Martina had struggled with her weight since she was a teenager.
For years she yo-yo dieted, dropping weight before putting back on what she’d lost and more. She hated her body and seeing pictures of herself. Too embarrassed about her figure, Martina only wore black baggy clothes in an attempt to hide how overweight she was.
Not only was her confidence taking a battering by her weight gain but when she visited the doctors for a routine check-up they told her she had to change her lifestyle. At just 25, the outcome they gave Martina was bleak. The doctor told her she had to lose weight or she wouldn’t live a long life. This was a turning point for Martina and after a friend’s recommendation, she decided to join Ultimate Performance.
A year later and Martina has turned her life around and lost over 20kg in weight. Her doctor telling her she needed to lose weight may have been hard to hear, but it forced her to change her life. Coming to U.P., Martina has found a new love for exercise, is more confident and now barely even recognises the person in her ‘before ‘photos. “I am happy to say that U.P. has changed my life completely and made me the most comfortable I have ever been, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity, guidance and support that I am always getting.”
A bad relationship with food
Before coming to U.P. Martina was a typical student — she went on nights out drinking and would try to catch up on her work the next day by studying late into the night which meant she would be surviving on 4-5 hours sleep per night. She would eat quick and easy convenience foods which were often laden with calories and stay awake by relying on coffee and sugary energy drinks. Martina didn’t really give a second thought to what she was putting into her body and whether it was healthy or not. This led to her having a bad relationship with food.
“I didn’t really care what I ate, and I only cared that I was hungry. For me, the food was a priority and on some level, a drug just to make myself feel better.” In the past, this mindset had led Martina to try powdered diets, where you simply drink shakes and don’t eat any real food. While she had lost weight doing these extreme diets, it hadn’t tackled her negative relationship with food which meant that as soon as she started to eat normally, the weight piled back on. Since training at U.P., Martina has been able to work towards building a better mindset around food which is ultimately helping her achieve a sustainable weight loss. “For me, the biggest challenge is to create a healthy relationship with the food I eat. I still struggle and tend to go from one extreme to another, but the most significant difference now is that U.P. made me think about all these things and showed me that there are many options for me and small steps to take to achieve your goals and happy place in your life.”
Going from “lazy” to exercise enthusiast
Martina warned her trainer that she would probably be the laziest client he’d ever had. She’d always hated the gym and slogging it out on cardio equipment, but after training at U.P., Martina views exercise completely differently. “I think I’m the laziest person in the world. If I didn’t have to move my eyelashes I wouldn’t — that’s how lazy I am. But now I love exercising. At U.P., it’s not just exercising, it’s about overcoming your boundaries and moving forward. In the beginning, I would never ever train with weights and now I’m lifting 100kg on deadlifts and 80kg on squats. It’s amazing for me to achieve this.” Since introducing regular exercise into her life, Martina is finding it is benefiting her mental wellbeing too. In 12 months she’s gone from actively avoiding the gym to advocating it to all her friends and family. “I am much happier and more positive person nowadays, and I actually enjoy going to the gym and doing various physical activities in my free time. Now I also try to educate and help people around me as well as my family, especially about food and the importance of exercising.”
Finding herself
When Martina looks back at the original ‘before’ photo, she struggles to believe it is her. She finally feels ‘normal’ when going out with her friends after years of feeling like the ‘big girl’ in her friendship group. She’s happy to wear clothes she never would before and her confidence is building every day.
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“Martina before and Martina now are two completely different people. All these changes made me now aware of my health, made me feel better, but also made me stronger as a person and gave me a boost of confidence that I was always lacking.” One thing is for sure, Martina doesn’t ever want to go back to being that person who walked through the U.P. doors. “After so many years I finally feel like myself — like this is me, and I don’t have to hide anymore. I know I never want to go back to that unhappy place but rather fight every day to maintain what I have.”
The U.P. difference
The experience of doing a body transformation at U.P. was worlds apart from the experiences she had doing fad diets. U.P. took away Martina’s excuses and made her accountable for all her decisions. “What really worked for me was the guidance through the food and nutrition side and all the knowledge that came with it — the constant checking by my trainer and the fact that I would be accountable for everything. I think U.P. is unique because it strips you completely bare and you either accept and fight your way through it, or you can always give up and struggle by yourself.” It wasn’t just the support of her trainer, but her family and even the other people training at U.P. “One of the best things about U.P. is that you don’t feel weird or different because every single person there goes through the same challenges and struggles as you and everyone is so supportive of each other. People are always complimenting each other and praising for good work makes you want to come back every week and push harder.” It was this atmosphere that made it so different for Martina and is one of the reasons she has stayed training with U.P. for over a year. “The environment and vibe at U.P. are so different compared to any other gyms around that you will want to stay there even after your transformation because it will become your safe place where you feel comfortable but you’re still challenged continuously.”
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