MFB's Chris' Transformation So Far - Part 1 of 2
The first of many transformation programs kicks off with an actual My Fresh Box employee, Chris, who oversees the sales and marketing. Chris started here in March 2020, working with us for a couple of weeks before the global pandemic and national lockdown issued him to isolate, meaning that he had to operate from home and not come into the office. During his time off, Chris dedicated it to not only content writing and helping us sort out our new website, but to lose weight and improve overall fitness. In order to achieve this, he knew he needed a plan of attack, and what he was going to have to do each day to get where he wanted to be. It was also thought of that starting a body transformation could have been a useful tool for also his job, as if it could work for him then it could work for anyone, considering he hasn’t got any sort of special equipment and sports only a pair of dumbbells and an exercise bike.
Beforehand
Before the transformation started, Chris noticed that he was at his heaviest that he’d ever weighed, and that his fitness was becoming an issue when playing football, noticing that he couldn’t finish a full ninety-minute football game. Previously, Chris blamed his extra bit of weight gain on the busy Christmas period that he had, which included a few Christmas do’s, a couple of birthday nights out and even a weekend away to the Czech Republic. “I wish I took a serious before and after picture as looking back on an image from myself on a night out, I really let myself go. Although I was only a few stone over what I usually am, my fitness levels dropped and I was struggling to play football to the level that I was used to, I felt quite guilty for letting the others down.” After working within the office for a couple of weeks, and being offered a meal each day, he found that he was no longer feeling the urges to snack throughout the day and had lost a small amount of weight. This is what he claimed was the kick up the backside to get his fitness regime sorted, as seeing the small rewards after little effort made him think of what he could potentially achieve if he actually dedicated some time and effort into it.
Throughout
Throughout the lockdown period Chris had a lot of spare time on his hands. Not being able to commute into work and temporarily working on a part time basis meant he had a lot more free time throughout the week. A mixture of his newfound desire to lose weight and utter boredom led Chris to ordering a My Fresh Box weekly meal plan, opting for the low calorie plan but also with a special request to have a few of these healthy meals as the Malaysian and Thai curries instead. This mixture of low calorie meals and also healthy, nutritional curries was a massive improvement on what he was eating beforehand, which consisted of a generic super market meal deal full of processed meat and bread, alongside a sugary drink and more often that not a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar. By sticking to this semi-strict weight loss diet consisting of only our healthy meals and then only allowing himself to snack on what he considered to be healthy food, alongside trying to do as much cycling on both his push bike and exercise bike, he saw the weight fly off him.
Afterwards
Upon returning to office work, at the very start of June, there was a noticeable change in the way Chris looked, being able to tell in his face and waist that he had been working out and trimming down. Within the first couple of hours of being back we had a meeting and went over some things that we need to be doing to get us as a company to where we wanted to be at which was followed by some friendly discussions about general life and how everything was over the course of the few months he was absent, it was here that the idea to document his change arose. Following this, we transcribed what Chris said about his experience with our meals regarding what he found over the past couple of months, and here’s what he had to say;
“It was so easy to use to try and help me get fitter, as it’s like that middle ground where it’s not a ridiculous diet plan to follow but it is still weight loss foods, and they’re made with the calories and macros counted so you know what you’re eating. When I was on these meals I was never craving more and more food afterwards, so it helped me to eat less rubbish inbetween my lunch and tea as well, it really did help me out through so many different ways. And although I had so much extra time on my hands, the fact that the meals were already made for me were great because it meant that I didn’t have to stand there in the kitchen for ages having to cook, which would have turned out to taste nowhere near as nice as these meals. I think this is why I managed my healthy eating goal a lot easier as well, as I’ve so often in the past had the idea to eat cleaner and healthier but never stuck to it being of all the meal prep that had to go with it. I don’t think I would have stuck to it as much if these weren’t premade healthy ready meals, so this was definitely a bonus in that regard. At the start of June I actually hurt my back carrying things around the house and couldn’t exercise for almost the whole month, and with not being able to get a physio appointment sorted due to the lockdown ruling I was kinda stuck for food and couldn’t go to Asda for the first week or so of the injury, so when Ste (The Delivery Driver) turned up with the meals the day after I suffered this injury I was made up, plus it was nice to speak to someone that wasn’t from my house for a change.
I think it may have been already planned but if not my journey over these past couple of months have certainly made it a good idea, but at My Fresh Box we are actually doing a transformation project in a few weeks when the gyms reopen. For this we’re going to be choosing two men and women, where one of each gender wants to bulk up and the other wants to lose weight, so I’m going to try and jump on this as well. When this plan does start and the gyms reopen, I’m going to try and not really bulk up but try and improve my muscle mass and strength, so will probably lean more towards the high protein meals and snacks, and really try and incorporate a high protein diet into my life. This could be quite tricky for me though as I like to play football and currently have 5 days a week lined up to train with my two teams when distancing regulations are lifted, so having the effort to go to the gym and work out as well as training is going to be a challenge but I love to push myself and strive to be the best I can be”.
Chris is now back to working full time within the My Fresh Box Headquarters, so if there’s anything you’d like to know about his transformation and his lifestyle changes then he’d be happy to accept any questions and do what he can to help you out. Simply drop him an email at hello@my-fresh-box.co.uk and he’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
