At 58 years old, after all three children had flown the nest, Caroline moved down to the seaside from the Midlands. It was the first time in over 30 years that she had nobody else to look after, and so Caroline decided it was time to really take care of herself. She wanted to start her new life in Hove by making some healthy changes – so she joined BeeZee for All.
As a keen cook, Caroline had always enjoyed cooking from scratch every day, and ate a lot of fruit, veg, fish, beans & pulses. But she admits her diet downfalls were large portions and a love of savoury snacks – she’d often munch on cheese & biscuits, crisps or nuts in the evenings. This, combined with a tendency to avoid exercise, resulted in Caroline carrying a bit of extra weight, which in turn caused pain in her arthritic knees. She’d already undergone a knee replacement the previous year, and wanted to lose some weight and get fitter to avoid further complications.
From attending BeeZee For All, Caroline is now equipped with the knowledge and behaviour change techniques to carry on making healthier lifestyle choices. She said:
“I enjoyed having the time to think about my diet in a considered way. I’ve started using smaller plates to cut down on portion sizes – reducing portion sizes by just a small amount can add up to considerable savings in calories.
I really enjoyed the group experience – we were all heading in a similar direction, whatever our starting point was, and everyone was allowed to go at their own pace. And our nutritionist, Katie, was always interested, accepting and friendly in supporting us.
It was a friendly, informative group, which was in no way confrontational. We had lots of laughter and fun, whilst learning together and supporting each other.”
During her time at BeeZee for All she lost an impressive 1 stone 8lbs – and on top of this she reports feeling fitter, more energetic, and less likely to avoid exercise! She has even taken up our subsidised Freedom Leisure membership and is going swimming and to the gym.
