Bryce's story

How much weight have you lost and how long did it take?

I started on New Year's Day 2024 and as of 16th May 2024, I have lost approximately 5st70lbs31.7kg.

What prompted your decision to lose weight?

My decision to lose weight came as a result of a few factors. The main one was that my weight was beginning to affect my quality of life, both mentally and physically. Another reason was that I had just turned 20 the month prior and after being obese most of my life, I wanted to really change my situation for what were supposed to be the best years of my life.

How did you hear about Nutracheck?

I heard about Nutracheck after searching for calorie counter apps in the App Store.

Has your weight stayed fairly consistent over the years, or have you always had to manage it?

I have struggled with weight issues for most of my life, but once I had left school aged 18 for work and had the money to buy the food I wanted, my weight spiralled, leading to me gaining around 25kg in the space of two years. When I started my journey, I weighed 138kg - as a 6ft man, this meant I had a BMI of 42.1.

Have you experienced any health improvements?

I have experienced huge improvements in my mental and physical health. In terms of physical health, it has made a massive difference to my sleep quality, and has almost eliminated my back and knee pain. My fitness, stamina and general energy levels have increased an incredible amount as well as my posture. As for my mental health, I wake up feeling energised, happier and a lot more optimistic. I enjoy the challenge of getting myself to be the best I can be whilst being proud of what I've achieved so far. In general, I feel more motivated, happy and determined.

How easy was it to fit the changes you made into your lifestyle?

I like to view all the changes I've made to my life as individual changes that contribute towards a common goal, and all these changes cannot be made in one go. With this in mind, I think that the first few changes to your lifestyle you decide to make are the hardest and require a lot of dedication. That being said, if you stick to it and begin to see progress it motivates you so much so that other lifestyle changes become infinitely easier.

What was the most difficult thing about your weight-loss journey?

The most difficult part of the journey for me so far is struggling with my new body image. I still have more weight to lose so I am far from the finished product, but in recent months I have had times where I am not entirely happy. In order to fix this, I have recently started to lift weights along with my standard exercises and it does help somewhat.

How do you feel now compared to before?

I feel much more motivated and energetic. I am much happier with the direction my life is going. I do have times where I have periods of feeling down, however they are few and far between. I never want to go back to the person who I was.

Any notable milestones to report?

Some examples I could give are losing the first 10 kilos, first 10% and then 20% of my baseline weight. A milestone for me personally was getting below 108kg, which seems like a random number. In April 2019, I went on holiday and made an effort to lose weight and started that time at 108kg. This attempt failed and over the next 5 years, I climbed to 138kg. Being back below 108kg felt like I had undid 5 years’ (25% of my entire life!) worth of eating in the space of 4 months! An upcoming milestone I am looking forward to is being below 100kg for the first time in possibly 6-7 years.

What 3 tips would you give to anyone who has weight to lose?

1. Take the time to really understand calories; what they are, what they do and how surplus/deficits work. This was the missing piece for me that separates failed weight loss attempts from this successful one.
2. Celebrate the small victories. This includes anything from being able to walk a little further or having older clothes fit again, or even losing your first few kg. These small wins keep you motivated and amplify your willpower. Don't get too caught up in chasing your end goal and just enjoy the journey.
3. Don't view what you eat as a diet (as counterintuitive as it sounds). What you are doing is making permanent lifestyle changes and the word 'diet' suggests it is a temporary measure. You should learn to eat according to your needs (which requires background knowledge in calories and don't deprive yourself of foods you like, so just learn to moderate them. Throughout my journey, I haven't given up on any foods I liked. I have still eaten fish and chips most weekends. Make your diet enjoyable for yourself and experiment.

Bonus tip: Think long term. Don't obsess if you have bad days or weeks. Just get up and go again.