'I tried Couch to 5K and I lost half a stone every month'

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint, and getting started is the hardest part - that's where Couch to 5K comes in. Nearly three years ago, aged 27, I decided to do something about my weight as I'd ballooned to 28 stone at 6ft 3in. I joined my local gym, initially going three times a week, but it was months of start-stops.

I'd see the benefits, then get ill or depressed and think 'what's the point' - not going for a month before having to start over again. I realised I needed to do more, but with help. Meanwhile, my sister had recently finished Couch to 5K and had been singing its praises.



After countless excuses and getting over the embarrassment of being seen wobbling down the road, I installed the app and set off on my first run in the name of a New Year's resolution at the start of 2024. The NHS programme is free to download and is aimed at absolute beginners. Focusing on keeping moving, rather than distance or speed, it involves three runs a week with run time increasing over a nine-week period.

The first week consists of running for just a minute with a 90-second rest period, repeated seven times. As you work through the programme, rest times decrease and run time increases until you're down to no rests. This may sound complicated, but the app has a number of voice coaches who count you down, give helpful advice and let you know when to start and stop.

I chose Olympic champion Denise Lewis but there are a host of sports people, Radio presenters and comedians. I literally started just running in a big rectangle around my house. It wasn't busy, I was close to home if anything happened and it was familiar - it wasn't until the later weeks that I found myself more comfortable creating larger loops.

Sticking to the routine was tough, it was hard to motivate myself after a long day at work, looking out the window to see it chucking it down but as the plan progresses you soon see yourself running more than walking, cumulating in the what I considered the first milestone at the end of Week 5- a full 20-minute run. 'It's as much a mental battle as a physical one' This really made you focus on your pace and think about hitting that end point. I found myself getting faster and faster knowing that there was a break around the corner but I felt this really slowed me down and make me feel like a 'real' runner.

Then, before I knew it, I was approaching the finish line as the last few weeks were spent getting ever closer to the 30-minute run, adding a few minutes each time until you hit that mark for Week 9. I won't sugarcoat it - if you've never run before, it is tough. It's as much a mental battle as a physical one.

But the coaches are there each step of the way, and there is no pressure on you. The fact that you got out and did it is a huge win. Reaching that 9th week, which is essentially 'off you go for 30 minutes,' hitting the end of it was a real rush, and I treated myself to a proper pair of running shoes and jacket - no more Slipknot hoodies for me.

I'd completed the Couch to 5K. I lost 10 stone Weight loss is a combination of exercise and diet. Completing the programme alone won't magically make you lose weight; it's a group of factors and sticking to it.

While I didn't go on a diet per se, I did make positive changes to it: eating more fruit and vegetables, cutting down on drinking, drastically cutting out 'treats', and cooking more for myself. I completed the programme at the start of March, so then came the next step of my weight loss: Keeping at it. While I haven't been perfect, as life will get in the way, I've continued running about 15Ks a week around my town, experimenting with my own routes and now looking at improving times.

I've attended my local running club's social runs and taken part in parkrun. While I'm nowhere near the front of the pack, it's a comfortable, friendly space to meet like-minded people and switch up routes. Outside of running, after completing Couch to 5K, I started back up at the gym and alternate my days between running and lifting.

I now weigh 18 stone, an total of 10 stone lost over my journey, but I wouldn't be where I am now, if I never downloaded that app. It's a marathon, not a sprint, but starting is the first step. More information about Couch to 5K and links to download the app can be found here.

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