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My Transformation
As much as I hate sharing my transformation story, I do feel it is important for everyone to know that before I loved running, I loved pubs, clubs & parties.
As a kid, I was always very active and I was extremely into my sport at school. At a young age, I was training for swimming before school and for netball / athletics after school. My weekends really only consisted on sporting competitions, which I thrived upon.
Everything was going great until I got a knee injury. As soon as my knee was sorted I managed to severely tear ligaments in my ankle which set me back for a lengthy period of time.
I went from swimming professionally to just playing netball for something to do after school. I was at the age where drinking and smoking was the “cool” thing to do, so I started doing this professionally.
I finished school, I finished my tertiary education, got a really awesome job that involved me being physical and moving a lot (overlanding tour guide) and things were great. After a number of years, I decided to settle down and get an office job, and due to lack of movement, no sport and sitting all day I gained a colossal amount of weight over several years.
I had spent my days focusing on my job, taking work home, making sure that everything at work was 100% but in the process, I totally forgot to focus on myself. After long days at work I would go to the pub, my drink of choice was brandy and coke with a side dish of Steers on the way home. This became the norm.
Did I know I was overweight? Hell yes.
Did family members make a point of telling me? Hell yes.
Did it bother me? Hell yes, but I acted like it didn’t.
I was so tired of trying over again and having to explain to everyone why the last diet didn’t work or why I hadn’t lasted more than two weeks at gym or why I was back in the pub!
I started walking to the shop and back (2km) instead of driving.
I stopped drinking for the first two months.
Cut out all junk and processed food.
I wasn’t going to give up this time.
Every week I saw results and this motivated me to push harder.
I started going to gym three times a week.
Drank my water.
Continued eating healthy.
I trusted the process and remained patient.
I wake up every morning at 04:30 so that I can go train.
I’ve had to learn to say no.
No, I am not going out tonight, no I don’t want that brandy and coke, no I don’t want to smoke, no I can’t have that dessert, no I really don’t want that beer on this boiling hot day.
I’ve had to put up with people that have no idea what I was going through or doing, telling me how I should do things. I’ve had to listen to them telling me what I should be doing and eating, and have had to bite my tongue.
It has definitely not been the easiest thing ever. I wake up every morning at 04:30 including Saturdays. I train 6 times a week in the morning and I make a point of running at least 3 times a week. It has been worthwhile though.
You need to eat to fuel your body, the changes will happen but you need to be patient. You can’t rely on anyone else to get you up in the morning to go train or to prep your meals or to motivate you.
There are always going to be people that have something to say about your journey, if its negative, ignore them. Ignore negativity.
Fun facts about my transformation;
Starting date: 04 January 2016
- Starting weight: 105 kg
- Current weight: 73 kg
- Starting resting heart rate: About 100 bpm
- Current resting heart rate: About 50 bpm
- Then: 30 Cigarettes a day
- Now: 0 Cigarettes a day
- Jeans then: Size 40/42
- Jeans now: 34/36
- Alcoholic beverages then: Bucket loads full. Thursday to Sunday
- Alcoholic beverages now: 2 single whiskeys in 6 weeks (At time of writing this)
