By Rebecca Drew
THIS inspirational British father-of-three has transformed his body after his workaholic lifestyle led to him tipping the scales at more than twenty-two-and-a-half-stone and he has since lost an impressive sixteen-inches from his waist and ten from his chest.
Business owner Jason Yates (34) from Nottingham, UK, worked all hours to ensure that he could live and had little time to plan his meals or exercise which saw him overeat, gorging on bread, cheese and potatoes and become overweight. Even at a quadruple XL, Jason was never unhappy with how he looked but now is shocked that he was comfortable being much bigger and fears he could have died had he not revamped his lifestyle.
One day in 2010, one of Jason’s colleagues asked him to go to a Slimming World meeting for moral support and he went along without the aim to better himself. Six months later, he had shed 7st 7lbs, this kickstarted his fitness journey.
Jason now trains four to five times a week and does a mix of high intensity interval training (HIIT), weight lifting and cardio. He has gone from 22st 8.5lbs to 13st 12lbs and is between a small and medium and his healthy lifestyle has rubbed off on his two sons who are also into sports.
“My biggest motivating factor is my children. Children are like sponges and absorb all we do and imitate us. By leading by example my two boys are massively into fitness and exercise and I’ve no doubt my daughter will be too when she’s older,” he said.
“The last thing I want is my kids being unhealthy, being the last one picked for team sports or being ridiculed at school for being overweight like I was.
“I was happy with myself even at my biggest. Being fat didn’t bother me if I’m honest. It’s not until looking back that I’m now shocked that I could have been happy like that.
“A work colleague invited me to Slimming World. I went solely for moral support. Not to better myself.
“Losing weight has massively changed my life and my approach to life. I’m now a more positive person and I’m a massively believer in goal setting.
“Not only that but I feel I’ll now be around for many years to see my kids grow. Realistically if I’d carried on how I was I fear I may be dead now.
“My diet before would be anything I could get my hands on. Lots of bread, potatoes and cheese.
“Lack of exercise, overeating and work life contributed massively to me being overweight. I worked, worked and worked in order to live and found no time to exercise, plan meals or do anything to have control over my health.
“Unfortunately, I think the majority of the population are in the same situation same.
“My nutrition now is more structured around food for function. I monitor my calories in and calories out and eat every food group. I love eating high fat and protein though and relatively low carb.”
When Jason started his journey, his chest measured 50 inches and he had a 48 inch waist, his chest is now 40 inches and he sports a svelte 32 inch waist.
After his own remarkable weight loss, Jason has become a personal trainer and has invested in a gym and he is helping others to transform their lives. The dad of three has also competed in triathlons, Yorkshire Three Peaks, National Three Peaks, Tough Mudder and several half marathons since his weight loss. He says commitment to such a massive lifestyle change is key to success.
“I invested in becoming a personal trainer and more recently have invested in a gym. Helping others feel how I feel is now my main motivation,” he added.
“Obesity is a massive issue right now and if I could just help one more person avoid being where I was in 2010 then I’m happy.
“My biggest motivating factor is my children. Children are like sponges and absorb all we do and imitate us. By leading by example my two boys are massively into fitness and exercise and I’ve no doubt my daughter will be too when she’s older.
“The last thing I want is my kids being unhealthy, being the last one picked for team sports or being ridiculed at school for being overweight like I was.
“I had no problems losing weight. I got committed, got dedicated and got on with it. I threw myself one hundred percent at it. Too many people go at it less than one hundred percent and wonder why they don’t get the results they want with the effort they didn’t put in.
“My advice would be to get dedicated, get committed, stick to the plan whichever it may be, set a measurable goal and believe they can be whoever they want to be.
“Every program or weight loss regime works otherwise they wouldn’t be on the open market. The only time they fail is when the end consumer stops or deviates from it.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/jayyates01
