I got to my all time highest known weight in Grade 11, which I think was around 170 lbs (I’m 5’5) but I can’t be sure since it was extremely depressing for me to get on a scale. I yo-yo’d through years of Weight Watchers and was able to get the weight off, only to go right back to my coping mechanism of binge eating whenever I couldn’t handle things.

In my mid 20′s I started running, which was something I used to dream of doing as well. This managed to keep the weight down, but I still struggled with maintaining a healthy weight. When I started running, I couldn’t finish 20 minutes. Over the years, I improved my running to 10k races, then a half marathon, and then the full marathon. I ran the marathon 3 years in a row, and then went back to half marathons for awhile. All this time, my binge eating had high and low periods, and I kept this secret to myself. Also during this time, I got engaged, got laid off from my job, found another job, bought a house, and then left my fiance 1 month before the wedding, and moved back to my mother’s house for a few months. Binge eating reared its ugly head again, but by now I was sick of it. I also jumped into a very unhealthy relationship due to my extremely low self esteem, and when I got my heart broken, I joined the gym and hired a trainer intending to do something for myself, which felt selfish but in a good way.

I also knew that I had to get my head “fixed” in order to fix my weight issues that had been controlling me my whole life. For me, I had to get strong physically before I could get strong emotionally. As I got stronger, I started to really like the shape my muscles were taking, but I didn’t like what I called my “pudge” or “chunky” look. My trainer would patiently explain how it was all related to diet. I really liked the look of figure competitors, but didn’t think I could ever get my bodyfat that low.

I had a few false starts trying to diet, but really, the binge eating always did me in. After one particularly bad episode something clicked in my brain where I realized I was just making myself sick, and I wanted to learn how to eat “normally”. So I went to a psychologist, and after about 9 months, was able to kick the binge eating habit. Now I was ready to try competing…I wanted it soo bad. I started my dieting in Feb, and competed onstage this past July 11, 2009. My weight loss was slow and steady up until the final show prep, and this is when I discovered the Fitcast, and also Leigh Peele’s podcasts by the way! I would listen to them during my final weeks of show prep, and they kept me smiling. I feel like now I am the person I have always dreamt I could be – inside and out. I’m a gym rat now too, and I love it! Oh and I’m leaving my old career of working in IT, which I’ve done for the past 8 years, and will be attending university this fall to study Kinesiology. Talk about a life change!

About 3 1/2 years ago, I reached my breaking point. I was running out of clothes that still fit, again, I was tired of downing loads of prescription drugs that had little or no effect, I was tired of the constant gastrointestinal pain, and I was scared as the frequency and intensity of my episodes of angina increased weekly. I knew someday soon I would, as my father did on too many occasions, end up in the ER. I decided it was time for a complete lifestyle change. I eschewed the fad diets, fat loss supplements, and gym boot camps and chose the simple mantra of eat less and move more. Leigh, where were you 3 years ago?

I adopted a clean mediterranean-style diet of fresh, whole foods, an easy thing to do when you live in Northern Callifornia. I worked with a personal trainer to develop a strength training program at home since there are no conveniently local gyms. Sorry Kevin, no bar bells, just dumb bells, kettle bells and the insidious Bosu ball. And I began a daily walking program.

My transformation was slow, steady, and safe with no injuries or plateaus. After 14 months of effort, I achieved my goal of regaining the body I had at 22 but with bigger biceps. I went from a 40 inch waist and over 30% body fat to a 30 inch waist and about 12% body fat. I calculate that I lost 40 pounds of fat and gained 6 pounds of new lean body mass. I know that won’t break any records but I’m only 5 ft 2 in tall and old, as my wife and daughters keep reminding me.

I can safely say that I am not dead yet. My blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal; the sinus infections, ED, ulcers and angina are all are gone. I still have “high” total cholesterol, but that is because my HDL increased to 87 ng/L! Best of all, I have maintained my weight for over 2 years now and I have developed the lifestyle habits that should keep it off.

The most amusing thing I have encountered since my fat loss is the reaction I get from friends and relatives who see me for the first time. 2 years ago, people would shyly approach and with great empathy ask in whispered tones “Have you been ill?”. Some would even avoid me and inquire about my health from my wife. Now I get “Wow, where did you get those muscles” from my new massage therapist and “Oh my God, you’ve got abs!” from my older sister at a recent family reunion. Not too shabby for a 55 year old geezer.

After a while people started to make comments and I just figured they were all jealous. My poor mother had no idea how to deal with it nor did she truly know the full extent of my disorder and when she’d mention therapist or doctors, I’d tell her everything was fine. My junior year I was a star athlete, popular, taking over student council president position the next year, and ready to go full steam into college. The stress came on harder and I when I’d eat I started to make myself throw up. I was already getting very little calories and what I did ingest would come back up and I’d feel high as a kite. It was like a drug. I felt so empowered by it and it was my own little secret that I kept for four years.

The big turning point came when I had to attend a banquet for scholarship winners. I didn’t take a bite of the cake and only sipped on water but my parents wanted to take me out to celebrate after. We went to a seafood restaurant where I shunned all the bread and butter and only ate boiled shrimp with no sauce. I felt awful the entire way home. All I wanted to do was get home and get rid of all the food I just put in to my body. I was mad at myself and angry at my parents for making me eat. Once home I said goodnight and waited until everyone went to bed. I knew a lot of time had passed so I needed a little help. I downed ipecac and blamed my massive vomiting on bad seafood. The next day I woke, feeling a bit better, looked in the mirror and saw I had burst 3 blood vessels in my eyes from throwing up so hard. I started to cry. I sat on the bathroom floor and just cried because I didn’t recognize myself at all. I was scheduled to make the big step of entering college in just 3 weeks and I was a complete mess.

I made a promise to myself that I would get better and took it on as a new challenge. At that point it was either go to college and gain weight or go get treatment. I worked equally as hard to get in to college as I did to keep up my eating disorder but luckily I choose school. I saw a therapist briefly at school and just admitting it helped me on the better path.

Throughout college I struggled with weight gain and weight obsession. I gained the freshman 15 plus extra but it was what I needed to help me along. I fought the disorder throughout undergrad and even in to graduate school. At that point I needed to loose weight but didn’t know how to do it in a healthy way so I started to study and learn. I read glossy magazines and did all the fad workouts but it only helped a little. When I was 25, I still have about 15 pounds to loose but the daily trips to Gold’s gym were not helping all that much. I ended up deciding to try a triathlon and focus on a bigger goal than just loosing weight. I loved it and my confidence soared. I enjoyed the challenge and educated myself about what and why I should eat to fuel my training. I started lifting weights heavy and hard. Five years later I am now the head coach of a first timers triathlon training program, have completed numerous races, marathons, and am a competitive mountain biker. I am not at the weight I’d like to be. I know I have a few pounds to loose and am working really hard at it but also am working hard at not obsessing. I would say I need to loose 10 pounds but I also understand that is part of my dismorphia talking and actually only need about 5 pounds off. It is almost like I am two different people when it comes to my body image.

It was all mentally scaring and though I am 30 now, I still have bad days and must step back and reassess myself honestly. It is part of who I was and something that has made me the way I am now. I am still boarder line obsessive compulsive and when I cross the line, I know to take a time out. I still hold some of the eccentric things from my eating disorder like not letting other people fix plates for me and being able to calculate the total caloric intake of a meal like Rainman. From being sick and underweight to being overweight but mentally healthy and now being at a healthy weight and understanding myself so much better, I am at a good place.

Back then, the weight room at my high school was about the size of a bedroom, and my first introduction to weight training was a machine circuit on an old-school Universal Gym set of machines. Needless to say, I didn’t have much of a clue what I was doing at first.

One day I stumbled upon an online track and field forum, which led me to start reading articles and books on training and nutrition. I had access to a lot of information, but, perhaps because I wasn’t as mature back then, I didn’t understand everything completely. A lot of the guys on the track forum talked about things like relative strength and keeping body fat to a minimum, and even though I never had any serious weight issues I wanted any advantage I could get, so I was only lifting 5 reps or less (to avoid any “unnecessary” muscle gain) while cutting calories and carbs, on top of all the training I was doing in practice.

As I went through my senior year, injuries and disappointing times derailed my competitive career. But my interest in fitness was just getting started. I did my undergrad at Cornell, where I took a course to become certified as a personal trainer and majored in Nutritional Sciences, and since then I’ve worked as a personal trainer and pursued a Master’s Degree in nutrition and exercise physiology at Columbia. I had learned that my interest in learning about exercise and nutrition could lead to a career, so I jumped at the opportunity. Knowing that I can make fitness a career also motivates me to train, as training is the reason I chose this career path in the first place.

So there is no 50-pound weight loss story here, but my experience with exercise was a life-changing one. Here’s someone who was known more for academic than athletic success going into high school, who is now pursuing a lifelong career in fitness. Many people say they were in the best shape of their life in high school, but I’m definitely a much better athlete now than I was back then, and I hope to stay that way for a long time.

Oh, and Kevin, thanks for sharing your story, as well as your “Before-before” picture. Sometimes it’s important to remember where you came from.

I totally know where you are coming from. I was very overweight my entire childhood up until the age of 14. Now almost 17, I look back and realize I was an extreme emotional eater when I was a young child, most likely due to my parents having problems starting at about age 7. I entered my own freshman year of high school feeling terrible. I felt unhealthy, had no confidence, and not many friends. After the first day of school I decided to make a change. I started keeping track of what I ate, and by trial and error discovered what worked for me. I set up my own hom gym and started woring out everyday after school without fail. I began reading every article, book, or any peice of info I could get my hands on about fitness and nutrition. Over six months I lost 50 lbs and went from about 185 to 135 at 5’6″. My family didn’t understand why I wanted to cook my own food, or why I would choose working out over other things. I never had any encouragement or support from them. Over the summer after freshman year I concentrated on lifting and correct nutrition to get myself in great shape. I walked into school sophomore year with unbeleivable confidence and I became much more social, and gained many more friends. Now I’m a gym rat and I love it. I’ constantly learning and I have a constant hunger for knowledge about fitness and nutrition. My experience has taught me so much about myself, and has inspired me to persue a career in the health field.

PS – I love the show and it’s the highlight of my week when I get to download the latest one. By the way, I’m from Massachusetts, not too far from you haha.

Thanks for reading Kevin.

I had just begin my career with the National Park Service and realized that I absolutely loved what I was doing and wanted to be the best that I could. I managed to drop some weight and survived (by the skin of my teeth) the Law Enforcement Academy.

In 2003 I began working as an officer and began dealing with “real” criminals.

My turning point came one night when I stopped a guy who had been drinking in the park. The stop pretty quickly “turned south”, and I ended up in a fight with a man who literally told me he was going to kill me.

Obviously that ended up in my favor and I came out on top. But that night I swore to myself I would never get to the point where I would be too lazy and weak to win when the time came for me to put it all on the line.

I dropped to 165 lbs and then began working my way back up to where I am at now at 220 with far more muscle I have ever had before.

My goal is to start 30 in the best shape of my life, and you guys and your show have really helped keep me interested.

Thanks for all you do and everything you give.

DW

Inspired by comic book superheroes and Arnold movies, I started lifting at the local Y as a high school junior. I followed these ridiculous 3×10 programs with four different exercises for each body part. You know, Lee Haney’s pre-contest program as reported in Flex! You can imagine the radical physique-altering changes I experienced. (I barely improved!) By college, my lifting became pretty sporadic and my body comp got a little worse. By the time I turned 30, now a married father, I became “too busy” to exercise. I put on an additional 15 pounds of flab and joined the ranks of typical early middle aged males with desk jobs.

My turning point came about 7 years ago when I was thumbing through a fitness mag and came across some photos of Dave Draper, who was something like 62 years old at the time. He did not look like the photos I remembered seeing in Arnold’s Encyclopedia. His hair was thinner, his face had wrinkles, and his muscles weren’t nearly as full. But he still looked far better than virtually any 20 year-old athlete! I wasn’t in 1/10 as good shape at half Draper’s age! Even worse, in the accompanying interview, it mentioned that he had stopped exercising when he retired from bodybuilding and that he had spent most of the 1970s messed up on booze and drugs before he got a grip and turned himself around! That did it. I started MAKING time to train 3-4 times per week. More importantly, I started to train intelligently. Why train like a bodybuilder if you have no intention of ever stepping on stage to compete?

I haven’t lost a lot of weight (I’m maybe 25 pounds lighter than my peak.) But what my current 190 pounds is composed of has changed pretty radically. In addition to properly filling out my clothes, I can sprint a lot faster and jump a lot higher at age 41 than I could at 17 – and I am almost never physically tired! I also remember failing a chin-up test in 5th grade PE when I just helplessly hung from the bar for a few seconds before my grip gave out. Now I can rep out on chin-ups, pull-ups, and dips, even with additional weight. I’m also one of only 4 or 5 guys at my gym who squats and deadlifts (the others are in their 20s), and I’m the only one who does stuff like power cleans.

What’s more, I feel totally inspired to buck the trend of Americans getting fatter, especially as they get older. I fully intend to keep making steady yet modest gains for the foreseeable future. With any luck, in 50 years I’ll be a Jack LaLanne-style senior who performs strongman stuff instead of playing shuffleboard.

Bob