Malcolm: 'Small changes in lifestyle made huge differences in health'

Work can make you ill but, because of the time we spend there, work can also be the perfect place to get healthy again. The Men's Health Forum set up Work-Fit with BT for just this reason. Malcolm Corbett took part.

I took part in the original Work Fit campaign at BT. It came at a good time for me as the big 50 was around the corner. My children were approaching 18 and 21 and I was having an 'another decade' moment and reviewing my life!

Mine isn't a dramatic story, but some small changes made a huge difference to me. I was weighing in at over 15 stone, had an expanding waistline, enjoyed food and drink a little too much and needed something to give me the focus to get back to where I wanted to be.

Work Fit consisted of a series of online sessions which gave information and advice about improving health. It was very visual and suggested, for example, how I should go about losing weight and getting fit. It wasn't target based as such but it provided a tool for me to measure my progress. This was the biggest motivation - measuring how far I'd come. There was also a helpline available if I wanted to chat to someone or ask any questions.

I started very slowly, but soon got into the 10,000 a day step routine - I was featured in an article in BT Today.

I was nearly arrested for 'acting suspiciously' while out on one walk!

And the pounds started to come off. I got down to less than 13 stone, but 'stabilised' at 13.5 which I guess is my 'real' weight.

The exercise was really hard at first but things gradually got easier. I remember running for a train one day and thinking it wasn't as painful as I'd expected!

I still walk a lot now, enjoy my cycling even more (less weight to drag uphill) and have maintained a fairly healthy lifestyle. A big achievement for me was doing the London to Brighton cycle last year, and getting ready for Edinburgh to Paris in September this year (admittedly using a ferry from Scotland to Belgium - but still comes in at 250 miles over 5 days!).

I felt that this programme offered me support and gave me motivation to improve my lifestyle, and the benefits have been well worth the effort.