Better Living Service

"I'm now swimming 2/3 times a week whereas before I was doing zero exercise. I started off doing 10 lengths when I first started and I'm now up to 40 lengths every time I go swimming.

The Better Living trainer has been a great support and motivator. She has given me small goals every time we have met which has really helped keep me on track and got me up to now swimming 40 lengths.

I've lost weight gradually, but as the Better Living trainer has told me this is a healthy way to lose weight and I am overall feeling healthier."

"I was referred to the Better Living Service by the nurse as my blood sugar levels were high and I knew I needed to lose weight. I received one to one weight loss and exercise support from a Better Living trainer.

I am very happy with the support I received from the Better Living trainer. I found it really helpful with keeping me motivated. I saw the Better Living trainer once a month for 6 months and knowing I had the date booked in the diary was good motivation to keep me on track as I knew I was having to step on the scales in front of someone else.

I have gone from doing absolutely no exercise to swimming 2/3 times a week which I now feel is a habit for me. I now know people there that I talk to. I'm now able to fit into clothes that I haven't worn for years and overall I feel lighter and fitter. I had my bloods taken last week and the blood sugar levels have reduced too."

This client was referred to the service following attendance at the prostate cancer rehabilitation group at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

He had enjoyed exercising in the rehab group and wanted to continue in a local gym in order to improve his strength and endurance, so I issued the client with an ACM membership to attend Brighouse gym. In addition, the client's partner was also inactive and wanted to take the opportunity to kick-start her fitness too whilst also supporting her partner, so she joined the centre and took part in fitness classes which she loved.

The client had set his own goal to walk Snowden for charity, two months from referral so was highly motivated and dedicated. He attended the gym regularly and learned to listen to his body when he had done too much and on the first of July, he walked Snowden with his friend as planned.

This client had done so well, not only with the training but achieving his own goal that he felt confident and motivated to continue himself and already had his sights on his next challenge. Therefore, we completed his file, safe in the knowledge that he would continue to be physically active and build upon his progress so far.

This client was referred to Better Living after having some medical issues and needing to address her weight and become active.

Her diet was generally healthy, not consisting of takeaways, processed or fast food, however, she felt her portions needed reducing and she lacked the confidence in her ability to lose weight, having been on diets ever since early teenage years.

The client used to enjoy swimming so felt that would be a good way to get back into exercise, however, she was very anxious about even entering the leisure centre, so I met her there and showed her around. This really helped and she joined the centre and started going swimming.

We were in regular contact, either face-to-face or phone and kept exploring the behaviours and associations that had led to her current eating habits and lack of self-worth. There were some difficult times throughout this process, with the client suffering the bereavement of a close friend, which naturally affected her motivation for weight loss. However, she persevered and was gradually able to re-focus again.

It was a long and complex journey, unravelling her eating behaviours and negative self-perception. After several months, the client came to the realisation that she held the key to her own weight loss and that it was all down to her.

Although she completed her time with me having not lost weight, her whole perception of herself had totally changed. She was much more aware of her eating patterns, triggers and behaviours. She realised she was an emotional eater, but before she was certain she was not. The client had also learned not to punish herself if things did not go to plan, but before, this would have meant the end of any "diet". She now views this as a long-term lifestyle change that happens over time and not a diet to go on or off.

The client's mental well-being score has increased by 5 points and crucially, now she does not feel so ashamed.

In her own words:

"I contacted the Better Living Service following the recommendation the practice nurse. I saw the practice nurse as I had recently been diagnosed with a retinal stroke. I hoped to achieve weight loss and to engage in exercise. During the time I spent engaged with the service I realised my issues with weight management were complex following years of low self esteem, failed weight loss regimes, overeating and feelings of shame because of my size and appearance. Over the year I received support from I learnt how to accept myself and transfer feelings of guilt and shame into well-being, control and making better choices and decisions. I no longer feel ashamed of myself and whilst I haven't lost weight I have found the emotional and psychological tools to unlock my mind on a journey to better health. I would now describe my eating patterns as thoughtful and moderate. It remains a constant goal to achieve weight loss and better health. I am hit and miss with exercise but as my Better Living Trainer has taught me how to break down my goals into smaller steps and build up my motivation for exercise in the same way I have applied goal setting to my ambition in achieving a healthy weight. I would highly recommend the service to others. It is not a quick fix but it is all the more sustaining for not being. With regards to improvements perhaps some group sessions/activity for exercise would be beneficial and support participants in finding a 'buddy' to take exercise with and to encourage and support.

Thank you for accepting me into the service and for the opportunity to feedback. To have been given the tools to feel optimistic about myself and my future without shame is life changing. Weight loss for the severely overweight is wrapped up in so many psychological barriers. I was given a key to unlock them. Thank you very much. I would also like to share I was treated with dignity and kindness from the moment the service contacted me, kept up to date with appointments, seen on time and in a safe space. I highly recommend this service and in my case the wonderful support I received from my 'Better Living Trainer'.

This couple referred for support with becoming more active, the trainer worked with them to help them become active. The couple wanted to go swimming and later start to use the gym. So, I issued the Active Calderdale Memberships.

At each appointment, the couple were going swimming 4-5 times a week, first thing in the morning and increasing their swimming distance each time. They reported feeling better, really enjoying it, noticed improvements in their fitness and felt the increased social interaction was really beneficial. They also started using the gym and were enjoying that. Upon completion of the service both clients were swimming over a mile. They planned to spend more time gardening over the summer months and swimming 2-3 times a week and then increase it over the winter months. The client's physical activity levels have increased exponentially and one of their wellbeing scores had increased over 10 points.

In their own words:

"I would just like to let you know how very helpful the Better Living program has been to me and my partner. After both retiring we needed something to get us moving, motivated and lose weight and in general feel better about ourselves. We have nothing but praise for the program and your dedicated team and all the staff at Brighouse Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre. We have found the last 2 months a great help mentally and heath wise with fitness and weight loss. Finally, a big thank you to the Better Living Trainer for her telephone calls to see how we were progressing and her support and encouragement."

This client was referred to the service for guided support in the gym. He had angina which was classed as unstable and wanted to attend a gym with qualified professionals, knowing that he was in safe hands.

As such, there were some steps I had to take first in order to ascertain of we could support the client with this aim, as unstable angina is generally considered not a safe condition to exercise. On the advice of Calderdale's cardiac rehab team, I enquired with the client's GP if he considered him appropriate to exercise with his current medical conditions. The GP replied promptly that it was a long term condition, that the client had managed successfully for years with no current issues, so was given the go-ahead to exercise, with all the necessary precautions.

During this process, it was important to keep the client informed at all times, as he needed to be aware of the situation.

Once this had been cleared, I arranged the Active Calderdale Membership so the client could attend the gym. At each contact, the client was exercising regularly and even continued whilst he was away. In addition, his wife had joined him so it became an activity which they did together.

After only a few weeks, this client was confident and ready to continue independently and his well-being score had shown an improvement of 5 points.

In his own words:

"I originally contacted better living for health reasons, after having angina for twenty years. They put me in contact with Brighouse gym to help me get more confidence to exercise. Which is helping quite a bit. My trainer on behalf of better living has helped me ease back into getting fit. I would recommend it to anyone."

My client referred himself to Better Living on the advice of his doctor who recommended weight loss to aid his various medical conditions, including angina, reduced blood pumping capacity, spondylosis and arthritis. On speaking to the client for the first time, he had already made changes to his drinking habits reducing from daily intake to only drinking at the weekends. He gave up smoking 30 years ago so knew he had willpower and with the added motivation of the health benefits, he was eager to make progress.

We discussed the main areas this client felt he needed to tackle, which was around portion sizes and snacking whilst cooking.

On each phone call, this client had made progress and was losing weight. His main setback was a fall which he had outside his home. This caused a lot of ongoing pain and was a challenge to overcome but this client kept going and after a few weeks got back to his usual positive self.

Over the weeks, this client's approach to food changed and he became over-faced by portions that would have been “normal” for him in the past. He found he was listening to his body more and stopping when he felt full.

The client achieved their goal and lost 6kg in the process and is happy to continue independently.

In his own words:

"I contacted better living on the advise of my doctor as I had to lose some weight due to my health. I was put in contact with a Better Living Trainer who help me with my weight problem and my pain related issues. I found her to be a very understanding nice lady in our appointments That I thought worked very well."

Late last year, my GP informed me that I needed to lose weight to address certain weight-related conditions and to prevent any future weight-related complications. My BMI was also nearing 40, which was a wake-up call for me to improve my health. I had tried to lose weight twice before, but both times I ended up gaining it all back after reaching the same milestone. This made me hesitant to start losing weight again, fearing that I might regain it all once more.

My main goals were to lose weight or, at the very least, to embark on a long-term journey to lose the weight and keep it off. I was hoping to receive a vegetarian diet plan and an exercise routine that I could maintain long-term.

Initially, it took some time for me to get used to the new diet, but it slowly became a routine. I was not used to cooking every day or meal planning, but now it has become second nature. I used to eat a limited selection of ready-to-eat microwaveable pizzas, breads, butter, cheese and microwaveable pasta meals. I generally only cooked on the weekends, often overeating whenever I did. During the course of appointments, the Better living trainer helped me overcome many of these habits, especially the overeating. With their guidance, I changed. Before I ate one or two mainly microwave meals each day and overate. Now I have three steady meals a day, cooking regularly for each meal, eating a set amount of calories and ensuring I meet my daily nutrient requirements. My diet has changed significantly since I first started. Previously, I consumed meals that were high in fat and carbohydrates. Now, I have a balanced mix of vegetables, dairy, nuts, lentils and breads. I have also been able to identify and move away from many ultra-processed foods I used to eat and I have become more conscious about the nutritional content of all the foods I encounter.

When it came to exercise, progress was slow at first. For the first couple of months, I could not bring myself to work out. Eventually, I felt I owed it to myself to start. Since then, I work out 4 or 5 times a week. I got a lot of guidance on the types of exercises I should be doing. These included stretches and weight-based exercises, as well as the proper form to prevent injury. Since my workouts happen at home, this guidance has been invaluable. Now, I exercise for around 5 to 6 hours a week. I was also encouraged to walk to and from work which has really improved my mood in general. As well as adding another 5 hours to my weekly activity.

The appointments have significantly improved my mental outlook, especially with overthinking and coming to terms with things I cannot change. Recently, I have noticed that I am more sociable than I used to be and people treat me more positively now compared to what I previously perceived. I have also noticed that I am now less prone to overthinking past events and have an easier time letting things go. From my perspective, my mindset has evolved significantly and I am no longer bothered by things that are out of my control. The support I received here has been therapeutic and has helped me overcome many of my mental barriers. The kindness and acceptance I have experienced have helped me see everything around me in a much gentler light. Initially, I did not realize this, but I struggled to relax and was constantly stressed because of it. Now, however, I have set up specific times dedicated solely to activities I enjoy, leading to a significant improvement in my mental health. Being able to discuss the various experiences I have faced and receive feedback on how to tackle or improve upon them has also been incredibly helpful.

Throughout these appointments, I also had lot of support in terms of knowledge about the city and where and how I can find groups with similar hobbies to mine, such as the library, Facebook groups, cycling clubs, gyms and music classes. I have taken much of this advice to heart and will be joining the local gym (Brighouse Fitness Centre) this week and starting music classes sometime next month. The appointments have significantly helped me explore my interests and connect with places where I can nurture them.

Overall, I started the service with a BMI close to 40. I disliked leaving my house and had an unhealthy relationship with food that bordered on addiction. Now with a BMI of 30.2. I am significantly more sociable, in a much better mental space, have a healthy relationship with food and am much happier than I used to be. The Better Living Service has significantly improved my life and I have achieved far more than I initially expected.

With everything I have been able to achieve with the Better Living trainer's guidance, I would happily recommend this service to anyone who wants to improve their life. I am a much better person overall than when I started this service.