I was depressed, I’d just moved country, I’d just retired, I was living in an area where I didn’t know anybody, and my weight was just increasing and increasing.

The more I sank into depression the more I ate, and the more I drank. It was a vicious cycle, and I just needed something to break it.

I went to my doctor and I said that I was depressed, but I didn’t want to take antidepressants, as I didn’t think I was medically depressed enough. He said that there are some weight loss classes around, go and search for them online and come back to me.

Online I found Weight Watchers or a local course called Achieve Healthy Weight Loss, which I went back to my GP to ask about, and he signed me up.

The first step was a warming-up session, where I met Kal, the psychologist who runs the classes. I explained the situation with my weight to him, and I started the course two weeks later.

Like everybody else, I know how to eat healthier, but what I needed was to be with like-minded people where I could speak openly. We’ve all got different problems in the group, but everyone understands and appreciates everybody else.

Kal goes over things like portion size, and other useful reminders, but for me what the class has given me is motivation. I’ve started on this course, I can’t waste people’s time, I have to go out and do something, and I enjoy it.

Since I’ve been here I’ve lost 6.5 kilos, which is a kilo every two weeks. I have another 10 kilos to go, and I think I’m motivated enough to get there.

When I initially went to my doctor he told me that I was obese, and that if I didn’t do anything about it I would end up with diabetes. He didn’t feel it was his role to tell me about different weight loss programmes, which I understood as you only have a 10 minute slot. However he was proactive when I went back having found this one.

What I’d like my doctor to say to me is “you are obese, but this is where we can help you, this is where you can go”. Instead I had to go out and find the information on my own, when a lot of people would have thought well that didn’t help, walk out, and then not do anything about it.

I didn’t push my doctor because I know that he’s busy with far more important problems, even though eventually mine would become a bigger problem.