‘I LOST 10ST AFTER PAL’S BET’
PHIL HULTON was eating up to four large takeaway pizzas every week and tipping the scales at 25st – until a lighthearted bet in work changed his life.
The IT manager, from Bridgend, dropped 10st in just 11 months as part of the challenge set by a personal trainer friend.
The original bet was to lose 3st in three months, but Phil went on to completely overhaul his lifestyle by lifting weights and eating healthy foods.
Despite being a chunky teen, Phil’s weight ballooned when he ditched regular meal times and started to eat whenever he felt hungry.
Breakfasts of cheese and ham sandwiches followed by bars of chocolate, pasties and up to two litres of fizzy pop and sugary energy drinks every day contributed to a fast weight gain and soon a 44in waist.
In a desperate bid to slim, Phil would turn to fat-burning tablets and unrealistic cardio sessions, once managing to shift 3st. But in the following months he piled the weight back on – plus another 2st.
After a shopping trip to Cardiff one weekend towards the end of 2015, Phil, now 25, was left devastated and embarrassed when he couldn’t find a single shop that stocked a size XXXL top to fit him.
Talking about it at work the following week, a friend challenged him to lose 3st in just three months.
Phil said: “Although I’d tried – and failed – to shift the bulk of my weight many times before, something just seemed to click with me this time.
“I spent some time reading and watching YouTube videos about proper nutrition, exercise, and even mindset, and learned that, generally speaking, if you can stick to something for three months, you’re much more likely to stick to it for life.
“So that became my goal. Instead of spending countless hours glued to the cardio machines in the gym, I started going with friends who knew what they were doing, which is how I discovered my love for weight lifting.”
Phil cut out bread, dairy and sugary sauces like ketchup, instead focusing on eating three nutritious meals per day.
He said: “While I was purely focused on losing weight, I’d have a protein shake and a banana for breakfast, followed by a chicken salad for lunch and something like a jacket potato with salad and tuna or a lean steak for dinner, alongside at least three litres of water a day.
“Now I’ve switched my focus to toning up and getting fitter, I’m a little bit more flexible with my diet – I have a bowl of high-fibre cereal for breakfast and every Friday night, I’ll treat myself to my favourite takeaway pizza.
“A couple of friends who are really into their health and fitness recommended MuscleFood.com to me quite early on into my weight-loss journey, but I still order from them today.”
Phil, who is now a much leaner size L, added: “I feel like my life is overall easier now. Whereas once walking up the stairs would have seemed like a challenge, I think nothing to running up and down them now – it’s just easier to move in general.
“I’m also much more confident and have faith in myself and my goals, and I’m a happier person. My parents find it hard to believe I was ever so big in the first place – I have to dig out the old photos so that they can be reminded of the difference.”