Ryan reached out to me only yesterday to say how motivating he found my blog- Little did he know that I also found HIS story really motivating…and he is still on his path to reach his goals and smash 2017 as best he can. Read his own words here. A lesson for us all- take it slow and act consistently. THAT is the only way to ensure you do not fall down at the first hurdle…Well done Ryan- you should be so so very proud!
I was not an overweight child, although I absolutely loved snack food: I always had a craving for savoury snacks like crisps and sausage rolls etc. I was not active though, I used to play a bit of football but wasn’t that good so always got left out of the team meaning I eventually lost interest and just stopped playing.
I began to gain weight at college, drinking too much cider and not having a good diet; it wasn’t sudden but it was significant over a number of years. I suppose I was in complete denial. I would just buy bigger clothes until the only shop I could get clothes to fit was Debenhams as they carry the bigger sizes. The tipping point came when I was around 29 years old. Clothes shopping was a nightmare, nothing would fit! I would leave the shop empty handed close to tears. I couldn’t fit into a pair of 46 inch waist trousers and they did not sell anything bigger and the shirts had a 21 inch neck or were 3XL.
Initially I joined Slimming World, on my first weigh in I was 22 stone and 13 pounds! I managed to lose a couple of stone over the period of 6 months, not linearly, but it was coming off. I was still inactive so I heard of these spinning classes starting in our local town. I signed up and found that although it was extremely difficult I quite enjoyed it and my weight started to drop more rapidly. I did not have much of a clue about nutrition so thought if I don’t really eat I won’t gain weight. While this was true I dropped to 16 stone and looked awful. I felt pretty awful too, I had skinny arms and legs, no strength and still had a significant belly which would not move.
I began to put weight back on and actually went back up to just over 19 stone. I tried to educate myself on nutrition and exercise and learned that I had to gain some muscle, lift some weights and do less cardio than I was doing (7 spin classes a week!). The weight began to come off again, but this time it was proportional. My arms grew in size as did my shoulders. The fat began to come off my back and my abdomen and my legs were strong with good muscle development.
I am currently at my lightest weight on the scales, just over 15 stone. I wear a size 34 trousers and a size 16 inch neck shirt or just an L and on occasion a Medium! I started feeding myself properly and preparing my meals for every couple of days. I set up an Instagram account to track my progress, to view what other people were doing and to motivate myself to do a better job. I post mainly food photos and occasionally gym shots. I am never hungry apart from post workout where I can be starving. I eat 5 times a day and take a lean whey protein shake once a day. I buy some protein rich snacks just to replace the biscuit or chocolate I would have with a cup of tea, and I drink a lot more water than I used to.
I am not the finished article. I am still carrying too much body fat but I know what i have to do and 2017 will be an important year for me; it is the first time I have got the nutrition part of my lifestyle right. Some weeks I gain and some weeks I lose, I feel it in my clothes. I am comfortable in the knowledge that I am going in the right direction. Hopefully, I can re-visit this a year from now and give another significant update. I don’t recognise the guy in the photos before!
You can follow Ryan’s journey on Instagram: rpm_fitness.goals
