It was the tail-end of high school, and Brandon van Niekerk was the heaviest he’d ever been. But he always had excuses. Mostly, he’d pin the plethora of pounds on bad relationships or a lack of self-esteem. However, at 140kg, the reality was that regular fast food binges and endless partying with his mates were the most likely (read: only) culprits. Ultimately, he had to break through that mental barrier and regain control over his life and lose weight fast.
Why Did He Gain the Weight?
Van Niekerk’s bad habits were putting his health at risk. When it came to food, there were no rules—“I was eating whatever I wanted,” he says. He tried to hit the brakes, jumping full-swing into fad diets promising fat-torching results, but the restrictive nature of these questionable meal plans caused him to relapse back into a pattern of fast food and even faster weight gain.
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“I hated who I saw in the mirror,” Van Niekerk says. “I would end up saying I was okay with how I lived my life, but I was truly lying to myself.” After all, being honest with yourself can be the most uncomfortable truth. “But I had to just be honest and own up to what I was choosing every day,” he adds. No more excuses, this was all on him.
How Did He Transform His Body?
Van Niekerk knew he had to start moving if he wanted to lose weight fast. His moment of truth led him to a personal trainer and he started clocking regular sessions for the next year. He was getting results but PTs don’t come cheap, and eventually, he wasn’t able to afford the one-on-one training. He tried boot camp, a few random programmes and lone-wolf sessions at the gym. Nothing clicked. “I wanted more, I wanted a bigger challenge,” Van Niekerk says. “I also wanted a community.” CrossFit checked all the boxes. He began training at his nearest Box and suddenly everything fell into place.
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“Starting from scratch and not knowing anything about CrossFit… it humbled me,” he says. “The people were inviting and so encouraging. One day I sat in the gym thinking, ‘If I had to be locked up in here, it would be okay—it would bring me closer to my goal.”
What began as a weight-loss journey took on new dimensions. Sure, the kilos were melting away—overall, Van Niekerk lost 60kg before slapping on major muscle—but scuppering flab had now become a by-product of something bigger. “I now wanted this as a lifestyle,” he says.
A New Career
Six years after he first scrapped the excuses and embarked on his mission to lose weight fast, Van Niekerk is an L2 CrossFit coach and personal trainer at The Bloc Lifestyle in Blouberg. “My passion is helping others like me, those stuck in their own excuses, to discover what God made them to be,” he says.
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“Better. Better than the lies we tell ourselves.” Both body and outlook have been transformed: “It’s changed my whole life. I gained confidence, I got my dream job, I met my dream girl and I won my first CorssFit comp,” he says. “It’s flowed into all my decision-making, improving my relationships and making me a better man. I now own up to my mistakes and take responsibility for my actions.”
