Teena Gates (ECPO Board of Directors)

I have battled with obesity my entire life, after realising in my teens that I didn’t fit into the same size jeans as my friends, I lost a massive ten stone (140lb) in 2010.

In my forties, I began an adventure with physical activity which saw me climb mountains, run triathlons, kayak white-water rapids and complete long-distance swims in rivers, lakes and seas.

The weight loss remained for 6 years, before inexorably creeping back, in spite of my extremely athletic lifestyle.

In January 2019, I found myself again weighing in at 26 stone (364 lbs). I spent a year bringing my weight back under 20 stone (28 lbs). I find every day a battle, and every food counter a war-front, knowing that being overweight is contributing negatively to my overall health, particularly as I get older.

Now also fighting arthritis in my hips, although disappointed, I am determined to keep losing weight and get back out onto the hills in the near future.