Douglas's Story
Douglas went from avoiding holidays and poor health to confident, active, and full of energy. His mantra – small steps, consistently, create big change.
From Avoidance to Adventure
For Douglas, change didn’t arrive in one dramatic moment.
It came subtly, through small realisations. A skipped holiday here, an early departure from a social event there. Life was gradually shrinking, and with it, so was his confidence.
“I didn’t even realise how far I’d drifted from the life I wanted,” he reflects. “It was just lots of little things adding up.”
The turning point came when his son Stanley, then 16, asked if Douglas would join him at the gym.
Nervous but determined, Douglas went along. The session was tough – harder than he expected – and in that moment he saw just how much he had lost. But instead of discouraging him, it sparked something new.
“That was where it all began,” Douglas says. “It was difficult, but it showed me I needed to change.”
Small Steps, Big Difference
Douglas didn’t overhaul his life overnight. Instead, he focused on marginal gains – small, consistent improvements that added up over time.
One of the earliest changes came after gym sessions with Stanley. The tradition was to stop at Greggs afterwards, but Douglas realised he didn’t always need the food. Some mornings, he’d eat breakfast before leaving home and simply join Stanley for a coffee.
“It wasn’t about saying no to everything,” he explains. “It was about being mindful. Little changes, made often.”
Another breakthrough was replacing the habit of stopping for chocolate and fizzy drinks on the way home from work. Instead, Douglas prepared overnight oats and kept them in the car. A simple swap, to break an unncessary habit that had held him back for years.
The results speak for themselves. Douglas’s blood pressure – once dangerously high – returned to normal levels, and he no longer needs medication. But just as importantly, he learned to be kinder to himself.
“There’s no such thing as being ‘good’ or ‘bad,’” he says. “My son once joked, ‘Dad, unless you’ve been out burning down orphanages or kicking puppies, you haven’t been bad.’ It really stuck with me. This isn’t about perfection – it’s about progress.”
Fuelled by his "why"
When asked what kept him going, Douglas doesn’t hesitate: family.
After losing his mum, a former cycling champion, he realised how much of life he was missing. “My parents lived as if age was irrelevant,” he says. “I wasn’t doing that. I was wasting opportunities. I knew I wanted to change – not just for me, but for my family too.”
The pride he now sees in his dad’s face, or in his children when they join him in activities, fuels him more than any number on a scale.
Today, at 48, Douglas feels younger and healthier than he did in his twenties and thirties. Weekends are filled with Parkrun events alongside his wife. Family trips that once seemed impossible have become adventures.
One highlight was this past summer: flying to Belgium to see AC/DC in concert, then racing across the Netherlands for a Parkrun the very next morning. “A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t even have contemplated it,” Douglas admits.
For Douglas, this journey isn’t about diets or quick fixes. It’s about creating a life worth living – filled with movement, travel, laughter, and connection.
“Nothing matters more than your health and wellbeing,” he says. “Everything else flows from that. Now, I’m just making the most of the time I have.”
