You are Loved, & You Matter. This simple message was given to me on a Card by someone I didn’t know who cared about me and my health journey. My name is Robert McAnderson, and I am a survivor of a heart attack, stroke, chronic high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes and Stage-4 Gleason-8 Prostate Cancer.
As a result of being undiagnosed as a person with diabetes for over ten years, Robert developed acute peripheral neuropathy and sleep apnea.
Robert is living proof that diets don’t work. They may help you lose weight but don’t deliver sustainable results.
In 2013, Robert entered a weight loss competition with Rapid Loss. In the following 16 weeks of the competition, he lost 28 kilograms and dramatically changed all the health measurements his doctor used to treat his medical condition.
In February 2014, he won first prize in the competition and received a $30,000 cheque.
He received a further $6,000 over the following six months for maintaining his weight while still on the program.
Robert was featured in the television commercial for Rapid Loss for several years until the company changed ownership.
Rapid Loss is a meal replacement shake made with skim milk or water that, combined with regular exercise, substantially contributed to Robert’s weight loss.
Robert started walking for 45 minutes a day. Over the sixteen weeks of the competition, Robert built up to ten Kilometers every morning with a second walk of five Kilometers every second evening.
While the concept of a meal replacement as a shake proved a very effective way for Robert to lose weight, this alternative to real food would never be sustainable.
When the monetary incentive to maintain his weight finished, Robert quickly lost interest in Rapid Loss as a dietary option.
While Robert continued physical exercise for a little while, his old eating habits quickly returned, and so did his lost weight.
Fast forward to September 2020, and Robert’s weight ballooned to 139.9 Kilograms.
After surviving a heart attack, stroke and several other medical conditions, it was apparent that some changes needed to be made to extend the length and quality of my life.
“Listed below are the health conditions that can result from being overweight. The items shown in red are medical issues Robert has experienced, while the * indicates he is now in remission.”
- All causes of death (mortality)
- High blood pressure (Hypertension)
- High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia) *
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes *
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke *
- Gallbladder disease
- Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
- Sleep apnea and breathing problems
- Low quality of life *
- Mental illnesses such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other cognitive disorders *
- Body pain and difficulty with physical functioning *
- Prostate Cancer *
- Skin Cancer *
As a Health Coach, Jacqui substantially dropped her weight, giving Robert the encouragement he needed to give it one more try.
Thirty-five kilograms and with a BMI under 30 for the first time since 2014, Robert is no longer a Type-2 Diabetic, has stopped taking diabetes medication, and has been able to reduce his blood pressure medication by 50%.
Robert walks 10 kilometres every morning before breakfast and pushes himself to drop the final few kilograms to reach his ultimate weight goal.
Robert still posts the occasional 60-second video daily on Instagram chronicling his current weight loss journey, hoping it may inspire others to try to Regain Their Health. His comment that life is a Gift, but Health is a Choice is now in the final stages of publishing.
Robert uses his skills to help men and women achieve weight loss goals like his own.
It seems once a coach, continuously a coach.
June 2024
I turned 76 in June, and I am officially 40 kilograms down.
It’s not until you put those 40 kilograms on your shoulder in the form of two 20-kilogram bags of pool salt that you realise the strain that weight was placed on your knees and lower back.
Had I not lost over 30 kilograms before being diagnosed with the very aggressive prostate cancer, I was diagnosed with would most certainly have taken my life. While I am not entirely out of the woods, the tests I have every three months give me a reason to be confident I have life in me yet to be lived and a story still to be told.
July 2022
I had stage-4 Gleason-8 prostate cancer removed. Before surgery, I spent six weeks doing pelvic floor exercises to give me the best chance of avoiding incontinence and having to wear men’s nappies. As with everything to do with my health, that preparation enabled me to master the difficulties of the surgery.
I have never worm male nappies, nor have I had incontinence issues, much to the surprise of my doctors.
Life Truly is a Gift, and Health Truly has Been My Choice.
