Wellbeing: How John won his way to fitness

John Turner’s lifestyle was putting his health at risk although he did not know it.

Lack of exercise, weekly take-aways and a nightly can of beer had led to the 34-year-old becoming at risk of being morbidly obese.

Although he knew he was overweight and unfit it wasn’t until he won a Yorkshire Post/Jane Tomlinson For All events competition that he discovered how bad matters had become.

“I knew if I won then I would give it my all. I really needed the incentive to get back into shape, but I had no idea how bad things had got.” John and his wife Vicky had been trying for a baby, and doctors said the couple’s weight was not helping. John’s prize was the twice-weekly services of personal instructor James Hirst, who was on the judging panel and gave his time and expertise free of charge.

He also received free entry to four of the Jane Tomlinson For All Events, including the Leeds 10k and last weekend’s Dales Walk. It was James who discovered how dangerous John’s lifestyle had become. “He realised he was in pretty bad shape and had fallen into a lot of bad habits. The first thing I did was do a health MoT.”

John weighed 134kg (21 stone) more than 50kg of that was body fat. His BMI was 40.6, but more dangerous was the fact his blood pressure was so high.

“He had borderline hypertension,” explains James. “Any worse and he would have had to had go on to medication.”

Just six months on and John has had a complete lifestyle change, thanks to James and is really reaping the rewards.

Gone are the weekly curries, replaced by healthy eating, gone is the nightly alcohol replaced by a daily exercise regime, which has been complemented by twice weekly sessions in the gym with James.

As a result he has lost five stone, he has reduced his body fat by 10 per cent, has lost more than 10 cm from around his waist and more importantly has reduced his blood pressure. He now has a standing heart rate of 64bpm which is excellent for a man of his age.

“I now feel so different and it is all down to James. He is always there for me. He even ran the Leeds 10k with me, and is always sending me text messages and emails of encouragement.”

James said: “We did have to make some quite big changes to start with because of John’s health. Normally we would make gradual changes which are much easier for people to stick to, but because of his health he had to cut out the takeaways and alcohol straight away. And I am so proud of what he has achieved.”

John and his wife have now converted their spare room into a gym and he feels like a new man.

“The whole family did the Dales Walk at the weekend which was great,” says John. “When it came to going up the steps at Malham Cove I powered up them and could have kept going. Six months ago I would have had to stop five or six times on the way up.

“Before I felt so lethargic all the time, now I am so full of energy I can’t sit still.”

The For All Events have given John a goal and focus, and he entered other runs and 10ks to keep him going.

“I wanted to get under an hour and just missed it with the Leeds 10k so I entered the York one myself and came in under 59 minutes which was fantastic.”

As a result of James’s inspiration and John’s hardwork he managed to cut 30 minutes off his 10k time.

Now, with just one challenge to go, the Lakes Walk next month, John is determined to keep up his new life style.

Both he and his wife have signed up with James and John has also the Park Run which is a 5k round Hyde Park in Leeds every Saturday.

Mike Tomlinson said: “John has made a sustained effort throughout the year to get fit and lose weight. It shows what can be done when the person is dedicated and the right help provided and is a credit to everyone involved.”