Award-winning journalist Mark Nicholls is celebrating after shedding almost one fifth of his body weight as part of an annual slimming contest.

The Eastern Daily Press health correspondent shed three stone to become “Fat Boy Slim” in just under a year.

As well as dropping two trouser-waist sizes and feeling much healthier, he also won £600 in prize money pooled by contestants.

The initiative runs at Archant’s Prospect House base each year and has seen staff lose hundreds of pounds in weight between them.

Mark, who started his new regime last March at a portly 16st 6lb, managed to shed the pounds by switching to a healthier diet and doing more exercise including cycling and squash.

He said: “I was obscenely overweight but also as health correspondent of the EDP I was all the things I was writing about – obese and at risk of a whole range of health problems.

“I actually owe it all to my wife Sharon who made fresh soups, salads for my lunch and cut down portion sizes for meals and just kept me on the straight and narrow when it came to dieting. After a couple of months, it didn’t really feel like I was on a diet, just that I had changed my lifestyle.

“I feel so much better now, physically and mentally, and that feeling makes me determined not to relapse and put the weight back on. I did put on 5-6lbs over Christmas as I indulged myself but that is slowly coming off.

“What puts it into perspective is that I have two daughters – Laura, seven, and Sarah, six. Just out of curiosity, we weighed Sarah who is 2st 12lbs. Effectively I ‘lost’ my six-year-old daughter in body weight.”

Mark has now spent some of his winnings on a docking station for his wife’s iPod, and is saving the rest towards a family trip to Qatar over Easter.

“Naturally I’m delighted to have won the contest in 2007, not just because of the money but because of the way I feel in terms of health and wellbeing,” he added.

Comments

Paul Lagan (22/02/2008 12:33:46)
Congratulations mark.
What a superb effort.
I wish I could do the same.
I reckon your wife is to be given equal credit as I know how important family support is to make the loss of weight a reality.
Well done Archant for having such a scheme – it’s somethinmg all publishers should look to take on.

Glynis Fox (05/03/2008 10:14:25)
Well done! You’ve really rolled back the years. You don’t look much different from when you were on Lincolnshire Echo newsdesk many moons ago…well with the shades on anyway!