I must admit I was quite surprised recently to read about Clive Palmer's considerable weight loss. It's interesting how I tend to question things. The weight loss of 56 kg in 7 months according to the tweet on April 2nd, just didn't seem credible mathematically. Perhaps Clive had had lap-band surgery.
A quick check and no, there's no lap-band surgery involved. Simply pure determination. Clive is to be congratulated on what really is a significant personal achievement.
The reason it didn't quite make sense to me is the 7 months. Reviewing the information available it appears to be more like 11-12 months. The following post from Facebook in December indicates 49 kg lost since April. With April 2016 to April 2017 being 12 months.
Not wishing to diminish Clive's achievement, which is significant, for others wishing to lose weight, setting unreasonable expectations can lead to becoming disillusioned. The question becomes, "If Clive can do it in 7 months, why can't I?", when it's actually more like 12 months. Realistic expectations are important when trying to lose weight.
I decided to document Clive's weight loss journey through his Facebook posts and Tweets. Clive appears to have started dieting somewhere around April to May 2016. Clive is 182 cm tall and started his weight-loss journey at 153 kg. Clive is 62. Using the BMI/BMR calculator I wrote, Clive's BMI was 46, which is Obese Class III.
April/May 2016 - 153 kg (Facebook)
30 September 2016 - 133 kg, loss 20 kg (Twitter - since leaving parliament)
1 October 2016 - 133 kg, loss 20 kg (Facebook)
4 October 2016 - 132 kg, loss 21 kg (Twitter)
5 October 2016 - 132 kg, loss 21 kg (Facebook)
10 November 2016 - 111 kg, loss 40 kg (Twitter - should be either 113 kg or 42 kg loss)
13 November 2016 - 111 kg, loss 42 kg (Facebook)
13 November 2016 - 111 kg, loss 42 kg (Twitter)
11 December 2016 - 104 kg, loss 49 kg (Twitter)
12 December 2016 - 104 kg, loss 49 kg (Facebook)
23 February 2017 - 106 kg, loss 47 kg (Twitter)
24 February 2017 - 106 kg, loss 47 kg (Facebook)
28 February 2017 - 105 kg, loss 48 kg (Twitter)
1 March 2017 - 105 kg, loss 48 kg (Facebook)
1 April 2017 - 97 kg, loss 56 kg (Facebook)
2 April 2017 - 97 kg, loss 56 kg (Twitter)
25 April 2017 - 95 kg, loss 58 kg (news.com.au site)
You'll notice the Christmas period probably slowed things down a bit for Clive, which is to be expected.
The following is a picture of Clive now on Anzac day. Credit for the picture is news.com.au.
Well done Clive.
Clive now has a BMI of 29, which means now classed as overweight, which might not sound good, but by all accounts a much healthier weight.
There's two aspects which I'd like to add. Clive has used Lite n' Easy to assist him on his journey, If he's used Lite n' Easy for the 12 months, that's probably around $7,000-$8000. A significant amount of money for most of us. Whilst it is more work, if you weigh your meals, record the kilojoules each day, and make sure you eat at the right dieting energy intake (which is provided in the BMI/BMR calculator) it need not cost you a cent. The most important ingredient for weight loss is your determination. If your mind is in the right place, your body will follow.
The second aspect, as we've seen with shows like the Biggest Loser, is the problem of excess skin. Rapid weight loss is impressive, and whilst I have no facts to back my feeling, I can't help feeling if you adopt a slightly slower pace to your weight loss, the greater the time the body has to adjust the skin, probably the better.
Overall however Clive is an inspiration. Keeping the weight off and in check is very hard for most of us. Stories like Clive's does inspire us to continue to make the effort a lot of us need to make.
Thank you for sharing Clive.
Kelvin Eldridge
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