A woman who has managed to shed 10 stone has thrown her weight behind a public health push urging others to trim down and live a better life.
Mandy Bryan, 41, was helped to make the dramatic weight loss through a Herts County Council-funded weight management scheme.
She said: “I was experiencing a lot of health issues so I knew I had to change. I expected to give up after a couple of weeks, but actually found myself enjoying it.
“I lost 15lbs in the first three weeks and just fell in love with the idea of putting myself first for once.
“As I started losing weight my confidence increased and I had more energy to do the things I enjoy. I started walking more and soon found myself waking up without back pain or sore knees. I started to feel like myself again!”
Mandy is now supporting a countywide campaign to help people get healthier and happier, with the first step in the programme an online quiz which people can take to find out just how fit they are, and get advice about the steps they could take to improve their health.
The One You ‘How Are You?’ quiz is designed to point people towards the simple changes they need to make to improve their health. Everyone who takes the quiz will receive a personalised plan, including some useful tools and support to encourage them every step of the way.
County Hall’s cabinet member for public health Councillor Teresa Heritage said: “By the time we reach our 40s and 50s many of us will have dramatically increased our chances of becoming ill later in life. We neglect ourselves and gradually sleepwalk into poor health.
“Whether we are eating the wrong things, drinking more than we should, continuing to smoke despite everything we know, or just not being active enough, all of these small things can have an impact on how we feel every day.
“This quiz is a great way to give us that kick-start we need to start making small changes and enjoy the benefits – more energy, a healthy weight and generally feeling happier in ourselves. There’s only one you – it’s never too late to start taking care of that person!
“I took the quiz and scored seven, which is about what I expected. My role as a councillor does not enable me to take as much exercise as I would like, so I’ll be checking out the ‘couch to 5k’ app to get some ideas. The quiz was quite good fun as it made me think about my lifestyle.”
The team behind the project stress that making healthier choices today can help prevent conditions like Type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and reduce our risk of suffering a stroke or living with dementia, disability and frailty in later life.
To take the quiz and find out more about the range of support available, visit www.hertsdirect.org/oneyou.
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