How Core helped our Chief Engineer lose 11 stone

Duane Dalldorf has been the Chief Engineer at Core Telecom for over five years. His team ensures our network and equipment is constantly maintained and updated.

For the last 18 months, Duane has been putting himself through a strict diet and exercise regime which has now seen him loose an incredible 11 stone. His inspirational story has now been picked up by Cycling Active, following Duane’s new found love for cycling.

Before he hit on his major life style change Duane’s weight was nearing 30 stone, and loosing weight was never a major concern. In his own words: “I never thought about my weight creeping up, I was too busy enjoying life”.

Reality hit when in January 2011 Duane’s father was admitted to hospital in South Africa suffering with pneumonia. Knowing that he already suffered from poor blood circulation he took medical advice before travelling and to add his worry his doctor advised him not to fly. This was when he realised something had to change.

His exercise kick begin with walking, which slowly developed into running. On one particular run, Duane was aiming to run 5km when he injured his Achilles. Having inherited a bike from Core’s Managing Director Paul Turner, he had already tried cycling but found it very uncomfortable. However, with an injured Achilles he had no choice but to persist with cycling to maintain his level of exercise.

Paul himself has followed Duane’s progress from the start: “Once I knew Duane was serious about losing weight I knew cycling would be a great source of enjoyment for him. Being a keen biker myself, I encouraged him to join me at some events and he never looked back.”

Paul continued: “I’m hugely proud of Duane and I hope to continue supporting him in any way I can.”

Once he had pushed himself to get out on his bike, Duane found he really enjoyed cycling, and with the support of Paul he found the confidence to enter official events. These proved hugely successful for Duane and he now looks out for events to enter himself into. You can read about one such event, ‘Cyclothon UK’, through which Paul and Duane raised £1800 for charity.

Core Telecom’s Chief Executive Mahmood Mazhar is immensely proud of Duane’s battle: “What Duane has achieved is hugely inspirational for everyone.  I am very proud of how of far he has come on his weight loss journey. The whole team at Core Telecom will continue to support him however we can.”

Now having lost nearly 12 stone Duane attributes his success to his support network which includes his close friend Stephen, his long suffering wife Karen and the team at Core Telecom.

Duane himself has commented: “One of the key ingredients to keeping motivated in a day by day mammoth task like losing a total of 15 stone, is a constant, honest support network.

“Mahmood and Paul, regularly encouraged me to start losing weight before my journey started, and that concern they had for my health kept me motivated once I eventually started taking my diet and fitness serious.

“Because I was so open about the weight loss and fitness efforts, everyone at Core was incredibly supportive. Compliments came in thick and fast as I started to shed the pounds. When your work colleagues are encouraging you on a daily basis, it helps keep you focused, never wanting to let them down!

Thank you all for the part you have played in my weight loss journey. My success is “our” success!”