Up until the age of fifteen, I was the overweight kid in class whom the other kids used to point and laugh at. This made me sick, sad, and depressed every day and I thought it would plague me for the remainder of my life. After flunking my Year 10 exams, I knew it was time for a major change; I set out on a journey to attain straight A's and to give this fitness thing a real shot!
 
 
My journey began with Shaun-T's Insanity Workout Program. Let's just say that was intense! Over the course of 120 days, I managed to lose over 13 kilograms and gain a lot more confidence! For those of you unfamiliar with this program, it consists of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts 6 days per week coupled with a complimentary nutrition plan. Quite simply, if you follow the instructions listed in this plan, you can very well expect similar results!
 
Whilst losing this much weight was an amazing experience, I ended up looking and feeling quite frail. The problem with just doing cardio workouts is that you never gain any strength! On that note, it was time to bulk up! This time around, I followed Sagi Kalev's Body Beast Workout Program. Being fifteen years old, I wasn't allowed to purchase a gym membership so, I took matters into my own hands and built a gym in my home with whatever money and other resources I could get my hands on. 
 
This lasted me six months before the weights I had were too light for me to lift. Enough was enough, I joined a gym at the age of sixteen - the same one I currently train my clients at. Over the next five years, I would spend 1 - 2 hours each day learning about health and fitness (oh, and studying physiotherapy at university). I learned and applied a lot of what I learned, however, this took a huge toll on my personal relationships.
 
This obsession with health and fitness damaged my relationship with my parents, brother, and friends. Needless to say, I had an inflated ego when it came to how 'healthy' I was and how unhealthy and unfit everyone else around me was. To no surprise, no one appreciated this attitude and therefore, no one appreciated me!
 
 
Whom do I blame for this? Not me. Social Media. Yes, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tinder, etc. All of these platforms are a leading cause of orthorexia. What is orthorexia? This is the obsession with eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle. You would think working out and to eat healthily would be a virtue (to an extent - it is) however, once you step over social boundaries, this is where it can reach a toxic level.