Fast-forward to April 2019
So, after a lot of insight and advice from Steve, I'd finally accepted his challenge to take up his Edge Program and the game was on. I was feeling inspired and I had the goal of losing some body fat and trimming down.
All I had to do was provide two weeks of my diet diaries and to have a weigh-in, before he trained me on his program.
I got on the scales, despite feeling confident from a resurge in my positive attitude and general physical activity in the few months prior to this.
Before Steve's Edge Program: I weighed in at...
82.3 kg with 31.3% Body Fat
Apparently, this wasn't far away from being obese. Jesus.
I wasn't even sure how to react. I was certainly shocked and most likely disappointed in myself. However, I was quietly confident, as I knew, as I have mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I always enjoy the sport side and the mental and physical challenges involved.
I had thought that I was even doing pretty ok up 'til then, but the most valuable realisation from doing this weigh-in, prior to starting Steve's Edge Program, was that I had to reboot and rethink the difference between the comfortable subjective story I had spun in my head versus the objective facts from an external expert.
Some harsher truths came back to me after Steve analysed my food data. Among multiple feedback, which is too long to go into right now - suffice it to say that: some of the key data suggested I hadn't been taking in enough protein and I was consuming far too many sugars and calories - and allowing my insulin to spike, during parts of the day.
Steve wrote:
"From your food diary you appear to average over the course a week approx 2300 Kcals per day (varying from 2035 – 2647 Kcals). In order to achieve our fat loss rate of 1 - 2lbs per week we will start by decreasing your daily calorific intake.
So, I imagine that everyone is different. Everyone has their own subjective goals and challenges.
Mine was going to be getting through this physical training by having to reduce my caloric intake somewhat.
Let's just say, naturally, I started to feel hungry during a six-day program, lasting 2 weeks - but luckily I'd had some experience in my early twenties of doing exercise in a fasted state and had tried to keep this in mind.
The most insightful thing about having Steve on hand during his program was simply to reboot the mind into understanding the difference between our thoughts and reality. It's remarkable how we get bombarded by so much misinformation about food and diet, especially now in the digital age of social media.
One key thing that I've brought forward to this day some 13 months later is simply, that even though I may feel hungry, I'm likely not as hungry as I think.
After a mini whining session, during the program Steve kindly reminded me that,
" You know you can actually go 30 days without eating? So even though you may feel hungry, you're probably not. You're just used to being able to stuff something in your mouth when you want to, but the truth is.... you're not going to die. "
This advice was calm, insightful and brought home the reality also of the privileged position I'm in as a westerner.
The mental challenge
The two-week Edge Program consists of carefully structured physical activity through gym sessions, which for reasons I won't go into just yet, but were not as tough as I thought they would be. My form and patience were the most surprising things I had to get right first and to reboot the way I approached my diet.
I would admit that the most challenging demand during these 2 weeks was organising my diet and reducing my calories, focusing on my food intake and to totally rethink my relationship with food, coupled with timing and preparation.
After Steve's Edge Program: I weighed in at
78.1 kg with 20.7 % Body Fat
Since meeting Steve and doing his program, I lost a whopping 9.59 kg of body fat!
I was so thrilled and I've totally changed my attitude to the way I do sport in a sustainable method, without burning out.
Many of you reading this may think that becoming involved in a fitness or gym training program will be too physically demanding but what I have really benefitted from is trying to understand one's own mind and how to take away that knowledge to use it independently and integrate it into my daily practices.
Over a year later, my body weight comes in most likely at around 70 - 72 kg.
I haven't weighed myself for a while but I don't feel I need to. I know what I'm doing better now.
Huge love Steve, thanks mate.
Visit www.stephenoreilly.com to find out more about The Edge Program and everything you need to implement Steve's solution to help you live longer, healthier and happier and through weight loss, exercise and diet.
You can contact Steve at: info@stephenoreilly.com