Bullying At School
Back in her childhood days, Jordan Saunders had a hard time fitting in. She had braces, glasses, frizzy ginger hair, and she was rather chubby.
By the time she turned 11, Saunders already weighed over 155 pounds. It was precisely in the brink of her teenage years that she began to face bullying at school.
Ashamed Of Her Body
Saunders was left with deep emotional scars as a result of so many years of bullying. She started feeling ashamed of her body and at summer, she would always avoid being seen wearing a swimming suit.
To this day, Saunders recalls the trauma she went through. "'I stopped going to dancing classes because someone said I looked like an elephant. My sister used to call me 'dustbin'", she recalls.
Time For Workout
Saunders was only 15 years old when she set herself the goal of losing weight. "We were going on a trip to Egypt with school and I knew I would have to wear a bikini in front of boys from my class", she recalls.
Saunders soon took a liking to swimming and she would hit the gym four times a week. However, in spite of her new workout regime, she couldn't manage to shed any weight. Can you guess why?
Eating Disorders
The reason why Saunders kept finding herself back in square one was her unhealthy eating habits. Her diet would basically consist of fast food, high-calorie meals like chicken nuggets, chips, and coke.
"My parents tried to feed me healthy meals but I was very fussy and I would only eat rubbish", Saunders admitted. That's when she realized she would never grow any fitter if she didn't change her diet.
Skipping Meals
Hoping to change her diet, Saunders swung from one extreme to the other. Instead of eating healthier, she started eating less, which is basically what nutritionists always warn against. "I used to eat breakfast, but then I would starve myself throughout the day", Saunders admitted.
Even though she managed to lose some weight, her poor diet started taking a toll on her health. "I lost three stone but I felt weak and my periods stopped. I realised I was damaging my body even though I was losing weight", she acknowledged. But when did this stop?
Renovated Lifestyle
Once Saunders stopped skipping meals, she started putting on weight again. Hoping to learn how to balance fitness and nutrition, she sat for the physical education A-levels during her senior year.
After that, she went on to study sport science at college. Not only did she learn how to eat properly, but she also became a personal trainer at a gym. This is where she met another fitness fan named Ray Bath, a man who would change her life forever. But who was Mr. Bath? What was his story?
Similar Childhoods
Just like Saunders, Bath had also had it rough at school. He was often teased for being overweight and he would always feel ashamed whenever he had to take his shirt off during swimming lessons.
"I remember being at a football game and hearing a spectator shouting, 'look at that fat number nine'. That fat number nine was me", he painfully remembers.
Master Plan
Even though Ray pretended not to care, the truth was that he had a hard time accepting his own body. In fact, he tried hard to lose weight during the holidays right before starting high school.
The way he saw it, if he managed to shed his extra stone right before the first day of class, nobody would ever know that he was once chubby. But did his master plan work out?
Fitness Junkie
Unlike Saunders, thanks to a combination of a healthy diet and a thorough workout regime, Bath managed to lose weight rather quickly. But this was only the first step of his transformation!
By the time he turned 17, Bath took things one step further and grew passionate for weight-lifting. "I started weight training at school and soon convinced my parents to buy me a gym membership aged 17", he recalls. You won't believe what he looked like after graduating from high school!
Bodybuilder
Bath intensified his training after turning 19. He would go to the gym on a daily basis and lift weights of up to 250 pounds. Not too shabby, huh?
As the years went by, Bath built more and more muscles. By the time he met Saunders shortly after turning 24, he pretty much looked like a bodybuilder! But how did they meet?
They Hit It Off
It should come as no surprise that these two fitness fans met at the gym. "I met Jordan when I was 24, and she pushed me to qualify as a personal trainer", Bath remembers.
Once they got to know each other, they were shocked upon realizing how many things they had in common. For starters, they had both suffered bullying at school, which came as a shock to Saunders. "Ray was gorgeous, so I couldn't believe it when he told me he'd been teased at school because of his podgy puppy fat", she admitted.
A Special Connection
Not only did they relate to each other because of their common past, but also because of their shared passion for weight training. "Immediately we shared a special connection and we started training together, setting each other goals and working out together", Jaunders said.
Bath, in turn, said the following: "It is overwhelming to find someone who shares your passion, who you get along with and who you think highly of to be next to you throughout your journey". And it wasn't long before they became something more than just training buddies...
Love Was In The Air
At first, the two started training together three times a week. "Ray got me into weight training more - before I met him I was a cardio queen", Saunders remembers.
It was only a matter of weeks before the two started dating. "I feel like we are really creating something together", Bath shared. Their story seems as if it came straight out of a Hollywood movie, right?
Professional Training
As time went by, not only did their relationship grow stronger, but they also took their training to the next level. After giving it some thought, they decided to sign up for their first bodybuilding competition.
With this aim in mind, they began training intensively a whopping seven times a week and switched to a new high-calorie diet. Even though they were both as motivated, Saunders found this new diet more challenging than his boyfriend.
Radical Change
While Bath had been training for nearly 8 years, Saunders was still pretty much a newbie in the weight lifting world. In fact, just a couple of years ago, Saunders' diet consisted of sugary cereals for breakfast, mac & cheese for lunch, and fried chicken and chips for dinner, not to mention her sugary snacks during the day.
Now, however, she would have porridge and bananas for breakfast, chicken with mixed vegetables for lunch, and oats and rice cakes for dinner. But impossible was nothing for Saunders, who soon grew used to her new lifestyle as a professional weightlifter. Wondering how well they performed in their first tournaments?
Professional Debut
The couple made their professional debut after competing in the 2014 Miami Pro UK Championship, where they ended up in the 5th category. This, however, was only the beginning...
4 years later, the couple competed in the Miami Pro World Championship, which happens to be one of the most important tournaments in the weightlifting field. While Saunders ended in 6th place, Bath ended 5th. But not only did they succeed in their career, but in their love life, too!
The Proposal
On Christmas Eve 2005, Bath proposed during their romantic getaway in the Caribbean. "Ray ordered Champagne for our hotel room. I was fussing around trying to get a picture of the bubbly next to the pool and then I saw the ring", the now Mrs. Saunders said.
It goes without saying that Saunders said yes immediately. In September of the following year, the two lovebirds got married in Cyprus and held an intimate ceremony with family and friends. But what's our favorite power couple up to now?
Their Own Personal Brand
After tying the knot, Saunders and Bath launched their own training business, Body by JR, which aims at helping others lead a healthier lifestyle and get into shape.
Many people turn to their help once they get to know their story. "Customers can see the journey me and Ray have gone on, so they know we understand what they are going through and can help", Saunders said. But this is not all! You won't believe what happened to them after creating their own brand...
The Table Has Turned
To their surprise, once their fame started to rocket, several of their former bullies reached out to them through Instagram asking them for tips on how to lose weight. Who would've thought!?
"Suddenly all these people who had called me names when we were teenagers came out of the woodwork and were asking how they could get in great shape", Saunders claimed. "The tables really have turned. I always try and help even though part of me is surprised", she added.
Impossible Is Nothing
Without a doubt, Saunders and Bath's story is extremely inspirational as it is empowering. "Both me and Ray have beat the bullies to bag our buff bodies - and each other", Saunders said.
The power couple is currently living in Basildon, Essex. They're the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl and their personal fitness business is thriving. If you wanna learn more about them, or even ask them for some advice, then look them up on social media!