Built by an ordinary bloke, for ordinary blokes.

It wasn't just my weight.

My knee was in agony, my blood pressure was high, I was taking a pile of tablets, and my clothes looked like I'd been sewn into them. Even ordinary things took planning. Stairs could change how I arranged my day.

I was grumpy, moody and drinking to get blackout drunk. I'd also lost grandparents who meant a lot to me. Pain, drinking, grief and how I felt about myself were tangled together. A number on the scales couldn't explain all of that.

The fright that helped me take it seriously.

Then there were the choking episodes. They happened more than once, sometimes badly enough that we needed an ambulance. I couldn't properly explain what was happening, and I'm not convinced they were connected to my weight. But they frightened me, and added to the serious kick up the arse I needed to do something about my health.

I still occasionally wake with a brief episode. Losing weight hasn't made every problem disappear, and I won't pretend it has.

The people in my life were a massive part of why I started looking after myself. You don't need a bereavement or a scare to qualify, though. Wanting your evenings back, or wanting ordinary things to feel easier, is reason enough.

Giving my head a wobble meant getting help.

I changed how I ate, started moving more and used prescribed weight-loss treatment after a clinical assessment. Over about eleven months, I lost around 4½ stone.

That's my experience, not a promise about yours. Treatment isn't right for everyone. Whether a medicine is suitable, and what happens during treatment, belongs in a conversation with a qualified prescriber.

Getting help mattered. So did the food, movement and ordinary decisions around it. I wasn't becoming a different bloke overnight. I was starting to look after the one who was already there.

The changes you can live in.

My Next jeans went from a 38/40 to a 32. Adidas went from XXL to L. Those are some of my own markers — clothes I can actually feel comfortable in.

I wear Pretty Green and Adidas like I'm sponsored by them. Sadly, both still insist I pay.

I had also been under a consultant for sleep apnoea and serious snoring. I'm no longer noticing those problems, but that isn't the same as a consultant confirming the condition has gone.

I've cut down my drinking too. I still enjoy a Carling or Guinness with mates; I no longer drink to blackout. That is my account of what changed, not a treatment plan for somebody else.

The weight mattered, but so did my knee, my sleep, my mood and how I was living. They all belonged in the same conversation.

Why I built SHIFT.

Beginning gets plenty of attention. The middle gets less. You've made some changes, then work moves, money gets tight, the knee complains or the people who were meant to help stop answering.

You need a way to pick up the plan without rebuilding it from memory. That's where I want SHIFT to earn its place: understand the week you're in, choose a next step that fits, and come back to find out whether it helped.

That applies when motivation drops, when life gets messy, when treatment changes and when a clinic goes quiet. Your goals and the practical things you've learned still belong to you.

Somewhere to keep the thread.

My Timber is free to use in your web browser. You can keep your reason for starting, record what you're trying, choose a Next Shift and return to the answer: did it help?

Grub and Fit are the practical food and movement parts of SHIFT. Life Back keeps the reason for doing any of it in view: joining in, feeling more capable or enjoying the ordinary bits of a day.

You don't need to buy medicine to use the core check-in. You can also use a notebook, the book's pages or your own notes. What matters is having something useful to come back to.

SHIFT is a business and may earn money from optional products or partner services. You should be told what costs money, who provides it and who is responsible for clinical decisions. Read our privacy information before recording health details.

From one ordinary bloke to another.

I haven't built this because I've got every answer. I've built it because I know how much can sit behind the words “I need to lose some weight”.

You get to decide what you want your life back for. Start with one honest next step, then come back and see whether it helped.

SHIFT SOME TIMBER. GET YOUR LIFE BACK.