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 time, we’re turning to Instagram to provide us with one such transformation that has proved equal parts inspiring, controversial, and a little awkward for the man who posted it. Maxwell Aldous, a British fitness influencer who made his name off the back of this immensely impressive weight loss, posted a throwback video of his 6-month transformation to his socials but found it met with mixed reactions…

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Cut, Cut, Cut

Before we get into the controversial aspect of the post, 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.

In addition to all this, you want to work in some exercise. Frankly, this can be whatever you enjoy and are able to stick at over the long-term. This poster seems to like his cycling, but you can go for weightlifting, soccer, footy, whatever works for you — just get moving and stay moving.

Divided Opinions

What made this pot a little controversial was the fact that a slew of comments suggested they preferred the way the poster looked before his transformation, rather than afterwards. This is awkward for a couple of reasons…

First, it speaks to the fact that many men who’ve shifted some pounds seem to report that it’s other men who are most impressed by their newly-earned physique, rather than the women they theoretically set out to attract. Discussions about the ‘male gaze’ and ‘female gaze’ are rife on social media right now and, as one commenter summarised, this poster found himself at the faultline of the debate: “Old version was for girls gaze second one is for male gaze”.

The genuinely problematic part of this discourse, however, is that it risks putting men off making what is a genuinely (and often hugely) positive change for their health — both physical and mental — because a big chunk of the population found them more appealing beforehand. This puts men in an awkward position, not only because many are liable to find the notion that they were more-attractive when less-healthy to be a little bit baffling, but it could dissuade them from making adjustments to their lifestyle that will benefit them long, long into the future — and likely long after the notion of being attractive is especially important to them anymore.

How do you feel about this transformation? And, more importantly, how do you feel about this unexpected turn in the conversation, where we’ve gone from men feeling obliged to chase single-digit body fat levels to be “better looking”, only to have the very people they want to look good for turna round and say they looked better before? Does it grind your gears? or are we making a fuss over nothing?