Meet the man who cut his weight dramatically after hitting 23 stone as a teenager - and now works out seven days a week. Martin Antevski, now 27, decided to change his lifestyle after struggling to find a pair of jeans that fit at 17.
He now weighs an impressive 13 stone and is on his way to becoming a personal trainer. Martin, from Malta, has also taken up mixed martial arts - and goes to the gym daily.
He said: “My motto is it’s better to do one kilometre than zero. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, just do something. Nobody believed I could do it by myself, everyone laughed at me.
“I started mixed martial arts one year ago and before that I did jiujitsu. Now, I’m in the best shape of my life. I was lost before I lost weight and now I want to help other people.”
Martin says he realised something needed to change at the age of 17. He says his diet consisted of pasta, hot dogs, chips, bacon, cakes, sweets and lots of bread – and that he would snack hourly, as well as smoking.
Hitting 23 stone on the scales, he decided it was time to start getting in shape and began to cook his own meals. He binned the fat foods and stocked up on boiled eggs, chicken and salad, he started to work out and run every day.
Over time, he noticed his efforts were paying off and discovered a passion for fitness – and in August 2017 he realised he’d lost nearly half his body weight. Now, Martin works out seven days a week, starting with wrestling, kickboxing and boxing, followed by weightlifting and running.
In a usual day he eats chicken, vegetables and a protein shake for breakfast then beef, vegetables and a protein shake for lunch and fish, vegetables and a protein shake for dinner. Martin said: “Seven years ago when everything started, I was 150kg – I was eating a lot and not doing anything in my life until one day I decide that from tomorrow I will start training.
"Everyone laughed at me, I couldn’t run 100 metres or do one push up, I couldn’t fit in jeans, and I thought there was no way I could stay like this. I decide to change everything and after one week I checked my weight and I’d already lost a couple of kilos.
“My mentality was it’s better to die than to quit and I started to eat boiled eggs, boiled chicken and salad. I continued like this and felt motivated because no one believed I could do it.
“For 5 years I did push ups, running, I started cooking and everything I ate I would make myself - now I’m good at cooking. I feel very happy and train with my girlfriend now, we do fitness and get fit together - if I believe in myself, I can help a lot of other people.
“If someone has something in their head they must do it – if you don’t do it, no one will.”
