'If he can, you can!' - John Elworthy on his personal crusade to get fitter

FOUR weeks on and the new health and fitness regime is well under way, and to those critics who argued it couldn t be done, well you may of course ultimately prove to be right! But for now I can testify to remarkable improvements both to my weight, down w

FOUR weeks on and the new health and fitness regime is well under way, and to those critics who argued it couldn't be done, well you may of course ultimately prove to be right!

But for now I can testify to remarkable improvements both to my weight, down well over half a stone, and to my fitness, helped by a thrice weekly work out at the George Campbell Leisure Centre in March.

I've gone from mild embarrassment to actually being there, to regarding myself as a junior member of this non exclusive 'club.' And I've learned not to worry about the body builders pumping iron -who after all are thin on the ground in March!- to identifying more with the many regulars of all shapes and sizes who turn up.

The gym is a great asset to March, and in coming weeks I'm off to look at the council owned centres in Whittlesey and Wisbech to draw some comparisons. I'm assured, however, that all offer a surprisingly high level of care and retain a consistently high level of competent instructors.

So I've begun tackling the weight issue ( I was even asked recently by some friends for my diet since they, too, want to lose weight) and the fitness will come, hopefully, through the gym.

The third element, giving up or at least dramatically reducing cigarettes, is the next, and probably the hardest part of the equation. More on that to come.

It was the report on obesity in the Fens which prompted my keep fit campaign, and I'm pleased with the early results.

Now I want to be encouraged by hearing from others who've done it, and hope in my small way I can encourage some to tackle their own particular lifestyle.

There's no saints in this, in reality we're all sinners when it comes to watching what we eat and drink, watching what exercise we take, and how many cigarettes, if any, we smoke per day.

Don't forget to email me your thoughts, or tell me if you have are running a group or club which needs some further publicity to attract new members.

My email: john.elworthy@archant.co.uk