Chris lost 35kg and overcame his excuses!

Chris Powell, 32 years old from Brisbane

I used to be very active 6 years ago, I would exercise regularly and grew up playing multiple sports such as NRL, Soccer and Tennis which kept me fit and healthy. 

Once my son was born and closely followed my daughter alongside a full-time job, my life overnight changed and just did not have time to stay active like I was prior to my life changes. 

I used to use the excuse “I just don’t have time to exercise” my life had so many more priorities that I put in place before my own wellbeing. 

This busy lifestyle led to overeating, bad eating choices, no exercise, I put on over 40kg due to this carelessness which resulted in many health issues and permanently damaging my lower back due to the excessive weight gain. I just did not care, I kept going with my unhealthy lifestyle. 

I got to such a point of being overweight just simply down to my carelessness and just be downright lazy in looking after myself. I had every opportunity to be able to turn myself around over the years though I chose not to, only have myself to blame. 

I was snacking here and there along with takeaway here and there turned into a regular daily thing and I would find any excuse to be able to have takeaway or indulge in sweets or sugary drinks, my fridge was always stocked up with bad food/drinks.

It turned into an addiction and that's what got me to such a point where I had to stop and look at myself to do something about it.

For me out of nowhere one day I had an epiphany moment, thought to myself I hate the way my health and wellbeing has declined and need to act right away! There were many points that made me work up to my first step into acting on my weight. 

One significant moment I remember I put my back out while doing such a simple task of putting my son into his car seat, I now have a bulging disc in my lower back and I’m now stuck with back pain for the rest of my life. 

My Doctor, Physio and specialist all said the weight I was at when this occurred would have been the main contributor for my back going out. So, to reduce my pain and to strengthen my back I had to lose weight. 

It was also the increasing visits to the Doctor; they came more and more frequently, and the Doctor would always say losing weight will help reduce these health issues that keep cropping up. 

I have tried so many methods of losing weight. Joining a gym, going hard for a month and then never return and not seeing any results. I have tried Keto, cutting out carbs, cutting out beer, soft drinks, junk food, successful for a couple of weeks and then fall off the wagon and continue the bad eating. 

I have tried many different shake diets, I found most did not taste good and would put you off drinking them, or they do not fill me up and I’m eating on top of the shakes which brings no results. 

I tried so many things to lose weight though they all failed which did not help with my motivation in acting on losing weight until I found The Man Shake!



I have lost 35kg since starting my weight loss journey with The Man Shake.

Since losing weight I sleep better, my joints and back are not consistently hurting, fewer visits to the Doctor and my energy and confidence has boosted, these reasons alone is important in being healthy.

I want to live a long and healthy life to see my kids grow up and to see all their milestones being met in life and to see my grandchildren! I want to be that active dad for my kids and not be remembered for being that dad on the couch having another beer and burger watching TV. 

To be this healthy active dad gives me more energy to put into my kids. I don’t want them looking back at their childhood photos and seeing their overweight dad (not a good look and embarrassing) I want them to look back to see their fit and healthy dad and role model for my kids to be the same.  

One of the biggest difference I have noticed since dropping the KGs is that my priorities have changed. Going out and eating and drinking used to be my daily routine and now my life is far more sensible. 

My priorities now include family time, be successful at work, good quality food (occasionally junk food, mostly nutritious, got to have the guilty pleasures to stay sane), spending more time outdoors, exercising, and largely being happy. 

I feel healthier, I feel happier, I feel confident overall feeling great! 

Another big difference is my looks, after seeing people after a few months they didn’t even recognise me! 



I believe I had many roadblocks however my biggest one would be mindless eating. A large dilemma I had was the lack of awareness of my habits and behaviours around food. 

I could not tell you how many times I would go to the food cupboard or fridge to get something to snack on. I had this bad habit where after a meal I would go and snack and was not healthy snacking and I wasn’t even actually hungry. 

Also, another bad habit was finishing off my kid's meals, I hate seeing food go to waste so I would finish off their meals on top of my meal and all my other snacking and with kids in the house, there are treats everywhere, no idea how many times I would grab a chocolate biscuit or lollies every time I walk past the kitchen. 

How I overcame this mindless eating was to stop and ask myself “are you actually hungry?” once I reminded myself that you are not actually hungry I now create a new habit to go and have a glass of water to fill myself up or do something to distract myself like go do some yard work or play with the kids. 

So, I learnt very quickly throughout my journey that these mindless acts of eating are a major roadblock and can be the reason why my weight was not dropping. I found keeping myself busy and changing my mindset of snacking and the art of distraction helped me overcome this roadblock of mindless eating.



I will continue to shake on with The Man Shake to maintain my weight. The Man Shake has been so successful in helping me lose weight, it will definitely help me to maintain. 

It's so easy to put the weight back on so maintaining is just as important as losing and maintaining is not easy however the shakes keep you on track and keep you looking good internally and externally. The Man Shake will always be part of my diet moving forward to ensure my hard work is not undone.

While this weight loss journey is a marathon, not a sprint, you are going to make a lot of small wins along the way. 

These small wins will keep you going strong on your journey. Having a strong group of individuals in your life cheering for you to succeed makes a world of a difference. I won’t lie the journey is not always easy. 

You will experience days where you feel tired, there will be a temptation to eat bad foods, and you will experience plateaus. It's highly possible you will fall off the wagon throughout your weight loss journey, but the essential thing in being able to succeed is to always get back on track and refocus. 

Always keep moving forward. 

Don’t quit, it’s all about consistency and determination. Trust me on this, if I can do it, you can!