Confidence is something we all strive to have more of.
One of the best ways to improve your self-, body- and ‘life’ confidence is through the process of a physical transformation.
When you tick the boxes every single day of a transformation journey, you build confidence.
Through keeping promises to yourself and taking control of your life, you breed a level of confidence that pours into everything you do. You start noticing shifts in your behaviour, mindset and outlook, and over time, you realise you’ve become a new person.
Priyanka was no different. For years she’d always wanted to build her ‘trifecta’ of confidence, and she knew it started with taking charge of her body.
The problem was, she had no real direction. She was going to classes and trying to eat healthy, but she wasn’t getting any results.
That was until she had a wake-up call.
Her trigger.
At the age of 26 she was told by the doctors she had high blood pressure.
This was a massive shock to her and her family.
She now had a powerful ‘why’ that connected how going through a body transformation would positively impact her in the long term.
Armed with a strong reason to transform, she dived straight in.
Enter RNT.
On reflection, Priyanka said:
“Initially my motivation for signing up for RNT was to build my body confidence and also to get in shape for my upcoming holidays! In the past I’d always been in the normal weight range, but I never had a proper ‘figure’, which at times made me less confident when I was going out or at the beach on holiday.
I had been going to the gym regularly (mainly to classes) and tried to eat healthy but I found this wasn’t getting me the results I was after. I wasn’t getting toned or lean. I knew I needed to learn more about nutrition and training, which was the reason I signed up to RNT. Especially seeing how beneficial it was for my cousin, who had a consistent, focused plan that meant he was no longer wasting any time.
That being said, what really pushed me to sign up was; in November 2017, during a health MOT check-up at the gym, they mentioned my blood pressure was high, and I should get it checked with my doctor! I eventually went to my doctor to get it checked and the three readings my doctor took all came out as high. The doctor recommended doing a 24-hour blood pressure monitoring test as it could have been “white coat syndrome”, which is when blood pressure levels can be high in a clinical setting (because I was having my blood pressure taken), and not in other settings.
When the results came back, the average confirmed that my blood pressure was high, and so my doctor started me on blood pressure tablets from May 2018.
This was a shock to me as well as my family.
I couldn’t believe I’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure at such a young age. To add to this, all other blood tests, kidney MRIs and ECGs all came back clear, and they couldn’t identify the cause of what had happened.
They mentioned smoking, old age, obesity, high salt diet, lack of physical activity and family history, but none of these applied to me.
My ‘why’ since that moment completely changed, and it’s now way more than just the physical. It’s about staying fit, healthy and educated with my lifestyle choices for the long run.”
Starting Point
Starting Bodyweight – 50.5kg
Starting Waist Measure – 27 inches
Training – Priyanka had always gone to the gym, but it’d always been random workouts and classes; it was time to go on a structured plan with a focus on progressive overload throughout.
Cardio – No formal cardio outside of classes.
Diet – Prior to starting with RNT, her typical diet was as follows:
Breakfast – 60g whey protein with water, 40g oats and 1 tsp of Peanut Butter
Lunch – She usually bought this at work and chose either a ‘make your own salad’ from Chop’d (with lentils, beans, quinoa, tofu and veg) or a veggie wrap with falafel hummus and onion sweet corn.
Dinner – Lentils or a variety of beans made curry style with rice
On the surface, Priyanka’s diet wasn’t too bad, but it was low in protein and there was a lack of consistency, especially on Friday’s and weekends. As a result, she was going through periods of maintenance with periods of gaining and loss – there was no real pattern or trajectory. This meant a lot of yo-yoing, and left her spinning her wheels.
Cleaning The Palate
To begin with, Priyanka needed to regain control of her day, and build her unique structure, strategy and systems to allow her to push on in her journey.
Diet – We changed her diet by adding in more protein and made sure this was adhered to consistently.
Breakfast: Whey, Oats, Peanut Butter
Lunch: Tofu, Avocado, Veggies
Mid-Afternoon: Whey, Rice Cakes, Peanut Butter
Dinner: Quorn Mince, Veggies
Snack: Apple, Banana
Training – The key for Priyanka was to stop program hopping. She just needed one plan to follow through on, and to get as strong as possible. We started with a simple 3 days a week, full body plan.
Steps – 10,000 steps a day
Sleep Target – 7+ hours a night
Water Target – 3 litres a day
The Physical Is The Vehicle
After 16 weeks, Priyanka reached her first Transformation Checkpoint, where she got into the shape of her life, and was in a prime position to make further improvements.
She marked her Checkpoint with a photoshoot because she wanted:
- High levels of accountability to force massive action
- A short-term deadline to use as a springboard for her long-term transformation
Priyanka recalls the feeling of the photoshoot here:
Thank you so much for getting me photoshoot ready! I actually can’t believe how I look and it was great being able to capture the shots to show off the incredible result of our hard work over the last 4 months.
I feel great, confident and love that I have achieved my goal of getting in the best shape of my life in such a short space of time and more importantly, gaining a new-found confidence in myself and feeling a lot happier, healthier and fitter!
Your support, encouragement and guidance over the last few months has been incredible and has kept me focused on pushing myself to achieve a physique I’d always wanted. From the start it was about trusting the process and ticking all the boxes and the results will follow – and they sure did!!’”
At her checkpoint, this was how far she’d come:
When reflecting on her journey so far, Priyanka notes:
“Since the shoot I now feel so much more confident in myself and my abilities. Putting my mind to my transformation and doing everything to ensure I ticked all the boxes on a weekly basis (from a training, steps, nutrition standpoint) showed me that I can achieve anything I want if I put my mind to it.
It’s shown me to use my time to focus on things that really matter, which for me right now is myself, my family, my friends and building my career.
I now say yes to a lot of new things and experiences which have come up this year; such as working abroad in Dublin for a few months, and going on my first solo trip – something I wouldn’t have considered previously!”
Priyanka’s Investment Phase So Far
At the time of writing this over 6 months after her photoshoot, Priyanka has successfully consolidated and has moved well into an Investment Phase, where she’s placed herself more to the right on the continuum. Here’s how she’s improving 6 months into her Investment Phase:
Her focus is to really improve her physique through most of 2020, where she’ll be setting PBs on the gym floor and staying in a slight surplus.
The plan is to run the Investment Phase for a full annual cycle at least (and up to 18 months on this round) before sharpening the sword and revealing her new muscle gains when the time comes.
At the same time, she’ll be sharpening her lifestyle solutions so that her 3Ss – structure, strategy and systems, always stay in line to facilitate continuous improvement.
Current Stats
Leanest Weight: 40.2kg
Leanest Waist: 23 inches
Investment Weight: 45.83kg
Investment Waist: 25 inches
Priyanka’s Testimonial
I signed up to RNT after hearing about it from my cousin who was 6 months into his journey and had already achieved some great results! I also started the new year with the goal of focusing on my health and fitness, so it was the perfect time to sign up to RNT to learn more about training and nutrition and ultimately get in the best shape of my life!
I had been going to the gym regularly for the past few years which mainly involved going to classes. I enjoyed them and I saw some improvement in my fitness levels, however I wasn’t seeing much changes in my physique! I also didn’t know my way around the gym and never had the confidence to train on the gym floor, especially with weights. I didn’t know what exercises to do or focus on, and I found the weights area to be really intimidating. This has definitely changed now, I can now confidently walk into the weight areas of any gym and get what I need to done!
I signed up at the beginning of February 2019, I was kitted out with a training plan, which consisted of 3 full body sessions a week, a vegetarian meal plan, steps, sleep and hydration targets which were tailored towards my goals.
What I loved about RNT straight away was how simple and structured the plan was, and the accountability ensured I stayed on track and completed all my training for the week.
It was around 6 weeks in when the suggestion of booking in a photoshoot came to create the extra accountability for me to challenge and push myself while staying on track to achieve my goals. A photoshoot was something I never thought I would sign up for or have the confidence to do, but it was definitely the best decision I made as it allowed me to stay focused, ensured I continued to tick all the boxes and captured the results of the hard work I had put in!
I am now in the Investment Phase where the focus is on performance and chasing PRs in the gym – I am already feeling a lot stronger!
Thank you RNT – I’m looking forward to the rest of my journey and taking my fitness and physique to new levels! Let’s do this!!”
