Get In Shape With The Biggest Loser

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 19 Jul 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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Most people have been on a diet or tried a new healthy lifestyle regime but statistics show that many people forget their good intentions and drift back to old habits.

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has teamed up with Aaron Howlett, winner of TV's 'The Biggest Loser UK' to pass on his top tips about how to successfully change your lifestyle.

Aaron weighed 27 stone (406 pounds, 184.5 kilos) and had a 56-inch waist at the start of the programme - doctors pronounced him as a 'heart attack waiting to happen'. Over 19 weeks he lost 10 stone and has managed to maintain his new lifestyle and keep the weight off. He is now working as a fitness instructor to help others make changes to their life.

He is supporting WCRF in raising awareness about the importance of eating a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. WCRF's scientific research shows that these three factors can reduce risk of cancer by up to 40 per cent.

Research has closely linked obesity to cancer. Eating a diet rich in plant based food may help to reduce body weight and will also give the body the nutrients that are believed to prevent damage to our body's cells, which can lead to cancer.

So how did he do it? Aaron's top tips are:

1. Admit you need help. If you are creeping up through the clothes sizes don't keep shrugging this off.

2. Have a reason to make changes - Aaron's was that he wanted to be able to play with his niece without feeling breathless and experiencing pain in his chest. Knowing this enabled him to keep his motivation up.

3. Get support from your friends, family and health professionals - someone positive who will say "I believe that you can do it" when you are feeling a bit low.

4. Focus on a goal - if you remember doing something that you are no longer able to do because of the weight, then think about how you will be able to take it up again once you have lost those extra pounds.

5. Find an exercise you like doing otherwise you will soon get bored and give up. But don't overdo it at the start as you may end up feeling overly tired and not want to keep it up.

6. Finding someone who will exercise with you is also a great idea - make sure you make a pact not to let each other down.

7. Start to learn more about food and look up recipes for inspiration of what to cook. There are plenty of tasty and quick recipe ideas available so you will not get bored.

8. Change your habits around food - make sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as these will fill you up so you won't feel the need to snack. Eating a plant based diet will also help to reduce you risk of cancer.

9. Don't deny yourself nice things to eat. But use treats in moderation.

10. Don't give up!

Dr Greg Martin, Science and Research Manager at WCRF, said: "Obesity levels have tripled in the UK in the last 20 years and people clearly need help in tackling the problem.

"As a man who has completely changed his life around, many of us could learn a thing or two from Aaron. Many people start 'diets' and are able to lose weight but find keeping it off quite hard, which can lead to yo-yo dieting. There is no quick fix solution - keeping to your new ideal weight requires adjustments and we all have to make positive choices in what we eat and how we live our lives.

"Many people think that cancer is down to fate, but what you do and eat today can impact on your future risk of developing cancer. When you consider that we already know that up to 40 per cent of cancers could be prevented it really does highlight the importance of good food habits and being active. Aaron's tips are a good start to a new regime and will hopefully give some people a key to changing their life for the better."

Aaron Howlett said: "I am really proud that I've managed to totally transform my life. I was lucky enough to have great support behind me and I do think that that is part of the key to success. Now I act as a coach to others and encourage them to make positive changes to their life.

"Nobody ever regrets losing weight and being fitter and healthier. It opens up so many more possibilities to enjoy life, your energy levels will be up and the effort is well worth it. We all have our priorities in life and it is really important that we all make the effort to look after ourselves. "

About WCRF

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK) is the principal UK charity dedicated to the prevention of cancer. Our mission is to raise awareness that the risk of cancer is reduced by healthy food and nutrition, physical activity and weight management, and to develop and strengthen scientific knowledge of the relation of these factors to cancer prevention.

The evidence for this was provided by our first expert report 'Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective', published in 1997. This was a review of the thousands of leading international research studies that relate to food, nutrition and cancer prevention and produced a clear set of guidelines for members of the public to follow. A second report, the WCRF/AICR* 'Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective', will be published in November 2007 and will be the most authoritative of its kind.

Few people realise that 30 to 40 per cent of cancers, including many cases of bowel, breast and stomach cancer could be prevented if only we thought more about the food that we eat and included a little more exercise into our daily routines.

WCRF UK is part of the WCRF global network and is a member of WCRF International which has affiliates in the United States (*American Institute for Cancer Research) the Netherlands, Hong Kong and France.

Registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales (Registered Charity number 1000739).

http://www.wcrf-uk.org
http://www.beatthebanana.org
http://www.fruityfriday.org

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