DAD’S AMAZING!
How new father Sion went from dad bod to super-bod in an incredible six months
“W HEN the biggest man in the town comes up to you and says ‘Christ, you’ve put some weight on’, you know you have to do something about it.”
Porthmadog is not a big town, and Sion Monty was used to being known as the “fitness guy”. But it was that comment that really hit home and made Sion take a look at himself.
Sion had always been into fitness and nutrition. But six months after the birth of his first son, Tedi, Sion had somehow gained a “dad belly” and was living an unhealthy lifestyle.
With his reputation on the line and hating his own body, he vowed to lose the weight for his son.
Fast forward 10 months and Sion has ditched the “dad bod” and transformed his physique. Today, he competes in competitions and coaches others looking to change their own bodies.
“After Tedi was born, fitness got pushed out the window,” said the 30-year-old gym owner.
He fell into bad habits and with no time to cook ended up eating takeaways most nights of the week.
The final straw was seeing some “silly pictures” from a photo booth at an amusement arcade. He had reached his all-time heaviest at 16 stone.
“Once I saw the pictures, that was the moment I knew I had to change.”
In the new year he overhauled his lifestyle and diet.
Sion said: “In January 2018, I realised that I had to make changes and put health as one of my priorities, especially if I want to live as long as I possibly can to see all my son’s achievements in life.
“I didn’t want my son looking back at pictures of him when he was small and seeing me like I was.”
Thinking of ways to lose weight at the same time as spending time with his fam- ily, he bought a specialist running g buggy: “Family time became my gym m time.”
In the mornings, he could be found nd doing hill sprints pushing Tedi in front. nt. He ditched his lunch breaks and instead ad headed to the gym to lift weights. And nd the family would go for long walks at the he weekend.
He soon noticed changes, and not just ust to his body shape: “Long walks have ave brought us more together as a family.”
He created a video diary to chronicle cle his journey, and the delight on his face as his abs start poking through the onceceflabby belly is almost palpable.
By September 2018, Sion was ready to enter his first men’s physique competitition. At the time, he was following a strict ict diet to get his body ready for competitition, but admitted he has relaxed this sa a bit since.
“It’s about finding a balanced lifeestyle,” he said. He has lost more than an four stone and is no longer ashamed d to flaunt his body at the gym.
“When I look at where I was in Jannuary compared to where I am now, it makes me feel proud.”
Since embarking on his transforrmation, Sion has taken over the family gym in Porthmadog. He also runs his own gym clothing line and sup- plement range.
After studying criminology at university in 2010, Sion realised nutrition was his passion and got into the fitness nutrition industry. He now owns three of his own companies.
“I’m glad I did put on weight and was told I had got fat, because otherwise I would never have got to where I am now,” he said.