This was made even more challenging by his love of baking which he started documenting on the social media platform in 2014.
As the 36-year-old’s talent for tasty treats saw his following soar through the roof.
Julio left his day job in May 2017 and started teaching online baking courses which saw him scoffing calorific cakes every day.
But self conscious of his appearance at 67kg, the sweet treat star would never show anything below his neck to his online followers.
After undergoing a gruelling 12-week transformation program, Julio went from 23 per cent body fat to a lean eight per cent and a waist size 28, dropping almost 13kg – while still eating cake every day without fail.
“I never managed to have a balanced lifestyle with food because I would eat at my desk or not at all,” Julio said.
“For many years I was never happy with my body and I wanted to change my career.
“I was growing on Instagram and learning to make more cakes in my spare time and I found it very hard to have the lawyer lifestyle and eat cakes every day to try them while staying in shape.”
The baker reached a point that he was so self-conscious, he didn’t want to show anything below his neck on his Instagram posts.
“I felt like I needed to show my body at some point, so I decided that I needed to turn it into something I would be proud to show off,” he said.
“I wanted to prove that if you have a balanced lifestyle you can still eat your cake and look good.
“I still eat a slice of cake every day, sometimes I still have to eat three depending on my workload, it’s just part of my job.”
Self-esteem boost
Julio said the fitness overhaul had helped his self-esteem massively, and he’s very proud of what he’s achieved.
“I wasn’t into fitness at all before, I couldn’t run anywhere, so it has helped my self-esteem massively, and I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved,” he said.
“People I know who haven’t seen me for a few months don’t even believe it’s me, they ask to feel my arms and asked me what happened to the man who loved cake,” he said.
“They’re so shocked when I tell them I’m still eating it every day.”
Leading a hectic London lifestyle with husband of six years, Tom, 34, Julio struggled to commit to the gym and felt his self-esteem spiral as he piled on the pounds.
After seeing a body transformation with bespoke one-on-one personal training service Ultimate Performance in Hackney, London, Julio decided to sign up for a 12-week program with a diet overhaul and daily guidance through vigorous workouts.
During his transformation, Julio made more than 270 cakes as part of online demonstrations for his 113,000 followers in the 12 weeks, sampling three sweet snacks every day as he tested new recipes.
But by ditching his carb-heavy diet of sandwiches and pizzas and eating clean salads with plenty of protein, Julio dropped 12.7kg and revealed incredibly chiselled abs.
He is now bulking his muscle, having maintained his super low body fat percentage at just 11 per cent thanks to continuing work with his PT Amy to build his new physique.
Before his transformation, Julio skipped breakfast, ate a steak and cheese sandwich for lunch, pizza for dinner and three slices of cake between meals.
Now he starts his day with sourdough with honey and almond butter, poached egg, porridge and a protein shake.
For lunch, he has grilled veg with chicken or beef and a protein shake, and for dinner, grilled veg with tofu or fish and a protein shake.
In between meals, he still has those three slices of cake per day.
This article originally appeared on 7NEWS