If you thought you couldn’t get ripped on a vegan diet, think again.
Thirty-four-year-old vegan Emma Watts is proof that anything is possible at Ultimate Performance after she forged the physique she always wanted on a purely plant-based diet.
Every client who comes to UP is different – with their own goals, lifestyles and dietary needs…but they all get the same incredible results.
Emma was no different. The Cornwall native, who now lives in London, lives a vegan lifestyle free of meat, dairy and eggs that many of our clients rely on for their muscle-building protein.
But with the expertise of our world-leading personal trainers, the self-confessed ‘skinny fat’ Kings Cross property manager got in the shape of her life, while still adhering to her vegan diet.
She shredded down from 21.4% to body fat to just 11.8%, while dropping from 59kg to 56kg and packing on lean muscle – and her stunning ‘before and after’ photos are a testament to her hard work and dedication to her transformation.
Emma says she had tried and failed to get in the shape she wanted for years with other PTs, but just 12 weeks at UP changed all that.
“Over the last few years, I’ve tried to get into shape. I’ve moved around London and gone to many different gyms.
“I tried personal training occasionally and generally went through the motions of seeing some changes, plateauing and getting bored, only to start the cycle again.
“It was on my mind for a while to do something about this, and I looked around for gyms that may push me a bit.
“I found UP City, and remember hanging around outside plucking up the courage to go in and speak to someone. That was just over three months ago, and I am so glad I went in!”
Emma came to UP with a goal – she wanted to get in the shape of her life before she turned 35 and got strong and lean in the process.
“All I really had in my mind was that I wanted to look the best I ever had before I turn 35 in January – to prove to myself I could do it.
“I have never been able to do a push-up and totally over being kitten weak!”
She had a solid idea about diet and eating healthy before she signed up with UP for her 12-week transformation.
But UP are true experts in the field of optimising nutrition, and with some intelligent tweaks and more structure to her diet, Emma started building lean muscle and shedding layers of fat.
“I was assigned a PT, Simon Dutton, who wasn’t fazed by me being a vegan. It was a good first step.
“I would say my knowledge of food and nutrition was already pretty good. I eat whole foods and cook from scratch daily. But assessing and working to macros was something else. I love the accountability you have knowing you are filling in a tracker daily of your macros and keep a food diary, and you have the support of someone helping you through this.
“It’s definitely what I needed. I was lean at the start, but with no definition. Classic skinny fat figure and no lean (muscle) tissue.”
UP helped her implement changes in the macronutrients she was eating on her old vegan diet, which was largely healthy and free of junk food, but high in sugar and fat.
Reprogramming her macros so she was getting more plant proteins, green veg and low glycemic index carbs had a truly incredible effect.
“Going from a classic vegan diet, for me, of high fat, high carb, fairly low protein, this was all shaken up and the changes that came with this and the three weekly PT sessions, as well as directed workouts on my own time, was insane.
“My trainer was spot on with his coaching technique and attitude. He was able to make the tweaks needed to the sessions, and macros to really get me lean, and really start putting on that lean tissue to get me looking bigger.
“He took all the guess work out of it for me and talked me through supplements to help assist with the changes I wanted.”
Originally Emma had signed up for six weeks of PT at Ultimate Performance City.
But once she saw just how effective her training and nutrition programme was at UP, she was determined to keep progressing.
“I signed up originally for six weeks but soon know I was far too addicted to the regimen and changes I was seeing, so stayed for the whole 12 weeks’ transformation, as well as booking a pro photoshoot at the end to document all the hard work and effort that I had put in.
“This spurred me on, and I would highly recommend setting yourself this goal. Totally outside of my comfort zone, but loved every minute of it.”
A UP transformation is never just for 12 weeks though…it’s for life. Emma says the skills she learned while at UP, about the diet and training that works for her, will help her keep making progress at the gym.
“I’m so proud of myself and so glad that I did this. I plan to carry on training myself with the knowledge I have built up thanks to my trainer, and next year when I have gained more muscle mass, going through this whole process again. In the meantime, I am excited about staying in touch with UP and my trainer and doing some online training to keep me on track.
“Bring on the vegan gains!”
