BAXTER BASICS TRANSFORMATIONS

That is me in those two photos. Somewhere in between, is a missing 38 kilos.

The one on the left was taken in 2012 and it gives me an anxiety attack every time I look at it. I’d gotten to be like that after about 5 years of eating hot chips for dinner, in between pasta and pizza, anything with chocolate for a daily treat, with a side of soft drink.

I wasn’t always like this. I mean, I was never what you would call ‘skinny’, but this was getting out of control.

I knew I was steadily gaining weight (I mean, I wasn’t completely delusional), and I knew the basics of what I needed to do to lose it (eat well and exercise, right?), I just didn’t know where to start.

I had NO idea of what a serving size was supposed to look like. “Serves 4” it would say on the box. Yeah, all 4 me.

Good carbs versus bad carbs (“What’s the difference?)
A fist size of protein, they would say (“A fist? But I’m starving!”).
Veggies, but concentrate on the low GI ones (“What is a GI?”).
Two servings of fruit, but not the fruits that are high in sugar (Really? I mean, it’s FRUIT!”).
Eat bread sometimes, but only the good kind and not too much (“Huh?). No sugar. No salt. Only drink water. Make that 3 litres per day. Man, I was confused.

I had tried meal replacement shakes, but it wasn’t teaching me what I needed to do for the LONG TERM. I wasn’t going to drink two shakes a day instead of a meal for the rest of my life.

I tried readily-made calorie-controlled delivered meals, but I was dependant on what was made for me and had no idea how to control those calories for a meal I made myself.

I tried joining a gym, but got bored at the monotony and never wanted to look at a treadmill again.
I thought I had exhausted all avenues. I was tired. Tired of feeling ashamed of what I had turned myself into. Tired of waking up every day and battling to find an outfit I felt comfortable in, let alone felt good in. My self-esteem suffered. More than suffered, it was shattered. Every day was an internal brawl. I would hurl abuse at myself. I was my own worst enemy, my biggest critic.

I refused to wake up like that anymore. I no longer wanted to accept that this was my life. I needed someone to help me help myself. In came Darren Baxter.

I started training with Daz in early 2012. I committed myself to atleast 3 sessions per week. I came straight from work to Boot Camp, and then travelled the 55 minutes it took to drive home. Whatever it took, I was willing to do. Within 10 months, I had lost 30 kilos, dropped my body fat percentage by over 10% and skipped my way on down to buy myself a new wardrobe. Man, was that the best reward. Boot Camp became a ritual, part of my weekly routine. Motivation is what got me started and habit is what kept me going. Once I had booked into a session, all I needed to do was turn up, and put in the work. I was holding myself accountable, and if I slipped up, you could count on it that Daz would be on my back. Out of habit, I would pick up an 8kg dumbbell. “Keels, go for the 10kg buddy”, he’d say. He was always pushing me, always challenging me. It was as simple as that. The magic formula that I had been searching for all that time was a mix of determination, awesome sessions that were never the same, a change in my eating habits and a dedicated trainer who believed in me more than I believed in myself.

Today, I am a qualified Personal Trainer (and soon to be qualified Massage Therapist) and work alongside two mates, and over a hundred legendary clients who, for one reason or another, have come to Baxter Basics to change their lives. I still have my own goals to reach; my journey is not at an end.

If my experience has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to spend at war with yourself, and sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you CAN do it. Do it again. Do it often. And finish with some burpees.

That is me in those two photos. Somewhere in between, is a missing 38 kilos.

The one on the left was taken in 2012 and it gives me an anxiety attack every time I look at it. I’d gotten to be like that after about 5 years of eating hot chips for dinner, in between pasta and pizza, anything with chocolate for a daily treat, with a side of soft drink.

I wasn’t always like this. I mean, I was never what you would call ‘skinny’, but this was getting out of control.

I knew I was steadily gaining weight (I mean, I wasn’t completely delusional), and I knew the basics of what I needed to do to lose it (eat well and exercise, right?), I just didn’t know where to start.

I had NO idea of what a serving size was supposed to look like. “Serves 4” it would say on the box. Yeah, all 4 me.

Good carbs versus bad carbs (“What’s the difference?)
A fist size of protein, they would say (“A fist? But I’m starving!”).
Veggies, but concentrate on the low GI ones (“What is a GI?”).
Two servings of fruit, but not the fruits that are high in sugar (Really? I mean, it’s FRUIT!”).
Eat bread sometimes, but only the good kind and not too much (“Huh?). No sugar. No salt. Only drink water. Make that 3 litres per day. Man, I was confused.

I had tried meal replacement shakes, but it wasn’t teaching me what I needed to do for the LONG TERM. I wasn’t going to drink two shakes a day instead of a meal for the rest of my life.

I tried readily-made calorie-controlled delivered meals, but I was dependant on what was made for me and had no idea how to control those calories for a meal I made myself.

I tried joining a gym, but got bored at the monotony and never wanted to look at a treadmill again.
I thought I had exhausted all avenues. I was tired. Tired of feeling ashamed of what I had turned myself into. Tired of waking up every day and battling to find an outfit I felt comfortable in, let alone felt good in. My self-esteem suffered. More than suffered, it was shattered. Every day was an internal brawl. I would hurl abuse at myself. I was my own worst enemy, my biggest critic.

I refused to wake up like that anymore. I no longer wanted to accept that this was my life. I needed someone to help me help myself. In came Darren Baxter.

I started training with Daz in early 2012. I committed myself to atleast 3 sessions per week. I came straight from work to Boot Camp, and then travelled the 55 minutes it took to drive home. Whatever it took, I was willing to do. Within 10 months, I had lost 30 kilos, dropped my body fat percentage by over 10% and skipped my way on down to buy myself a new wardrobe. Man, was that the best reward. Boot Camp became a ritual, part of my weekly routine. Motivation is what got me started and habit is what kept me going. Once I had booked into a session, all I needed to do was turn up, and put in the work. I was holding myself accountable, and if I slipped up, you could count on it that Daz would be on my back. Out of habit, I would pick up an 8kg dumbbell. “Keels, go for the 10kg buddy”, he’d say. He was always pushing me, always challenging me. It was as simple as that. The magic formula that I had been searching for all that time was a mix of determination, awesome sessions that were never the same, a change in my eating habits and a dedicated trainer who believed in me more than I believed in myself.

Today, I am a qualified Personal Trainer (and soon to be qualified Massage Therapist) and work alongside two mates, and over a hundred legendary clients who, for one reason or another, have come to Baxter Basics to change their lives. I still have my own goals to reach; my journey is not at an end.

If my experience has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to spend at war with yourself, and sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you CAN do it. Do it again. Do it often. And finish with some burpees.