'MY DIABETES
BECAME MORE
STABLE THAN
BEFORE. MY
SUGAR LEVELS
SEEMED TO SORT
THEMSELVES OUT.'
CASE STUDY #9 DANIEL LOCK
AGE 29 OCCUPATION IT SPECIALIST
INCH LOSS AFTER SIX WEEKS
WAIST 3 HIPS 1 CHEST 2
Daniel Lock is typical of many people. Extremely
active at university, enjoying cross-country
running, tennis and rugby, Daniel Lock now spends his
days sitting in front of a computer. 'I would
definitely say my lifestyle is sedentary now,'
he admits. 'I'm tall and, before I started the
programme, I wasn't really overweight, but there
is a wide range of acceptable weights and I was
up near the top of that.'
Daniel Lock chose the Bodydoctor Fitness Programme
because 'it seemed to deliver what it promised
in a reasonable period of time,' he says. 'I quite
liked the fact that the thinking was taken out
of my hands. Even if it looked like nothing was
happening, I was assured that if I persisted then
there would be results.'
Daniel Lock did not notice any weight loss but he
'noticed fat loss within four weeks, perhaps even
sooner, but strengthwise I noticed it much
sooner. I was visibly stronger. When I started the
programme, I couldn't do very much for very
long.Things seemed impossible, but then
suddenly I was able to do it.'
By the end of six weeks, Daniel Lock was pulling his
belt a further three notches tighter. 'Generally I
felt so much healthier. I seemed to have so much
more energy,' he says.
Daniel Lock is a diabetic. He did not want to cut out
carbohydrates, although nutritionists recommend
that diabetics limit carbohydrate intake. Daniel Lock
adds: 'I did make sure that I was eating
reasonably healthily. It is much easier to eat
unhealthy things and to miss out breakfast.'
Daniel Lock also experienced an unexpected benefit
from the Bodydoctor Fitness Programme. 'My
diabetes became more stable than before,' he
says. 'My sugar levels seemed to sort themselves
out. When I did have to miss a meal, the effect
was nowhere near as dramatic as it had been in
the past. I can now get away with some vices
that would normally have sent my sugar levels
right up.'
'CONSIDERING I
WAS DOING IT AT A
SLOWER PACE TO
EVERYBODY ELSE,
I WAS SHOCKED
THAT 4" CAME OFF
MY WAIST IN
6 WEEKS.'
CASE STUDY #10 NANCY PAGANI
AGE 33 OCCUPATION DESIGNER AND MOTHER
INCH LOSS AFTER SIX WEEKS
WAIST 4 HIPS 3 CHEST 3
Nancy Pagani spent days unpacking boxes after
she moved house.While other people might get
depressed at such an activity, Pagani actually
revelled in it, because it would have been
impossible before she completed the Bodydoctor
Fitness Programme.
Nancy suffered three prolapsed discs when she
was 18. 'I was getting out of a car, and suddenly
I was in absolute agony. I had to lie down for
a week.'The injury was never resolved and
regularly put her out of action. 'Once a year I
would end up spending seven weeks in bed,'
she says. Exercise was impossible.
Her desire for a baby sent her to an osteopath.
'He put me on the straight and narrow, and
pregnancy made my back malleable. He was
able to repair parts of my back.'The osteopath
also suggested exercise to aid the recovery
process.
'I almost cried the first time I went to the
Bodydoctor, because I was so scared that I
would be laid up,' she admits. 'But it just seemed
the right way. I had to find my level in every
exercise.'
In her first session, Nancy managed just 20 ab
curls - 'I was hopeless' - but six weeks later,
she was doing 140. 'There were a fair amount
of exercises that I was not able to do, such as
squats or lunges, but I was shown how to do the
same exercises on a machine, which protected
my back because I was lying down.'
By the end of the programme 'I was so much
healthier. I felt fit and strong. Everybody
noticed. I lost a little bit of weight and one third
of my body fat. It was absolutely amazing.' She
adds: 'Considering I was doing it all at a slower
pace to everybody else, I was shocked that I
took 4 in off my waist in six weeks.
'Honest to God, my back didn't give way or hurt
once. I learned that there is a way for me to do
exercise. I would recommend that everybody
tries it.'
'IF I HADN'T
STARTED THE
PROGRAMME,
THEN I REALLY
BELIEVE THAT I
WOULD HAVE HAD
A HEART ATTACK
IN MY THIRTIES.'
CASE STUDY #13 PAUL ADAMS
AGE 31 OCCUPATION REPRESENTATIVE OF RECORD PRODUCERS
INCH LOSS AFTER SIX WEEKS
WAIST 6 CHEST 5
WEIGHT LOSS 6 STONE IN 8 MONTHS
When Paul Adams first turned up at the
Bodydoctor Gym, David Marshall seriously
worried that Paul might have a heart attack. 'He
put me on the Stairmaster, with just two dots lit
up, and I could only manage a minute and a half.
I thought I was going to die,' recalls Paul. 'I
weighed in at 241.2 stone. David told me later
that he was really concerned.'
But David didn't confide these fears to Paul.
Instead he was full of encouragement. 'A week
after I joined, this guy, who had only started two
or three weeks before me, lost a stone. David
told me that I would achieve even more. One
week later I lost my first stone.'
Paul followed all the nutritional advice. 'I cut
out refined sugar. Even now, years later, I still
don't touch it. I also used to drink two or three
pints a night, watching bands, and I stopped
drinking for two six-week sessions.' Paul was
also taught that 'it's not about the scales. I
would be building muscle, which weighs heavier
than fat, so I should be more interested in the
tape measure.'
The first week, Paul 'felt like hell.' He adds:
'David told me that it wasn't about the weights
you lift, but it was about the repetitions. It was
about your body entering a fat-burning phase. I
had seen various trainers before, but nobody had
ever told me that. It made sense.'
Last year, Paul moved to New York and enrolled
in a gym. 'The trainer told me that it was all
about the biggest weights, and when I managed
to lift them five times, he told me that I was
doing great. I was absolutely exhausted and all
I could think was, 'gthis goes against everything
I ever learned with David.'h I dumped the trainer,
and started back on the Bodydoctor Fitness
Programme.' He adds: 'The bottom line is that
the body responds well to the programme. David
told me what it would do for me, and it did it.'
Paul admits that he 'tried to exceed all
expectations; when I was told to do one more
repetition, I would do five.' At the end of six
weeks, he stood on the Stairmaster and 'with
all the dots lit up' managed 10 full minutes.
'I don't think even David believed I would be
able to do that.' But the biggest buzz for Paul
came three weeks after he started the programme,
when a friend said, 'Big fella, are you losing
weight?' 'That was brilliant,' Paul reflects. Paul
eventually lost six stone.
'I AM CONVINCED
THAT OTHERS
WITH DIABETES,
WHETHER INSULIN
DEPENDENT OR
NOT, WOULD
BENEFIT FROM
THE PROGRAMME.'
CASE STUDY #15
RENATA DRINKWATER
AGE 47 OCCUPATION INT. MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT (LEISURE & TOURISM)
INCH LOSS AFTER SIX WEEKS
WAIST 2.5 HIPS 2 CHEST 1
Renata Drinkwater had an active lifestyle and
both a personal and professional interest in
health and fitness, but felt she wasn't really
improving her fitness levels.
Things only started to change when Renata read
about the Bodydoctor Fitness Programme in a
magazine. 'I was immediately struck by the fact
that although David's approach looked unorthodox,
it was producing truly fantastic - and very speedy
- results. I was also impressed by David's idea of
working opposing muscle groups sequentially to
avoid the need for extensive stretching after the
programme, so making the best use of time.Time
was important to me - I wanted to get fitter,
stronger and help control my diabetes as quickly
as possible!' she admits.
Renata had developed insulin-dependent diabetes
several years earlier and knew exercise would be
crucial in controlling this serious condition. She
also followed a low-carbohydrate diet.Though not
recommended for people with Type I diabetes, she
found it 'particularly effective.' Combining this
with the programme, the results were sensational.
Within two or three weeks, Renata noticed
results. 'I lost a few pounds. I felt better and
looked better. Also, I didn't experience the
aches and pains that accompanied other fitness
programmes I'd tried.' Renata also felt better
equipped to cope with the stress of her job,
'I just felt that I could deal with all those
stresses,' she says. She even found that the
programme speeded up her recovery period after
major surgery.
But it was the dramatic benefits to her Type I
diabetes that stunned Renata, who is also a
member of the advisory council for Diabetes UK.
'My average blood glucose levels dropped around
10 per cent and I was able to reduce the amount
of insulin I was taking by about 15 per cent,' she
says. 'I can only attribute this to the programme
as I had made no other changes to my regime,
and had been continuing to follow a lowcarbohydrate
diet as before.' Renata also
discovered more benefits of the programme when
she underwent hospital tests. 'The tests have
shown that my long-term blood glucose control
is on target and that other key indicators, such
as blood pressure, are good. Getting fitter could
mean being able to reduce - and in some cases
even stop - medication, with less chance of
serious diabetic damage to the eyes, kidneys,
nerves, heart and major arteries.'
'THE PROGRAMME
IS AN INVALUABLE
TOOL FOR MODERN
LIFE. IT IS A GREAT
DEFENCE AGAINST
THE RISE OF
MODERN DISEASE
- OBESITY.'
CASE STUDY #19 DR KATE PICKERING
AGE 41 OCCUPATION GENERAL PRACTITIONER IN GLASGOW
NO MEASUREMENTS TAKEN
Kate Pickering was an early convert to
Bodydoctor Fitness. About ten years ago she
read about the programme and sent off for a
booklet. 'I'm 5 ft 10 in and have had three
children, so I feel best between 101.2.111.2 stone.
Whenever I go up to 121.2 stone, I follow the
programme and within 8 to 10 weeks I find
that I have lost a stone and toned up quite a
bit. So when my patients ask me what I do,
I just say do it yourself.'
She adds: 'I started to lend the programme to
my patients. Going to the gym is all very well for
motivated people but I had working mothers
coming to see me, who just had no free time.
They needed something that was just not gymbased.
Also, it's not terribly complex, which
appeals to my patients.'
Dr Pickering was also attracted to the nutrition
side. 'We eat far too much carbohydrate, which is
responsible for the explosion in Type II diabetes,
heart disease and polycystic ovaries.We need to
change our diets to eat more protein and less
carbohydrate, which is what I am saying to my
patients. David has definitely had the right idea
all along.'
Recently, Dr Pickering advised a patient with
polycystic ovaries to adopt the programme. 'It
made a massive difference. She is now pregnant,
and she was infertile before.' Of course, Dr
Pickering knows that one patient may not be
typical of others, but she adds: 'If a woman
comes to me who is 3 stone overweight and
excessively hairy, then I would tell her to lose
the weight first to stabilize her blood sugars and
get her hormones into balance.'
Dr Pickering is currently using the programme
on a cross-section of patients suffering from Type
II diabetes. 'I am really excited.The programme
is an invaluable tool for modern life. It is a great
defence against the rise of modern disease .
obesity . which can lead to Type II diabetes and
heart disease.
'PPP HEALTHCARE
WERE PROVIDED
WITH MEDICAL
RECORDS OF
PEOPLE WHO HAD
BEEN COMPLETELY
TRANSFORMED BY
THE PROGRAMME.'
CASE STUDY #22 PETER ROACH
AGE 43 OCCUPATION MARKETING CONTROLLER
INCH LOSS AFTER SIX WEEKS
WAIST 2 HIPS 1 CHEST 1
Peter Roach was a marketing manager for
PPP Healthcare when he recommended that the
company sponsor Bodydoctor Fitness to create a
proactive health-awareness programme. It was
part of PPP's drive to position itself as a
healthcare company and not just a private
medical insurer.
Peter says, 'A colleague introduced me to
Bodydoctor Fitness. He'd followed the
programme at home from a manual and
suggested that it might offer opportunities
for the company. I have always had an interest
in personal fitness. I checked out the website
and ordered a manual.The ethos sat well with
previous work that the company had conducted,
promoting health awareness to primary
school-aged children via an informative and
fun curriculum-based resource called 'Alive &
Active.' It was designed to help to overcome
the 'couch potato' syndrome.
'I thought that Bodydoctor Fitness could help
benefit existing customers, add value to new
members and be promoted to the nation at large
under a "Healthier Nation" banner. If the words
in the Bodydoctor manual were true, then this
programme could have a major impact.
'I arranged to meet David Marshall at his gym.
I agreed to start training, under the watchful eye
of David, to better understand how the programme
worked and to experience it first-hand. I had
lots of questions, and each time I was provided
with an immediate, detailed answer, making
me feel comfortable that this was a serious
proposition.
'The immediate benefits of the programme were
that I never felt tired after a session, I felt less
stressed and had increased energy levels.The
wider benefit was that the same programme I
had undertaken could be completed by people
from all walks of life. I started to get more into
it, and wanted to determine if there was any
clinical or user study that could prove some of
the remarkable claims.
'I made a presentation to PPP with a proposal
for a collaboration, with the aim of increasing
the fitness of customers.There were many points
that I liked. Safety was a key priority, the
individual exercises were undertaken in a
complementary process ("cleaning as you go")
and it wasn't just about lifting heavy weights.
And, finally, it worked. Just like Ronseal, it did
what it said in the manual.'
We both play football, as a result both our games have improved. We are fitter and stronger. Ant and Dec
