What do you do when nothing has worked in the last 25 years? Keep searching. Eventually you will find a route that works for you. That is what Niall did coming to Sphere Fitness. Here are his words
I had been overweight for over 25 years, more than half my adult life, and I hated it. I was very active as a teenager, playing competitive squash at a provincial level, running competitively, and generally leading a very active lifestyle.
When I went to University, that all changed. I discovered partying, alcohol, and general student life. I got away with it for a few years, due to the metabolism of someone in their early 20s. Once I reached 23, and got my first job, the slippery slope began. I could afford a car, and nice food, and exercise went by the wayside. Within 3 years, I had piled on the weight, and my worst, weighing in at a whopping 108kg.
I spent the next 25 years on a yo yo cycle. I would exercise, diet, lose some weight, relax the regime, and put it all back on again. Sometimes, I would do quite well, getting down to 92kg on occasion, but I was never able to sustain it. I would have a bad day or weekend food wise, and that would be that. Everything would stop, and I’d be back to square one.
In recent years, I developed a number of health problems, and decided I needed to sort this out once and for all. Again, I did pretty well, going from 107kg down to 91kg, but couldn’t seem to get beyond that point. Then after a bit of research, I found Sphere. Unfortunately my work schedule meant that I couldn’t make it to the gym very often, but the important thing for me was that I felt part of a really supportive community. I kept in touch through social media, absorbed much of the nutritional advice, and trained independently at lunchtimes in work.
When the project 56 Challenge came around, I wasn’t even sure what it was, but it’s actually really simple. For me it was all about accountability. Had I worked out, had I kept a food diary and met my calorie goal, and had I tracked steps. That’s it. Initially, I wanted to make sure I did these things because I felt accountable to the rest of the Project 56 Group. But over the course of the 8 weeks I learned a really important lesson. I started to fee less accountable to the group, and more accountable to myself. That was ground breaking. Thanks to the program, for the first time after a quarter of a century trying, I met my target weight of 85kg.
A week afterwards, I injured my ankle, and was unable to run for over a month. Previously, this would have totally derailled me, and all bets would be off. But not this time. Sphere and Project 56 have given me the confidence to handle setbacks like this, and know that I can work through them. I’ve had some moderate weight gains before and during Christmas, but am now back on track, and the weight is on a downward trend again. The difference is this time, I’m relaxed about it, and am 100% confident I can get to wherever I want to. My target is below 85kg again by the end of January, and I’m ahead of schedule. I’ve signed up for the Dublin City Marathon in October.
For anyone contemplating joining Sphere Fitness, just do it. It’s not a standard gym. It’s a community and a mindset. Although I’ve had to back away for the time being due to work commitments, the experience has stayed with me. It has quite literally changed my life.
