#12 How'd they do it?
Rob Hartley
The Howâd they do it? interview series is designed to share how members of the Alfred community lost weight and gained energy.
This week we chatted with Rob Hartley, a Dad of 3 and Tech Executive about he beat yo-yo dieting and found balance.
Tell us a bit about yourself
Iâm a 37-year-old, father of four amazing kids, living just outside Canberra. Iâve been married to my beautiful wife for 10 years (together for closer to 18 years). I was born in New Zealand, grew up in Perth and moved to the eastern states when I joined the Army at 18 and posted to Canberra to undertake officer training.
I met my wife in Canberra and together we posted around to Sydney, Townsville, and Melbourne (Did a stint in the UK and AfghanistanâŚwithout her đ ). I left the Army after 12 years when it was time to forge a new career and put down roots with the growing family in Canberra! I now work in the tech sector where Iâm an Executive Director at a tech services firm called The Factor. Â
From your heaviest, how much weight have you lost?
Strangely enough, Iâm currently sitting at my heaviest (at around 112kg and 197cm)! I know that doesnât look like an amazing success story, but Iâve been guilty of yo-yo dieting in the past, and this time Iâm trying to establish a healthier relationship with food rather than crashing down the weight.
When I was in the Army I wouldâve considered myself heavy when I was in the high-90s. When I left full-time service I thought my weight was remaining fairly consistent in the mid to high 90s. But after a few years, I realised my body composition was changing and gravity was dragging my chest down to my stomach.
Then just before my third child was born, I saw a photo of myself at the beach and didnât like what I saw. I felt slow. I felt unhealthy.
So I crashed down the weight and lost about 13kg over a few months. But in hindsight, it definitely wasnât sustainable and the weight quickly came back on (and more).
Why did you want to lose weight?
Iâm actually not too phased with losing weight or what the number says on the scales â but I do want to feel better and healthier.
Thereâs definitely a bit of vanity in there, I donât want to be one of those dads who lets themselves go. But more than that, I want to be healthy and active for as long as possible, and for me that goes hand in hand with having a good, healthy body composition.
That means less impact through my joints which means I can keep up with the kids for longer. It means Iâm less prone to injury so I can keep up my weight training regularly. And it also means less stress on my heart.
Was there anything holding you back from losing weight in the past?
I think my personality is quick obsessive and extreme â I donât tend to do things by half measures. So when I attempted to lose weight previously Iâd do it very severely, almost like a punishment. Iâd basically set myself a very strict diet regimen (5000kj a day) and exercise like hell. Iâd get immediate results and drop a lot of weight in a short period of time.
But that kind of hunger and fatigue isnât sustainable, and I could never find a balance. Iâd hit a target weight⌠then bounce right back.
I also had a very negative self-image when I was motivating myself in that way. A lot of negative self-talk about why I needed to lose weight and push myself to get up and train in the morning.
In hindsight, I wasnât losing weight for the right reasons or going about it the right way.
One of the things weâre trying to do at Alfred is to help people take control of their health. Whatâs been the biggest change to your health youâve noticed from losing weight?
For me, the biggest change this time around is the link between healthy eating habits and a good mental state. Exercise, diet and sleep are the three pillars on which I build my mental health, and when I get them working well together everything starts to spiral upwards.
I train well which motivates me to eat well, then I sleep wellâŚand so Iâm keen to train againâŚwhich makes me want to eat well, and so on.
Finding a balanced and sustainable way to eat healthy and focus on the right things means Iâm not equating losing weight to punishing myself.
Whatâs your favourite meal?
Homemade pizza.
How often do you have it?
About once a month. Maybe if my wife is out for dinner with friends on a Friday night, Iâll get the kids to bed, make a pizza with everything I want on it and then sit down and watch a movie that my wife would hate!
If you could go back, what would you tell yourself at the beginning of your weight loss journey?
Find balance! I was too focused on the external metrics to achieve a goal, rather than focusing on the intrinsic reasons for change and finding a happy balance that I can sustain.
That goes for far more than just weight loss and diet â the more I go through life the more I focus on finding balance between all the priorities in my life.
Got a message for the Alfred community?
Consistency beats intensity every day of the week!
If youâd like to share your story, please get in touch here.