From jock to fatty and back again. A cruel experiment made a fitness trainer famous

Other people’s problems often seem far-fetched and not too serious. Australian fitness instructor Paul James, who had a beautifully sculpted body, couldn’t understand why his clients were having trouble losing weight. “All you have to do is exercise and eat right. How hard can it be?”, Paul wondered. The inability to realize what exactly prevents people with obesity to bring themselves in order, did not give the guy rest. And finally pushed him to a bold and extreme experiment.

Paul gave up, as it seemed to him, the only possible way of life for six months in order to get better and feel all the problems of his clients. The athlete was sure that then easily get rid of the gained pounds and become a good example for those who want to lose weight. But what was planned as a fun adventure, almost turned out to be a personal disaster for James.

Refusal to exercise and a lot of junk food

At the first stage of the experiment, Paul forbade himself to go to the gym, and in general tried to get off the couch as little as possible. A significant role in the transformation from a jock to a fat man was assigned to the diet. James, who used to be attentive to what he ate, began to lay on fat, sweets and flour. Now he ate a large pizza, a giant hamburger, a pile of chocolate chip cookies, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, chips and candy bars every day.

The experimenter was drinking all this with liters of beer, sweet soda and chocolate milk. Naturally, there was no place for fruits and vegetables in such a diet. At the same time Paul not only used harmful food, but also violated all the rules of healthy eating: he ate huge portions without any schedule and deliberately ate before going to bed.

Plus 45 kg and depression

The result of such a “diet” did not take long. Paul, who weighed at the beginning of the crazy experiment 79.5 kg, just a month “broke through” the mark in the centner, and from the cubes on the abs and relief muscles are not left and trace. Six months later, James saw 124 kg on the scale, that is, in just six months, the guy got fat by 44.5 kg. Interestingly, for the last two months he did not force food into himself, but just ate what he wanted. Thus, the trainer’s stomach adapted to the huge amounts of food and already perceived the extreme diet as a norm.

Initially, Paul thought that the extra kilograms will be noticeable only on the scale and in the mirror, but gradually the daredevil began to feel all the “charms” of obesity. He became withdrawn, shy and timid, he was uncomfortable to communicate with people, and the favorite place in the world for a once active guy became a couch. On top of that, James lost his self-confidence, became resentful and for the first time faced serious depression. On the physical health wild race for weight also affected very significantly: greatly increased blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, weakened immunity, which led to frequent colds.

A difficult return to form

When doctors diagnosed the athlete with obesity of the first degree, Paul realized that the first stage of rigorous experience over himself successfully passed. It was time to return to a proper lifestyle, but it was at this stage that the problems began. Exercises, which the trainer used to do without any effort, were now given incredibly hard, but it was even more difficult to return to a proper diet, giving up fat and sweets. During the experiment James, in fact, became a different person. The new James experienced difficulties with willpower and more than once wondered whether it was worth spending so much effort to return to his former condition.

But the Australian still overpowered himself, found motivation and was able to bring the planned to a happy ending. Thanks to a special set of exercises, developed by Paul for himself, he managed to get rid of purposefully gained kilograms for the next six months and to see 79.5 kg on the scale again.

Paul recalls that during the first few months of the second stage he felt fear for his future more than once. It seemed to him that it would be almost impossible to get back to his old shape, and if he did, he would have flabby skin hanging down everywhere. Fortunately, thanks to hard work in the gym and proper nutrition, the guy’s fears were not confirmed – a year after the start of the marathon, he looked almost the same as before.

Growing popularity and harsh criticism

Participation in the extreme experiment not only added Paul clients impressed by his example, but also helped him gain world fame. The fitness trainer began to be invited to television and radio, to motivational trainings and photo shoots for popular magazines. James’ experience was even the subject of a documentary.

The transformation from a jock to a fat man and back again turned out to be an ingenious PR move. As often happens in such cases, James came under fire from skeptics. Many nutritionists and trainers are convinced that a man who has suffered from obesity for years, to repeat the path of a professional instructor is simply unrealistic.

It is possible that the Australian really is a bit of a liar in pursuit of fame. But, you must agree, the result of his experiment still looks impressive and motivating. The author of the high-profile project himself does not regret participating in it, but admits that he would not subject himself to such abuse a second time.