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At the beginning of 2007, after spending a relaxing summer holiday on the beautiful New South Wales beaches, I should have felt terrific. Instead I was disgusted as I viewed the photo snaps of myself. Gut hanging over my board shorts, T-shirt bulging past my feet as I looked down. Time to diet, exercise and discipline my body back to health. Ten years earlier I had lost weight on the Atkins diet, but that weight returned quite rapidly and I wasn't comfortable with all the bacon and eggs. I also recognised the value of exercise as I had had some success in the past with swimming laps, but found the results rather patchy. I was willing to work out but needed it to be convenient and relatively cheap. I purchased some second-hand gym equipment, set up the machines in my garage, and invited my family and a close friend with similar goals to work out if they felt the need. It is terrific to have another person to help you become committed to routine. I chose the CSIRO Total Wellbeing diet because it seemed like a more sensible use of a broader range of food groups than the Atkins diet, and had the backing of a very reputable organisation. I started to exercise about three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes a time, but soon found I could extend my routine and enjoyed working out five days a week for around 40 minutes. I appreciated the relaxed feeling after exercise and preferred not to miss out. It really helps to have an exercise partner to keep you on task. The weight loss was slow at first and I preferred to weigh myself in the morning after sleep. Originally I hadn't considered what sort of weight reduction I could achieve and my primary focus was to reduce the waistline. I purchased a set of electronic scales that calculated BMI, or Body Mass Index. It showed that an ideal weight for my height would be around 80 kilograms. That would put my BMI at around 25 which is on the upper limit of a healthy range. With fluctuations I lost 15 kilograms in six months. My weight plunged from an obese and disabling 97 kilograms to a more reasonable and comfortable 82 kilograms. I felt fantastic but I found additional benefits.
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