A client training with a resistance band

Client story · Derek, 58

Derek’s story. 18 kg lost in six months.

Derek lost 18 kg in his first six months after knee surgery. He now maintains 75-77 kg, leaner and stronger than before. Losing the weight is only part of the story. Keeping it off is the real proof.

30 September 2026 · Movehability Online Fitness & Nutrition Consultant

Read Derek’s story

First six months

18 kg lost, from about 95 kg to 77 kg.

The starting point

58, knee surgery, work travel and client dinners.

Now

Maintaining 75-77 kg and rebuilding strength.

Before

Two goals, and a life that didn’t make it easy.

I’ve known Derek since 2013. We trained together in person in Canary Wharf for six years. Back then he had lower back pain. Training with me got rid of it.

Then he had knee surgery. For a while he couldn’t train the way he used to, and the weight crept up to about 95 kg.

He came back to me in June 2025 with two goals. Lose the weight. Rebuild his strength. His life didn’t make it easy. Hong Kong one week, Dubai the next, then New York, then back to London. Client dinners in very good restaurants. And sometimes a whole week away on his boat.

“This program fits around my life rather than fighting against it.”

Derek, call, 3 November 2025

What I found

A simple structure that could travel with him.

The plan had to fit Derek’s life, not ask him to put it on hold. We focused on three things: rebuilding strength, a sustainable way of eating and practical choices wherever work or sailing took him.

Training and mobility

We built his strength back step by step, supporting his knee and lower back. Sessions take 40-50 minutes, with upper back stretches and mobility routines at the weekend.

Structure, not a diet

More protein, intermittent fasting and balanced meals he enjoys. Weekends stay flexible so he can enjoy his life without constantly feeling he is on a diet.

A plan for real life

Airport routines, choices from airline menus, a plan for client dinners and easy food for weeks on the boat. We also planned for sleep after travel and the minimum training that still works on the road.

“What’s surprised me most is how I’ve managed to lose all this weight without ever feeling hungry.”

Derek, call, 3 November 2025

Results

18 kg lost in six months. And he’s kept it off.

What changed in his life:

None of his clothes fit. New work shirts, suits taken in by the tailor.
BMI under 25 for the first time in about 30 years.
Never hungry, never felt on a diet.
Trained for and did a rowing race with his old university team.
His scales put his metabolic age at 43.

“I'm getting more into the routine of how to fit it around work, when is a good time and how to do it.”

Derek, check-in, 30 September 2026

The timeline

From about 95 kg to a 75-77 kg range.

When	Weight	What happened
June 2025	about 95 kg	Started after knee surgery
Weeks 1-2	no change	Stayed consistent, no panic
Week 3	nearly 2 kg down	The shift began
Week 7	not recorded	Needed a new belt
November 2025	77 kg	Inside his 75-77 kg target range
Christmas	held steady	Focus was not gaining
January 2026	77.6 kg	16.9% body fat
March 2026	75.9 kg	11.1% body fat. Fat mass down 4.7 kg in two months, muscle kept
Since then	75-77 kg	Maintenance: keeping it off, building strength, new job

June 2025

about 95 kg

Started after knee surgery

Weeks 1-2

no change

Stayed consistent, no panic

Week 3

nearly 2 kg down

The shift began

Week 7

not recorded

Needed a new belt

November 2025

77 kg

Inside his 75-77 kg target range

Christmas

held steady

Focus was not gaining

January 2026

77.6 kg

16.9% body fat

March 2026

75.9 kg

11.1% body fat. Fat mass down 4.7 kg in two months, muscle kept

Since then

75-77 kg

Maintenance: keeping it off, building strength, new job

From his body composition report: the January to March drop came mostly from fat, not water or muscle. Visceral fat went from 6 to 4.

The hard part

Keeping the weight off can be harder than losing it.

Derek said it himself in September. When you’re losing weight, you have a clear goal. In maintenance, it’s easy to let things slide. A few work dinners and late catch-ups, and he could feel it.

So we didn’t wait for the scale. We talked about it. We made a plan for work dinners: he sends me the menu, I tell him what I’d pick. And he started walking the long way to work along the river.

A week later, he told me he was more organised and had more energy.

That’s what coaching is for. Not just getting there. Staying there.

Watch his story

Derek, in his own words.

Where he is now

Keeping the weight off. Building strength.

Derek has a new job, so he travels less. His training fits around his new hours: out of the office, trained and back in 90 minutes. He now knows his warm-up by heart. He’s in maintenance: weight held at 75-77 kg, fasting a few mornings a week, small changes only when needed. Next we’re working on his upper back and shoulders, the area with the most still to gain.