Weight loss success stories: how I lost 69kgs
Chris Brooke dropped an amazing 69 kilos is under 12 months!
NAME: Chris Brooke
HOME: Parrearra, Qld
JOB: Security Guard
AGE: 28
HEIGHT: 185cm
BEFORE: 150kg
AFTER: 81kg
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THE WEIGHT GAIN
After finishing school and working fulltime at his parents’ ice-cream shop, Brooke began to pack on the kilos. “The store was in a shopping centre, so if I wasn’t snacking on ice-cream I was eating junk from the food court every day,” he recalls. His next job in a petrol station was no better.
“I was surrounded by junk food,” says Brooke. “It became an easy option for me.”
As Brooke’s body ballooned, he retreated indoors, playing video games and watching movies. Eventually his weight put so much pressure on his joints that he dislocated a knee.
Related: A glutton's guide to slashing cholesterol
THE DIET CHANGE
Brooke had been itching for change, but it wasn’t until a friend was diagnosed with leukaemia that he grasped his own mortality and got serious. “My friend’s diagnosis was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he says.
After doing a security course, Brooke began training at an MMA gym, building up to four sessions a week, before disaster struck and he dislocated his knee again. Undeterred, he stayed fit through a relatively gentle version of boot camp. “I could only do limited MMA training at the time, so the boot camp was a good way to keep on track while building strength in my legs,” he says.
Brooke also started recording everything he ate, which brought home just how badly he’d been eating. Armed with a new low-carb, no-sugar, high-protein diet, he was able to pound his junk food cravings into submission.
THE WEIGHT LOSS RESULT
Brooke lost 69 kilograms in just under 12 months, to reveal a toned body and give him a new lease on life. “I’ve got a more active role in the security industry now, and I’m taking up hobbies that I’d never dreamed possible,” he says. He recently returned from a snowboarding holiday in Korea and regularly goes mountain biking and rock climbing.
Brooke has also revived his social life, hanging out with a more active crowd. “While I still see my old mates regularly, I have a new circle of friends who keep me motivated and pushing myself to the limit,” he says.
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WEIGHT LOSS ADVICE
Keep an eye on the big picture. “I recorded my weight loss day-to-day, so when you go back and see how much you’ve lost, it reminds you not to beat yourself up too much if you have a bad week,” he says.
Bring in the pros. “Surrounding yourself with people who know what they’re talking about makes you accountable for your training and also provides you with support and advice when you’re in a rough patch,” he says. “They just make it that much easier to fulfil your goals.”
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