When you have been chasing a goal since your early 20s but you still haven’t managed to hit it when into your 40s: you begin to think it’s just not possible and that what you are chasing is an impossible dream.

This is how Jay felt, he had been striving towards building his dream physique since his youth.

“I’ve been training since I was 19 years old but I could never get into the shape I wanted! It was just not happening! Even though I was a regular gym goer I found it hard to control my weight. And one day when I looked in the mirror I felt so bad, I knew I had to do something different as obviously what I was doing wasn’t actually working anymore.”

Jay had come across RNT before and had read and seen a number of transformations online. But he was worried he wouldn’t be able to follow through and complete the programme.

“I heard about RNT 2 years before I decided to sign up. The biggest reason I chose not to sign up was because I was worried about the food. I thought it was going to be another unsustainable diet plan and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to stick to the diet plan. I love my food and as a pure vegetarian I was wondering how it would all work out.”

Jay realised that things had gone completely out of hand when he didn’t like how he felt in himself anymore. He was unhappy and just wasn’t coping well. That’s when he decided to stop overthinking and take the leap.

Carbs and Fats Aren’t The Bad Guys

After the first couple of weeks, Jay was pleasantly surprised with his nutrition plan. He found it hard at first to align his food and his macros but he soon got the hang of it. He realised that he was in control and could choose foods that suited his preference and palette, which meant it was easy to stick to plan. He was amazed that he actually felt satiated and satisfied.

Jay realised that RNT wasn’t just a quick fix fad diet but a lifestyle solution that he could follow everyday, saving him from the dreaded rebound.

“I always thought I had to avoid carbs and fats to lose weight. So I would try to avoid them but of course it wasn’t sustainable. You need quality carbs and fats to get you through the day and RNT taught me that.”

Learning how to create a well-balanced nutrition plan that includes protein, carbohydrates and fats is essential to creating your own lifestyle fitness solution: this is one of our main focus points. By educating our members we give them the foundation so they can effectively have their cake and eat it too!

“RNT doesn’t just give you a plan and tell you what to do, you learn how to do it yourself. If you are just told what to do and you blindly follow, what will happen when you can’t follow it anymore? You are bound to yo-yo and rebound.”

Making Time

Apart from nailing nutrition, Jay was also surprised when he was asked to walk 10,000 steps a day.

“I had never tracked my steps before. I am mostly at my desk all day long and I guess I was doing about 3-4,000 steps a day! That’s when I realised how little I moved and that’s when it struck me that it’s not just about lifting heavy weights - steps, nutrition and training all have to come together to make it work.”

Although apprehensive at first, Jay decided that the best way to make sure he had enough time was to make the most of his mornings. And then he found a sudden shift in his productivity!

“I have never been a morning person! But now I wake up at 5:15am just so I can get my steps in. If I don’t do this first thing in the morning then I find it so hard to meet my step target and make it to the gym to train. By using my mornings I am free in the evenings to spend time with my family, which means I am getting the best of both worlds.”

It’s easy to lay the blame on our busy schedules for being unable to prioritise our health and well-being. A common thread we have seen amongst most of our members (if not all) is that all you need to do to free up time is to simply realign priorities. Going to bed early and not binge-watching TV will ensure that you get enough sleep allowing you to wake early, giving you a couple of hours every morning to do what needs to be done.

The Safe Passage Home

The first two phases of your RNT journey are focused completely on losing excess body fat and hitting your target weight. During these phases you understand how to frame your own 3Ss, that is your structure, strategy and system. Your 3Ss is the blueprint that will help you stay in the shape of your life, for life.

But once you get there, what next? It’s easy to get into the shape of your life, it’s a whole other ballgame to stay in shape for life. This is why the few weeks after hitting your goal weight is critical - we call this The Consolidation Phase.

Going through a hard diet can leave your body feeling particularly vulnerable. After all the hard work is done you will be tempted to reward yourself, you have achieved something remarkable and it’s normal to want to give yourself a pat on the back. But it’s very important to still keep yourself in check as one “treat” could quickly snowball into a treat-fest! This is where the power of the RNT community plays an important role. The support we provide through the cohorts on RNT Pro as well as through the coaching calls help to keep everyone accountable. It also makes it easier to get back on track after a minor slip-up.

A successful Consolidation Phase happens when you have a deep ‘why’. Your ‘why’ is the North star making sure you continue to steer the course you have set for yourself.

For Jay it was a no brainer:

“After all that hard work, I feel throwing it away in three months is a huge waste of time. I loved how I looked and felt and I didn’t want to lose that. I had been trying to get into shape for decades and I wasn’t going to let go of what I had achieved!”

All our members have different deep-rooted ‘whys’. For some it’s generational health, for others it’s to mitigate genetic predispositions towards illness. The reason could be anything as long as it’s something that you can connect with and feels true.

The Physical Is The Vehicle

Jay is now well into his Investment Phase and he is focused on building his strength in the gym. His 3Ss are in place and he is very happy with how he looks and feels.

“I feel so strong and energetic now and things that weren’t possible before are possible now. I am so much more calm and I am filled with energy!

My favourite RNT message is, ‘Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you can feed him for his lifetime.’

I have learnt so much in these 8 months. My relationship with food has evolved; my training has progressed and I am so much more confident now that I am making the right choices. The knowledge I have gained will support me and my family throughout our lives.

A big thank you to the RNT family in particular to Akash, Ivan and Ed for all the insights and guidance given to me so far.”

Podcast

In Episode 278 of RNT Fitness Radio Akash and Jay talk more about Jay’s transformation journey and how he got over his reservations and decided to take the plunge. In this podcast Jay says, “I have always been able to bulk up easily and when my friends saw me they thought I was losing weight and they were very surprised, but I told them I wasn’t losing weight, I was getting into shape!” If you can relate to any aspect of Jay’s story you will definitely enjoy listening to his podcast.