Client Testimonials.
Client: Gavin
Goal = Fat Loss
Gavin came to me looking to reduce body fat and tone up a little, mainly for aesthetic reasons but also to feel lighter on the feet and be sharper on the turns in matches as dropping body fat alone will certainly help with that. He is a driven person and already was doing his own S&C training, however, he needed some guidance on the nutrition front to help him to achieve his desired outcomes.
Gavin dropped 8kg and and 6cm off his waist and hips in 14 weeks. This may seem not that much in that time period, however, there was 2 weeks at maintenance calories, 2 weekends away and a few meals out during that time. Put that into context, he did really well. Besides, going by his progress pictures, you would think he lost more than that.
We also implemented some nutritional strategies to maintain his performance for his training and matches.
Read what Gavin had to say below.
"John is exceptional at what he does, his knowledge, level of detail and commitment to you as a coach is 2nd to none. He breaks down the most complex factors of nutrition and makes it easy to understand as a client. John was brilliant in helping me through social occasions during my time with him, teaching me how to limit the damage caused, but still enjoy myself!
The main thing I noticed, however, was my performance on the pitch, I felt like I had a ball of energy and felt much sharper round the pitch. I couldn't thank John enough for what he has done for me and the knowledge that he has passed on to me and i couldn't recommend him enough to anyone looking to get a better knowledge on their nutrition"
Client: lisa
Goal = Lifestyle/health improvement
Lisa started over a year ago in FF gym looking to improve her health and lose some weight as well. She has came on leaps and bounds and sets an example for everyone in the gym. She understands that patience is needed in order to achieve what she is looking for. She has a tremendous work ethic and mental strength, when things stall or get difficult she just gets on with it knowing that it will eventually work out.
Not only has Lisa totally changed her physical appearance but also a total revamp in her eating habits and lifestyle in general. Going to the gym, being active and eating nutritious foods is part of her lifestyle now.
Read what Lisa had to say below.
"I started working with John in September last year. I wanted to change my lifestyle and didn't have a clue where to start, that's when we were introduced. I never done anything like this before so I was a complete novice. John has provided me with excellent advice from day one which go me started in my fitness journey, he is always only a message away if I ever need to contact him and he is very approachable if i have any questions or problems that I would like help with.
I work very closely with John, we meet regularly to discuss progress. Since I have started I have working with John I have lost approx 16kg and approx 19 inches overall. This is something I never thought possible and I know if I had been working on my own i would have gave up long before now. John had taught me so much in the short space of time, and the most important thing for me is I am now able to make better food choices, not just for now when I am trying to lose a few pounds but it is something i can continue on with into the future."
Client: Joanne
Goal = fat loss & health improvement
Joanne had started a few months in FF gym whilst already dropping a significant amount of weight before she contacted me in order to help her with her diet.
Besides continuing to drop body fat, Joanne really improved her relationship with food. She was led to believe that in order to reduce body fat, a huge restriction on certain foods had to happen and also social occasions had to be cancelled.
We worked on how to incorporate foods that she liked and of course saying YES to those social occasions whilst reaching her goal.
Read what Joanne had to say below.
"I have been working closely with John since November. My attitude and way of thinking towards food and nutrition has completely changed. He has helped me gain knowledge and skills that I am able to carry with me forever in my weight loss journey.
So far I have lost 20lbs and 12 inches.
I love how he focuses on changes in your clothes, pictures and mood rather than always focusing on the scales. And if there's been anytime I have lost hope, John is so easy to talk to & approachable which I think is what people need when you are discussing your personal issues around food and nutrition.
If you are really determined to make changes to your lifestyle but need some guidance, John is your man! "
football player fat loss program
Goal = 4 week aggressive fat loss
I designed a fat loss program for 4 lads from my local Gaelic football team (Banagher GAC) in order to shed a few pounds. They were each given access to my meal builder (an excel spreadsheet loaded with food items) to construct their own meals/snacks in line with their calorie intake I had set them. This gave them some flexibility (no food or drink were off limits) to incorporate some nice food (and beer) so it was more enjoyable and sustainable. I made sure to highlight though that most of their intake was to come from nutritionally dense foods such as veg, fruit and lean meats etc.
Now, I am not a big advocate (especially for athletes) to go on an aggressive cut in order to lose some fat (there is a time and place for it though) as it can interfere with performance.
However, this was just at the start of pre-season (no matches, just training) and we had a 2 week maintenance phase before we went on an aggressive 4 week calorie controlled cut.
This gave the lads a good amount of calories to eat for a few weeks before we cut them down really low. It gave me a good starting point on how to structure their deficit and it also gave them a good idea on where their maintenance calories is (roughly) so they can go back to it after the aggressive cut in order to reduce diet fatigue, keep their new weight stable and maintain performance for their training.
Our aim was to get in (aggressive deficit) and get back out (straight back to maintenance calories).
On average the lads lost around 4kg (with one individual losing 6kg) and 6cm off their waist and 4.5cm off their hips.
I have included a few progress pictures below.
Even though they lost body fat all over, for some of them I only uploaded their back pics as this was where the majority of fat came off for most of them.
In only a 4 week cut (even if aggressive) you wouldn't expect as much fat loss (it depends on genetics and how lean they started off) around other areas such as the abdominal area.
