it was time to take action, she threw herself straight into the programme.

As a result, by the time New Year’s Eve came about, rather than having to lose the extra weight she’d gained over Christmas, she was already starting to see the fruits of her labours.

She adds: "My Bug arrived on December 22, I decided not to change my eating habits over Christmas because I didn’t want to restrict myself.

"However, even though the instructions told me to do what I normally do, I was a bit more active than usual and I by the time I got my first target, just before New Year’s Eve, I’d already lost two pounds. Yes, I actually lost weight over Christmas!"

Despite describing herself as ’intrinsically lazy’, Stephanie found that making time to take the dog for a long walk or going for a big family hike in the countryside at the weekends wasn’t actually as bad as she’d expected.

By making these and other small changes to her lifestyle, she has seen her daily steps increase from a modest 6,300 to a rather impressive 12,000.

"My first target was 6,300 steps, including 1,000 aerobic steps, but I soon found that I could do more by taking little measures like taking the dog out for a walk first thing in the morning and some times in the evening as well.

"I also do a little bit more whenever I can during the day - I’m always the person volunteering to run errands that involve going to a different part of the office.

"I’m also park at the opposite end of the supermarket car park rather than searching for the closed space to the store - it might sound silly but it all adds up!"

"I worked myself up to about 12,000 steps a day, which I must admit is a struggle. I have learned that 10,000 steps is very achievable with my lifestyle - and I know that I’ll be able to do even more when the clocks go forward at the end of the month."

As well as making her feel better and increasing her energy levels, Stephanie has also found that her new way of life has had the desired effect where she wanted it the most: on the scales.

"So far, I have lost 16lbs at a very healthy rate of two to three pounds a week - and I now know how to go the right way about losing weight.

"My eating habits have changed completely. I’m eating far more fruit and vegetables and I have dramatically cut back on refined sugar.

"I’ve not been very well recently, so the weight loss has reached a plateau. But my healthy habits haven’t gone completely out of the window (as I think they would have done in the past).

"My husband bought me some chocolates to make me feel better and rather than eating them all in one go, I’ve just had one or two when I fancied them."

So what advice does February’s member of the month have for fellow members?

"Always try to beat your aerobic target by as much as you can. These are the fat-burning steps so I tell myself that I am literally ’walking my ass off!’

"Totally ignore the weather! If it looks foul outside and you can’t be bothered to go out, go anyway.

"You can put the umbrella up so you don’t have to get wet, and you definitely won’t shrink! It feels great to come back inside, warm up and feel snug again.

"Oh, and don’t forget to park at the far end of the supermarket car park!"