Hi Friend 

We've all heard the advice: "Do something your future self will thank you for."

This is the idea of delayed gratification: making a sacrifice to receive a benefit in the future.

I wanted to share a lesson I learned in 2015 when I won my first physique title. What most people don't know is that nine months before that, I was in the pits of hell.

I had gotten into a rut during the winter of 2014-15. When I say rut, what I mean is I was clinically depressed.

Chocolate was my 'medicine', correction, poison. The stuff was making my health worse, but during the 10 minutes it took me to eat a family-sized bar of Cadbury's Whole Nut, it somehow made my life bearable.

I watched as my physique morphed into that of someone who consumed a diet of junk food and who had never lifted weights.

The sad thing, such was my state of self-loathing; I didn't care.

I've since come to understand this state was similar to chronic fatigue syndrome and likely stemmed from trauma and related ADHD-like symptoms. That's some deep stuff for another day, maybe. I've been on an incredible healing journey that might be interesting to some.

Back to February 2015 (January was a false start). I stood in front of the mirror, horrified at what I saw.

I saw a man who looked like he'd given up on himself.

I said out loud, "What the hell, Alan?!"

I got so angry. People say anger is bad, but it's a step up from being sad and apathetic. Anger is an energising emotion that can be used for good.

I looked into my own eyes and said calmly, "This ends now."

I meant it. The deepest part of me knew I meant it.

This was the most brutal battle I'd fought.

To begin with, I had to force myself to do things that would eventually help me feel better. Looking back, this is the best lesson in delayed gratification I have ever had.

I started walking and stopped eating chocolate like it was going out of fashion. These two things alone required enormous levels of willpower.

I started eating like someone who cared about their body.

Two weeks later, I started lifting weights again. I was weak!

Thank God for muscle memory. After about two months, I was lifting well.

I remember standing in my kitchen in July 2015, reflecting on the previous six months, feeling relieved that I had turned my health around.

That's when the idea of competing entered my head. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

What made the prospect of competing more appealing was that I'd started the year in such a bad place.

Fast forward to October 2015...

I could run 2 miles in 11:30, and more importantly for my sport, I was 2.8% body fat (by callipers).

I know that sounds crazy, but callipers don't tell you your actual body fat percentage.

2.8% by callipers is probably around 5-6% by DEXA or Underwater Weighing.

See the photo to see what this level of body fat looks like.