Chris Martin Hotseat

Chris Martin, a guest on a podcast, shares his journey and progress in his health and fitness. He struggled with nutrition and accountability before joining a program. He had a weight loss journey before joining and even ran a marathon for charity. He faced challenges during the marathon but pushed through. After hitting a plateau in his weight loss, he joined the program and made changes like meal prepping and scheduling workouts. Being organized and committed helped him see results. Hello and welcome to the next episode of the private members podcast within the progress project. Today, we have a special guest, Chris Martin, who is going to talk about his journey, the progress that he has made, give some advice and tips on how he has made such amazing progress over the past year and a bit. Welcome, Chris. How is it going? Hi. All good, mate. Thanks very much for having us on. I really appreciate it. Mate, I'm really looking forward to this. The way we're going to start all of them is just a wee bit of an intro to yourself, mate, just general info, age, where you stayed when you came on board the programme, everything like that. Hi. So, as you know, I'm Chris, 33, free school bride. I came on the programme last March, I'm sure it was, until the end of March, so just over a year now. I've absolutely loved being part of it and it just seems to be getting better and better. Brilliant, mate. Excellent. And in terms of before you joined the programme, I think it might have been until the end of February, so I think that's maybe just been about 14 months, I'm sure it was, mate. But in terms of just before you joined, what was the main problem you were experiencing before you joined around your health and fitness? I'd probably say the main problem before, for losing so much weight before I joined, it definitely still was nutrition. Just being accountable, I was kind of falling out of diet. I never really had an actual structure to a diet as such, unless I tried maybe fasting and stuff like that, and then all your kind of general diets, lemon marmalade, shakes, stuff like that, and I never really got accountable for them, they weren't enjoyable, they weren't sustainable. I didn't really have any clue, calories were just numbers, really. I didn't really take in exactly what I was eating, protein-wise, anything, it was just, as long as I thought I was getting the right amount of calories, in my eyes it didn't really matter what I was getting at, which I've since realised that's not the right way to do it, if you want to lose weight or get fitter, so definitely was nutrition side, and just being accountable as well. For me, following a diet is quite easier than sometimes I was going at them quicker than I started them, so actually being accountable to somebody, keeping an eye on them, giving you the guidance, that was definitely a massive help, and that's what kick-started me. Yeah, definitely, and just for anybody that doesn't know who's listening back, to just go back a wee bit further, so before you joined the programme, you were on a bit of a weight loss journey, before even joining the programme, where did you kind of start off in, or up until you got to the programme, before you hit that sticking point? So it started back, weight loss journey started back at the start of 2019, I kind of, I just let everything go, I'd played football for years, I kept playing football, and I just piled on weight, didn't realise how much I'd piled on, since stopping, and I found myself at 23 and a half stone, and it was actually Christmas time, and my brother was on it mate, he joined the gym, and so was Siobhan, and I says I'll join, and I literally just got a membership to get them off my back, and then I started going, and I started to enjoy it, and then through there, it just gradually came down and down, on the scales, started to feel a bit healthier, but I still wasn't quite fit or anything, although the numbers were coming down, so when I joined back with yourself, I think I was about 16 stone maybe, so I kind of felt I'd just hit a plateau, and I couldn't really get under that 16 stone mark, and I was just at crossroads, I didn't really know where to go from there, I didn't have the knowledge, I suppose, to do it myself, and I felt what better way to do it than get somebody that knows what they're talking about, rather than bringing it. Definitely mate, and that was incredible when you said that, and also there's another wee point in there, and before we go on to talk about inside the progress project, tell them about what you managed to achieve before you joined, with regards to, you almost put yourself off running for life, but tell them about the marathon that you did, and what weight you were, training wise, and stuff like that. So I think back at that point, that would have been February 2022, I ran a marathon for charity in memory of my mum, I've said it to yourself on numerous occasions, if it wasn't for charity, if it wasn't for people donating, I'd have chucked it, definitely, because my training for that marathon was maybe go to the gym in the morning, do a 5k, and then go to work, eat junk all day, and then think the next day I'll just do a 5k again, I was just doing 5k's every morning, pretty much, some mornings I'd mix it up, maybe do a 10k, the week before I'd done the marathon, sorry before I got into that, it was the Stirling marathon I was doing, but because of Covid, it kept getting postponed, and Siobhan was heavily pregnant at this point, and I thought if I try and train when Siobhan gives birth, it's just not going to happen with having young kids in the house, so because they'd cancelled it again, it was quite icy, leading up to the week of I was going to do it, I was going to go and do it outside, and then the paths were terrible, and I thought I'm just going to go to the gym and do this on the treadmill, thinking that might be easier, so I'd been doing a bit of training on the treadmill for it, went over, which would have been on my mum's birthday, went to the gym early doors, I think I got there for 6, I didn't eat because I didn't think you should be eating before, I think in fact I did a lie, I think I had a banana, and I took over looking at it, and I thought that'll do me, because you don't want to run when you're full, went over, God knows to this day how I managed it, but I managed to slog out a marathon, and I think it was like 4 hours 15 minutes on the treadmill, and it was the worst experience of my life, and as I say if it wasn't for people sponsoring, and if it wasn't sentimental for what the occasion was, I would have definitely crumbled that day, I'd have chucked it, but because people had paid money, I was like I can't let all these people down, they'll all be thinking Christ, I've sponsored him, he's just chucked it and started walking, and he's going up the road. That story always amazes me, it just shows you that, whilst inside the programme you're going to get all the best advice around nutrition and training for big events and stuff, that story does show you how much mentally you can force yourself to do things, you clearly weren't really prepared for a marathon there mate, in terms of physically, nutritionally, you just weren't prepared for it, but your mind, your mindset, thinking about doing it for charity, the cause, everything mate, that just kind of dragged you through that, and to do it in 4 hours 15 minutes on a treadmill, and at that point as well, you were still being in the midst of your weight loss journey. I think if my memory serves me right, I was probably sitting about 16 and a half stone, maybe even more, maybe the high end of 16 stone, and I doubt that it would have been 16 and a half stone at the best case scenario, but training wise, I thought if you could do a 5K and then maybe do a 10K, it can't be that bad. It's unbelievable mate, honestly it's an incredible story. Obviously then, as you discussed, a year after that would have been then, you hit a stumbling block in your weight loss journey. You'd obviously lost a lot of weight, as you said, about 7 stone by yourself, but you probably managed to do that through methods that probably weren't the best, like you say, it was just a case of, I just need to eat less calories, you probably weren't eating the most nutritious foods, and in that case you hit that stumbling block, so that's when you came on board. When you came on board, what were the main changes that you started to make, that you started seeing results, and what worked best for you that you could give advice to others, some of the changes you made that really yielded results? I suppose when I joined, I just went, I'd say the first few weeks, I just went all in, I tried every single food, and I was like, don't fall off this plan, just stick to it, and then as time was going on, I was seeing other people doing meal prepping, things like that. I didn't really have a structure as such with the gym still, because of having the kids, it's busy, we were just trying to work around things, so I was trying to get set days for training, to allow Siobhan to go and train, or whatever, if it was stuff for the kids, so once I started to actually write down a note of when I was going to train, or maybe get the meal plan, and then prep on a Sunday, so that coming home on a Monday, Tuesday, whatever, dinner was pretty much ready, it was just a case of heating up. It was saving so much time, and that's when I realised I was starting to get the best results, just being organised, have everything kind of set out, so that you're not just winging it as the week goes on, saying I'll train tomorrow, and then that something comes up, and then you're like, I didn't train, I just didn't want to be falling towards the end of the week with maybe three workout sessions to do in a run, and you've maybe got two or three days to do it, because it's no really healthy deal, is it, with not having rest days or anything, so just trying to make sure I was planning everything, and just going all in, and just trusting everything that was getting put across, and working as hard as I could to, I suppose at the start, everybody does it to impress the coach or whatever, but if you can try and stick to that attitude, it will certainly see you in good stead for your progress. Definitely, mate, and that's one thing that we can say for you 100 per cent, it's like that initial period, motivation and ticking things off just never really went away, mate, you've just maintained that level, which is why you've seen so much progress, and also, like, obviously we work with a lot of busy, busy people, but you're up there with one of the busiest as well in terms of your shifts and work, mate, sometimes you're telling me you work 90 hours a week, you've got two young kids, but you're still, like you say, you're organised, you're prepped, you've got things ready, mate, and you're still ticking off all the sessions, staying in communication with us, and just showing, like, what's possible. So as a result, mate, the changes you've made coming on board the programme, what have you achieved since, mate? Since I've joined, I've achieved a fair amount, to be fair. The running goals, not even just the actual goals, but the confidence, I suppose, as well, having a bit more confidence to, like, I remember that you were doing your challenge for the running for the two marathons, and I'd never really ever ran with anybody outside, it's the one who kept saying, why don't you go to the run club? And for some reason, I was just a bit nervous to go, and I thought, I cannae go and run in front of all these people. The first one I came to was that weekend that you were finishing your challenge, and I thought, Christ, I cannae believe I've never ran with people before, because that was so much better, so much more enjoyable, and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought, so I started to gain confidence. That was probably one of the biggest, I'd probably say one of the biggest things I feel I've got a result with, and then, like, personal ones, we've done the half marathon at the end of last year, got a good time, I got a PV time at that, and then doing high rocks, and then doing the other half, just a few weeks back, we were serving Raymond and Gordie, managed to get another PV there, so I feel like every time I'm going to the events, I'm getting good results, I'm getting quicker or whatever, I'm kind of just getting personal bests every time. Yeah, definitely, mate, I think as well, for me, looking at weight loss as well, we continued that journey, the physique changes as well that we're seeing, I think, what, have we lost maybe another three stone or something since joining? I think at one point it was just under three stone I had lost, if you're serious, aye. Which is brilliant, so it's like, I think you're close to 10 stone or whatever in terms of your overall weight loss journey, which has been phenomenal, and then, when you were talking about running there, I remember having to convince you a few times about whether you set a running goal, because I don't know if, like you say, that marathon had just put you off any sort of running ever again, and once now, mate, you've built it up, you're absolutely flying with the running, and now I've got Edinburgh Marathon in the pipeline, and then the ultra-marathon, run the blades as well, so the running goals have been well and truly wrapped up, which has been brilliant to see, man. I did the running side of it, so I did the marathon in February 2021, and I never ran again until, I think it was the April 2022. I did the marathon in 2022, and I never ran until the April when I joined on yourselves, and I actually remember a few times you were on it, mate, to do some running, and I kept saying to Siobhan, he's going to bring up running again, and I was just, I was scunnered, I really was, and I kept, every time I thought of it, I just thought back to that day, and actually quite a funny story with the marathon as well, was the treadmill resets after every hour, so I was in my third hour of running, this guy jumps on the treadmill beside me, the gym was quite empty, sweat was lashing at me, and it was like 15 minutes was shown on the treadmill, but that was like three hours 15. I remember the guy kind of looking at me, and I was like, he thinks I'm absolutely done in here, so he's on it for 15 minutes, so it must have been a picture, because the guy just kept staring at me, and I was like, I had to end up saying to him, this is actually my third hour of it, I'm doing a marathon, so take your time getting the guy to get off the back of it. That's a mental bit, he just walked up to the gym and did a marathon on the treadmill, it was madness, but overall, as I said, one of the reasons I joined here has just been relentless, since we joined, just taking everything on board, just implementing it, taking action straight away, communicating if any issues, setting big goals, we lost the weight, then we set the goal of the half marathon, then we set high rocks, then we've just constantly been setting more targets, and then just pushing it, and as we said, getting better every time as well, obviously it was hard to convince you to get back into running, now you're out at 4.45 in the morning, hitting half marathons at the weekend, so that sort of journey, it's just amazing for me and Raymond and the team and everyone to see, it's just so, so good. In terms of since you've been on board, what would you say is your biggest lesson since joining the Progress Project? Biggest lesson, I suppose, would be just trust, trust what's getting told to you, and just keep putting the work into it even when you're not feeling it. I was listening to the podcast the other day about the scale weight, and I've probably been one of my biggest critics on it, because I was obsessed for years with the scale weight going down, even when I was training well and getting results, I kept thinking, Christ, that scale weight's not moving, but if you just trust what's getting put across to you, and just keep putting in the work, the results are happening, even if the scale's only going down, other aspects are getting better, your fitness is improving, your physique's improving, you might not see it as much because you are that bit self-critical, but just trust the process and keep working hard. If you keep putting the effort in and keep getting your sessions done, you're certainly not going to be gaining weight. Yeah, exactly that. That's a big, big lesson that's been great to see from yourself as well, and that sort of mindset shift, because you posted a progress photo, a side-by-side photo into your progress chat earlier this week, and the difference was just absolutely crazy, and it's just like looking at that and thinking, it doesn't really matter what the scale says, the fact that we're seeing these changes, mate, so that's a big, big lesson and something as well, hopefully people listening to the podcast can take that, but yeah, just trust the process. There will be times when, because you are your own self-critic, and you're looking around and you're like, I don't know if as much is changing, but just keep trusting it and you'll get there, and it's good to have an external view, like myself or Raymond looking in at it, to be like, no, actually, look at this, look what's happened, so definitely a great piece of advice, and we touched on it a wee bit there, mate, in terms of what's up next, but what's the rest of this year looking like for you, mate? What are we working towards just now? What's the main goals for the rest of the year? The rest of the year so far? I've probably got another couple of things I might try, but so far it's going to be Edinburgh Marathon, I think that's seven weeks now, and then doing the ultra at Run the Bloods. Yeah, that's July. July, I think that's 7th of July, and then I thought about doing another wee run in between, maybe try and get another event in before me and Siobhan go to get married at the tail end of August, yeah, and then after we're getting married we'll get High Rocks, say that before that, I think I'll probably sign up to do either the 10k at Glasgow or the half, just now decided what to do, whether it's I go for a PB in the 10 or do the half again, and that would probably be like a training kind of run as well, just with High Rocks being so close, yeah, and then get High Rocks in Birmingham in, is that November? Last October, mate, that is, yep. And then hopefully we're booked up to do the Dublin one but never get a ticket, so hopefully we can manage to get a ticket and then that would be middle of November and that would kind of see us through 2024. Definitely mate, it's a busy year ahead mate, lots of events planned, but to be honest mate, I love that, and I love the fact that there's always that focus of some sort mate, so it's like when the marathon's out you're like, okay, I know what I'm working on next, and then when the ultra's done it's like, okay, I know what's happening next, we're getting married, that's the focus, and it's just that one focus after the other mate, and that's just going to continuously keep us pushing forward mate, which is buzzing, I'm buzzing for that mate, and yeah, we'll decide, we'll have a wee chat mate, decide on whether we do the half or the 10 mate in Glasgow, but yeah, we're looking forward to all that. What are you looking forward to most out of all that mate, do you think? If I don't say my wedding, then I don't think I'm looking forward to any of all that. If we take the wedding aside, the events? Event wise, it's kind of hard because I've never done the marathon outside at an event, so I'm looking forward to that, and then I'm looking forward to pushing myself for the ultra because that distance is going to be well unknown. I suppose they're all different, so I can't wait to do higher ups again and try and get a better time, me and Siobhan doing the mixed doubles and we're doing it again, so I'm just looking forward to them all to be honest. If I was to pick one, maybe the Edinburgh because I feel that currently I've been running at a decent pace, and I've got a good time at the hour half, so I'm looking forward to trying to get the free ferry at Edinburgh and see if I can get it. Edinburgh would be good as well because there's a good few of us doing the ultra as well, but it's a good group of us that are going to be pushing each other on, so I'm really looking forward to that as well. Finally, what would be your biggest piece of advice to all other members who are just maybe starting the journey, whatever their goal is, whether it's weight loss, big events, whatever, what's your biggest piece of general advice to all? Probably the best bit of advice I would say would be just push yourself to come out of your comfort zone, don't get yourself comfy, because you just kind of coast along then and if you lose a couple of pounds here or there you're quite happy, but if you're pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, giving yourself events to train for, that's when you're definitely going to get your best results. When you're pushing your body to its limits, I suppose, just work as hard as you can and again, I've probably rabbed on a bit about it, but just the process, just work hard, put the work in and you'll definitely get the results from it. Don't be shy to do events. I was probably nervous to do Glasgow the most, but then when I signed up for Ottawa on the day, I was like, it's just another event now, because I suppose it's getting your first one out of the way. Probably not even nervous for the race, I suppose it's just the atmosphere, everybody there, but once you do it once, then it just kind of comes natural to start doing these things. Yeah, definitely mate, and be really big on just pushing out the comfort zone, because that's, as you said, that's where you grow. If you came on mate and you said to me, I want to lose two stone and that's really it, I don't really want to do anything else, like you'd have probably hit that mate in the first eight weeks to 12 weeks and then that would have been it. I just went back and that would have been the end of it. It wouldn't have been too difficult, and who knows, you might not have stuck to it longer term, but now the fact that you went, actually I'm going to do some things that are really going to challenge me, it's really going to push me out of my comfort zone, you've probably grown way more than you initially anticipated and when you came on board and that's probably just because you've consistently pushed yourself out of your comfort zone. Even coming up mate, doing the marathon, that'll be the first time you've actually done it in an event. Doing an ultramarathon, first time you've ever ran that distance, it's just going to be constantly new things pushing out the comfort zone, so I 100 per cent agree with that mate, and really looking forward to that and everything else. But well, thanks very much for coming on mate, a few really good pieces of advice there mate, good and really relatable as well mate, because a lot of people in the programme will be similar, really digging heads and stuff, and they'll take a lot of inspiration from you mate and what you've done over the last year and a bit inside the programme, but also what you've done before coming on board and the journey you've been on mate, so thanks very much for coming on, and I don't know if you've got anything else you want to add? No, that's me mate, I really appreciate you having us on. Brilliant mate, cheers, and if anybody has any questions for Chris off the back of this mate, then I 100 per cent just reach out and ask, reply in the post when I post the podcast, and Chris will get back to you, but thanks a lot mate, we'll speak to you soon. Speak to you soon mate, thank you.