Eirik ditches man boobs at 51 after years of trying alone
“Just looking at myself in the mirror was extraordinary. It was shocking how quickly results started kicking in. Every day while brushing my teeth I noticed a difference.”
Eirik had sported an athletic body for most of his life, but everything changed as he hit 50.
He’d noticed he had developed man boobs and love handles around his waist – which no personal trainer could help get rid of.
He’d tried and tried again, but always walked away disappointed.
Eirik now knew it was time to get serious and stop tinkering with his training as he entered his fifties.
That dream was realised in just 14 weeks working side-by-side with his own U.P. trainer. He dropped 12kg and walked away with a lean six-pack he’s wanted for 20-plus years.
Find out how his U.P. journey unfolded from start to finish here.
What were the main drivers that led to you joining U.P.?
I looked at myself in the mirror and realised I had gone too far away from how I wanted to look.
I had quite an athletic body in my forties. But I developed a love handle problem which developed into a man boob problem. And once I got to the man boobs, that was it. I decided I had to do something about it.
I've tried different personal training solutions but didn't quite get the results I wanted. So, I wanted to go for something that was really going to work.
Did you have any barriers to overcome before starting?
My kids had gotten to a point where I was getting a bit more time to focus on myself again. With work and family pressures, it was hard to know whether I could actually get value out of it, though.
I only committed when I was confident that I could focus on the diet as well as on the workouts.
What were the main obstacles you faced at U.P., and how did you deal with them?
I think sticking to the diet was mostly easy, but every so often, I would get a period where I was just hungry. I think the right word is craving, not hungry.
It was just desperately wanting certain flavours I was used to that I didn't have. And then, if I cracked and tasted it, I just couldn't stop myself. But again, these times passed, and I got back on track.
And I think with support from my trainer, knowing that someone was checking up on me was essential to keep me on the straight and narrow.
Also, it's quite expensive, so when you pay that kind of money, you probably also want to make sure that you get value out of it. So I have to say that probably did motivate me partly as well.
What would you say is your proudest achievement through this process?
I think my proudest achievement is to go hard without hurting myself.
In the past, I’ve pushed myself and rolled from injury to injury. In fact, some of the injuries I've had in the past have gotten better.
I learnt some new things about myself during this journey. Honestly, I haven't really put myself on a strict diet; I never thought I could do it.
So, the fact that I managed to come down and stay at a level for so long has been a real eye-opener for me; I did not expect that of myself.
Would you say you've gotten a good return on your investment?
Yeah, definitely. It gets results which is the important thing. I'm in better shape now than I have been in 20 years.
I think inside my head, I still thought I looked like that. It's almost like reverse dysmorphia. I think I kind of convinced myself that I looked better than I did. So it's just great to feel like I'm actually back where I wanted to be.
I feel validated; I believed I could do it, but now I proved that I could.
