By. Dismas Nuwaine
Health and Fitness are two inseparable components of overall well-being. It is scientifically proven that the right fitness formula, is a magic bullet to the efficient execution of daily functional activities.
Since the last few decades, studies have documented that inactive and sedentary lifestyles make individuals prone to chronic diseases.
In the modern era, excessive screen time on technologies, time constraints, and busy schedules are some of today’s many numerous distractions, or at least plausible excuses, people pose to justify inactivity.
These have obviously led to the erosion of physical activity and this always has ripple implications, not just on people’s performances, but also, on their physical and psycho-social health lives.
Chaz Miti, a student at Uganda Christian University (UCU) has defied this status quo and statistical compilation.
Standing at an imposing 6 feet and 5 inches tall, Chaz is a towering figure amongst his comrades. Weighing about 74 Kilograms, he is a testament to true strength and stamina.
His broad shoulders and well-defined muscles command attention. He glides with grace and every step he makes is deliberate. Always wearing a smile, Chaz exudes a warm and welcoming demeanor.
He prides in his surprisingly simple physical routine that has not just changed his life but has inspired those close to him, and even those who hear of his story.
Chaz never misses any day of a workout. Every evening after class, he changes into his fitness attire. A pair of sleek and elastic jogging shorts, wide enough to allow easy flexibility and breathability.
He tops the shorts with a moisture-absorbing exercise shirt. Made from lightweight fabric, the shirt is wide enough to allow easy movement and comfort during the runs.
He completes his attire with a pair of blue sneakers, cushioned to mitigate the shock that comes with high-impact activities, its reinforced outer sole makes the shoe both durable and stable on the track.
With this, he and his comrades take to the turf, doing several rounds around the UCU main pitch. Sometimes they set out to hike, or as they like to call it, conquering the mighty Ankrah hill – a relatively steep hill with rugged and demanding terrain that tests the limit of their physical endurance.
These and many other activities are organized by the health and fitness club. A club established by Chaz to foster not just physical, but psychological and spiritual health within the UCU community.
This space has helped young men and women meet their health goals, and overcome social vices such as alcoholism and substance abuse.
“This is more of a community than just a mere club,” said Chaz before he continued, “The most important thing is to provide peer-to-peer support. Trust me, we have already seen the results.”
This club has made Chaz a model, an icon, and a marksman amongst his peers. For his incredible work, he even received the 2023 Impact Student of the Year award from the 25th Students Guild.
This, however, wasn’t always the case for Chaz. To him, this lifestyle, just a few years ago, was unimaginable. A far cry from his wildest dreams.
“I for one could not know this was possible. Up to now l look back and simply say thank you God,” said Chaz, before he continued “When l sit down and reflect where l have come from, all I can say is simply wow.
Upon joining the University in 2017, Chaz wasn’t any ordinary student. Not that he was very exceptional still, he had a little something off his sleeves that set him apart.
He was an established vegetable farmer in Nsangi-Nkegera village, located along Masaka Road. As such, he had a relatively steady source of income at his disposal as a freshman.
Chaz wasn’t afraid to spend and as a perpetual spendthrift, word soon spread all over campus propelling this young man to popularity in an instant.
“l had some bit of fame, l had the money and this came with pride, the girls, and standards to meet,” said Chaz.
He continued, “When you’re a bit known around the University, you are going to attract people who like that lifestyle. We went out and experienced what life has to offer.”
Chaz was at this point living what some call “the good life”. He treated himself to excesses. He especially fancied oily foods, chips, pork, deep-fried chicken, and other high-fat fast foods.
“I ate excessively to feel better about myself and for me, it was that lavish eating. I would come from pork, and then two hours after am hungry, l get a rolex and then chips. It was an endless cycle,” said Chaz, before he continued, “In fact, it was stress eating for me.”
According to Harvard Medical School, stress eating happens when adrenal glands release another hormone called cortisol, and cortisol increases appetite and may also ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat.
Mayo Clinic, one of the largest not-for-profit medical groups in the world also stresses that, stress eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness, and loneliness.
Rightly so, Chaz wasn’t a happy man. Though he lived the semblance of a happy man, that was merely an outward glory, a vain façade, hiding an inward toil.
He had let his lifestyle have the better of him. He didn’t have real friends. Those that claimed to be his friends merely pecked on him. He was living a lie.
This automatically had a toll on his health life. Unknown to him, at this point he was kissing goodbye to any fitness ambitions. This, however, was merely a drop in the ocean. He hadn’t yet seen it all.
To maintain his lifestyle, Chaz began to dupe and blackmail his fellow students to get money out of them. He began borrowing large sums from unsuspecting colleagues, only to run off with the money.
“When you start chasing money that chase never ends. I thought the accumulation of money would maintain my status,” said Chaz.
He continued, “l would get people, pledge to get them their consignment but this would never come. Then you get into the chase, the hide and seek.”
All this stress landed him into drinking but this could only provide temporary relief. Over time it grew into dependency and exacerbated, not just the stress, but the weight as well.
A report by the Centre for Health Protection, a department of Health in Hong Kong responsible for disease prevention and control, affirms that heavy alcohol drinking is positively associated with obesity risk.
The report says that alcohol is highly calorific and each gram of alcohol provides 7 kilo-calories. Apart from adding extra calories to a daily diet, alcohol inhibits the breakdown and usage of fats as energy and favors fat accumulation particularly in the liver and the abdominal area so the higher the intake of alcohol, the greater the risks of obesity.
“At one point l could not sleep without a drink, three beers were nothing to me. we drank ourselves stupid. I suppose it was this excessive drinking that contributed a lot to my weight gain,” noted Chaz.
Before Chaz knew it, he was weighing close to a hundred kilograms. At this point, he was devastated, he didn’t know who he was anymore, or more importantly, who he had become.
This, coupled with other social and economic challenges proved to be too much for him. He decided he needed a break. At once, he quit school at that very moment.
Like this wasn’t enough, he even at this point contemplated committing suicide
“you can’t keep up with all this and maintain a stable mental health,” said Chaz reflectively, before he continued, “it was too much to process and at this point the only that l saw around it was to escape all of it.”
Chaz saw daylight again during the Covid 19 period. He went back to the village in Masaka and its here that he tried to put himself back together piece by piece.
He began exercising by simply walking dogs for a distance of about 3 kilometers. He would as well join other people for casual walks.
“I started with walks simply because l could not run. When l saw people excising l decided to also join just simply to pass time and it became fashionable since everyone was doing it in the Covid lockdown,” said Chaz.
He gained interest and before he knew it, he had made a fitness resolution.
“I heard testimonies from different groups of people who walked and were able to manage their weight, so l challenged myself to walk and cut a few kilos,” said Chaz.
During this time, a Chaz whose social circle had disintegrated before began to make new friends. Through the sharing, he experienced psycho-social healing.
Slowly by slowly, he got some fitness training manual and intensively learnt as much as he could. He felt a new burst of energy and a motivation to go on and on.
“I delved a lot into reading, books on nutrition, exercise, fitness. I also utilized YouTube, social media. I got a fitness routine, a fitness app and an eating app,” said Chaz.
He entered a rigorous training schedule, walking ten kilometers – 5 apiece, to and from, the market on a daily. He engaged in heavy farm work activity alongside his shamba boys.
What started as baby steps, soon grew to deliberate and well-intentioned steps. Before Chaz knew it, he was in the process of rehabilitation. He had lost over 20 kilograms.
Also, at that moment, he also witnessed revival in his faith life. Having gone off the radar for far too long, suddenly his eyes were no longer veiled in darkness. He could see truth.
To quote the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Chaz’s life was testament to the scripture. In the September 2021 intake, he was re admitted at UCU for the bachelors of science in Finance and accounting. A totally different person.
He was determined to re-write his story, to shape a new narrative and Chaz has done exactly that.
Once condemned as a public nuisance, he is now embraced as a source of pride for the whole community.
He is the proprietor of the health and fitness club – a peer to peer support group that does not only help young people maintain physical fitness but spiritual and psychological fitness.
Many young people, who previously had misplaced priorities in life upon joining University, have found their identity through the club. This speaks directly to the vision of the proprietor.
“Now that l have come back to University, I see many people leading to the path that l once took,” said Chaz before he continued, “I can’t sit back and watch comfortably yet l know l have touched the fire and it has burnt me and am seeing other people heading towards it.”
He said he would feel more guilty not doing anything, yet he knows the right thing to do. Its this understanding, coupled with Chaz’s experiential past that affirms his resolve.
“The fitness club is not just a hobby, its purpose for me. I for one used to scorn such exercise but here l am doing them and enjoying them,” noted Chaz.Said Chaz.
“The fitness club is not just a hobby, its purpose for me. I for one used to scorn such exercise but here l am doing them and enjoying them,” noted Chaz.
He continued, “in the middle of all this I sit and reflect and ask myself a question: so, it was this easy to change circumstances around me? This marvels me up to now.”
A man of faith, Chaz says he’s always acted on the voice speaking inside him. The Club, he says is not his work but God’s work who has purposed it into fruition.
