Undertaking the challenge together made us feel closer as a couple

Beth and Ben found that doing it together was the easiest way to lose weight after dropping a total of 28 kg* on the Total Wellbeing Diet.

*In 4 months. Individual results may vary. 

They are recently engaged (congratulations!) and have just adopted a rescue dog that they take out on regular runs. Their lifestyle is healthier and happier as a result of the weight loss.

Stressful days and poor choices

The main culprit for the weight gain will sound familiar to most: stressful days at work, easy diet solutions based on carb-heavy meals, too many drinks - both soft drinks and alcoholic drinks - and, of course, chocolate and lollies.

While their weight wasn't a huge problem, they both felt like their self esteem suffered because of it.

"Ben put on 5kg quite quickly and we both realised that we needed to make a change to our lifestyles and eating habits – to support and encourage each other in achieving our goals to lose weight," says Beth.

"He hates fad diets and we believed that the CSIRO Diet was likely to be based on good science. We already had access to the CSIRO Diet books from Ben’s mother and felt that this was an achievable, holistic dieting approach."

Success as a couple

They both attribute their weight loss success to the fact that they were able to support each other as a couple.

"It was so much easier as a couple. We felt like it was us working together to make a better life for ourselves," says Ben. "Undertaking the challenge together made us feel closer as a couple."

"We celebrated our individual and collective weight losses and we actively noticed the positive impacts it was having on us – like we felt and looked more confident, had more energy and enthusiasm and made better eating choices," adds Beth.

Why the Total Wellbeing Diet worked

There were a few things that they loved about the Total Wellbeing Diet. They both liked the structure of the meal plans and how they made it easy to plan a week's menu in advance.

"We actually really began to enjoy preparing and cooking food together and have continued to do so since finishing the diet," says Beth, who also found motivation in the community forums where she learned new tricks from members who had already gone through parts of the diet.

Ben in particular liked the diary and found that it made the diet more like a game.

"It was fun keeping track of what I’d eaten, and what each thing actually meant in diet terms. It also kept me honest," he says.

"The menu was surprisingly good! I’m a fussy man, and it actually got me to enjoy eating vegetables I never thought I’d enjoy."

Great for couples

Today Beth and Ben are more active than they've been in a long time and are both running and cycling throughout the week. The Total Wellbeing Diet has given them more awareness of their food and lifestyle choices.

They also have some great tips for couples who want to lose weight together.

"Try to enjoy it. You’ll likely be on the journey for a long time, so that’s quite some time to be miserable," says Ben - and Beth adds: "I would really recommend making sure that the approach you choose is sustainable and flexible."

*Individual results may vary