First Steps: How AIA Vitality changed Hugh’s fitness levels forever

Despite our best intentions, finding motivation to hit our exercise goals sometimes feels like the hardest part. Here’s how AIA Vitality member Hugh made it a part of his routine – and experienced some life-changing benefits.

Before discovering AIA Vitality, 44-year-old Hugh thought he was relatively healthy. He travelled a lot for work as a bank manager, but still made time for a jog on the weekend. He thought that was enough to keep him fit – until he started gaining unwanted weight and began to reassess his lifestyle.

“I didn’t fully understand my health until I started using AIA Vitality three years ago,” Hugh says. “What I realised was that I wasn’t exercising anywhere near enough for what I was consuming, and the weight just crept up and up. Being tall and weighing over 100 kilos had a real effect; I had to squeeze into an economy class seat when I travelled for work. I wanted to make a change for my health, but I was never motivated enough to do anything about it.” 

Before Hugh could begin setting and achieving his goals, he needed a clear picture of his health. First, he calculated his AIA Vitality Age, then headed to an AIA partner pharmacy to take the AIA Vitality Health Check.

“I wasn’t surprised by my results,” he admits. “My AIA Vitality Age was about three years older than my actual age. I verified the findings during the AIA Vitality Health Check, which only took around 15 minutes at the chemist. I was disappointed with how I’d been taking care of my health, and knew it was time for me to change some of my habits.”

To help him set some goals, Hugh filled out the suite of physical wellbeing assessments in the app. His initial target was to start walking 10,000 steps a day.

“Before I used AIA Vitality, I thought I was just eating and drinking too much,” Hugh explains. “While that was partly true, the tests also revealed that I wasn’t active enough, and needed to exercise more. I knew I had to start small, so I wanted to try going for a walk every day, in addition to jogging on the weekend. Logging the steps from my daily walks with my Fitbit – and syncing that activity with AIA Vitality – helped me develop healthier habits while earning lots of AIA Vitality Points, so I chose to receive $5 back in my bank account as my Active Benefit.”

When Hugh first began his new routine, he was primarily focused on achieving his daily step target to earn points. Kickstarting a proactive approach to exercise stoked a fire in him though, and soon he wanted to do even more.

“Getting my Active Benefit each week was great, but I was inspired to take my fitness further,” Hugh explains. “I did some research and found out how much exercise people my age should be doing, leading me to incorporate a form of high intensity exercise into my program. I always liked running, so I set a goal to run six kilometres a few times a week.”

It took him time to build up the capacity to hit his target, but Hugh never gave up. He logged his progress, invested in running gear and added on a little more distance each time he ran. As the weeks passed, he finally accomplished his goal to run six kilometres – all while enjoying the positive effects on both his physical and mental health.

“Running was difficult at the start, but after persevering and starting to lose weight, it became easier to make it a habit,” Hugh says.

“I ended up running about once a day and after nine months I had lost about 25 kilos. I had to buy new clothes that were three sizes smaller and stopped having to worry about taking up more than one seat on public transport. My friends and family noticed too, and they started joking that I was Benjamin Button – I looked younger every time I saw them. The same was reflected in my AIA Vitality Age – I’m now a year younger than my actual age. The feedback and compliments I received inspired me to keep going with my routine, and I felt more confident and assured in myself.”

The lifestyle change didn’t stop with Hugh’s running training; he also noticed positive flow-on effects in other aspects of his life, including his diet.

“When I was running, I noticed my diet also became more routine; I no longer craved a late-night meal after returning home from work late,” Hugh says. “This led me to set more goals centred around my diet, making sure I was being more thoughtful about what I put into my body.”

Since his first encounter with AIA Vitality three years ago, Hugh has kept up his schedule of running around five times a week. His next goal is to complete a half marathon.

“After understanding my health and getting the push to exercise with AIA Vitality, nothing’s been the same. I’m fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been in my life,” Hugh says. “I don’t see a personal trainer, dietitian, or any specialists; I’ve achieved it all through self-education and a little push from AIA Vitality that helped me make these life-changing adjustments.”

Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances

Disclaimer:
This is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a financial adviser, or medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.