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My Dream Career

From “Office Pig” to “Gym Rat”

By Mike GjuraPublished 4 years ago 5 min read
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Mexico Sep 2019

Hi, my name is Mike Gjura. I do consulting for the 5th largest bank in Canada. I want to take you with me on my journey of weight loss. I’ll be providing a high-level overview of my “Year Prior to Confidence.” I encourage you to reach out! I promise, If you take the time to reach out to me, I will make time to chat with you.

September 2018

I wasn’t happy with my body. It was obvious I hated my body and working in an office, I was surrounded by people who were overweight and didn’t see anything wrong with it. Working in an office, we bought cakes and donuts and fancy ass 700 calorie “coffees” (even though it was a mixture of sugar and cream), for any reason. Often multiple times a week we would eat like this. I saw no reason to change as I’ve been overweight most of my life, starting in Grade Six.

October 2018

My parents had asked me to try out this “Calorie Counting” app for my phone, as they had also been doing it for a few days and were seriously surprised by their caloric intake. I too, was shocked beyond belief to find out I am eating 5,000+ more calories than I should each week.

It’s obvious now why I wasn’t losing weight and only gaining, as I likely haven’t been in a caloric deficit in YEARS... this app had put so much into a different perspective for me, that I started to research nutrition online. October was my starting point of over 220 lbs... of which some might say, “that’s not so bad,” but you have to realize it was pure fat... jiggly wiggly fat, and I had man-boobs which absolutely killed my confidence more than anything in the world.

I wanted change. I needed to change.

Rule #1 You have to want the change. Nobody can change you except you.

After counting my calories for about two weeks I stopped, as I wasn't able get below my “caloric allowance,” and this was extremely disheartening and embarrassing. I wasn’t able to reduce my eating enough to lose weight...

November 2018

My parents had asked me on my thoughts about the phone app that I used to count calories. Which then prompted me to start using it again the next day. I knew I had to be serious this time, no more slacking off and every piece of food that passed my lips, had to be tracked. No more excuses or sweet indulgences at the office. I told my friends/family and coworkers “I’m trying to change my body image and get in a healthy shape,” which is so much easier said than done.

At this point I began to research nutrition in great detail and was slowly but surely below my caloric intake each day.

December 2018 to April 2019

At this point I knew what foods were reacting good/bad with my gut-biome. I had also branched out and tried different foods, like chickpeas, tofu, vegetables and nuts/seeds, etc. This was a huge step for me, as before this time period I would eat fast food, no vegetables, and candy/baked treats daily.

Rule #2. Research Nutrition. Change your eating habits.

April 2019

This is where I started to notice a plateau in my weight of about 185 pounds. My girlfriend and I decided to get a gym membership. I though, now that I’ve got my nutrition in a better position, I should start heading to the gym to break through this 185 pounds plateau.

May 2019 to September 2019

I started to ramp up my attendance at the gym from one to two days a week to five to six days a week. This absolutely helped my bust through my plateau and drop to 165 pounds. I thought, “This is a great weight for me, and I feel more confident and look much healthier.” I also started to get compliments daily from friends/family/colleagues/clients. This was a huge boost to my confidence and I wanted more. I had set a personal goal of 160 pounds and then I said I’d stop actively trying to lose weight and just maintain the healthy weight of 160 pounds.

As the compliments and congratulatories started to roll in, my shy former-fatty attitude of wanting to be hidden in the background started to peel away. I was becoming very confident in my body and who I am as a person.

October 2019

At this time I had some abs and I traded my man-boobs for some solid “pecs” that my girlfriend loved to poke, as my chest had become shaped rather nicely.

Oct 2019

My girlfriend and I had booked a spontaneous vacation to Mexico! My confidence was shining brighter than ever as I was shirtless (for the first time in a long time) nearly all day everyday—excluding the remarkably yummy and beautiful dinners we had! I had a realization that, this is how I am supposed to be in life. This makes me happy and I want to feel this type of way forever.

Oct 8 2019

I couldn’t hide the fact that I was confident in my body, I had bought two brand new three-piece suits (yes, with the matching vest) and I wanted to wear tighter clothing to show off my hard-work/body shape. I was also starting to think of a new career path as sitting in an office started to feel “not for me.” I wanted something more... different... shocking... and a little bit “out-there.” I wanted to become a male model. But surely my confidence isn’t that high...

Oct 16 2019

Today was rather nerve racking, as I submitted my photos to a modeling agency. I wonder how many days it’ll take for them to get back to me? Am I good enough? Do they think I’m ugly or something? These are the thoughts going through my head...

To be continued....

weight loss
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