A Letter to Newbies – From Jerry Tonge

Dear Newbie,

My principal motivation for signing up to Nutrition@ClubTowers’ Habit-based Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching Programme was weight loss, more specifically sustainable weight loss. I was creeping towards 60, had spent most of my career in a desk job and/or travelling for business and the weight had crept on steadily. I was ashamed of my body, fed up of feeling the bulge on my waistband and gloomy about the prospect of reversing this trend. However, I was also looking forward to moving into semi-retirement and determined to make the best of it. I may not be able to eliminate all the niggly muscle pains, but I could certainly improve my chances of a longer and healthier life by starting to look after myself better.

From the start, this Coaching Programme adopted a refreshing approach; for me, this can best be described as practical, pragmatic and treating its participants as grown-ups, all of which struck a positive chord:

• It was not all about good and bad, rather about seeing options on a continuum and then striving to make the best choices;
• There was an acknowledgement that you would not always make the best choices, but if you didn’t it was then a question of wiping the slate clean and getting back on track; and
• There was plenty of practical and educational guidance around food groups, balanced meals and new recipe ideas.

All of the above was delivered in an informal, non-judgmental way and in handy, bite-sized daily chunks.

At the same time, this Coaching Programme encourages you to understand the root causes behind your eating, drinking and exercising habits and then to “rewire” your behavioural patterns for the long-term. It also encourages you to articulate your vision of success and then monitor your progress towards that vision.

So, it all sounds great but how did I do?

Well, having set myself a target of losing 10kg, I am reasonably happy with my progress. By the end of February, I had shed just under 5kg and lost two inches from my waist, however the lockdown has been really tough and I have slipped back a bit (but only a little bit!).

More importantly, I now have a clear understanding of what I need to do to maintain and increase my progress in the coming months and I feel I now have some invaluable new tools to help me get there.

Moving in the belt buckle and having shirts that fit properly is a real boost to self-confidence and eating and drinking more healthily has definitely improved my quality of sleep and energy levels.

There is no magic formula, but that is kind of the point. This Coaching Programme offers a practical, holistic approach to diet, exercise and lifestyle improvement and is delivered in a way that I have found both accessible and educational.

I would certainly recommend that you give it a go.

Yours

Jerry

(This letter was written in April 2020)

Would you like some help to become the healthiest version of you?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep and stress management are important, yet many need help applying this knowledge in the context of busy and sometimes stressful lives.

That’s why we now offer nutrition based services at Club Towers, available to members and non-members. Using the proven curriculum & resources of Precision Nutrition (PN) and delivered by our in-house PN Level-2 Certified Coach, our goal is to help our members and the wider community to achieve sustainable vitality through healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits…….whatever challenges you may be dealing with.

This is offered in three ways, a habit-based nutrition & lifestyle coaching programme, 1-1 consultation sessions and Information Hub.

To find out more about how we can help you, book a 20-minute consultation (free for all members) with our Coach, Ann Towers at [email protected].