Ken lost 9st in lockdown and is Slimming World's Man of The Year 2021
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- A retired police detective who's heart stopped for 10 minutes has turned his life around by losing over 130lbs and being named Slimming World’s Man of the Year 2021
Ken McLeod who now lives near Hull in East Yorkshire started gaining weight when he became less active in his role with Bedfordshire Police. Reaching more than 23st, Ken admits that his weight crept up on him without him even realising.
He says: “I began to put on weight, but it appeared so gradual I failed to pay much attention to it, my job became more office based and semi-retired I found I had more time to eat out and socialise, I hadn’t realised just how unwell I was becoming”
“I used to loved gardening and tinkering in the garage on old cars but I would get so breathless and struggle to get up from the floor that I started to lose interest in doing the things I loved the most”
A trip to Scotland with his wife, Jeanette and a life-threatening illness highlighted just how much his weight was affecting him. He says: “When I look back on that trip to Scotland with Jeanette I felt like we missed out on so much because I was unable to walk far and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Then, the morning of our 39th wedding anniversary, I woke with a terrible pain in my calf, I decided to go for a walk to try and ease the pain but became so unwell I collapsed in the street. I had developed thrombosis which led to a pulmonary embolism. During my journey to hospital, I suffered a cardiac arrest and my heart stopped for ten minutes. Miraculously I survived my ordeal, but it took me over twelve months to fully recover mainly due to me being so overweight and unfit.
I knew something had to change and inspired by one of my friends who had been successful at a local Slimming World group and spurred on by Jeanette I decided to give it a go.”
Ken joined Slimming World, shortly before the start of the COVID pandemic. Although Ken admits he joined group with trepidation he felt welcomed and was delighted to discover he could enjoy all of his favourite foods by learning how to cook and prepare them in a slightly different way. He also credits the support he’s received from members of the Leven Slimming World group and his consultant Angie Ashton for his success. “As nervous as I was the first time I walked into group I was met with the warmest welcome and soon looked forward to Monday night, I’m a people person so engaging with like-minded people, sharing experiences, tips and recipes was brilliant and being able to enjoy all my favourite meals like a full English breakfast and chilli con carne I never felt hungry or restricted.”
When real life groups were forced to close because of lockdown, Ken continued to attend Angie’s virtual Slimming World group. He believes that the support from group has been key to his success. “I can honestly say I have never felt downhearted or discouraged at all and although a lot of my Slimming World journey has been during lockdown both myself and Jeanette had the support of other group members and Angie keeping us motivated via the virtual group and on social media. The work Slimming World did to keep everyone connected during this time was brilliant and kept us all motivated and committed.”
Losing weight also made Ken think about how active he was and sparked a new passion for walking and says: “My weight had really affected my mobility and even the shortest walks had become such a challenge. Since losing weight I walk as much as possible, living in the countryside and near the coast means I can enjoy exploring lots of new places. I’ve found it’s had such a positive impact on my physical and mental wellbeing. I’ve also started enjoying all my favourite past times again, gardening and working on my cars in the garage. My whole life has changed over the past 18 months. Losing 9st has given me a renewed sense of confidence, vigour and zest for life. Now I’m fully retired, fit and healthy and I can do things I only dreamed of a year ago.. I’ve been given another chance at life and I feel like the man I was in my 30’s. My ambition now is to life my life to the fullest - there’s no turning back”
If you want to find out more about losing weight and getting fitter with Slimming World go to: www.slimmingwo...
Well done. An inspiration to all of us in sw. ❤
What a star Ken, well done. Inspirational 🌟
We are all so proud of you. Awesome!
Well done Ken, very inspirational story 👏
Congratulations! What an inspiring man, you have done amazing. 👏 👏👏
Another real miracle of slimming world ways of eating..💟
Ken Congratulations!!!☺
Very inspirational.
Amazing! Well done 👏🏻
Well done Ken. Isn't it amazing that one friend inspired you and you have gone on to inspire so many? Congratulations though you both!
You look amazing, well done it's a great achievement x
Congratulations to Ken! What an inspiring story.
Well done ken!
Fantastic achievement Ken. An inspiration to us all ❤️
Fantastic jurny you have had very proud of you dear.
I’m just about to go to slimming world for the first time and seeing your video has just pushed me one step closer.
Good luck John!
Wow congratulations what an inspiration you are!
Well done Ken xx
Well done an amazing achievement 👏 👍
What a fantastic weight loss, well done 👍
omg the start of your story scares me, but the ending is so inspiring!
Absolutely fantastic, but what has it come to when you have to apologise for eating meat in this vegan infested world that we live in?
👏👏👏