MP Will Quince says 6st weight loss down to Boris Johnson and Covid

Will Quince, who is also a welfare minister, first realised he had to do something about his weight after seeing a recording of himself speaking in Parliament last spring.

Soon afterwards the 38-year-old, who was first elected as Tory MP for the town in 2015, spoke to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about his experience with Covid, which is more dangerous to those who are overweight.

Mr Quince said this was a wake up call and almost a year later he is six stones lighter than the 18 and-a-half stone he weighed during this appearance in Parliament.

He said: “I have always struggled with my weight and fear I always will, even now having got down to a healthy BMI and weight, I know I will always have to watch what I eat and exercise to keep the weight off.

“The hardest part is taking the first step, taking the decision to try and shift the weight, particularly hard when it’s cold outside and all you want to do is to put your feet up on the sofa with a beer, a pizza and a tub of ice cream.”

Transformed - Colchester MP Will Quince has lost six stone in a year. Picture: Nikki Powell

To make things easier, Mr Quince says he first focused on his diet, trying to cut out takeaways and counting calories along the way.

It wasn’t until he had his eating habits under control he began a proper regime of exercise.

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He joined a gym and started running regularly, slowing building up his times and distances and now often running more than 10km a day.

He said: “Keeping motivated was tough, seeing the weight drop on the scales certainly helped but there were weeks when the weight plateaued and it was hugely frustrating.

“Another thing which helped massively was people noticing that I had lost weight and commenting.

“Please don’t underestimate what a huge motivational boost it is when someone notices that you have lost weight and says something in passing – it spurs you on to keep it up.

Before - Will Quince at the 2019 General Election count in Colchester. Picture: Steve Brading

“The biggest motivator for me was when my eight-year-old gave me a cuddle one day and pointed out that for the first time in her life, she could cuddle me and her hands met – either I had got smaller or her arms had grown but either way, it gave me a real boost.”

Mr Quince is now hoping to inspire constituents to take on their own health weight loss journeys after tackling his own weight issue.

He added: “The key message is if I can do this, you can do it too.

“Easy to say I know but having done it, I know it takes hard work, persistence, patience and commitment but you will see results and start to feel healthier, fitter, have more energy and sleep better.

“If you are even considering it, I urge you to go for it and embark on this journey.”