From Chunky to Hunky: How Murray Lost 30kg and Took His Life Back

Hi everyone, I’m Murray, 50 years old, and simply, my journey with The Man Shake over the last 8 months has changed my life.

I started my journey with The Man Shake on 10 December 2024. The scales tipped in at 119.8kg and my belly was 126.5cm. The Man Shake wasn’t my first attempt at losing weight. I’d been a yo-yo dieter for a long time and obese for 30 years. I had tried every diet there was, but never lasted more than 3 months. Yes, I lost weight, but each time I put it back on, plus some. Honestly, I was getting desperate and figured that I had nothing to lose by trying The Man Shake. I was a sceptic after so many failed attempts using other approaches, but I could not have been more wrong!

I was so embarrassed over what I had become and how I looked. The photos of a recent holiday just made me feel sick. My wife was very concerned about my long-term health, but I was in denial and refused to see the GP. About one month into my journey with The Man Shake I agreed to go see the GP. This was the turning point for me and a massive wakeup call that gave me my “WHY”. I love my wife and realised that, for us to enjoy our golden years, I needed to be alive! My GP was brutally honest, “It’s not IF you have a heart attack, it’s WHEN!”. My blood tests showed significant problems and my blood pressure was through the roof. I knew in that moment it was time to get serious!

I started with a single-serve variety-pack from the pharmacy to see which flavours would appeal to me. From that very first shake I was impressed; they really tasted good and were incredibly filling. Having tried all the flavours now, I have some favourites. My No.1 has to be Choc-Chip Cookie Dough, with a combo of Choc Honeycomb and Caramel (1 scoop of each) coming in a close second. I also love The Man Bars. Coffee is my go-to here. The soups are also a winter lunch go-to as well.

The first week I started on just one shake replacing lunch and didn’t change anything else. With Christmas Season upon us I didn’t really take it seriously for the first few weeks. It took me about a month to get my nutrition at a good starting point and cut out the junk food. By the end of the first month, I was doing two shakes per day – breakfast and lunch - with some snacks and a good dinner. Over the 8 months I have really dialed in my nutrition and now eat amazingly well. I still have two shakes a day and I now believe that this will be the norm for many years. My reason for this is The Man Shake’s amazing convenience and nutritional value. I just can’t go past that 30g of protein and no prep time. It still amazes me to this day that I have never felt hungry with The Man Shake. Other meal replacement shakes I had tried in the past had me hungry within the hour; but not The Man Shake! “What about the beers?” I hear you ask. I still have two beers every payday, with a few more on special occasions like birthdays.

The weight loss has been pretty impressive. First 4 weeks, I lost 2.5 kg but most of that was in the last week of the month. Second 4 weeks, I lost 6 kg. Third 4 weeks another 4.5 kg lost. In 3 months, I’d lost an amazing 13 kg! Simply put, my mind was blown. I clearly remember thinking “damn this is impressive, there’s no stopping me now!” My remained at a steady 500g-1 kg loss per week on average. There were some weeks where my weight plateaued, but this is normal. By the 6 month mark I’d lost 27 kg! After this point I lost weight far more slowly, but that was more about my plan than The Man Shake. Around the 6 month mark I stopped chasing kilos and focused more on lifestyle sustainability and weights training. The kgs still came down, but much slower. Just over 8 months after I started, I hit my long-term goal of losing 30 kg and my belly was down a massive 30cm!

While the numbers on the scales have been great, my real motivation has come from the non-scale victories. My wife loves the fact I have stopped snoring! I have so much more energy. Watching my belly shrink has been amazing and I’ve come down from size 40 jeans to size 32. I now enjoy clothes shopping in the normal men’s sizes instead of the big men’s area. My body fat percent is down an impressive 18% and I now have a real sense of self-respect. My blood pressure is back in the normal range, my blood tests are normal and I can now tie my shoelaces without holding my breath. But that's not the best bit - best of all my wife thinks I’ve gone from “Chunky to Hunky!”

As far as I have come, I didn’t do this alone. I’ve had support all the way. Firstly, my family and friends have been incredible. Then there is The Man Shakers Facebook community group, which has been invaluable to me. I have learnt so much from the other lads in there and they have been a constant source of support through all the ups and downs of my journey. I’m a frequent poster in the group and for me it’s my regular ‘Dear Diary’ moment. I’ve been asked many times in The Man Shakers what my advice would give to others and I have 5 simple recommendations;

1. Go see your GP as a matter of priority. It’s so important to have health professionals with you from the start.
   
2. Find your ‘WHY’ and keep it ever present when life throws challenges at you.
   
   
3. Don’t compare your progress with that of others. We all have a different journey and our bodies all do things differently.
   
   
4. Consistency and persistence are the key, don’t get stuck in the details. Get a plan that works for you and stay with it.
   
   
5. Enjoy the Ride! The Man Shake journey is full of ups and downs. Celebrate the wins and learn from the losses. This is a life altering experience so just have fun with it.

If you are considering trying The Man Shake, just do it! It will be the best decision you have ever made. Thank you to The Man Shake for giving me my life back! And remember lads, small choices can make a big difference!