Astonishing 37kg (81 lbs) weight loss propels Labib to promotion at work

“I’m very motivated by numbers coming from a background in finance. I had to think to myself – is this a good investment? I can tell you very confidently, it’s probably the best investment I’ve ever made.”

Overweight and unhappy, Labib felt his poor physical health was pulling him down at work.

His job in finance meant he was working with numbers every day, but he knew he wasn’t anywhere near his best whenever he pulled his laptop open.

He didn’t feel himself around friends and colleagues, either.

Perhaps the most frustrating part for Labib, was that he was trying to lose weight.

He’d given countless diets a go and even splashed the cash on a rowing machine. But no real results followed.

Now at rock bottom, he was ready to make a real change – and he believed fitness could help him do that.

He was proved right within just weeks. The guidance of a U.P. trainer gave him a long-term diet and training plan that helped him lose 37kg and feel mentally sharper every single day.

So much so, Labib puts his recent promotion at work down to his newfound focus and life-changing confidence.

Read Labib’s story for yourself here.

How did you find U.P.? 

I did a bit of Googling to try and see where I could go to find some more help, and immediately, I saw dozens of amazing transformations, and I thought, if these people can do it, then what’s really stopping me from doing it?  

I came in for a meeting with one of the other PTs at U.P. their motivation, their intensity convinced me that they believed that anything was possible and I was no special case, but rather if it worked for the last 100 people, why could it not work for me?

And ultimately, coming in, and seeing everyone, not just the trainers but also the other people working out and how friendly they were, made me feel much more comfortable. 

Why did you decide to start your training program?  

I wasn’t happy with who I was; I lacked confidence. I wasn’t performing well at work. I didn’t feel like myself around friends.

And I had tried almost every single diet and exercise technique there was. I’ve been to other personal trainers; I even bought myself a rowing machine to try, but unfortunately, none of that worked.

I ended up in a place where I was severely overweight; I was struggling to climb upstairs, and I just wasn’t very happy. 

I come from a background of unhealthy habits, overeating, lack of portion control, and not enough exercise in total, which meant that when I got out of school, where I had a fixed regime about sports and exercise, my weight spiralled out of control.

In university, I was just eating pizzas, eating unhealthily, going out to parties, drinking too much and not exercising.

Fast forward to working life, and really, I’d be working crazy hours, and during that time, I didn’t have a second to go and do a few steps or cook and prepare myself some food on the weekends. 

What changed at U.P.? 

My mentality changed at U.P. I realised there’s no real quick fix; there’s no shortcut to achieving a healthy lifestyle or a slim and slender body.

I realised I had to look at myself in the mirror and basically understand the cause, and I did that with help from my personal trainer. We had quite a few regular sit-downs to understand where my thinking was going wrong.

I thought if I was over-eating one weekend, I could just cut back the next day; that would balance itself out.

Whereas in reality, it’s much more of a long-term plan, a long-term focus, and the understanding of being patient to achieve your results. 

How do you feel now compared to before you started? 

So, after starting this journey at U.P., I think the first real change I saw was at work.

Whereas before, I lacked confidence and was much quieter in meetings, now I found myself naturally just speaking up more.

In fact, my colleagues, when they first saw me after I had lost a few pounds, said, “You look like a new person; you’re acting like a new person.” I’m almost 100% certain that my new appearance had an impact on my confidence, which then led to me actually going ahead and getting a promotion at work.  

So, I think from what I learned, having a strong mentality when completing an exercise to going on and working hard and making sure you achieve the best goals translates over into your work life very quickly. 

In my personal life, what I’ve noticed is that I’m much more active, so now I go out and have fun with friends.

As well as just drinking and going to the pub, I’m more active, so we go out and play football or we’ll go out and chuck a rugby ball about, which is something that I couldn’t do before.

What lessons have you learnt? What are the main takeaways at U.P.? 

I think the key lesson I’ve learnt is ‘calories in versus calories out’.

It is really that simple; if you are exercising properly, if you’re doing your daily steps, if you’re eating correctly, then really anything is possible.

The benefit of U.P. is that you have someone there giving you guidance and looking over your shoulder to make sure you stay on the right track. And that can really be the differentiator between someone who gets there maybe 80% of the way and someone who gets there 100% of the way.

Ultimately, I’d like to use everything I’ve learned at U.P. and put myself on the right track to maintain this, hopefully not just for the next 5 years or 10 years but for the rest of my life.

The lessons I’ve learned here have been life-changing, and I like to keep those going forward. 

If you feel weighed down by responsibilities at work, a U.P. transformation can help you feel your productive best every day and revitalise your body confidence entirely. Start your program here.  

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