Men's Health

 

When he decided to get his body back, Maarten Coetsee stacked his weight loss arsenal with the best information he could get his hands on

The Gain

As a teenager, I wasn’t very active and experienced problems with my weight from a young age. As time progressed through primary and high school, I was made fun of and laughed at. When I finished matric, I started to gain more and more weight. I ate unhealthy foods and drank a lot, not realising the damage I was doing to my body.

The Change


On 1 January 2011, I looked at myself and wondered where I was going. I was experiencing some personal problems, I was wearing a size 40 and a XXXL shirt, and I was letting my health slide. But I started to imagine how I was going to look in 
my 40s.I realised that the time was now or never.

The Strategy


I made a decision to get my body back. I joined a gym and got myself into a programme. The second step was looking at what I was eating and drinking and making sure that I was making healthy choices. Thirdly, I started using supplements to boost my weight loss. At first it was difficult, but as time passed it became much easier. I started living a new life. To keep motivated, I told myself that I didn’t pick up all this weight in one month which meant I wouldn’t lose all the weight in one month. The secret to successful weight loss for me, was making sure I ate more protein during the day. I also cut out all fizzy drinks and alcohol. I still allow myself one day a week to “cheat”, but it’s important that  I don’t overdo it.

The Reward


The biggest reward was buying a size 32 pants and a medium shirt. Not only that, but people started to tell me that I looked good, and that made me feel good. I know now that it was worth all the hard work.

The Result


I have lost 43kg; I have gone from 124kg to 81kg in a year and four months. My body fat was reduced from 25.8 % to 14.5 %, a total reduction of 
11.3 % body fat.