A determined young man has turned his life around during lockdown, shedding 21 kilograms in body fat since mid-March.
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Deagan Newell said he started his fitness regime out of sheer boredom, after the long weeks of sitting around and watching Netflix stopped being fun.
"It was a boring existence," Mr Newell said.
"You fall asleep and you wake up over and over again, no matter what time it is."
In mid-March he weighed 117 kilograms, and so decided to use the months of down time to overhaul his lifestyle and shed the coronavirus kilos.
The 21-year-old started eating more vegetables and he removed sugar, fat, and energy drinks from his diet.
Cutting the energy drinks proved a particularly wise decision, and he found himself with more energy and lacking the daily stomach aches he used to get.
For exercise, he started going on walks around the neighbourhood with a friend of his, and they kept each other motivated during the cold mornings.
"The hardest part was finding the motivation to get out, get dressed, and go for a walk or run," Mr Newell said.
"Once you do it, it gets easier and easier."
He gradually increased the intensity of his workouts, and within a few months he had slimmed down to 96 kilograms.
Mr Newell said the weight loss had gradually crept up on him, and he was pleasantly surprised to see just how much progress he had made in such a short time.
"It's nice to be able to fit in my small clothes again. That was a nice surprise," he said. "Last year was when I went overboard and I got above 100 kilograms, so a lot of my nicer clothes didn't fit any more."
With his collection of fancy suits and bowties now available to him, Mr Newell said he was looking and feeling better than he had in years.
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He said he had struggled with obesity all throughout high school, and had previously attempted to lose weight by "starving" himself thin.
However, he said this new healthy approach had proved far more sustainable in the long term, and that he had kept up this lifestyle for longer than any of his previous failed attempts at dieting.
With restrictions having eased, Mr Newell is now back at work.
However, he said he would continue his lockdown fitness regime until he reached his weight goal of 76 kilograms and had achieved six-pack abs.
"I've been feeling a lot better for a long time now - I have more energy and I just don't need to eat as much as I used to," Mr Newell said.
"I'm probably the fittest I've been my whole life, and definitely the most active."
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
