Losing a significant amount of weight can feel like an insurmountable challenge, but the journeys of individuals who have successfully shed 150 pounds or more offer invaluable insights and inspiration. These transformations are not just about physical change; they encompass improved health, boosted confidence, and a renewed zest for life. This article explores the experiences of several people who have lost 150 pounds or more, highlighting the diverse strategies they employed and the lessons they learned along the way.
Jose Matos: From 525 Pounds to a Healthier Life
Jose Matos, a 32-year-old marketer from Provo, Utah, faced a grim prognosis when his doctor warned him that his weight of over 500 pounds, coupled with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, would prevent him from seeing his sons graduate high school. This stark revelation, combined with a previous hospitalization for a life-threatening diabetes complication, served as a major wake-up call.
Matos recalls the moment as terrifying, emphasizing his love for his kids and wife. It wasn’t until another health scare, Bell’s palsy, which left the right side of his face paralyzed, that Matos decided that enough was enough and that he would change his diet and start to exercise. The full paralysis lasted three months and took a year to resolve completely. The exact cause of the condition is unknown, but risk factors include obesity, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
In the last two years, Matos has dropped from 525 pounds to 375 pounds, losing his need for Type 2 diabetes and blood pressure medication in the process. He’s still working toward his goal weight of 240 pounds.
Prioritizing Protein and Limiting Cravings
Matos credits his success to prioritizing protein, limiting cravings, formulating an exercise philosophy and leaning on a “huge” support system. Matos opts for fish, steak and chicken over burgers. Protein takes longer to digest than other nutrients, so it can help you feel fuller. The Recommended Dietary Allowance is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight - or 0.36 grams per pound.
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He stopped eating processed, frozen and fast food and focused on whole foods with plenty of protein, such as chicken, steak and fish. He limited carbs and began tracking everything he ate to make sure he was in a calorie deficit every day.
He avoided having the pizza rolls, sodas, and mostly drank water. He would avoid going out to eat, cooked at home and meal-prepped his lunches with his wife every Sunday to make sure they had nutritious meals ready to go.
To manage cravings, Matos allows himself a single bite of the desired food. This approach satisfies the craving without derailing his progress. Pizza rolls were his “biggest downfall” - he could polish off a bag in one sitting.
Embracing Exercise and Building a Support System
Matos started exercising by walking for half an hour. He then added at-home functional moves, such as squats, to his routine and started going to the gym and focusing on push-pull workouts for the upper and lower body to work different muscle groups. He finished with 30 minutes of cardio on a treadmill or elliptical machine to reach his fat-burning heart rate. Matos now works out six days a week.
Matos praises his family and colleagues, particularly his co-worker and her trainer husband, for standing by him through his weight loss journey. “They were instrumental in teaching me that this isn’t just a sprint, it’s not an overnight cure. It’s a lifetime. It’s creating lifelong habits,” Matos gushed to Today.com.
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His exercise philosophy is: “I know that I have to do it and that I want to do it and I get to do it.” When he occasionally doesn’t feel like it, he reminds himself what’s at stake. “I will look at pictures of myself back when I was my heaviest and think, ‘This guy couldn’t do it. This guy couldn’t walk into a gym. This guy wouldn’t feel accepted at the gym like I do now,’” he says.
Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Goals
In July, Matos took part in a 5K Spartan Race obstacle course, fulfilling a goal he’s had for more than a decade. The best part was proving to his sons, now 6 and 9, that "you can do anything."
Matos offers simple tips to others: Weight-loss drugs aren’t always the solution and to create a support system.
Matos’s story exemplifies the power of perseverance and the importance of a strong support system in achieving significant weight loss.
Robert Valencia: Transforming Diet and Embracing Fitness
Robert Valencia, 38, from Brooklyn, shares how he lost over 150 pounds by transforming his diet and developing a passion for fitness.
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Valencia had always been comfortable in his own skin, but he wasn't happy with the person he was seeing in the mirror. It was getting very difficult to find clothes in his size, and his weight gain also started to negatively affect his health: the soles of his feet were hurting every time he woke up and noticed a thick skin in his soles and acanthosis nigricans around his neck and armpits.
It wasn't until a Christmas visit to see family in Miami that he realized he had to do something. His 79-year-old mother put her hand on his belly and said "Promise me you're going to lose weight. I need you to be healthy". It was at that instant that he had to make his mission to see a specialist. Two weeks later, a weight loss doctor informed him that he weighed a staggering 330 pounds.
Adjusting Nutrition and Incorporating Exercise
The first thing Valencia had to do was adjust his nutrition to help his body shed the excess fat. He switched from eating carbs and just focused on a keto-friendly diet and turned that fat into his source of energy. He ate mostly protein, psyllium husk as a source of fiber, vitamin supplements and omega-3.
He embarked on 2-hour workout routines that involved mostly low-impact exercises such as spin and yoga (he avoided running at first because he could have compromised his knees and ankles). He eliminated almost 40 pounds in the first month, then 20 the second month, then 27 by June, and so forth. As the months went by he started incorporating other forms of workout like strength training, CrossFit, pilates and HIIT. But of all these routines, running is his absolute favorite.
Valencia lost a more than 150 pounds in eight months, reaching his lowest ever weight of 169 pounds. He also lowered his body fat from 50 percent to just 13 percent.
Finding Community and Setting New Goals
A hugely positive part of this experience has been becoming part of a community in New York that enjoys running and remaining healthy. His fiancée reintroduced him to running, and they are both running NYRR's United Airlines NYC Half Marathon and the Brooklyn Half together!
His next goal is to run the full marathon when he turns 40. He wants to be stronger, faster, healthier, and live longer, and to serve as an inspiration to those who want to make a change in their health. Staying healthy, regardless of weight, should be the main goal.
Valencia’s story highlights the importance of addressing underlying health issues and finding a supportive community to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Roxanne Mullenberg: Overcoming Challenges and Prioritizing Health
Roxanne Mullenberg, a 42-year-old bank project manager from Fargo, ND, shares her lifelong struggle with weight and how she finally achieved a 149-pound weight loss.
Mullenberg had always struggled with her weight, and as an adult, she’d always seen 350 pounds or so on the scale. She tried weight loss programs here and there that never worked. She also tried joining a gym, but she could never focus on nutrition at the same time as exercise; it was one or the other, and she never saw much change.
Resolving Underlying Issues and Making Changes
A few years later, she was at a family reunion when her mom’s cousin came up and asked, “Do you have a thyroid issue?” She said not one she knew of. So at her next checkup, she mentioned it to the doctor. She ran blood tests and called her that day to say she had an underactive thyroid, and prescribed her medication.
Shortly after that, about two years ago, her office set up a summer walking challenge, and she signed up. Her goal: Walk 400 miles by September. Having a concrete challenge really motivated her and gave her a reason to exercise. She finished in the top quarter of the group, logging 4 to 5 miles a day.
Fargo’s weather isn’t great for walking year-round, but she didn’t let that stop her. She stuck with her outdoor walks during bitterly cold, 20-below days. She’s kept it up, and she’s still walking 4 miles a day.
Finding a Nutrition Plan That Works
Even with walking consistently, the weight wasn’t coming off. She knew she also had to change her eating habits. Coworkers at the bank recommended that she try Profile by Sanford, a health and nutrition program developed by medical experts at Sanford Health, one of the world’s largest healthcare providers.
Starting with the Reboot stage, she had a protein shake in the morning; another one as a mid-morning snack; a protein shake and 2 cups of veggies and a fat (like avocado or olive oil) for lunch; then, a Profile fiber tea and Profile protein bar as an afternoon snack. For supper, she’d have a protein (like chicken or fish), 2 more cups of veggies, and a fat, followed by another shake.
She's in Adapt now, the second phase, which means she can swap out more shakes and bars for fresh foods and can have starches and fruit. The goal while moving through the phases is to have fewer packaged products and more fresh foods that you make yourself.
Seeing Results and Setting New Goals
After one year on Profile, she’s lost 149 pounds and gained so much confidence, strength, and health. When she started with Profile in February 2020, she was at 358 lbs. Now she’s at 209, so 149 lbs down! She’s gone down 10 pants sizes-getting a whole new wardrobe is fun!
Before, her blood pressure was concerningly high and she was close to requiring medication, and now it’s drastically dropped to a healthy range. She’s feeling more comfortable in her own skin. She has more energy, and as she’s gaining confidence, she’s more willing to try new things.
Mullenberg’s journey demonstrates the importance of addressing underlying health conditions and finding a sustainable nutrition plan to achieve long-term weight loss.
Noah Harned: Calorie Counting, Intermittent Fasting, and Mild Activity
Noah Harned, 29, shared his transformation on Reddit, explaining how he went from 340 pounds to 190 pounds in 18 months without workouts or a gym membership.
Harned, a package delivery driver, began fasting in 2020. During this period, he continued to eat junk food without paying attention to calorie consumption.
Harned eventually recognized the importance of prioritizing healthy eating to reach his goals. Using a calorie-tracking app, Harned initially set his intake at 2,600 calories per day, gradually reducing it to 1,500 by the beginning of this year.
Intermittent Fasting and Calorie Counting
Harned learned how to make his favorite foods, including pizza, without exceeding his calorie limits. He swapped potato chips for popcorn and replaced sugary coffee with a pre-workout drink, while having the occasional sugar-free soda as a treat.
Despite occasional "slipups" and cheat days that caused temporary weight gain, he refused to punish himself and instead focused on returning to his disciplined routine.
The Benefits of Walking
Harned regularly exceeded this by at least 6,000 steps. He said, "I lifted boxes at work and walked around 16,000 to 22,000 steps daily."
Lindsay Bottoms, a reader in exercise and health physiology at the University of Hertfordshire in England, previously told Newsweek that walking has many benefits.
She said: "Increasing physical activity, such as your step count through walking, contributes to improved cardiovascular fitness, weight management, improved mood, better sleep and enhanced cognitive function."
The Effect of Weight Loss on Overall Health and Well-Being
Along with his fitness, Harned's confidence and social skills have improved following his weight loss. He now works with a therapist to address his social anxiety and hopes to join a gym in the future.
His high blood pressure has evened out to normal, and he doesn't get out of breath so easily anymore.
Harned added: "It's been a new feeling to look in the mirror and like what I see. How I view myself is much more positive. My mental state is much better than before. I now feel more positive about the future."
Harned’s story demonstrates that significant weight loss can be achieved through simple strategies like calorie counting, intermittent fasting, and incorporating more walking into daily routines.
The Importance of Avoiding Backwards Slides
Maintaining weight loss is often more challenging than losing the weight itself. One individual who lost over 150 pounds through Slimming World shares their experience of regaining the weight and the lessons learned from that setback.
Initial Success and the Catastrophic Mistake
Slimming World was a revelation. The individual lost five pounds in the first week, followed by a further sixty pounds over the next four months and over 150 pounds over the next two years.
However, they made a catastrophic mistake in their weight loss by not exercising, setting them up for failure. They hadn’t addressed the cause of their eating, and in losing the weight, they had also lost a lot of muscle.
The Trigger for the Backwards Slide
The real trigger for their backwards slide was losing their father. The loss of their father sent their drinking and eating into overdrive. Over 18 months, all of the weight came back, and they were back to where they started.
Getting the Motivation Back Again
It took them three more years to get the motivation back to try again. Fast forward to January 2019, and they set new goals in a different way to previous years. Mainly the technique was to select multiple targets that included easy to achieve ones and more long-term goals.