Q&A: Michael Mitchell – 3rd Men’s Transformation

We sat down with Michael Mitchell who placed third in the Men’s Transformation category of our Winter 2022 Sleekgeek 8-Week Challenge. We wanted to find out the secret to his success and he was happy to share it with us.

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Please give us a short history of your journey to health and fitness before the challenge.

I’ve been into health and fitness for many years, coming full circle from a “chubby” kid, to a full-time student, to a full-blown OCD eating disorder, nursing myself back to health, doing a dare and competing in a Bodybuilding and Fitness competition, taking over the provincial federation as Chairman, then moving cities and just keeping to my own health and fitness… something maintainable. Children of my own and lockdown made me backtrack a little, finding myself a lot heavier.

What prompted you to join the Sleekgeek Transformation Challenge?

I’ve seen many challenges, and non kept me coming back to see the details like SleekGeek. After 2 or 3 challenges, I actually registered, and never looked back. I had seen something different in the Sleek community, normal people trying to live a healthy lifestyle! I liked it!

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

I used some SG guidelines with regards to nutrition, but I used some of my past experiences, reset my brain and relearnt how to judge macro-nutrients in each food. I wanted a healthy lifestyle, but realized to lose the excess, and reshape my body, I’d need to “diet” for the 8 weeks and ease into maintenance thereafter, so I worked out a very balanced plan of Protein, Fats and Carbs, amounting to around 2000 calories a day. I split this into 5 meals (sometimes 6). I removed added items, even lite dressings etc! (Soya sauce and Nandos Peri Peri Sauce were my friends). I never ate after dinner (a huge mind-shift), I drank at least 3L of water a day, and I allowed planned treat days (my kids had their birthday party during the challenge and I allowed that to be a big “off/treat” day).

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

I went back to my love of HIIT, also taking into account the best thing I learnt as a “Sleek” – something is better than nothing. So if I only had 20 mins, I used them (even if it meant only a few roadblocks). I concocted my own 3-4 HIIT sessions weekly, with one day a week dedicated to cardio. I also just stayed active wherever I could. I have an issue with my Achilles tendon which I suspect has a tear, so I had to work around that! Med aid exhausted…I’m avoiding a doctor!

I also loved motivating the team I was in by posting RB videos!

PS – My mom owns a CrossFit box 1200km from where I live, so I have inspiration and insight.

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

1. Anything is better than nothing!
2. There is never the ideal time to start looking after yourself, why not now?
3. A cheat should actually be seen as a TREAT!

Why should people enter the challenge?

Honestly, the people who join are the motivators. They are like a community of like-minded people, with similar goals. Helping each other and rooting for each other, as well as lifting people up on their down days is what makes this challenge the best! Then there is the challenge vault with lots of relevant information that is applicable to many different areas of life!