Despite the hurdles of middle age, this Redditor achieved astonishing weight loss results… but they came with a catch.

We just love body transformations here at DMARGE. There’s nothing better than seeing blokes who’ve been struggling with their weight and, often, their mental health along with it, find a way to turn it all around. In an effort to share the secrets behind their fitness success so that others can kickstart their own journeys, we share some of our favourite stories.

This forty-one-year-old Redditor — who posted progress pictures to the site’s dedicated subreddit under the username bigmartyfitness — revealed an incredible year-long transformation. Shedding 100 lbs but, more importantly, gaining the skills and confidence to pursue his dream job as a PT, he managed to totally change his look with a lot of hard work… but his transformation reveals a hard truth about losing weight that many people just don’t want to hear.

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Cut, Cut, Cut

Before we get into his secret strategy, we wanted to preface it by giving our top-level top-tips on how to lose weight, whether you follow this guy’s approach or not. What follows are the broad strokes of weight loss, but the absolute basics you have to lock in.

When it comes to shedding those pounds, nailing your nutritional game is always the most important and usually most punishing step. You need to partake in a ‘cut’ by maintaining a strict calorie deficit over an extended period of time, just like Zac Efron did before filming Baywatch. Here are some general nutritional guidelines to follow, but bear in mind that nutrition varies from person to person:

1. Calculate your calories: To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than your body burns. Calculate your daily calorie needs and subtract 250-500 calories per day to create a gradual calorie deficit.
2. Eat plenty of fibre: Fibre-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help keep you feeling full and satisfied during a cut.
3. Stay hydrated: Adequate hydration is essential for optimal health and can also help curb hunger and cravings.

While this Redditor clearly went hard and fast, It’s important to note that a successful cut requires patience and consistency. It’s not advisable to try to lose too much body fat too quickly, as this can lead to muscle loss and other health problems. Aim for a gradual, sustainable rate of fat loss, and be sure to listen to your body and adjust your nutrition plan as needed.

The Long Haul

When it comes to shifting the pounds, especially as we get a little more mature, people tend to crave quick fixes — plans that promise a ‘6-week shred for summer’ or a viral dieting hack that offers a newly discovered loophole for getting around the core tenants we’ve listed above — that sort of thing. However, the hard truth about weight loss, especially when losing such a large amount of weight is this: it takes a bloody long time to get it off and, more importantly, keep it off.

It took this Redditor 10 long years to complete his transformation and, while I think we’d all agree that it was absolutely worth the long-term commitment, the discovery that losing the weight can often take a lot longer than it took to gain it can be a difficult pill to swallow.