A man who ditched drink and drugs to lose an incredible 7.8 stone in a year has revealed how he did it.
Liam Miller led an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle in his former career as a DJ.
He would sometimes begin partying on a Wednesday and continue for the rest of the week.
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But after hitting rock bottom and spending up to £350 a week on substances, he knew it was time to change.
And while his progress was slow at first, it eventually ‘snowballed’ into an incredible transformation.
Liam even ran the London Marathon on Sunday (27 April) – which he managed to complete with an injured tendon.
“I just couldn’t look after myself – I was drinking very heavily and had no control over my eating habits as well,” the 35-year-old, from Macclesfield, told What’s The Jam.
“I’d be staying up until 3 am, whether that be trying to make beats or smoking.
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“I was waking up and not liking the person that I was looking at in the mirror.
“I was unhappy and uncomfortable with that person, and I eventually realised my drinking and bad habits had spiralled.”
Liam said admitting that he had a problem was the hardest part of his fitness journey.
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He began to change his ways with the help of his brother and personal trainer, Sean, 37, who had also worked as a DJ but gave it up in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.
Liam said, “He gave me the power to take that first step, and sometimes that’s all it takes to completely transform your life.”
Liam’s fitness journey began with “a really good benchmark” and that was running two 5ks a week.
He also completely cut out junk food and takeaways and switched to a whole foods only diet.
Liam said he used to have three croissants for breakfast before snacking on sweets and crisps and eventually eating something like a takeaway pizza for dinner.
Now he has eggs with a slice of sourdough bread for breakfast, oats, fruit and whey as snacks, and a mixture of protein and rice or potatoes for dinner.
He also began resistance band workouts at home, initially beginning with three whole-body workouts a week alongside his running and dietary changes.
Liam admitted: “It wasn’t long before my body began thanking me – I found it easier to get up in the morning after previously sleeping until midday.
“I was losing around a kilo to half a kilo a week, so the results weren’t massive to start with.
“But I had a lot more energy, and it aggressively snowballed from there and built from there.
“The resistance band training led to me joining the gym and starting a weight training routine, and the 5k built to 10k, which built to a half marathon and then a marathon.
“I now have quite the routine with a lot of discipline.”
Liam says the mental transformation he underwent has had a much more profound impact on his life than his physical one.
He said: “My productivity levels almost 10 folded overnight because I went from somebody that couldn’t get up in the morning to waking up at 5am every single day.
“When I was deep in the DJing and drinking, I neglected all my family.
“I’ve now spent time rebuilding those relationships. Now I have a better relationship with all of my family members.”
Liam’s relationship with his family is so good that he is now his brother’s business partner at Willers Fitness.
His finances have improved too, and he has gone from spending £100 to £350 a week on alcohol and drugs to using that money on good quality food, saving, and tangible treats like weekends away.
When asked for his top tips for anyone else looking to undergo a physical transformation, Liam said you have to do the work – there are no shortcuts.
He added: “Don’t be afraid of making a start. A lot of people don’t originally start this journey because they’re scared of failure.
“Nutrition is the most important thing. Just changing from an ultra-processed diet to a whole foods diet will make a massive impact.
“I also recommend resistance training, which is the bread and butter foundation of my training.
“But at the end of the day, it’s important to find something you enjoy and lean into that. For me, it was running.”
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