21 Aug WHAT SMOKING DID TO ME
Julius Story 28th June 2016
I am 29 years old and I don’t think I’m in the best shape of my life. Growing up I was a representative athlete for NZ athletics, played representative rugby league and was an all-round sports player.
Despite this success I don’t know why but something changed and I became a follower trying to fit in with the crowd. I started smoking then turned to alcohol. I had lost myself at age 19. This is also when my daughter was born. Maybe I wasn’t ready to become a father, but that’s no excuse for letting myself go the way I did. For 10 years I ate way too much, drank a lot and exercised only when I felt like it.
I had lost all discipline to follow through with anything. I would go through stages of trying to get healthy again. Join a gym, eating right, staying off the smokes only to fall off the wagon 3 months later. The next time it would take me even longer to try again and repeat the same process.
Can you tell us why you decided to join Raw Irons 6 Week Challenge?
Through these 10 years (19-29) my family have been through a lot. We lost my father in law due to an aneurysm, and brother in law due to suicide. Both of these family members were non active smokers. Neither of them led a healthy lifestyle.
Once we went through all of this I knew that I needed to change. I have to be a role model for my wife, daughter, parents and siblings. Today I am 4 weeks smoke free and I want to be rid of this habit once and for all at the end of these next 6 weeks
Fast Forward 6 Weeks…August 12th 2016
Today is the day of reflection as I look back over the last 6 weeks. I am proud to still be smoke free. I am proud that I am now only 16% body fat.
I faced a few road blocks week 3 & 5. It killed my confidence a bit but my wife and daughter helped put me back on track.
Sports is our life however as a family we lacked motivation and nutritional knowledge. The past 6 weeks I have learnt more about food than I ever have. I’ve learnt about benefits of super foods and I now know what I need to eat to achieve my goals. I’ve summarised What I have taken away from the last 6 weeks:
1) My daughter now trains with me at Raw Iron
2) Smoke Free
3) Consistent healthy eating and training
I know I haven’t reached my peak yet, but now I have the tools and knowledge to get there. I’ve set new goals and I’m excited to reach them!
1) Abs by Christmas
2) My wife to also join me at Raw Iron!! 😉
JULZ’S RESULTS
In 6 weeks Julz lost 3kg, over 3% Body fat and increased his muscle by 1kg.