How getting an online fitness and diet coach became my weight loss gamechanger
This year, I broke a pattern I lived with for more than a decade. As unusual as this, I also started working on my 2022 goals as early as October.
Tomorrow, Christmas Day, marks the second month of being under Coach Sandro Roman’s fitness program. It is difficult for me to put into words how life-changing it was to have made that commitment. Not only do I feel lighter on the outside these days but I also freed myself from the emotional burden of having to go through torturous fad diets that promise the moon and the stars in an instant. After years of being a yoyo dieting expert (I kid you not!), I finally found the real solution.
When I said years, I meant more than a decade of struggling with keeping off the excess weight. It was in the mid-2000s when I was in college that I started working on losing weight seriously (and extremely!). This was after finding out that I had hormonal imbalance due to PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
Here’s a quick rundown of the different weight loss methods I got myself into and how each of them eventually backfired.
- Replacement shakes and sauna suits – I ended up taking in more calories because I still ate when I felt hungry!
- Beyonce’s Master Cleanse program – Imagine living on lemon juice with cayenne pepper for days. I only lasted for a day or two without cheating.
- General Motors diet – I was only able to last until the 5th day and ended up eating more than I should because I felt so deprived.
- Cohen diet – It was expensive and restrictive. I felt so deprived and exhausted. Anxiety also crept in as I experienced hairfall weeks into the program. Months after losing a lot of weight, I ended up heavier than when I started. It just was not sustainable for me.
- HCG diet – I did not do it under the supervision of a doctor that I felt so weak from the 500-calorie daily allowance. Looking back, I’m still not sure how safe it is to ingest hormones. Doctors still have mixed opinions on this diet.
- No-rice diet – I have no idea how I managed to survive almost two years without eating rice. It was a great experience of maintaining a healthy weight but the moment I ate rice again, I struggled to get back on track and slowly gained all the excess weight back.
- Ketogenic diet and low-carbohydrate diet – This seemed sustainable at first but I eventually fell off track and ended up having high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. This works for a lot of people but just not for me.
- Slimming teas and supplements – After an interview with a female celebrity, she recommended a brand of weight loss supplements that helped her lose a lot of weight in such a short time. It worked wonders during the first few weeks but I ended up finding out it has an ingredient that is already banned in a number of foreign countries.
The gamechanger
This lockdown situation put me through a lot of emotional eating moments that I ended up with a 15 to 20-lb weight gain. All it took for me to change my ways was simply accept that real results take time and effort, much like how we have all been taught since we were kids – proper diet and exercise. I hear you, that’s easier said than done. And that is exactly why I sought help.
I had to remind myself that when it comes to weight loss, I have to take it the slow-but-sure way since all those times I was in a rush always put me back to where I started (or even worse).
An interview with TikTok sensation and Miss Universe Philippines 2021 finalist Ayn Bernos introduced me to an idea and inspired me to make a lifestyle change for real. It was also through her that I learned about Coach Sandro Roman.
Coach Sandro is a Century Tuna Superbod, an online fitness and diet coach, a bodybuilder, and ultrarunner. With credentials like that, I had no doubt he knew what he was doing and instantly felt the excitement to experience what many of his clients referred to as the #SandroMagic.
Random note: Here’s Ayn’s “How it started” vs. “How it’s going” post. (Sorry, I’m too shy to post my photos that I’ll use ones from Coach Sandro’s other clients!)
Fast forward to today, who would have thought that the girl who would eat ice cream for breakfast and snack at every chance she gets, now squeezes workouts into her crazy schedule? All thanks to what Coach Sandro calls a “solid plan.” (Check out his IG stories daily for proofs to this!)
Upon signing up, Coach Sandro had me fill out a lengthy questionnaire that became the basis for a customized fitness and meal plan. By trusting the process, as he would always remind, results did happen in no time. On my first month alone, with commitment yet minimal input, I lost 10 pounds. I know I could have lost more but I allowed myself to not feel the same pressure that caused my previous weight loss downfalls.
Speaking of pressure, I did not expect to NOT get it from my coach. The only pressure I felt was the one I imposed on myself after years of several attempts. What I had was enough motivation knowing I could trust my program and the relief that I did not have to deprive myself of food.
As a couch potato-turned-wellness enthusiast, I appreciated how Coach extended patience and a lot of tips as I went through the transition. He never resorted to guilt trip as a way of putting you back on track and he also somehow served as a therapist on those days I found myself overwhelmed with reasons to turn to mindless eating or skip my workout.
That may sound overly dramatic but for someone who, for so many years, has dodged the workout part in losing weight, exercising (with dumbbells!) for two consecutive days was already an achievement! You could just imagine the internal celebration I had when I survived a full week of moving those muscles and increasing the weight of my dumbbells. Even my parents and closest friends were impressed (following their expected initial disbelief, of course).
I’m very much aware I’m still a work-in-progress but I know I’m far from my version always falling into the lose-weight-quick trap.
If you’re thinking about signing up for his coaching program, take this as a sign to just do it. Send Coach a direct message on Instagram. Here’s the LINK.
Here are some of his client’s testimonials to get you even more excited. You can also check out Ayn’s video below for more information a bit of Coach Sandro’s interview:
WATCH:
