Q&A: Jacques Le Roux

Here’s a quick Q&A with Jacques Le Roux who came 3rd in Men’s Weight Loss, losing 16.9kgs in Sleekgeek’s latest ULTIMATE YOU 8-Week Transformation Challenge (sign up for the new challenge now at www.ultimateyou.co.za)!

QUESTION 1: Give us a short history of your journey to health and fitness before the challenge.

A: Before this challenge I wasn’t really focussed on being healthy and getting fit. I knew it was something that I should do because my weight was just climbing and climbing. But it was just too easy to drive past the gym. And I must say the fact that fast/junk food was so easy to get hold off didn’t really make it very easy to be healthy. So I mainly always took the easy route and drive home past the gym but I would not drive home past a Mcdonalds or KFC though. I mean, you don’t even have to get out of your car to get that. So the health and fitness journey was not part of my lifestyle. And I was someone that played rugby and soccer for 3 hours per day when I was younger. So from all that activity to doing basically nothing. To even just stand still for a couple of minutes became a challenge. To exercise was very uncomfortable for me.

QUESTION 2: What prompted you to join the ULTIMATE YOU Transformation Challenge?

A: Angelique and Abraham Du Plessis. I owe them a big thanks. Their daughter is in school with my daughter and we started to chat and eventually ended up having a couple of braai’s together. I was amazed by how much kilo’s the 2 of them had shed. So their story fascinated me and they encouraged me to give it a go. I was very hesitant at the beginning because my weight problem was like a mountain in front of me. They encouraged me to just make a start and get going. I really didn’t even think I will be able to lose 10kg. It seemed so difficult. But it actually isn’t. With all the motivation and the fact that people knew I was trying to lose weight and the expectation of seeing results really motivated me. You definitely need support and encouragement when you tackle your weight loss journey. And the Sleekgeek group, the team, the Facebook messages, the whatsapp messages of your team really helps a lot.

QUESTION 3: Give us a quick overview of the nutrition and eating plan that you followed during the challenge.

A: The eating plan I followed was to cut out sugar (I used sweetener), bread, pasta, rice, potato and take aways and chips and fizzy drinks. I replaced the fizzy drinks with sparkling water. Just make the water more interesting. When you eat a burger just eat the patty and lettuce and tomato. Leave the roll. For breakfast I had a piece of boerewors or a patty with 2 boiled eggs. This filled me up very nicely and kept me full for a long period. As a snack I would have a naartjie. Love those. Lunch would be an Evox shake. Afternoon snack would be an apple, or droewors or biltong. For dinner it would be a meat/protein with veggies or salads. You can actually eat very nicely without having the bad stuff.

QUESTION 4: Give us a quick overview of the training and exercise plan that you followed during the challenge.

A: The exercise plan I had planned for me wasn’t followed to the fullest. I did try whenever and did whatever I could do. But because I am so big it was and in a sense still is very difficult to exercise. So I really didn’t / couldn’t exercise a lot. It was mainly the eating that helped me lose weight. If I exercised more, I would’ve lost more. And that is my aim for the next challenge. I lost 21.6kg now and I am able to exercise better now. I have more energy to tackle the gym equipment.

QUESTION 5: Did you use any supplements or do anything else worth mentioning to help you get results?

A: Because I am so much overweight my dad encouraged me to use Antagolin. It fights Insulin Resistance. That was the only supplement I used.

QUESTION 6: If you could give 3 pieces of advice to future challengers, what would they be?

A: (1.) Break your goal down into achievable goals, per month, per 8 weeks. Don’t look into the big barrier. Set small goals and achieve them first. Before you know it you will be well on your way. (2.) Get a support group like Sleekgeek or friends on whatsapp who have the same struggles. I never knew there were so many people with the same problems and struggles as what I have, I thought it was only me. You are not alone in this. (3.) Just begin. Just start. Make the decision today. No more excuses. It can be done. It is possible. You are not alone. And remember – Small changes eventually add up to huge results.

QUESTION 7: What did you find most valuable about your experience?

A: That it actually is possible to lose weight. If you need to lose 10, 20, 30 or 80kg’s like me. One step at a time and you will get there. You didn’t get fat overnight, so it will take some team. Be patient. Support from friends, family, the Sleekgeek Group on Facebook is priceless. With those people behind you you can achieve anything. Support is very valuable. Another thing I have learned is that you don’t need pasta, bread, sugar or junk food to be happy or enjoy yourself. You actually feel much better without it.  By cutting out those things gave me so much more energy and I just feel better. I am so glad I was introduced to Sleekgeek and I am so glad I made the decision to just start and just do it. No looking or going back. It is possible after all. Thank you Elan for starting the Sleekgeek group. It is amazing.