Chris had a shock to the system when he saw the above photo:  “On the left, you will see Simon Sinek the bestselling author of Leaders Eat Last.  On the right you will find me, the leader who evidently eats whenever he damn well pleases!” 

Chris was 15 and a half stone (approximately 100KG) when this photo was taken but it hadn’t always been this way.  “Two years before I was running 12 miles every Saturday for a bit of fun.  Now I was exhausted just bending down to do my shoelaces up.” 

Life happens

Chris, an Executive at a national law firm and a Management Consultant knew things had to change, and fast.  “The point of shame for me was that I should know better.  I was a qualified Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Coach (non-practising) but life just took over for me.”   

Like so many people, Chris had experienced a difficult season in life and turned to food.  “It wasn’t a conscious decision.  I just got very busy in my professional life and suffered a few tough moments in my personal life.  So I would grab convenience food – takeaways, ready meals, junk food to sustain me.  I am a big believer in the power of momentum, and unfortunately for me a few bad decisions led to negative momentum.  Before I knew it, weight had piled on and I was in bad health”.  

A new chapter

One day Chris decided to do something about it.  “I missed being able to do the things l loved, like kayaking, mountain biking (and climbing), running, wild swimming – any outdoor adventure really.  So I made some changes.  I went to the gym four times a week and made healthier choices in the kitchen for starters.” 

Chris’s progress soon plateaued though, and he knew he would need some expert advice to push through.  “As a qualified Personal Trainer myself, I know what to look out for in a good personal trainer – experience, expertise, a holistic view of health and emotional intelligence.  Most of the trainers I spoke to in the area were less qualified than me, but then I met Mark at Pure Performance.  He was brilliant.” 

Mark analysed Chris’s health and identified key areas for improvement.  “We cleaned up Chris’s diet – only foods that were natural and advised him to take some supplements to improve his gut health.  This was very effective.  We then got him into the gym to increase his strength, so that he could lift bigger weights and push himself harder in later phases of our training together.  It was also clear that Chris had a lot of stress in his life and his sleep was far from optimal.  A few tweaks really helped him.”  

A great ending 

Chris continued to work with Mark for 18 months, making impressive progress in terms of weight loss and improving his health and performance. “I was able to do the things I love again, including that 12 mile run across the Somerset countryside.  I felt great.”  

He didn’t just enjoy a physical transformation though.  “Everything improved.  I had more energy, I was in better moods and I was confident again.  I cannot recommend Mark highly enough.” 

In fact, Chris’s story was only just beginning after a major twist.  “My physical transformation opened up all sorts of doors.  Perhaps most importantly it helped me meet an amazing woman, who is now my wife.”  Well, at Pure Performance we try to exceed our clients expectations!  By the way, if you haven’t seen Chris’s unbelievable proposal at the Brecon Beacons involving a waterfall, two musicians, his wife’s entire family, two walkie talkies, a note from the bestselling author Bob Goff, we highly recommend you check it out here. 

The story continues

Chris and Mark got on very well and decided to work together in a different capacity.  Chris is now part of the Pure Performance team, advising on business management and service delivery, a role he loves:  “We want to reward our clients by providing the best possible service.  That starts by being outcome focused – i.e. actually delivering results for our clients – but also into every other part of their client journey with us.  We understand that our clients are using their valuable disposable income to pay for something that can be quite painful (necessary for change), so we want to make our services AMAZING for them.” 

Chris and Mark are also working together on a huge project called Fit to Thrive – a nonprofit that helps victims of trauma to improve their physical health via free Personal Training.  At the time of writing, this is in the pilot phase (delayed due to Covid-19).

Great work Chris!  What a remarkable transformation.  

Are you ready to start your amazing transformation story?  Contact us here for a free consultation.