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“I used to watch men get out of breath after running around for 20 minutes and think how is that possible to become so unfit? But now that person's me”, Fabio.
Having children is a shock to the system. Sleep, health and energy are washed down the drain and the only thing I gained (apart from unconditional love and great kids) was 5 extra stone in weight. So, that is when I looked online and found Anthony and decided that I needed the help of someone that looks at the whole picture, not just put me on some generic, intense diet and training plan. I needed someone to address me and my life, to look at what I needed to do, what would help me to change my body and health and that’s certainly what he delivered. I remember doing the measurements at the start and my body mass index was obese and I felt shocked but then thought “well how accurate is the BMI anyway”, that was until he then measured my waist and then told me I am in the high-risk category. That was the moment when it really hit home for me. I have a young family and I need to be there for them. So I decided at that moment I wasn’t going to quit. I was going to eat every healthy meal and snack and do my exercises no matter what it takes. That’s what I did. It was hard, sometimes it took so much mental willpower (especially when the kids had a bad night). But Anthony helps you to get through it and keep you motivated which really helps. I noticed within the first week that my energy was much better. Normally, I would get home from work and feel exhausted and shout at the kids or get stressed easily. That wasn’t happening. I was coming home and had more energy and had a better mood too when I was eating better and exercising. By the second week working with Anthony I noticed my focus at work had shifted. I had an incomplete project that was 3 years overdue. I started plugging away at it and resolved a giant backlog in a matter of days. Anthony gave me a habit tracker booklet and it was a game changer, it helped me keep consistent and focused, I’m not where I want to be yet but I am now around 13.7lb so have lost 4.3st and feel brilliant. He was right, my energy, mood, health were all linked. When I changed the way I moved, slept, drank, and ate it changed my entire life. It’s 9 months on now and I now know that to gain control of my life with a little continued and dedicated effort amazing things can happen. I still have sessions with Anthony to help me to maintain my new healthier lifestyle and lighter weight and I'm sure I will do so for the rest of my life!" I wrote that 6 months ago. I had lost a lot of weight and felt better about myself, but when I took off my top (like I had to do when taking my boys swimming), I still felt out of shape. I caught myself in the mirror in the corner of my eye and thought I was an out of shape dad. It was me. I started my journey with Anthony just wanting to shed the weight, I wanted to feel better, I wanted to be healthy and active with my kids. I did that, I got over all my excuses like I’m too tired, or life’s too busy, I have work and kids so it’s not the right time. But I still didn’t feel like I was there.
This is how I looked after the initial weight loss:
I felt like I looked 'skinny fat', the thing is, I didn’t care about looking ripped for other people, I have always admired boxers that look that way. I never saw myself as someone that could look like that so I didn’t ever let myself imagine it was possible. I wanted 2 things, first was to feel confident for the first time in my whole life about taking off of my top. I have never quite felt good about my body as I always had just too much weight around the mid-section. Second, was about discipline. I wanted to build the discipline in my life, to kill the excuses that I could feel wanted to creep their way back into my life.
During this plan, I have moved home and my whole family have caught covid possibly twice. I have had to go into the office more days per week and I have had to clear out my flat and decorate for it to be rented. That’s all during the last few months. Previously, I would have told myself that now isn't the right time, I would have let myself off the hook, but there’s never a right time, not when you have a busy life that needs managing. So, I decided to lose the bodyfat, to build a bit of muscle and to silence my excuses and get in shape in spite of my life’s commitments and after around 12 intense weeks of following a plan that is similar to one that Hollywood actors do before a photoshoot or topless movie scene. I can see my abs. I have never seen them before, not once.
I applied discipline and my body changed, just like Anthony said it would. Trust the plan and you will get there, and Christ, I did! Now, I want to work on living a healthy balanced life. One whereby I can still eat out, still enjoy myself and my life but also one whereby I do the hard work, I don’t let excuses derail me and turn me back into the comfort eating, overwhelmed and unhappy dad I was just over a year ago.
My clothes fit me, my energy is better than it was when I was in my 20’s, I don’t get ill all the time, I don’t get grumpy with everyone, I don’t feel my stomach sitting on my belt when I work. My life is totally different. Anthony helped me to see where I was going wrong, helped me to understand the behavioural science and physiology of change. He helped me to apply discipline and take ownership.
Most importantly, he has shown me that I can do it, I can decide to change and I can’t keep going through all of the hardships of life and get there. It’s been the biggest challenge of my life and I can say it’s been one of the most rewarding too. I've shown friends and family the image below and they've even compared me to a Calvin Klein model so I'm pretty chuffed with that!
This is me before and how I look now:
A word from Anthony
Fabio, was perhaps your typical 37 year old Dad with two young kids and a full-time job, he had other priorities that trumped his own health and fitness. He told me there was a time when he would run 3 times per week, play football twice a week and ate healthily as a way of life. Back then at 12.5 stone he was close to his ideal weight for his height and had no issues with his body. Things like trying on clothes and liking the way they looked were normal.
Fast forward 7 years and Fabio’s weight was 17 stone 10 pounds (just 4lb away from 18 stone). That’s over 5 stone heavier. Slowly, but surely by gaining a pound per month he ended up in a place where he was very unfit and unhappy in his body.
During our consultation he was extremely uncomfortable, easily out of breath during simple movements, stiff and reported to be struggling with his body, mood, energy, sleep and concentration. He was in a bad place with his health and the quality of his life. He told me that he was often grumpy and too tired to play with the kids and instead found himself easily agitated. I explained in our consultation that that’s not him, it’s his hormones, diet and lifestyle that were causing those issues, including his bad mood and that it would change after just a couple of weeks of regular exercise and healthy eating. Now, I am pleased to say that he is in better shape than he has ever been, he has achieved his ideal weight at 11.9st, he has changed his mood towards his children, he has better energy and focus and he no longer struggles with his body. He is by all measures a new man.
My job is to help find the right formula for my clients, to identify what someone wants and what they need and create the plan that works for them and their life. Then I keep them focused on being consistent with that plan, which means finding discipline and grit. Fabio, has done exactly that and as a result is reaping the rewards and feeling fitter than ever.
Last note, he now runs for 15 miles on a regular basis without even getting tired. Not my prescription, but what an impressive turnaround from the man who was breathless walking up the stairs just over a year ago. People like Fabio are the reason I love my job and life!
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