This man lost 117kgs in 12 months using one simple trick

At his heaviest, he weighed 225kg

Nathan Whittaker lost 117kgs in 12 months. Image: Supplied

Nathan Whittaker couldn't walk to the letterbox at the beginning of 2021, although he emerged from a dark and hopeless period of his life in which anxiety and depression felt permanent. He now not only feels better, but his mental health has improved dramatically, as well.

We all know that junk food is bad for our health, but in recent years, researchers have made some startling discoveries about the long-term effects of eating processed foods. It turns out that it also has an impact on our mental health.

Nathan Whittaker, 36, a hotel manager from Dapto, NSW, knows this firsthand. He admits that at the start of 2021, his eating and exercise habits were terrible, and he ate a lot of fast food and snacked a lot. It had such a negative impact on his mental health that he allowed himself to be consumed by anxiety and depression.

But when he decided to take care of his body by controlling his diet, everything changed for him. He improved his mental health and overall appreciation for life by switching to Lite n' Easy meal kits and sat down with Body+Soul to share the emotional journey behind his point of no return.

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Life before Whittaker's journey

Whittaker responded unequivocally when asked to describe his eating and exercise habits, as "very bad." "Working long hours and late nights in the hospitality industry I tended just to grab quick fast food meals and lots of snacking," he adds.

"Exercise was non-existent and at the height of my weight gain I couldn't even walk to the letterbox without being in pain and exhausted."

Whittaker was still in his thirties, and the fact that he couldn't even walk several metres to the letterbox without pain was extremely depressing, especially since he had no way of escaping his situation.

He shared that his weight gain was prompted by a series of failed attempts to lose weight, and it perpetuated a vicious cycle.
"I had tried so many diets and was never successful long term, after each failed attempt I became more and more depressed until I finally just gave up. I lost all hope of ever being healthy and I let myself be consumed by my anxiety and depression."

"I lost all hope of ever being healthy and I let myself be consumed by my anxiety and depression." Image: Supplied

Something had to change

Whittaker experienced a health-related dark night of the soul, which led to his turning point. Sharing that, "The moment I realised I needed to lose weight and get healthy was in April of 2021 I became extremely ill, and I was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. The recovery was expected to be six weeks but due to my weight and being so unhealthy that turned into six months."

He said of that time, "I was bedridden most of that time and had reached my lowest point. I realised that if I didn't do something to change then I simply might not have another chance."

This is when he reached his heaviest weight, according to Whittaker. "My heaviest weight was in September 2021. I had to weigh myself on a set of commercial-grade packing scales as no normal scales would work. I weighed 225kg."

After so many unsuccessful attempts, Whittaker was motivated to start Lite n' Easy because, as he admits, "their structured calorie-based meal plans were exactly what I needed. I started on the 1800-calorie meal plan and quickly saw positive results."

"I had to weigh myself on a set of commercial grade packing scales as no normal scales would work." Image: Supplied

From humble beginnings

"The first few weeks were difficult," Whittaker says, "but I knew if I just took it one day at a time it would get easier." He acknowledges that his friends and family encouraged him the whole time, and "once I started to see the results and began feeling a lot better I was motivated to continue."

He said that a nugget of advice about habit stacking he found in a magazine kept him going. Offering, "I read in a magazine that it takes four weeks to build new habits. I never forgot that and I just kept working towards that four-week mark. It was a key turning point to success for me once I reached it."

Motivation begets motivation. Once Whittaker saw results he wanted to continue. Image: Supplied

Whittaker's day on a plate

• Breakfast: Two egg and vegetable omelette with a side of buttered toast
• Morning snack: A single piece of fruit
• Lunch: Chicken and avocado salad with a muesli bar
• Arvo snack: fruit salad cup
• Hot snack: snack-size serving of spaghetti bolognese
• Dinner: steak with garlic prawns, potatoes and vegetables 

A typical week of exercise

For six days a week, Whittaker walks one hour walk in the mornings. By following this exercise and his diet above for 12 months he lost a staggering 117kg. Whittaker reveals with pride, "my current weight is 108kg."

Whittaker lost 117kg in 12 months, revealing his current weight 108kg. Image: Supplied

Whittaker's key piece of advice

The one piece of advice Whittaker would give to people trying to lose weight is "to not look at the numbers on the scale." Why? The numbers, in his opinion, are "irrelevant." Adding, "just focus on making one or two better choices each day. It's not a race to reach your goals you have to try your best."

"The biggest lesson I have learnt is how important it is to take care of our body, not only does the relationship we have with food affect our body but it also affects our mental health. I found that once my body started to feel better my mental health improved drastically." 

Originally published as This man lost 117kgs in 12 months using one simple trick