Weight Loss Will Beef up Hospice Funds

Not only does George have a mountain of weight to lose, he's got one to climb as well -

Pssst . . . . wanna hear a fat joke? Ask George Berry, he's heard them all and asures me that none of them even come close to being funny.

Click here to go straight to weekly weight loss table

A little bit about George . .

George, who is in his early 50s, freely admits that he is overweight, in fact obese, and has been all his life. When he started this journey he weighed in at over 25st 2lbs (352 lbs or 160 Kilos). He comes from a family that he himself describes as "big" and all through his school years he was constantly teased and humiliated because of his ungainly bulk.

He can probably accept that children are by nature cruel, especially to those who are different than them. What he finds totally unacceptable, and I'll think you'll agree, is that many adults think it's OK to taunt him about being overweight. Whether they mean it in fun or not it has an ongoing detrimental effect on self confidence and body image.

So after 50 years of teasing and ridicule what's George going to do about his situation?

Well, not one to do things by halves, along with members of the recently formed Glen Mor Pipe Band he's going to march to the top of Ben Nevis which at 4409 feet is the highest mountain in the British Isles.

For someone who feels he lacks confidence he's certainly putting himself in the spotlight with a target to raise £10,000 for charity, namely the Oban Hospice. (Scottish Charity no. SC029457)

Why now, what's the point?

Where did all this come from? George has been determined to shed some pounds and has previously been covertly exercising, accompanied by wife Caroline, by walking. This has been mainly in isolated areas so as not to be seen and consequently pointed at.

He was spotted a few times by local businessman and tireless fundraiser Graham MacQueen who "stalked" George until he agreed to get fit and march to the top of Ben Nevis for a charitable cause.

That's where team at Energie Fitness come in - they accepted the challenge and have given him the use of the gym, equipment and vitally, their expertise and knowledge.

Obviously a huge part of getting George fit to do his mountain march was to tackle his weight issues head on and this is being done through an exercise and nutrition program developed for him by the Energie team.

Diets don't work . . .

George is keen to point out he's not on a diet - "diets don't work" he told me more than once - but that he's embarked on a health and fitness jopurney. Brave words indeed from someone who a month ago was happy to pretend that gyms were a waste of time and money and certainly not for someone like himself.

Now 3 weeks into his program he's not only seeing significant weight loss - 22lbs (10 kilos) - he's noticed a marked improvement in his fitness levels. First day in the gym he managed just over a minute on the rowing machine and can now do 15 minutes.

More importantly, his diabetes is "levelling out", general energy levels have increased, sleeping patterns improved and, says Caroline, he's not so grumpy in the mornings!

George is now extremely enthusiatic, almost evangelical, about the benefits of sensible nutrition and exercise and is keen to encourage anyone, especially those who are obese like himself, to get to gym, doctor, whoever and take a life-changing step.

He openly admits that he didn't want to come to gym as he had a vision of lots of fit, slim women and muscle bound guys pointing and laughing. I'm sure that the majority of patrons do fit that category but none of them are pointing or laughing. In fact George cannot sing their praise loud enough. As a member of Energie myself I really have to agree with him on that one.

So what can you do?

You can join the growing list of sponsors and help burst that £10,000 target. Simply download the sponsor form by clicking here.

Using the form you and your friends can sponsor George per pound of weight lost OR make a one-off donation.Completed forms should be handed in to:-

MacQueen Bros, Glengallan Road, Oban

Energie Fitness, Lochavullin Road, Oban

You can of course post the forms with a cheque to either address above (please do not send cash in the post).

Alternatively, you can make a donation by credit/debit card using the "Paypal Donate" button below.

You can sponsor George for either a one-time donation or per lb lost. Whichever option you choose I'm certain that many of you will be keen to keep track of progress so this page will be updated weekly with vital statistics.

How's it going?

George is weighed weekly in kilos so poundage may not be exact.
Calculated assuming 1 kilo is equal to 2.2 lbs

Oh dear! Now george really is in stitches but he's not laughing . . .

Unfortunately George was admitted to hospital for a pre-planned hernia operation which ended up a little more involved. This obviously put a short term halt to his weight loss regime.

So is that the end of it? No way! Absolutely not! I spoke to George at the gym the other night. With stitches and suchlike has is a little restricted in just how much he can physical exert himself with regards to stretching but when caught up with him he was on the excercise bike and certainly wasn't holding back.

George says it was hard to come back to training even after a short break but to his credit and considerable discomfort he's now back to some light aerobics and fully intends to complete on schedule.

Robin from Energie says that George is maintaining his previous weight loss and is on target to consolidate that and continue when he is given the all clear to resume his weight loss and fitness journey. Robin goes on to say that anyone intending taking on a challenge to march up Ben Nevis like George, as well as hitting the gym, needs to get some experience of the real thing. See below for details of the next step - a walk up Ben Lora!

Walk this way !!

Every Sunday at 1pm meeting in the car park at Energie Fitness, Lochavullin Road.

Show your support and have fun by joining in the weekly walks (Forrest Gump eat yer heart out!).

Sunday 18th March the walk was 4.5 miles round the Gallanach loop completed in 1 hour 35 minutes.

Be there, or be square . . . . .

Ben Lora Walk - Come Along and Show Your Support
Sunday 23rd May - meet at Energie Fitness, Lochavullin Road at 9am.

Energie Fitness have also produced a free leaflet for anyone interested in starting hill walking - ask at reception.

Major sponsors on board so far:-

The team at Energie Fitness

Graham MacQueen of MacQueen Bros. Charitable Trust (SC041044)

Willie Bonniwell of Flit Hire has offered to provide transport.

Your company and website or contact details here?
Please use the "contact" button on the left and I'll pass your details onto Georges team and provide you with a quality link back to your site.

Click here to download printable sponsor form or use the "Donate" button below to make a donation online.