Trust me, I used to be obese

I used to be overweight, obese, fat, very cuddly, whatever you want to call it.

And all I can honestly, hand on heart say is, the day I turned 18 it was a label and state of health that I no longer wanted, and as a result, I took action. That action eventually took me from 16 stone to 10.5 stone, before I later went on a journey to get to 13.5 stone by building lean muscle.

I was 18, my life was fully in my hands as a young adult, it was time to take control of my health. I deserved it, I wanted it, I saw it as a path to future success in everything that I did. I knew and felt deep down that if I didn’t turn my health, weight and outlook around I wouldn’t be successful with my career, and so much else that I would want to do in my life.

This might be a harsh reality for many, but I believe this to be true to this day.

Observe many great leaders, driven people and go getters in life, most share a passion for looking after their body, and I am no different. My health gives me the energy to perform 24/7, it gives me the clarity to know where I am going and why, my physical resilience adds to my mental resilience, I sleep well which makes me perform well, it all adds up into this positive cycle of positive progress, and I love that. It’s a decision I don’t regret, and as a result from age 18 I have gone from strength to strength by investing time, energy and money into my body.

Which begs the question for you at this point in my blog, how much time, energy and money do you invest in your body, and do the results show?

The battle is real

Every weight loss journey has it’s battles, my battle was not in the process of change, I REALLY wanted to change and didn’t let anything get in my way, my battle was purely knowledge related, I kept finding the wrong knowledge that was leading me to a lack of results from the effort I was putting in. And for many this is also a legitimate problem, but this is a problem I will largely not cover in this blog, until the end, as ultimately, I can easily give you the knowledge to succeed, if you are willing to listen, spend some time learning, and most importantly, time applying.

A big advantage I has when I was 18 is that I had all the time in the world to be selfish and focus on myself, yeah I had 2 jobs as a print labourer and van driver and as a barman at the weekend and odd hours working 55-65 hours a week, but outside of that, my time was my own.

Either way, the reality is, in my eyes, if you do want it, you’ll find the time, you’ll make the time, you’ll find the information to empower the changes you want to make, and you’ll make the changes. In the information age, there really is no excuse, when I was driving around doing my print deliveries when I was 18 I wasn’t listening to Radio 1 all day, I was for part of the day, but I was also listening to audio tapes (podcasts weren’t around then) and learning about nutrition. When I was on a quiet bar shift and the jobs were done (I never skimmed my employer out of his time, I respected my job and what I did, so would only do this when there was nothing to do and trade was quiet) I would read a book on nutrition at the end of the bar while I waited for a customer.

I made the time, I had it, I just needed a tool that worked for the time I had. These days it is so much easier, my podcast for example, there is over 270 hours of Ben Coomber Radio and people regularly tell me I am the sound of their morning commute, or accompanying voice on their dog walk, or buddy on a long drive.

Why do people do this? Because they want to learn, they want to better themselves, they want empowerment. And all they have done is given up the time, or thought a little differently about what can fill their ears while they have dead time.

There are two key things that are starting to crop up in this blog, a desire and a want, and the habits associated with change.

Do you have the desire or want to better yourself, or the people around you if you’re a coach? Good, you can, you just have to make that decision, that is the starting point.

If you do want it, you’ll find the time.

Next, you have to change your habits and your environment, and this is where many struggle. The habits I have today as a lean and athletic guy are 100% different to the habits I had when I was obese. I sleep differently, I exercise differently, I eat differently, I hydrate differently, I say no to things when I would have said yes, I don’t allow others to make decisions for me and ensure I make all my own decisions based on the outcome I want in any given situation, I make time for my health over time for TV, I make sure I stretch so that I can always move properly, I choose sleep and energy over that extra beer, I choose what I want, not what the world could choose for me.

You have a choice, you do. You might not think you do, but you do.

And you might not think it can be as easy as it has been for me, but it can be, but a process has to happen.

1. You must decide you want to change
2. You must start to make some changes
3. You must find the information that is going to empower you with those changes
4. You must change things, however painful, in your environment to successfully change long term, despite any perceived short term pain
5. You must buy some things to help with that change
6. You must be willing to change long term, because the habits you have today you can’t have 6 months down the line if your vision is like mine

I am a totally different person to whom I was at the age of 18, and I don’t regret a single second, a single change, a single moment of fight, or hardship, nothing. I can’t imagine the man I would be today if I hadn’t have changed, I’m scared at the thought.

I wouldn’t be as motivated, healthy, fit, energised, creative, or have as much self-confidence and self-belief as I do, it’s a life I literally fear having, and that’s why to this day I continue to take action on my health.

I choose and want to exercise, I choose and want to eat good food, I choose and want to only have 2-3 drinks when I’m out, I choose and want to not eat a share bag of popcorn at the cinema, I choose and want to be in bed on time so I sleep well, I choose and want to take my supplements to support all of this, I choose and want to get my steps in and be as active as possible, I choose and want to do my food prep instead of slumping in front of the TV, I choose and want to say no to the cocktail sausages that keep getting shared around at my friends party.

Every day is a challenge in some people’s minds, but I tell you and promise you that challenge is short lived. Today I have no challenges as everything I do is an auto-pilot decision, it’s now a reflex, just as it would have been a reflex to say YES to the share bag of popcorn at the cinema without even thinking about it. Now my reflex is no.

You too can have these reflexes, which are my nutritional ninja skills which I value insanely, but you must follow the steps above. You have to want it, find the knowledge, apply the knowledge, and ultimately change.

I am a different person, I wanted to be a different person, and you can be too. You might not want or need as dramatic a change as me, but, this cannot be done without some change, your habits cannot be the same and get a different outcome, you’re mad if you think you can do that, one reason everyone’s always on a diet.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to stop dieting?

Well, for that to change you’ve got to stop, make some decisions, make some changes, find the right support, and relentlessly follow that goal EVERY DAY.

You don’t diet Monday to Friday, you diet EVERY DAY until you get to your goal (unless you take a strategic diet break for a day for a party, or a week for a holiday, but that’s another blog for another day), you need to be relentless and work to progress, daily.

This is key as living a lean life is totally different to living an obese life, trust me, I’ve lived both.

Which one are you living right now, and are you happy with it?

If you are happy, awesome, high 5. If not, I can help, but you must be willing to do the above; stop, make some decisions, change, and practice those changes, daily.

Don’t worry, my life’s mission is to help others change and educate themselves on the right path, so I can help, you’re in good hands. Here are a few ways I can help:

If you want some FREE help then the best place is likely my podcast Ben Coomber Radio, it’s free, you can listen anywhere, just download some episodes and get listening. If you want help with your diet, maybe start at episode 117 which talks about setting up a diet, and then episode 118 which talks about goals, then maybe start from the beginning to get a full educational journey with me, or just pick shows you like the sound of. It’s on Apple, Android, YouTube, Facebook, it’s everywhere, there’s no excuses, and it’s awesome, that’s why it’s the #1 rated show in the UK, and is regularly top 10 in the world.

If you want other cool free stuff that will help you get clarity on nutrition, maybe read some more of our blogs, and there is an orange box on this blog page that says “free help”, drop your email address in there and we’ll send you some cool free info that will help on nutrition.

You could decide you want help and want a coach, well, I can be that coach for you if you wish, I have a group coaching program that last 8 weeks which aims to teach you but also empower and inspire you, here are all the details and when the next group starts so you can get coached by me:

Fat Loss for Life

And if you want to become educated, like I wanted to (when I lost a lot of the weight I then did lots of courses to give me the in-depth knowledge to progress more), and you want to do a nutrition course, well we do that too, it’s our bread and butter, online nutrition coaching with me, and online nutrition courses with me and the team for true empowerment. You can find out about those nutrition courses here:

BTN Academy

Like I said, I can help in whatever way you want but you have to take the step that you want help, and then be willing to make some changes.

I did it, you can do it, I was once obese, now I am not, and being lean, athletic and motivated in every area of my life is the best life decision I ever made. It was a learned skill just like anything in life, perhaps it’s time for you to learn that life skill.