Ahmed Elbahy never knew the feeling of being fit and healthy.
“I was always fat and almost my whole family was overweight," the 27-year-old engineer said.
"We all like to eat a lot; it is in our genes.
“Being fit was not our focus, I wasn’t raised to be like that.”
He weighed 150kg when he reached a turning point in his life in August 2019.
With a height of 175cm, the Abu Dhabi-born Egyptian said he was “over-obese”.
“I was suddenly fed up with the way I looked and the way people looked at me as a fat person; I couldn’t even be in a relationship,” Mr Elbahy said.
So he made “a final decision” to lose weight.
“Since August 2019 I have lost 62kg. It feels like I dropped another person from my body. Now I am 88kg.”
He started with a strict diet that was limited to liquids and chicken soup.
“I lost a lot of weight during the first month and that was a booster for me to do more,” Mr Elbahy said.
“I decided to join group exercises, so I’ll be encouraged by other people to stay fit.”
He said the group classes helped him to continue “and not get bored”.
Sharing the benefits of losing weight
Mr Elbahy not only became a regular gym-goer, he decided to become a certified instructor.
“One of the exercises that I used to love was body pump, and it made me fall in love with workout because I enjoyed doing it,” he said.
“So I decided to become a certified body-pump instructor to keep doing it and to help motivate other people like me to reach their target.”
He started the certification process with Les Mills Middle East three months ago and passed the course with the help of instructors at his local gym – Gym Nation.
“Before applying for the certification process, I tried to get to know the instructors well and to make myself known to the group classes’ management,” he said.
Fellow gym members helped Mr Elhaby record a video of him teaching a real class that was required to complete the certification process.
Since receiving his certification on May 29, Mr Elhaby has been teaching three body pump classes every week at Gym Nation.
“The number of attendance varies between 20 to 30 people.”
The aspiring coach said he was eager to share the benefits of his transformation with others.
“Losing weight helped me a lot, not only on the fitness level, but also with my personality,” he said.
“I used to be very shy and isolated and hardly communicated with the people around me.
“So it made me gain confidence and become friendly with people.”
Inspired family to become healthier
Mr Elbahy now trains up to five hours a day.
“In the beginning, I could barely endure 30 minutes or an hour a day,” he said.
“Now I train in the morning for about two hours and I come back in the evening for about the same time.
“But I have some resting days of course, the body and muscles need [time] to recover.”
Mr Elbahy said he also inspired his parents to become healthier.
“Their eating habits changed a lot," he said.
"We are using less oil to cook and less fried food. Even the type of food has changed.
“My mother cooks with less salt and sugar now.”
He said he was also persuading them to move more and “start doing some type of exercise at home, step by step”.
Mr Elbahy’s journey had some bumps as well. During quarantine he said he had a slight relapse.
“When we had the lockdown and no gyms were open, I gained a little bit more weight by sitting at home and doing less exercise,” he said.
Mr Elbahy tried to train at home to keep moving, but found it hard to maintain.
“After a while I realised that I started to gain weight again, so I started running everyday down the street, despite the hot weather.”
While Mr Elbahy said he has come a long way since he took the decision to shed the pounds, he would never say that he has reached his ideal weight and insists that his fitness mission is never over.
“One should never say I am satisfied with my weight. I consider fitness a lifestyle now, you don’t reach a certain weight and shape and stop.
“You continue working out to get better endurance and gain more muscles – I will never stop."
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
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- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
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Rating: 4/5
