Hi, my name’s Paul Hoff and I live in the United Kingdom with my partner Zoe and our daughters Olivia 3yrs, and Isabelle 6mths.

I became heavily involved with the health and fitness industry 4 years ago. I had always been fit and healthy, working as a professional gardener, my job always managed to keep me in good shape. In January ’04 I went on holiday with my partner to Sri Lanka, and towards the end of the holiday I decided to have a roadside cut-throat razor shave and head massage.

The old boy carrying out the shave carried all his equipment in a carry bag on the back of his bicycle. To be fair the shave and the massage were both excellent, unfortunately, I don’t think the same could be said for the hygiene of his equipment. Long story short, literally as soon as I stepped off the plane, I had the most horrendously sore throat which lasted a week, after which I had a lump begin to grow on the right side of my neck, with all the symptoms of full-blown flu. I was rushed to hospital, and the lump turned out to be a Streptococcal virus, which had to be cut and drained, and this, I believe led to my weight problem, interfering with my Thyroid function.

Up until then I had never had any problem, I was one of those lucky ones that could eat and drink what I liked, and not put on weight. By January 2006 I had whopped on a massive 3 stone (42lbs) of blubber. I put this down to passing 40, and the fact that I spent a little more time in the office, sure enough, it turned out to be Hypothyroidism, an underactive Thyroid, and although I don’t know this for sure, I feel that this was a direct result of my throat operation.

Midway through January a friend gave me a photo taken at our local pub of Zoe and myself at the New Years Eve Bash, I was horrified; I looked like an overdressed beached whale! From that point on I became engrossed in the health and fitness industry, reading many eBooks by American personal trainers, joining forums, asking questions, and altering my own day to day eating habits. I never went on a diet, I don’t believe in them, but I drastically changed my nutrition, and the way in ate food in general!

Happily, I’m now back down to my ‘pre-Sri Lanka weight of 187lbs or 13st 5lbs for UK readers, and feel much better for it. I have to take pills everyday for my thyroid function, and I’m pre-diabetic, but hopefully, with everything I’ve learnt over that last few years, I should be able to keep that old wolf at bay.

Enjoy the site, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions concerning anything on My Health and Fitness Today.

Kind regards, Paul.