“I didn’t recognise myself at times. That was a big wake-up call for me. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin and I didn’t feel like I knew the person I’d become. I was terrified, but I knew that I wanted to do this to get to a better place in my life.”
Javier knew his poor diet and binge drinking were only making his anxiety worse.
Weighing 112kg he admitted that his sedentary lifestyle was taking a toll on his mental health.
He’d fallen into a number of unhealthy habits after working from home for over two years – and now struggled to recognise himself in pictures.
Javier’s astonishing 29kg transformation has relieved his anxiety and given him strength, confidence and more importantly knowledge to continue living healthily long into the future.
What did your lifestyle and nutrition look like before you started working with U.P.?
Because of the stress from work and the pandemic, I fell into some healthy habits that I’m not proud of.
My lifestyle was extremely unpredictable, I would say. I wasn’t doing a lot of exercise, I was drinking a lot, and I had an extremely unhealthy relationship with food. I’d go to a lot of brunches and would binge drink, then wake up the next morning feeling terrible.
There was no routine in my life at all.
How was your body making you feel?
I remember seeing my first photos with my shirt off. It was shocking, I couldn’t believe how far I’d let myself go. The thing was I’ve never been overweight. I’ve held and maintained a consistent weight through high school, college and the years after that.
But I recently started to notice an increase in weight. I started to notice that my clothes weren’t fitting me anymore and I didn’t look like I used to in photos. And that kept coming back to me.
I didn’t recognise myself at times. That was a big wake-up call for me. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin and I didn’t feel like I knew the person I’d become.
I wanted a routine and a level of accountability, which I why I took the step to join up with U.P.
Tell us about some of the benefits you’ve seen from your transformation.
I reached a point in my transformation where I didn’t fit my clothes anymore. That was a big moment for me and made me realise how much progress I’d made.
I feel like I’ve become a new person. I’ve got a much healthier relationship with food and my whole lifestyle has changed.
Also, when I first walked through the doors at U.P., I thought that I was weak and didn’t have any strength whatsoever.
As the process went along, I started to notice that I was getting stronger and stronger. I can now do pull-ups with no assistance, which still amazes me.
Do you think your training program has helped make improvements to your mental health?
Definitely. I started to get more anxious during the pandemic. I had small panic attacks and ended up taking medication to address some of the mental health issues I was suffering from.
But something wasn’t quite working out. I knew that my lack of physical activity was affecting me because I wasn’t getting out much or getting any fresh air.
Now I’ve got a routine, and ’m consistently working out, I believe it’s made a big difference. I get my 10,000 steps in every day and I’ve seen a major improvement to my mental health. A big part of that was missing before I started working out.
How did you feel before your first session?
Honestly, I was terrified. I was terrified because I was insecure about going to the gym. I kept asking myself whether my form would be right or if I was going to get injured. I was also concerned people were going to judge me because I didn’t know what I was doing. So, there was a lot of fear and anxiety.
But I also knew that I wanted to do this to get to a better place in my life. From day one, I realised there was nothing to worry about.
This was the best investment I could have made for my long-term health. It was always in the back of my mind that Hispanics are more prone to diabetes and other diseases, so transforming my health was important to me.
Do you think the progress you’ve made will have an impact on your close friends and family?
Yeah, definitely. When I talk to people, they realise how much I’ve cut down and are impressed with the progress I’ve made.
I remember when I was 23kg down and I hadn’t told many people. I took a picture with my trainer and posted it on Instagram, and the response from my friends and network was amazing.
Some people even said they were going to start changing their lifestyles themselves.
When your health is at stake, having an expert partner in your corner is the best investment you can make. See the difference a U.P. personal trainer can make to your life.
- We show you the best, we don't show you the worst.
- We show you people who follow the plans, not those who are all talk.
- We show you those who inspire even us with their commitment to their results.
- You cannot get results exactly like these. You are unique and that means you can only get your own best possible results.
- Your results are a function of time spent following the plan; your genetic response to the right exercise and diet program; how hard you train; how consistently you come to the gym; how disciplined you are with your diet; & your starting point.
- Oftentimes the lower your starting point (poor fitness, terrible body composition) the better your results.
- We cannot do the work for you and the results you see here are a testament to the work ethic of our clients.
-
Our reputation is that we are the best trainers in the world for helping you to unlock your potential, & we can lead you to the door, give you the key, even turn the handle and push the door open, but we cannot walk through it for you.
In the end the result is down to you.
Like these results? Send us your details in the form below to receive information about our programs
