Filipino Guy Shares His Amazing #HarambeToHaramBAE Transformation

While we all know how important it is to be fit and healthy, not every one of us has the discipline and motivation to consistently follow the ideal lifestyle. Exercising consistently can be a chore and eating balanced diet on a daily basis can be quite challenging.

However, those who stay at it and pay the price ultimately reap the best rewards. Take it from this Filipino guy who recently took it to social media to share his amazing body transformation which he funnily hashtagged #HarambeToHaramBAE.

According to Hanz Rainier Arias, it took him a year of work to achieve this body.

It all began a year ago when he had a conversation with his cousin.

As he wrote on Facebook:

“My cousin Kirk pointed out that my weight was getting out of control. But I didn’t care nor bother to take action until I subjected myself to the ultimate test: the weighing scale. Stepping on the scale, I can say that I have never been shocked by any news in my entire life. At 21 years old, standing at 5’6″, I weighed a whopping 225 lbs! (102 kg) I wished I was kidding, but three weighing scales proved me this. My BMI (Body Mass Index) concluded that I was not average, not above average — heck, definitely not underweight but obese.”

This proved to be a wake-up call for Hanz.

Hanz (farthest left on the picture below) always loved drinking alcoholic beverages.

In a When In Manila feature, he admitted:

“I didn’t care how I looked before, I only had confidence (laughs)! Before, I would choose drinking sessions over the gym, but now it’s the other way around.”

Hanz also consumed a lot of junk food and his unhealthy eating habits eventually led to emotional struggles.

“Around my teen years, I started to feel insecure; and little by little I fell into depression. Seeing my friends so confident, happy, and healthy made me hate myself more and the only thing that comforted me was food. I feel lucky I met two friends who I became close with – who kept me company during those dark times. Those were Lays and Doritos, (laughs). They kept me company, especially during midnight.”

He later decided to embark on a weight loss journey to address the problem.

Hanz shared:

“I was very scared. I asked myself a lot of ‘what if’ questions. What if I fail? What if I decide to quit? What if I can’t handle the pain and struggles that come along? What if? What if? What if? As I was filling my mind with all these negativities, I suddenly remembered a quote that I came across way back in high school, a quote by Buddha – “All that we are is a result of what we have thought.””

So he took a leap of faith and began hitting the gym which, a year later, proved to be a wise decision.

He now happily reports:

“So far, so good. One year ago, I was 225 pounds. Right now, coming off with a whole new perspective in life, I now weigh 160 pounds.”

How exactly was he able to pull that off?

Hanz shared:

“Proper diet and regular exercise. My diet consisted of healthy carbs (brown rice, oatmeal, wheat bread), high protein viands (lean beef, lean ground beef, chicken breast, eggs, etc.) and fruits and vegetables. For my exercise, I hit the weights and did cardio 5x per week. For my cardio workouts, I did either a combination of 30-60 minute treadmill sessions (consisting of walks, jogs and sprints) or High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).”

Did he ever encounter any challenges along the way – you know, like lazy days? Well of course, he did!

He wrote:

“I wasn’t always consistent with my diet and exercise. For example, there were days that I skipped or felt tired and lazy to workout. I realized it’s okay. What’s important is you come back again ASAP which is the day after. Also, trust me when I say that it’s totally fine to have a cheat day once per week!”

He also took time to share 4 effective tips which totally helped him in his awesome transformation namely:

1. 1. Track your daily calorie intake
2. 2. Track your weekly progress
3. 3. Sunday is cheat day!
4. 4. PATIENCE.

“Stay patient and trust your journey. There will be a lot of challenges along the way, but in the end, it will all be worth it,” Hanz summed up.

Good job, Hanz! You are a worthy fit-spiration indeed!

Go check out this guy on Twitter and Instagram if you want to follow his ongoing fitness journey.