Hi all

Rhys here. As you may be aware I've  tried to improve my physical and mental wellbeing over the last couple of years. 

This story starts a few years ago just after my daughter Jessica was born. It was quite topsy turvy after the birth and since then Jules and I have been through a lot with Jess due to twists and turns in her incredible little life. I got my degree amidst all this and at that point I thought I'd hit my ceiling of accomplishment, fantastic wife, incredible daughter, a job I love with amazing colleagues and friends. 

However I wasn't happy,  and I was at my heaviest  I had ever been at 18 stone 8lbs. It was dragging me down. I had cut out a lot of my vices over the years, including smoking and drinking, but I could never stop falling back into the clutches of comfort eating and food.  Also I was going through a pretty bad phase of health anxiety.

I started looking around me to see what others were achieving, so why not me?  I've always been big, chunky and overweight. I remember seeing the school nurse about my weight in secondary school and it's just crept up and up from there. Something had to change.

I began with intermittent fasting and lost around 3 stone in about 16 months. My weight then plateaued which then coupled with an impending pandemic.

At this point I could have quite easily fallen back into gaining comfort from food and my weight was creeping back up. I then downloaded the Couch to 5K App. My coach in my ears was the legend that is Michael Johnson. The first session I could barely run 60 seconds, however he guided me through. COVID had now hit really hard and things were pretty intense at work. I did my shift then every other day I would do my run. Within the span of the pandemic I was now running 5K.

Then I had a bit of an epiphany as I realised I wasn't a fan of potentially running half marathon/ marathon distances. What now? Then I thought about triathlons. I used to swim however I hadn't been in the pool properly for 24 years. The last bike I had was a mountain bike that fell to bits when commuting to work a shift at the hospice. So, in October 2020, I got my first ever road bike and I added in regular swimming sessions and some biking. The scales were saying that I'd lost 4 stone overall. I dropped 4 sizes in my uniform in that time as well. People I worked with insisted I got a new uniform as they were sick of looking at my “builders bum”. My health anxiety also seemed to ease the more control I had over my training regime and with what I was eating. 

At this point I really laid down the challenge for 2021/ 2022  by entering “3 Sprint Triathlons”. The first being the Castle Howard sprint tri, York's sprint triathlon and then in the early part of next year the Harlech triathlon. The Harlech triathlon was due to be my first ever tri however it’s been postponed till 2022. 

I couldn’t have done all of this without my wife Jules, a truly incredible companion, my daughter Jess a truly special young lady that I'm proud to call my daughter. My family with my mum Elaine, my sister Elinor, my brother Tom, dad Robert, step mum Linda and step dad Adrian are all very important to me and supported me throughout. The other side of my family, who I cherish deeply, includes my mother in law Val, father in law John, sister in law Cheryl, brother in law Matt, my niece and goddaughter Martha and nephew Michael. My colleagues in SPC team led by Katie, with Anna, Debbie, Christina, Sue, Carina, Seahorse, Carol, with extended team members Vic, Gemma, Steph and Kristen. Special mentions to Helen and Charlotte O who we miss deeply since they left our team this year. All the staff at SGH who I've gotten to know over the last 6 years and the staff I had the honour to work with at St Catherine's  Hospice. My good mate Welly and all at Touch Rugby at Scarborough Rugby Club. Our great friends Katie, G, Ben, and Kat. 

Here's just a brief list of people who've inspired me:

 Ben Adams led the way with his marathon exploits. 

Katherine his wife soon followed with her running achievements.

My dad who post his Cardiac surgery looked to get fitter through cycling.

Gareth Powell had lost a load of weight with a Joe Wicks plan.

John Begley walking miles upon miles when out with his walking club.

Gemma Arnall (pre Sid and now post Sid) was slaying her fitness and running.

Katie Conduit an avid runner and my leader.

Debbie Bayes and Anna Redmond completing 10k's and half marathons.

Helen King whose had all of her up's and down's with her weight loss journeys that taught me so much.

Sue Salt with her encouragement and countless sessions of spinning at the gym.

Kristen Gibson getting into fantastic shape mentally and physically.

My brother Tom Brookes smashing it at all levels at Rugby and consistently putting me to shame. 

Matt Grange becoming an avid runner.

Chris Moyles who completely changed his life over the course of a few years from morbidity obese to a normal weight.

A couple of youtubers I follow also went through changes Ethan Payne (Behzinga) has had a truly inspiring weight loss journey and MCFixer has been open about his weight loss struggles. 

Phil Santos progressing through his martial arts belts with his daughter.

Rob Brandwood and his cycling tours that he was smashing.

Cheers everyone.