I’m not guessing. I’ve done it.

150 kilos. I'd been overweight for most of my life, worst through school, and those were some of the hardest years I've had. I buried myself in gaming because it was the one thing I felt good at. My regular order from the chipper was two portions of chips with cheese and garlic, plus a big chicken fillet bun, eaten until I felt like I'd be sick.

At 21 I flew out to the Philippines to meet my dad's side of the family for the first time. I arrived as the 150-kilo guy. They welcomed me completely, but it wasn't who I wanted to be. I kept my top on for the entire trip.

Boracay. A walk on the beach with about 20 of my family. My feet were bleeding, I was pouring sweat, and the heat was on my back. I invented a sore stomach so everyone would turn back. My auntie went to the restaurant to complain about the food, and I knew full well I'd made it up because I couldn't handle the walk. That was the moment.

I came home and started P90X, jumping around my hallway. Then Atkins, keto, low carb, Weight Watchers, Slimming World, starving myself. I even did the Special K diet, where I ate nothing but Special K. I'd misread the box: it was meant to be part of a balanced diet. I lost weight, regained it, lost it again. Nothing was consistent.

I stopped looking for shortcuts and built a system that fit my life. It was not a clean run. I fell off constantly, especially in the first few months, and plenty of times I was disappointed in myself. What saved it was the before pictures I took on day one. Every time I fell off, they reminded me why I started. I fell off plenty, and I kept going anyway.

About a year and a half later, more than 50 kilos were gone. Years after that, training for a photoshoot took me from around 100 kilos to under 90. In total, over 60 kilos lost and kept off. I was never the fit one growing up. I was always the biggest person in the room. That flipped.

I qualified as a PT in my mid-twenties and I've been coaching for over a decade, running 50 to 60 in-person clients before moving online. I coach because I know exactly what it feels like to be in that position, and I know the quickest way out because I've been there. That system became RGT Coaching.