Dan Mullin - 40kgs loss - Six Monthly Review

What do you say to someone that’s visibly shocked that they weigh 131kgs, when they are stood on the scales at the start of your first session together? It’s a tough call for any Coach, especially when you’ve known that person for the best part of ten years – it proved to be a pivotal moment at the start of the six months that I’ve been working with Daniel Mullin.

Dan says – ‘I hadn't weighed myself for years, and I didn't know the true extent of what I had done to myself.’

I simply said ‘Yep, it’s official Dan, you’re obese’. It’s what he needed to hear and I wasn’t me being cruel, he needed to hear those words to understand just how close he was to the point of no return. I did follow up with ‘Well, one good thing is that it’ll never be that bad again’ and following our initial, telephone call which was very open - I already had a good idea of how to push Dan’s buttons and enable him to regain control of his life.

Dan says - ‘I knew of Rory's ability to motivate and I was aware of his straight-talking approach and knew that’s what I needed to have the optimum chance of lasting success. I came along to the Aspire Fitness Gym to meet Rory on March 1^st, because it felt like the right day to make a new start.’

Before you start thinking that I’m wanting to take all the credit for the headline, I’d like to point out that it’s Dan that’s done all the hard work in losing all this weight not me. I’ve just been the facilitator of his extreme weight-loss journey and have been there supporting him daily using my experience, email, messenger and texts to keep him on track, especially when at times it was hard for him to stick to the new life-rules I’d given him to follow.

Working intensely one-to-one like this is part of my Coaching business that I enjoy and am constantly developing. Working with Dan has proved to be a perfect challenge for my coaching techniques and the values I’ve encouraged him to adopt as part of his daily routine.

For the record, Dan’s 43. He’s a Violinist in the BBC Concert Orchestra and a very clever chap. To get to his level of musicianship has taken years, and I mean years of practice and dedication. He a perfect example of the Malcolm Campbell 10,000 hours to become an expert in their specific field theory.

Having known him for some time, I knew this was an ability that I could exploit for his own benefit but the new ‘Dan’ wouldn’t need to know all the minutiae of everything we would encounter along our journey as that was one area of his ’new’ character he agreed, he needed to let go.

That first session in the gym showed me his commitment. He meant it when he said he wanted to change and do whatever it would take to make it happen. Physically, he was strong from lugging the 131kgs around 24hrs a day but he was so overweight, it was impossible and dangerous to do any real fitness assessment at all that day. All we could do was to set out a new diet, a daily walking schedule of at least 15,000 steps with a ‘Karate Kid’ style ‘Wax-on-wax-off’ no questions asked approach to what I was asking him to do.

Dan says – ‘I remember wondering how on earth I was going to find time to clock 15000 steps and even worse how was I possibly going to cope with his special diet. It's the comfort of the ‘On tap and round-the-clock’, support that I have thrived on.'

In fairness, he’s done just that – followed the plan to the letter and faced up to the demons that made him so unhappy that he was gradually eating himself to an early grave. The results speak for themselves and losing 40kgs in six months without surgery and using only diet and a daily step-count is remarkable. It will hopefully deliver Dan sustainability too - I already know he’ll never be 131kgs ever again. My aim is for him to maintain a more balanced 86kgs lifestyle and enjoy watching his children grow up, break 4 hours for a marathon and even see his believed Manchester City buy another Premiership Title. He’s got less than 10kgs to go now to reach his goal so I’ll keep you posted with his progress.

Dan says – ‘My relationship with Rory is based on mutual respect and trust, he’s known when to comfort and when to give me a push. He has never been hurtful or gratuitously unkind - he's said some tough things to hear, but only when they have been merited and always to serve a purpose.’

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Seriously it’s been a really rewarding and very intimate process to be part of. I believe I’ve learned a lot from Dan’s journey that I can share to other’s in a similar situation and it’s proved that my Coaching ideals for Athletic Performance transfer nicely into the Extreme Weight-Loss arena too.

Dan says – ‘I've had so much more energy for my kids. I'm mentally much more at ease with the world and the things that bothered me so much seem less important. My transformation has been incredible and being able to buy off-the-peg clothes and to have a much wider choice, is better than any food or drinks I've ever had’.

‘Many people at work have been very supportive and I've had plenty of incredibly nice compliments. The immediate future is to lose the final few pounds to complete the ‘100lbs' weight-loss and then to begin the process of maintaining a weight of around 86kgs. I intend to use Rory as my coach for some considerable time as I feel I need  accountability to keep me on track. After that, I will continue on life's journey as a truly reformed character and significantly happier than when the journey began back on March 1st’.

If you are looking to change your behavioural process and believe I can help you, please contact me on 07866 477051.

Like Dan, the call could change your life as well.

Rory Coleman - 999 Marathons - 23 Years' Alcohol Free

Location: Cardiff, Wales.