Paul Harris has always been an active guy, but at 52 he noticed that every passing year brought a little extra weight gain. Perhaps you know how he feels?
2017 was the year Paul decided enough is enough. This is the story of how Paul stopped going through the motions, kicked his fitness into gear, and lost 22 lbs in the process!
“I’ve been careful to keep active through my 30s, 40s, and into my 50s,” says Paul. “So I was surprised to wake up one day and realise I was at least 20kgs heavier than I should be.”
He’s joking, of course. Nobody gains 20 kilos overnight, and Paul knows that his weight gain had crept up over many years. A few pounds here, a little extra there.
“My main sport was skiing,” he says.
“I even lived in the Alps as a ski guide and did 6 seasons there. But that side of things stopped when we had kids. I got out of shape, lost my fitness, and put a bit of weight on every year. Family life meant I had less time for the leisure activities which had kept me fit, and I’ve never been a gym goer. The lack of activity, plus bad eating habits, means I ended up at nearly 110kgs. That’s at least 20kgs heavier than I should be.”
Paul’s children are now 11 and 8. It was time for Paul to refocus on himself.
In September 2017, Paul’s wife forwarded him an email from us at Coach Joseph Webb. She had been doing Personal Training session with us, and knew our focused, results-driven approach would be great for her husband.
“I’d just finished a stressful contract at work which left me diagnosed with high blood pressure,” says Paul.
“Joe’s next 12-week programme coincided with the work contracting ending. I had the time. I wanted to change. I knew I had to go for it.”
Paul met with us to talk about our 12-week transformation programme, and signed up there and then to get started at the end of the week.
Finding fitness in your 50’s
Paul wasn’t sure what kind of weight loss to aim for, but he knew he had to reverse the trends of the past decade: the poor eating habits, stress eating, and lack of exercise.
“I thought I had to lose about 10kgs,” he says.
“But it’s difficult to know what your ideal weight is as you get older. I just knew I needed to lose weight. And more importantly I wanted to be happier, healthier, and get back to the active person I really am.”
It was’t as if Paul hadn’t tried to reverse his weight gain before now.
“During these past 10 years, I have tried a few diets,” he explains.
“I had good results with the Atkins diet, but only for a short while. And after you stop doing “the diet”, the weight comes back on. That kind of approach isn’t sustainable. I needed a lifestyle, not a diet.”
Paul wanted help learning good habits and falling into a healthier routine so he could live a leaner, lighter lifestyle for the future.
It starts with A 12-week fix – but it’s a permanent change
Like many of our clients, Paul is a successful business owner who works well with firm commitments, timeframes, and schedules.
“As soon as I’d made the commitment to Joe, I felt better about myself,” he says.
“To me, once you’ve agreed a path of action, you don’t have the option of baling out. It was almost as if I’d signed a contract with myself. I’d started, and I knew I’d finish this. It was actually very exciting to feel that I was focusing on myself for the first time in years.”
And as Paul discovered, the early morning training sessions had a knock-on effect for the rest of the week.
“I loved training in the mornings,” he says.
“It energised me for the rest of the day, and made me more focused on healthy habits for the evening. On training days, this was because I didn’t want to mess up my hard work, and on non-training days it was because I had training in the morning!”
Paul soon found he was sleeping better, making smarter food choices, and looking after himself with healthier habits.
HIIT training that gets results fast
“I loved Joe’s style of training,” says Paul.
“The sessions are short, which works well for anyone who’s as busy as I am. And they’re tough, too, which means you soon get to see that it’s working! I liked having Joe there to tell me how hard I needed to work. You can’t stop or slow down, and that’s a good confidence boost. You soon realise how much you are capable of. I got a lot fitter, very quickly.”
Paul trained with us 3 x a week during his 12-week plan, and that’s a habit he’s maintained into 2018.
Paul’s progress in numbers
In 12 weeks, Paul:
-Lost 22 lbs of fat
-Lost over 14 inches across his whole body
-Re-gained his energy and confidence
How did he do it?
“I knew a lot about fitness and diet anyway,” he says,
“and I’d read up on things. But obviously knowing isn’t enough, or I wouldn’t have been in the state I was!”
It’s one thing to know it, but quite another to put it into practice!
As Paul found out, what makes the difference between trying to go it alone and joining one of our 12-week programmes is:
Support
Encouragement
Accountability
And putting the effort in!
“Once I signed up to the 12 weeks, I knew I’d do it,” he says.
“I would not want to own up to failing!”
Healthy changes that fit with family life
“I really focused on making lifestyle changes that I knew I would maintain after the 12 weeks,” he says.
“So that meant no supplements and no bans on any food. I just moved to more sensible eating, cut down on bread, and reduced how often I had a drink in the evening to “unwind”. I really enjoyed creating healthy meals that I could eat with the family. It caused absolutely no friction at home – I wasn’t on a restrictive plan that took me out of family life.”
The story after the ‘diet’ ends
Weight loss is impressive.
But what’s even more admirable is someone who has kept the weight off, and maintained the healthy habits, nearly a year later.
Today. Paul still trains 3 x a week (although he admits it’s “an hour later, so I can spend the time with my kids!”) He still eats healthy meals with the family.
And, yes, he’s maintained that amazing weight loss.
“I’m feeling fitter, and I know how to choose the right foods and appropriate portion sizes to keep this weight off,” he says.
“And most exciting of all, I know how to “turn the screw” if I want to lose the last little bit of excess weight.”
Paul had been wanting to shift 10kgs for 10 years.
Once he decided to do it, he was amazed by how quickly he lost all that – and more.
All You Have To Do Is Do It!
“I was pleasantly surprise by how natural it felt once I’d got into it,” he says.
“I realised that I’d been “wanting” to lose weight for years. But wanting it just wishful thinking. You have to do it. And that really is all you have to do”.
“It’s easy to make the commitment. Do that, and then take one step at a time. Get started and keep turning up.”
And as for the skiing?
Paul has already booked a trip for the end of the year, knowing he’ll be the lightest and fittest he’s been for more than a decade!
Want to have you our transformation like Paul? Reach out today and let’s talk about your journey.
Coach Joseph Webb.
‘The number one rated Personal Trainer In Henley and Oxfordshire’
