Marnie lost 75lbs

Name: Pete
Age: 43
Start weight: 233lbs
End/Current weight: 158lbs

1 – Tell me about your previous dieting attempts

Well, this goes back forever.

I’ve always been a big lad – I was unhealthy as a teenager and went to uni with a BMI of 36. The GP had me at the nurse for a while, aged 17, where I’d go through a once-a-week weigh-in, but it didn’t work out.

Not having much money at uni and prioritising going out over food, I was in my best shape for a long time as I started working.

I put on a fair bit of weight in my twenties, and a year before getting married thought I could do with looking better for the wedding, so I did six months of Atkins. I entirely bought into the whole Ketosis crap (I’m peeing out my fat!), but hindsight now shows I was so full from eating so much protein that my overall food intake was very low.

Amazingly, I didn’t get scurvy – the diet quality was awful.

Through my 30s, I steadily put on weight. I tried to do something about it a few times but always prioritised exercise over diet.

I remember thinking, hey, I’ve done a great workout; this massive bacon cob is well deserved. It wouldn’t work; I’d get disheartened and give up after a few weeks.

Even when I tried to manage my diet, I’d do all the wrong things. Create an unsustainable deficit, and think breakfast is required to kick-start my metabolism. I’d exercise (minus 150 cals) and then eat some Belvita biscuits for a quick breakfast as the exercise made me late for work (plus 200 cals), and then I’d be starving hungry by 10 am.

2 – What was it you hoped Munro would do for you?

In my before picture, I’m 42 and 16 stone 9lbs. I knew something needed to be done but was keenly aware that previous attempts to do a few sit-ups in the morning hadn’t worked in the past and wouldn’t work again.

I thought some structure and guidance would help and started looking at slimming clubs. I quickly discounted that as it was so female-orientated, and the thought of the weekly weigh-in I’d done before didn’t appeal. So it’s relatively straightforward; I knew I needed to lose weight for my health, I came across Munro and had a “nothing to lose” mindset, so I went for it.

3 – How did you hear about Munro?

I’m a social media laggard, and my wife’s friend knew about Munro – I think she knew someone already part of the group. So it was word-of-mouth that brought me to you.

4 – What made us stand out from everything else out there?

At the time, there was nothing to lose.

The cost seemed incredibly low to work with qualified Nutritionists, and it was something sensible: a structured way of going about weight loss.

For a commitment of 3 months upfront, it was no-brainer territory – give it a whirl and see what happens. It would either work out or it wouldn’t.

I liked that it’s all managed through Facebook – as a fella, a lot of the weight loss world appears very female-orientated unless you’re looking to pump iron to become a ripped hunk of muscle.

For the average bloke who wants to lose a bit, doing it from home was excellent.

5 – Did anything about our approach almost put you off from joining?

I didn’t think or look hard enough to find anything to put me off. I was desperate to lose weight and went for it. The cost almost made it seem a bit too good to be true but I didn’t overthink it.

6 – What made you bite the bullet and sign up to work with us?

I do remember the day I signed up was the day my wife had suffered an awful night’s sleep due to my snoring. This certainly wasn’t the only time this had happened, but I felt terrible that the state of my health was affecting her. I’d looked at Munro for a couple of days and thought I should really try something.

7 – What made you happiest about being a Clan member?

It’s hard not to say the outcome is number one.

Losing five stones of flab in nine months to now sit at a healthy weight means I genuinely am a different person.

However, that only happened as I happened to join up to the group. I find it’s easiest to bucket it in two ways:

1 – The core of managing weight loss and then
2 – The support mechanisms that make that easier.

The weight loss side is mainly managed through fortnightly check-ins. Sometimes these are simply an encouraging “keep going – you’re doing great”. Other times, they’ll go into more detail to problem-solve why things aren’t going as they should be so adjustments can be made.

The more general advice that comes through live chats and daily posts are always relatable and can be personalised to help at an individual level.
The support mechanisms are everything else that makes this group a fantastic resource, and as Yorkshireman, I can’t say this enough, just astonishing value for money.

The daily posts are fantastic motivation every morning – particularly Louise’s whimsical rambles, which suddenly end with sage and sound advice that’s wonderfully relatable.

8 – What have you achieved as a Clan-member?

I’m healthy!

And I’m confident I’ll be able to stay this way.

I’m much more self-confident; I’d been overweight for 25 years and was never comfortable with my appearance. I’m no Brad Pitt, but not feeling like you’re being judged for how you look has been liberating.

In work environments, particularly as I’m much more on the introvert side of the scales, it’s been a game-changer.

9 – What has exceeded your expectations since working with us?

I’ve noticed how much more I enjoy exercise when the motivation isn’t to lose weight.

If I go for a run or swim now, it makes me feel good. I like pushing myself for the challenge, and that’s so much more rewarding than thinking solely about how it will affect the scales.

10 – Why would you recommend us to others?

Without a doubt, it’s simply how empowered you become.

It’s great to lose weight, but I 100% understand how it happened and how to keep it off or do something about it if it creeps back on.

After having a few weeks over the summer of less exercise and a bit more booze, I’ve found a couple of pairs of jeans are a little tighter than they were. I jumped on the scales for the first time in months and found I’d crept up just over half a stone. This hasn’t fazed me one little bit.

This is now just a part of the normal cycle of weight fluctuations as the seasons come and go.

I know what to do and am confident it’ll be gone in three weeks.

How amazing is that – 48 weeks a year, I don’t think much about what I eat as I’ve new-found habits that keep my weight steady; a few OTT weeks on holiday and now a few weeks of being more mindful will bring things back to normal!

It really does cut through the crap. There’s so much dieting and weight loss stuff bombarded at you that you believe some of it (throw enough shit, and some of it sticks).

I lost 70 pounds in less than 9 months with Munro, yet the process was straightforward. The quality of advice and support available in the group makes it easy to follow.

• Why’s daily weighing such a good idea?
• What are the different components of metabolism, and why it’s useful to know?
• How can you increase your food intake towards a maintenance level and barely affect the scales?
• Why does your weight go up after some serious exercise?

The amount of rubbish I’ve seen over the last 12 months that I can laugh at now because I’m armed with knowledge which has demonstrably proven effective.

The last one to mention here is how adaptable it all is. No food is off-limits, you can work around having a takeaway or dinner out, and most importantly for me, it’s easy to work the plan with a fairly busy work and home life.

11 – Was there anything about Munro that surprised you the most?

Probably how effective the group format is!
Obviously, it’s up to each individual to put in the effort, but if you do and stay consistent with that effort, the results are proven by me, by my mate at work who joined and by everyone else in the group who is seeing success.
Also, the openness within the group is fantastic, and that benefits everyone. By seeing everyone’s advice, you realise your questions aren’t silly, and you pick up tips, all helping towards achieving your personal goals.

12 – What would you tell someone thinking about joining us?

If you want to lose weight in a supportive, friendly, non-judgemental environment, then join – now.

It works, and it’s cheap. It’s impossible to emphasise how well it works and how much value there is in £48 a month.