Who are we?

Be Strong founders Rick Wilson and Rachel Wilcock have followed sensible eating plans and adopted lifestyle changes to make significant long term improvements to their overall health and appearance.

Rachel

I don’t like the term ‘diet’ but I’m a firm believer that we need to change the way we think about food and activity to achieve long term success. As a busy mum of two young children I know how important motivation and planning is in achieving your goals.

I have lost 5.5st, kept it off for many years and strongly believe I can help you to achieve success. If, like me, you’d tried everything else what have you got to lose.

I always struggled with my weight right from being a young teenager. Always very body conscious and ashamed of how I looked. I came from a very active family, but somehow I felt I hadn’t inherited those genes. My dad was a marathon and fell runner for many years, and my mum was always really slim, and my little brother just never sat still. I was the complete opposite. I hated exercise! And I mean hated it!!!

“I am no longer ashamed of what I look like. I am proud to be me!”

As I grew older and met my husband and settled down, contentment set in and my weight just increased. I must have gained a dress size a year. I remember getting a lecture off the midwife when I was pregnant with my first child, that I must not use pregnancy as a reason to gain more weight and end up even bigger afterwards. So I really tried during pregnancy to eat healthily, for the baby and so as not to gain weight. But it didn’t help and I was the size of a small family dwelling by the time I was due to give birth… not a neat little bump and minimal weight gain like everyone dreams of.

So, post baby number 1, I didn’t want my new daughter to grow up and have a negative role model in me. I wanted her to be healthy and most of all be body confident. To do that, I had to change. I had to become that positive role model.

And that’s what it was for me, that was my ‘lightbulb moment’, I learned abut food and what it gave me, and most of all started moving more.

My second pregnancy meant I gained lots of weight too, but this time I knew I would lose it, and my journey would continue. So as soon as I could I was moving as much as possible, getting out walking, exercising and ensuring I was eating healthily.

I am now a different person to the one I was before I had children. I have energy, I am positive, and the best feeling of all, I know I am a good role model for my children. I love exercise and the feeling I get from it, and another bonus, I am no longer ashamed of what I look like. I am proud to be me!

The Be Strong way changed my life for the better in so many ways. I want you to feel the way I do.

Rick

I have lived almost all of my life as a ‘bigger person’, topping the scales at 25st. I reached an all time low when one of my closest friends secretly met with my mother to discuss me. He was concerned that I was so unwell, due to my weight and lack of any form of exercise, that I would die prematurely.

In early 2013, still hugely overweight, I was speaking to a lady who suffered a massive personal tragedy. I agreed to run a 10 km race to raise awareness for her charity. I had raised the hopes of my family over the years with broken promises of exercise and weight loss. However, this was one lady I could never, ever let down. I have my own reasons for this – “she’s just a very special person.”

“I used to look for excuses to eat and drink to excess and avoid any form of exercise, now it’s the other way around..”

I am now over 10st lighter than at my heaviest, have reduced from a 54″ waist to 34″ and I ran every step of that 10 km road race in Burnley. I’ve since established a Couch to 5k group which has seen over 3,800 people learn to run for 5km. I’ve also successfully completed four full marathons.

I have experienced almost every ‘diet’ on the market, and had certainly ‘got the tshirt’ in that respect! There are no quick wins that work in the longer term, it’s simply a matter of eating a balanced plate of food, in the correct portion size and ensuring that you fully understand how many calories you need to consume each day to achieve your sensible weight loss goal. If you can combine this with any form of exercise you will see success.

You could say I’ve started to live again. My only regret is a cliché, I should have done this 20 years ago! Be Strong can help you to be the person you want to be. Don’t wait like I did, ‘be strong’ and sign up today. I promise you won’t regret it.