John's Story

“I’m living proof that obesity can be beat and it's never too late to change your habits. It's either day one or one day. Which is it for you?”

The hardest part of sacrifice is the faith we put into the idea of it paying off. When we start our journey, the vision we have for ourselves is nothing what reality says we are.

The ability to believe in ourselves takes time and hard work, when the effort starts to pay off, it's the biggest drug we can ever take.

The struggle, the sweat, the tears, the harsh criticism, the looks, the stares, the mocking, the laughs and everything else we endure will mean absolutely nothing when the image in the mirror looks completely different.

Once you learn the battle is in the mirror looking back at you and the mind game is our own game we play, life starts to look a lot different. The sweat becomes wanted, the clothes shopping becomes fun and the image looking back at you isn't as bad as it used to be. 

My journey began 4 years ago when a severely obese friend of mine who weighed 450 pounds suffered a brain aneurysm, in my home. 

At the time of this incident, I weighed 475 pounds and was trying to get into a bathroom made for a small person. His dead weight was almost impossible to stand up much less save.

At the size I was, I was helpless. Getting into that small bathroom was a feat unto itself. With the quick response of my girlfriend and 911, he is thankfully alive today.

This happened on a Sunday and when I got home from the hospital after seeing my friend, I broke down in tears realizing that could easily have been me. No person small or big could handle such large weight and save my life in such a situation.

I didn't sleep that night and at 430 in the morning I realized enough was enough. I put my shoes on and went for a walk down the block. I could barely make it 3 houses past mine before I was out of breath and turning around. Winded and wanting to quit, I made a personal promise that this time I'd never give up on myself.

Over the past 8 years I've lost 225 pounds and have maintained that weight loss due to healthy eating, heavy training and daily movement. I never found any magic unicorn powder along the way, no miracle pills ever worked and no matter how many times I wished for a genie to pop out and make me skinny, it never happened. The pounds began to fall off because I busted my ass and made it a habit to move and eat healthy no matter what. No matter what I was feeling, what my day was like or what hurt, I kept my promise to myself.

My journey will never have an end. I know my life has changed for the better but the battle to keep it off will always wage on.

Helping those who stand at the starting line I once stood at, makes this all more the worthwhile to me. To help, to inspire and to be a part of people's journey and see them find their smile and self-worth, has been worth every tear I’ve cried, every bead of sweat I've dropped and all the pain I've endured.