Before RNT, Sammy was really struggling.

He had poor health, he slept badly because he suffered from severe eczema, was severely overweight and had really low self esteem.

But when his brother pushed him to sign up to RNT, everything changed.

1. What were the series of moments that led to your “trigger” moment to begin your journey with RNT?

In all honesty, there was no series of moments, or trigger moments that began my journey with RNT.

It actually came out of the blue because my brother pushed me into doing it!

At first, I had a lot of reservations about joining. But I’m glad that I put them all to one side as I can honestly say it is one of the most important decisions I have made in my life.

When I look back over my life’s journey, it’s been a series of problems.

To begin with, I was affected by feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem and was stuck in a constant and dangerous spiral of negative self-talk.

The root cause of my low self worth was primarily because of my eczema and the way I looked.

Being short, fat and with bad skin made me feel like everyone around me was better than me and I was always wrong, never right.

It was depressing and my lack of nutrition only propelled this downward spiral. I put myself down and I always was and have always been my own harshest critic.

2. What were your biggest problems before starting RNT?

My single biggest problem has always been discipline around nutrition and my poor relationship to food.

When I started my RNT journey, I was 72kg, and being 5 foot 2 meant I was severely overweight.

To make matters worse, my eczema was so bad, it would keep me up at night, which meant I would find myself dropping off to sleep during the day!

Plus, I had a habit of starting things, but never seeing them through.

I have lost weight over the last decade a fair few times, but it was always for a holiday or some shiny object that was dangling in front of me. When that motivation was no longer there, I would go straight back to square one.

3. What has the process been like, and the biggest challenges and obstacles?

The process has been beautiful, but not without its struggles!

However, being part of the RNT community and speaking to like-minded people who have experienced the same problems has helped me tremendously.

The coaches especially have been so supportive and encouraging. They seem to have the answers to all my questions and they always give me simple strategies that I can easily implement. Now, I feel I have THE blueprint and a well laid out path that will guarantee results.

For me, the biggest challenge and obstacle has always been nutrition. After all, I have had to rewire nearly 30 years of terrible eating habits. So changing habits and adjusting my mindset accordingly has been tough.

And then secondly, injuries, niggles and being stopped in my tracks after I gained momentum. I had a nearly flawless 6 to 9 months at the start of my RNT journey but the ups and downs over the next 12 months have been much tougher.

But, we plough on. I have this attitude now that I won’t stop until I get the body I desire, and even then, I’ll keep pushing. My mentality has changed beyond all recognition.

4. How has the physical been the vehicle?

The physical is the starting point from which everything stems.

Everything germinates from here.

Which is why mentally, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.

My self-worth and self-esteem have massively improved and most importantly, I feel confident and happy in myself, something that I can honestly say has never been the case.This has improved my working relationships and my friendships. I don’t go into new situations feeling nervous and fearful like I did before.

I feel that I’m good enough as I am. And I don’t feel I have to prove my worth because internally I feel happy.

My identity has changed from being a people pleaser (although I sometimes still do this). I now stand on my own two feet and I’m not so reliant on people as I hold myself accountable.

I’m honest with myself and that’s never been the way until now.

Also, I have come to realise that my mind and body are connected - one cannot be right if the other is out of control. This has made me so much more positive about things than I ever have been before.

A big bonus has been the number of comments I have received about how I look! Even though I didn’t see it at the time, I have come to realise that my transformation has clearly got people talking!

If I can inspire others to make positive changes in their lives as a result…all the better.

5. What almost kept you from joining?

The cost! Haha!

But no, in all seriousness, I looked at the programme and it felt daunting to me. I thought to myself, “Woah, this is way too much to change! There is no way I can achieve this!”

Had it not been for the pandemic (perversely) maybe I wouldn’t have joined. But that time alone by myself gave me the time to work on myself and only myself. And that was an absolute game changer for me. When I had no distractions, I was able to give the journey my full and undivided attention.

And then slowly but surely, I’ve been able to do more without compromising my training (which is so very important to me), because I’ve added things in my life one by one. One step at a time, small wins that accumulate over time and the momentum I’ve built up has changed my whole outlook on life.