The pictures you see above were taken in January 2018 - I was tipping the scales at just over 220 lbs. with a belly that stretched the tape measure to more than 40 inches, plus I had rolls of back fat, and the love handles to go along with it.
I was disgusted with how fat and out of shape I had let myself become... I could hardly recognize the man looking back at me in the mirror...
Here I was - "Lee Hayward, the bodybuilder and fitness coach" - Yet I didn't look anything like a bodybuilder or a fitness coach...
People online started calling me out on it too...
During this time I was still making YouTube videos for my Total Fitness Bodybuilding YouTube Channel - teaching Fitness and Nutrition Advice.
...but I wasn't even following my own advice...
I remember reading some the comments on my videos:
"Who is this Fat Fu#k giving fitness advice?"
At first I'd just shrug it off saying that these people were just trolls and haters leaving
nasty comments.
But then the comments started to come in more and more frequently...
I started to question myself and wonder... What if these guys are right...
"Who was this Fat Fu#k giving fitness advice?"
Finally I hit rock bottom, enough was enough...
I needed to get my sh!t together and turn things around.
Not just for me... Not just for my online followers and credibility as a fitness coach... But more importantly, I needed to do it for my son Harvey!
What kind of example was I setting for my son?
I don't want Harvey to grow up with a fat overweight dad and think that it's "OK" to be that way, that it's normal to let yourself become fat and out of shape.
I want to teach and lead him by example, I want to become his real life role model so he grows up knowing the benefits of living a healthy active lifestyle.
I'm not just doing this for me anymore. This goes way beyond getting in shape so I can stand on a bodybuilding stage, flex my muscles, and hopefully get a trophy and a handshake... I'm doing this to help shape the future habits of my son!
So with that new found motivation and drive, I took action and totally turned things around.
Within 1 year I had lost my gut and got visible abdominal definition, and not only did I lose my gut, but I've kept it off and got even leaner as time went on! |