My Story

I am 26 years of age born on 14 September 1998.

Having Alcoholism, Eating Disorders, Obesity and OCD (to name only a few) run in my family I’d say my life has been pretty normal and similar to many other people’s – I’m actually not sarcastic, though I wish that I was. Turns out people are good at hiding things like OCD and Eating disorders. Alcoholism is far more common than most realise and the World Obesity Federation’s 2023 atlas predicts that 51% of the world, or more than 4 billion people, will be obese or overweight within the next 12 years. Spending much time with extremely diverse groups of people (Medical Doctors, Accountants, CEO’s, Business Owners, Mechanics, Farmers, Security Guards, Salesmen, and Scholars)  has made me develop a deep level of understanding and appreciation for all facets of life and realise early on that there is no “one size fits all” kind of approach or cookie cutter template when it comes to optimising diet – the word (diet) actually comes from the Greek word “diaita,” which means “way of life”, and there are many different ways of life.  I believe this is one of the main reasons as to why there rarely is an instance where I don’t find a way to make a specific training and/or nutritional intervention work for someone. My level of understanding extends far beyond the boundaries of any single field, and I believe that such depth is often lacking in today’s world. In acquiring a comprehensive knowledge of training and nutrition, I have become adept at developing optimized, tailored, and sustainable approaches that work for anyone who seeks them out. 

At the tender age of 13, the “Iron bug” bit me and I was hooked. I dove headfirst into my new obsession. Due to my obsessive personality I gave every extracurricular activity I pursued more than a “fair shot”. Rugby and skateboarding dominated my early years, but music had always been a part of my life, and soon enough it became clear to everyone around me that it was my true calling.

My desire to be physically fit and lean was not a newfound obsession, but something that had plagued me since I first became self-conscious about my appearance at age 12. As someone who always wanted to be the best at everything, I was constantly comparing myself to others and coming up short. When we took our shirts off for rugby practice, skateboarding, or even orchestra camp (yes, I was in an orchestra), I felt embarrassed and ashamed of my physique. I knew I needed to do something about it.

So, at the age of 14, I embarked on a mission to transform my body. I tried every diet and form of restriction under the sun, and even did P90X’s Ab workout every day before school for a year straight. Though I didn’t see much improvement in my abs, I did gain a significant amount of abdominal strength. I hit the gym three days a week, on top of my rugby and skateboarding practices, and by the time I was 16, I was going four to five days a week. At 18, the gym became my sanctuary, and I made it there religiously for five days every week.

Despite my dedication, my body-fat levels stubbornly refused to come down. I fell into binge-restrict cycles and experimented with the OMAD diet, but found myself subconsciously sabotaging my progress. Alcohol played a role in this, as did my dad’s love for hosting barbecues and cooking up traditional South African “Braai” foods. If you’ve never seen the temptation of these calorie and saturated-fat-laden delicacies, I suggest you take a peek and see for yourself just how challenging it can be to resist their siren call.

Through all the ups and downs, my obsession with fitness and body image never waned. It was a constant battle, but one that I was determined to win, I had to. And while the road may have been rocky, it led me to where I am today: someone who understands  and appreciates the psychological component. If you help someone achieve their goal of “losing 10kg” and leave them with chronic constipation, an eating disorder or even something more nefarious, that was NOT a success. 

In 2019, I figured out the laws of thermodynamics ie calories in and calories out. I went from weighing 83kg to a lean 69kg, with dreamy abs and a shredded physique that I had always wanted. However, I quickly realized that sustaining this weight loss (especially after losing it in a rapidly aggressive way) was not easy. I had to track every single meal and train every day to maintain my six-pack abs and low body fat percentage.

Living in a state of constant deprivation took a toll on me, both physically and mentally. I became a total recluse, obsessively tracking my food and spending hours on end working out. Long runs and hour-long workouts were the norm, just so that I could feel like I “deserved” my food. Turns out staying sub 8% body-fat indefinitely isn’t a good long term strategy for most.

Despite the hardships, I found that putting myself in this metaphorical “hell” forced me to become insanely productive. I read countless books and listened to podcasts and audiobooks, using every spare moment to expand my knowledge and learn more about bodybuilding, nutrition, and psychology.

It really took a while and the road to success was certainly not without its challenges. My pursuit of perfection led me to develop OCD, which is a bit of a chicken and egg situation as I’m not sure if the OCD was always dormant inside of me and became manifest through the stress load or if my OCD perniciously became more severe and caused more stress ending in a snowball effect – does not really matter as I have to deal with it either way. Looking back, I realize that my passion for music was never as strong as my passion for bodybuilding, and failing my audition at UCT turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

From being the cool kid in school who didn’t care about grades, I became someone who spent every free moment researching, reading books, and taking courses on self-improvement. I read every self-help book in existence, listened to every podcast on nutrition and bodybuilding, and dove deep into topics like OCD, psychology, eating disorders, and diet.

After completing my first year at Altron, I pursued a Personal Training Qualification and a Nutrition course in just a couple of months. The courses were basic, and I felt that I had gained a significant amount of knowledge in a short period of time. I even considered creating my own personal training course. Financial constraints prevented me from studying full time, so I opted for an online UK Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Therapy RQF5, which was the highest qualification I could afford and complete alongside my full-time job at Altron. By my fourth year at Altron, I was studying the nutritional course while dealing with my eating disorder. My compulsive need to be productive at all times was in full swing, causing me to feel anxious when I was not doing something productive. To maintain my strict routine, I woke up every day at 4:30 am for four years straight, went for a 10km run, and then studied until 6 am. My breakfast consisted of 75g of Oats, 50g of Future Life, a 32g scoop of Whey Protein, and 60g of Kellogg’s All Bran, amounting to 3049 Kilojoules/729 Calories and 97C, F14, P50 macros. I worked all day at Altron with all my meals for the day prepped beforehand. After work, I trained for 90+ minutes at the gym and then prepped my food while listening to a podcast, hoping to be in bed by 9 pm. My energy levels and libido were low, and my body dysmorphia made me self-conscious even at my leanest. Seeking help, I consulted with doctors and was prescribed numerous anti-depressants and even TRT by more than one endocrinologist for my clinically low testosterone levels. In retrospect it was obvious why this was the case and I came off again once I started figuring out what really was going on. During this period I became extremely competent in endocrinology, specifically the HPTA of the male body and became familiarised with female HPO axis, because why not right? I have to say I’m far less competent with the HPO axis – turns out females are complicated as hell man!

Again I will say that It took me a while, but I was determined to fully recover and help as many people as I could. After three years of working for Altorn, I had gained enough knowledge to interpret full blood panels and make an entire podcast about any dietary nutrient. Although I was ready to take on fitness full-time, I knew I had to complete my studies and work on myself. I started coaching online and making personalized meal plans for people who requested my assistance. From the outside, I probably looked extremely determined and focused, which I was, but it was certainly in part because it made me too anxious to leave the house or meet up with people. In my fourth year at Altorn, I had myself figured out and there was very little residual eccentricity to my life aside from still being extremely routined and regimented. The anxiety faded to the point where I came off my medications and anti-depressants. The more people I helped, the more gratifying it became. I think this is because I would feel like a complete fraud/failure if someone who was a client wasn’t seeing results.

In order to become the best possible online coach, acquiring personal training experience was almost a necessity. After five years, I left Altorn and became a personal trainer at a local gym. The goal was to finish my last year of studies, build up my brand, and gain practical experience with people. Although it was a struggle at first to adapt to my new routine, I grew exponentially in all aspects, and my brand took off big time. It was almost like cognitive-behavioral therapy because I was forced to interact and socialize with many different people at the gym, which improved my confidence.

I did 96 meal plans in my last six months working at the gym, purely through word of mouth, and was scared to advertise due to the potential for not being able to keep up with demand. I resigned from the gym as I had to send many people away, and my online coaching clients reached full capacity as I was not willing to exceed 18 online clients. At present, I’m a full-time Nutritional Therapist/Consultant, Online Coach, and have my own practice. To ensure that my standard was as high as my clients made me believe, I purchased other meal plans and was shocked as these were cookie-cutter templates which were everything but tailored to any specific individual.

My plans are auto-regulative, and I believe in flexible restraint rather than rigid restraint. I make it clear to my clients that no foods are “bad” or “off limits,” and there are many roads that lead to Rome if you have structure and consistency. The Greeks were smart you know, and if I had one specific goal here at StuartNutritionandPerformance, that would be to bring back awareness to the original meaning of the word diet which as mentioned is Greek for “way of life” and not temporary short sighted arbitrary restrictive intervention that will only be a means to an end.