Changing your lifestyle and living a healthier, happier life is possible. Read how Philip, with our support and guidance, changed his life for the better.
Everyone can do something and everyone has to start somewhere
A bit about Philip
After seeing a picture of himself at his 60th birthday party, Philip was shocked enough at his profile that he decided it was time to do something to start to turn his life around.
Philip came to us for help with quitting smoking and managing his weight.
Philip's job involved a lot of manual labour and he was struggling with a lack of energy. He also lived with recurrent coughs and colds. He also needed to save money to help pay off his mortgage.
Philip first accessed the service in early 2017 for support for wanting to stop smoking, then to lose weight. He wanted to stop smoking as he was struggling with his energy levels as he works as a Caretaker at a school which involves lots of manual labour. He also used to get recurrent coughs, colds. Furthermore, he also wanted to save money and try and pay off his mortgage. His goal was to quit 40 cigarettes per day. He also wanted to achieve weight loss by cutting out sugar and transforming his diet to have healthier options.
About Philip's journey
Philip's goals were to quit 40 cigarettes per day, cut out sugar and transform his diet with healthier eating options. He wanted to stop smoking and he wanted to lose weight.
Philip hadn't tried quitting smoking before, but he had tried yo-yo dieting in the past on his own. However, this hadn't achieved any long term weight loss and any weight he had managed to lose he had put back on again.
It was time to seek professional support.
About Philip's discovery
To quit smoking Philip received practical and motivational support over a 4 month period. During this time Philip gradually reduced his is reliance on cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy and he learnt how to identify triggers and apply distraction techniques.
While he did encounters some hurdles along the way, with our support, Philip managed to kick his smoking habit. This in turn increased his confidence and his desire to further improve his lifestyle. This led to tackling his weight problem.
To help Philip manage his weight better, he went on to attend six personalised lifestyle sessions. At these he learnt about everything from portion sizes, cutting back on refined sugars, fats, salts and alcohol to how to apply the 'eat well' and get the balance of energy and nutrients he needs for good health.
The end result
By the end of the 4 month quite smoking programme, Philip was well on his way to becoming smoke free.
After attending his personalised lifestyle sessions he's learnt how to cook fresh, wholesome meals which he has most days. He's enjoying more fruit, introduced more fish into his diet and reduced his portion sizes.
Previously, Philip took up to 8 teaspoons of sugar in each cup of tea and he had 6 or 7 cups per day. Now he's cut out sugar altogether and takes his tea without it.
Thanks to a combination of eating well, drinking well and using his car less for short journeys, Philip has lost around 5 stone in weight and he's in the habit of walking walks up to 3 miles per day.
Of his experience, Philip said: "Support from the Live Well Service has improved my mind, my self-esteem and my confidence."
Through regular 3 monthly follow-up phone calls, Philip knows we can continue to support him well into the future to ensure he maintains his achievements.