Gareth's story

For most of my life, I had the idea that I was ‘healthy’ without having to try hard. I’ve always been sporty — I’m an ex-pro rugby player, actually. And I’d be in the gym three times a week or more. My diet was pretty normal, and I felt like I didn’t need to check up on anything.

Then over the years, my friends around me started having some health issues, and one even had a mild stroke. That was worrying, I didn’t want that to happen to me.

But I’ve always hated going to the GP. I live remotely in the West of England and commute to work in London, so finding the time to schedule an appointment is a nightmare. It makes it difficult for me to manage my health properly. 

Then I found Thriva and thought I’d give it a try. It seemed like a convenient way to check up on my internal health without visiting the doctor. I wanted to lose a little bit of weight I’d gained over the years and start a body transformation programme. So this seemed like a great accompaniment to track changes. 

I’ll admit I didn’t like the idea of having a blood test but overcame my fear of needles because I knew it was for a good cause. Actually, the test was really simple to do, the instructions were easy to follow, and it didn’t hurt. 

I knew I needed to have more nutritious food to help me with my body transformation programme and also to bring my cholesterol down. I learned that oats are good for lowering cholesterol, and so are lots of greens, so I included these in my diet. I stopped drinking as much — well, up until lockdown I didn’t drink as much anyway! 

I’ve now done 4 Thriva tests to monitor my transformation journey over time. It was exciting to see my results improving. I even sent them to my mother, who is a nurse, to show her how well I was doing. 

I know that by eating more whole foods, I’m helping myself to get healthier. And when I turn down something like a glass of whisky, I know that it’s all for a good cause.

Now I’m proactively telling people to use Thriva. It’s helped me in the long run, and I believe it’s critical to check up on our internal health for our own benefit.