“My worried sister, Josie, bought me for a look at the weight loss challenge. I had no intention of joining but after being assessed on the body analysis scales. I found the reading for my visceral fat (fat surrounding vital organs) was higher than anyone else. This type of reading puts you at a very high risk of cardiovascular disease, so I joined up. Before the challenge I used to crave bad food, ate and drank a lot of rubbish and I was very overweight. I snored a lot and was up 2 – 3 times to the loo at night. I woke tired and feeling un-refreshed. Despite improving the quality of my diet with this, I have not noticed any extra cost to the budget but the benefits have been enormous. My health is heaps better. I sleep better, don’t snore anymore and sleep through the night. I feel like I have a life back I didn’t even know I had – like being wakened from a dream. I have 2 hours of extra energy a day to invest in me and my family. I now run 5 km 3 or 4 times a week and have developed better communication with the family through the time I now spend involved with family activities. In 8 months of attending the weight loss challenge I have reached my goal weight after losing 38 kg and heaps of inches. As a extra bonus I have also won over $1,400 worth of prizes. My wife is wrapped in my changes and I feel so good I never want to go back to who I was” – Peter Taurere