When we talk about inspirational tales of resistance, they don’t come much more inspiring than Justin Williams. Justin had his life turned upside down when diagnosed with testicular cancer but made an inspiring comeback using his love of health and fitness. TRAIN caught up with Justin to hear how he approached this difficult time.
Before you were diagnosed, how did cancer effect you?
Before I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, I didn’t feel any significant effects, except that my energy was down. I actually went into the doctor for blood work and just mentioned that I felt something abnormal on my left side.
What changes did you need to make to your lifestyle after your diagnosis?
I still trained 6 days a week prior to my surgery and even after, I’d walk on the treadmill and lift with 10lb dumbbells until I was cleared to workout again. I kept my diet very similar, but made sure to have even more nutrient dense sources.
During chemotherapy, my coach ,Cliff Wilson, and I spoke of trying a ketogenic diet, since cancer may grow quicker on higher carbs, but the side effects of chemotherapy made my appetite diminish so we opted for a diet that was easier to maintain.
How do you feel your fitness helped you through chemo?
Chemotherapy was very difficult to get through and completely distorted my tastebuds – I had no appetite. As a nutrition coach, I knew I had to keep my diet in check as it’d be key to keeping me strong and capable of combating weight loss.
My energy was very low at times, but many times I felt perfectly fine. You learn to capitalize on those days and moments. I strongly believe my mentality of being accustomed to feeling tired from previous contest preps helped me stay strong through the process.
What were your biggest obstacles after your diagnosis?
One major issue I had was I’d planned on proposing to my now fiancé. I’d planned it before I found out and managed to get down on one knee only two days after my surgery. A personal obstacle was avoiding the feeling of asking myself, “why me?”, as I’d always surrounded myself with health and fitness.
How did you stay motivated?
The love and support of family, friends, and even strangers. I made my journey public and the support from people globally kept my mentality in check and made me eager to show people that any obstacle can be overcome and that while you can’t always control what happens in life, you can control how you react to them!
What are your current and future goals?
To continue to remain healthy, grow my online coaching business, and continue to help others in health and fitness through my free online content on Healthost.com. My future plans are to get married to my fiancé, win my pro card in Men’s Physique, and continue to helping others.
Before
Age: 25
Weight: 191lb
Height: 6ft 1in
After
Age: 26
Weight: 197lb
Height: 6ft 1in
Cancer: by the numbers
39.6%
of people in their lifetime will be diagnosed with cancer
12.7 million
people discover they have cancer each year
33
The average age of men diagnosed with testicular cancer
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Or now that you’re in that inspired mood, check out Mark Ormrod’s Transormation too for another motivating story
