Tuesdays are always a good day to talk about transformations. The transformation I get asked about most is my very own.
My transformation started after a back injury, but I suppose it actually goes further back than that when I had a disagreement with one of my female clients.
During our disagreement my client turned to me and said “you’ll never understand how hard it is because you’ve never been fat”. I remember thinking excuses, excuses and they were, but after this experience I guess she was right. It was a lot more challenging than I thought.
I had decided to let myself go to show people how they can transform their bodies in a reasonably quick time. I called my client and told her “I now have an injury and will only be doing rehab as my activity for around 4-6 weeks. I’ll show you how quickly you can lose it and get it back”.
I got out of shape by doing what most people do in every day life. Eating processed foods, drinking alcohol/sugary drinks and becoming inactive. I knew this would get me out of shape fast, but what I didn’t realise was just how much it would affect my energy levels, mood and day-to-day life.
Please note, being educated about this stuff and experiencing it are very different things.
The food I was eating when injured went a little something like this:
Breakfast I would normally miss, but when I did eat it would be cereals and doughnuts. Yep doughnuts. Four for a pound in Sainsbury’s.
Come lunchtime I would eat around three southern fried chicken breasts in plain white baps (again from Sainsbury’s).
Dinner would normally be whatever I cooked or takeaway’s. I would normally opt for an Indian, Dominos or KFC.
When it came to snacking there was always a clear winner. SUGAR… in CHOCOLATE format. This would consist of Cadburys giant buttons and caramel nibbles. I could eat both bags in one sitting after lunch and possible have another bag or two in the evenings.
I’d have a few beers at the weekends purely because of how calorific they are. Can’t say I enjoyed them much and I didn’t drink too many. Two or Three bottles tops.
Six weeks of this lifestyle lead me to become the ‘before photo’…
One of the most worrying things about eating and drinking this much crap, was how easy it was to stay in the habit and how lethargic you become.
Once I had finished my rehab and started training again, diet obviously had to follow… THIS. WAS. TOUGH.
One week into training with no sugar whatsoever. I was in a bad way. Sugar withdrawal, shaking and s**t loads of self doubt.
I remember going to see my mum and actually crying telling her “I can’t do it! It’s too hard.” After everything I’ve ever told my clients, this was how I was feeling. I felt like such a hypocrite.
You can always rely on you mum to pull you through though. She gave me a big hug, put both hands on my face whilst looking into my teary eyes and said “you can do anything you put your mind to. You’ve come so far and have so many more dreams to chase. Your father and I are so proud of you. You’ll do it.” And just like that, everything changed. It was as if someone had given me a huge boost of energy, adrenaline like.
With me feeling fully energised and refreshed there was only going to be one result. Me winning.
I had all my training sessions planned out and my nutrition in place.
My training was very different to before. That of course helped. I became my own machine. Strong, fit and more importantly, focused. There was nothing I wasn’t willing to try and 99% of the time I achieved what I set out to do. Muscle-ups, flags, levers, the lot. I found a new way of training. A way that was fun, exciting and best of all, body changing.
Six months later, I became the ‘after photo’…
I phoned my client when my transformation was complete to apologise for not truly understanding how hard it can be, but also to thank her for helping me become a better personal trainer and a far more understanding person.
If you’re reading this blog because you’re looking for motivation, inspiration or just because you’re ready to start changing your life, remember one very important thing:
We all have to start somewhere in order to see progression. Start today!
Stewart (SMPT)