Why real men are overweight

It's a stunning fact that two out of three men in the UK are an unhealthy weight---and I'm one of them. 

In my teens I just didn't understand how people could get fat. I used to think that if I ever put on weight I'd do a few sit-ups to sort out the problem and then crack on with my life. 

I was a keen sportsman at school and though my dreams of lifting the FA Cup; winning the Ashes; scoring a try in the five nations rugby (as it was then) and breaking the Olympic triple jump record were all cut tragically short by a knee injury when I was 15, I carried on being slim and active in my teens and early twenties. In fact I used to worry about how I could put more weight on---they say be careful what you wish for!

For the last twenty years my weight has gone up and down. I've tended not to weigh myself but I know I've been 16 stone and more  (which put me in the "obese" category) and on at least one occasion I've been so thin that I've looked unwell. Mostly I've been overweight, in denial or getting round to doing something about it. 

The in denial bit's a particularly male trait I think. Research suggests that we men are more than twice as likely as women to underestimate our weight. This means that up and down the land, overweight blokes like me are looking in the mirror and going "look at the muscle on me". How can you solve a problem if you don't think it even exists?

By contrast, women are more than twice as likely as men to overestimate your weight which means British women who are a healthy weight keep looking in the mirror and saying "my bum DOES look big in this"!

What this means is that Britain would be healthier place if about one in four women who think they need to lose weight stopped wasting their time worrying and went and convinced some of the one in four men think their a perfect size to lose a bit of flab. 

Personally I'm in denial no more. I know I'm overweight I can see it, I can feel it and I have the NHS healthy weight calculator to guide me. This morning I was 14 stone 6 lbs which means I've lost 4 lbs since starting my weight loss challenge----only 22 more lbs to go and I'll be back in the healthy weight zone. 

DAY EIGHT NOTES

WEIGHT: 14 stone 6lb (healthy range 9 stone 7lb to 12 stone 12lb)

WAIST: 36-39 inches/94-99 cms (depends if I'm breathing in or out) 

BMI: 28.1 (healthy range 18.5 to 25) 

ACTION: Walked 3 hilly miles, did a little yoga, drank lots of water, stayed off the biscuits, snacked on fruit and seeds

Tomorrow: Do more men than women have eating disorders?

Yesterday: How my masculinity stops me losing weight