Stefan goes from “zombie-like” dad to role-model father with his 20kg weight loss.

I feel a lot more confident with my family. That’s a priceless feeling. You can’t buy that feeling of being energetic and engaged around your kids.

Stefan’s chronic health anxiety had led him down a path of self-destruction.

Convinced that his digestive issues were symptomatic of something far more serious, he set out on a perilous search for answers.

But the 43-year-old’s obsessive behaviour was putting severe strain on his marriage and racked up tens of thousands of pounds worth of costs in private scans.

After continuously getting the all-clear, and eventually tipping the scales at 90kg, the father-of-two accepted that he could no longer ignore his weight gain.

Overweight, unfit, and unable to match the energy of his children, the PR manager signed up to start a transformation with Ultimate Performance.

Shown how to lift weights with a purpose, and ditching the takeaway meals for good, Stefan’s new habits began to remedy his irritable bowel syndrome, curing his “zombie-like” demeanour.

And in just 16 short weeks, he’d dropped 20kg in body weight to reveal abs he’d never seen before.

More importantly, he was able to enhance the relationships in his life, becoming a better father, a better husband, a better friend, and a better employee.

He explains how that was made possible with the help of his trainer, here…

What were your eating habits like before you partnered with U.P.? 

My eating habits were either too strict or really poor. I had no knowledge of how to eat properly to complement my training and the biggest problem I had was that I medicated stress with binge eating.

It wasn’t just the odd treat here and there, either. If I went on a rampage with food, I could easily eat everything in the house. I’d sit on the sofa mindlessly eating the kids’ sugary cereals, chocolate, takeaways, anything. 

How did that make you feel?

Initially, if I was stressed, I’d feel a bit better, but then it would open the floodgates and I wouldn’t be able to stop. I didn’t have any self-control over my eating and the more I ate, the worse I felt. I eat the stuff that had been specifically bought for the children and I would feel embarrassed and ashamed. 
 
Then, the next day, I would be super strict; no carbs, try keto, whatever, and that would last a few days. I couldn’t stick to it and then I’d fall back into a vicious cycle of eating. It wouldn’t just be a biscuit. It’s a whole packet of biscuits.

What was your training regime like before joining U.P.?

I started weight training about 13 years ago, when my first child was born, as I wanted to do something positive as a father.

I found a book that Nick Mitchell had written in WHSmith, and it looked good. That’s how I got into weight training. I enjoyed it, but I never had any formal education about how to lift correctly, so I was fumbling in the dark a bit.

I did put on muscle, but even though I’ve trained intermittently for those 13 years, I’ve never ever achieved a body composition that I wanted.

What was the trigger that led to you thinking that ‘enough is enough’?

The main trigger for me coming to U.P. was that for the first time as an adult, I tipped the scales at over 90kg, and I was pretty horrified by that. I’d notice at weekend, rather than having the energy to play and keep up with my youngest daughter, Lily (6), I was lying on the settee. I’d be napping and I started to feel guilty that I wasn’t spending the quality time that I wanted to do with my children, particularly when they’re so young.

I also work for U.P., my job in PR is partly to be an ambassador for the company and talk to clients, so I felt like an imposter, a fraud. I was 90kg, overweight, sluggish, almost zombie-like at weekends. If I didn’t do something about it now, then my children will have grown up and I’ll have missed out on all those nice moments playing with them.

What was the biggest lesson you’ll take away from this experience, both in terms of fitness and nutrition?

The biggest eye-opener for me with the nutrition was understanding about macros and understanding that it’s not about eating 5,000 calories of protein every day. I think a lot of men would have to admit that their ego gets in the way and they read up on Dwayne Johnson’s diet.

And so they have thousands of unnecessary calories, particularly of protein. But also the biggest thing for me was you could eat from the land, good food, healthy food, without having to resort to hundreds of protein shakes a day and hundreds of protein bars. It had a transformational effect on my body composition, but I was never hungry, which was great.

It also had a transformational effect on my digestion, which I’ve struggled with, and an irritable bowel, for years. The nutrition cleared that up almost overnight, which is amazing. 

In terms of training, what was the biggest takeaway for you?

The training at U.P. opened my eyes to what training should be like compared to how I would previously have trained myself.

It was an incredible education in terms of how to lift correctly, how to execute proper form. And when I think about what my form was like before, compared to the 16 weeks training I’ve had at U.P., it was just night and day.

You realise how many bad habits you’ve picked up, that you’re not actually executing a rep correctly, and you’re not pushing yourself in a way that you can do with lighter weights when you train with U.P. Because again, I would say that when I trained, I would be quite egotistical about it, try and pick the heaviest weight and lift it regardless of what the performance is like. But at U.P. you learn it’s about the execution, it’s about the technique. It’s about making the last rep of the set exactly the same form wise as the first set.

The training has blown me away. It’s by far the most intense training ever and you learn how to push yourself. 

How have these results impacted on you as a person?

In terms of how the weight loss has made me feel as a person, I feel completely different, I feel a lot more confident. I feel a lot less of a fraud because I’ve achieved something after years of trying. It’s a huge sense of achievement, of being so dedicated and so disciplined for so long, I didn’t think I’d be able to do that. That bleeds into other areas of your life.

I feel a lot more confident with my family. I’ve got a lot more energy, and that’s a priceless feeling. You can’t buy that feeling of being energetic and engaged around your kids. It’s improved every area of my life; I’m more productive at work, my love life and my sex life with my wife is better. Our intimacy is better, I’m more alert in every area.

It’s been brilliant and people have commented on my weight loss and how I look now, and it’s a good feeling. 

Do you feel as though you achieved everything you set out to?

I feel like a role model to my kids and I’ve proved to myself, and to my family, that I had the dedication and determination to do it.

You set an example for your kids, they’re talking about nutrition and understanding the importance of food. It’s educating them, the whole family has bought into it, and that’s priceless. 

Would you recommend U.P. to others?

I would 100% recommend U.P. to friends. When I was ill with anxiety a few years ago, and I had a lot of problems with my digestion, I easily spent £20,000 to £25,000 on private scans and tests thinking I had some form of rare cancer.

Obviously, I didn’t. But when your anxiety is through the roof and you’ve got a chronic health problem, you’re looking for answers. That financial burden would’ve put a lot of strain on my family. U.P., comparatively, in terms of quality of life, is a fraction of the cost that I’d wasted on unnecessary tests.

In the time that I’ve trained here at U.P., my digestion is 100% better, my confidence is better, my weight is much better, my family life is better. So, from that point of view, it’s not just about the aesthetics.

What you get at U.P., it’s far more than a before and an after. It changes your whole life. That sense of accountability and the relationship you develop with your trainer is just one of the main reasons why U.P. is so special and you get such a good result.

Stefan now realises his weight was holding him back in all corners of his life. See for yourself how U.P. can transform you into a better father, husband, and employee.

Like these results? Send us your details in the form below to receive information about our programs