Chris Davis's story is not just about weight loss; it's a testament to the power of mindset, commitment, and the support of a dedicated team. From struggling with weight issues since childhood to conquering a grueling Spartan Ultra Beast obstacle course, Davis's journey is an inspiring example of how transformative change is possible with the right tools and attitude.
Early Struggles and the Emotional Toll of Weight
Davis recalls grappling with weight challenges from a young age, remembering wearing "husky" jeans as a child. While his mother offered reassurance, he reached a peak weight of 260 to 270 pounds. At the time, he didn't fully grasp the emotional impact, though he recognized the physical strain on his body, particularly his back, joints, and feet.
Looking back, Davis now understands the lack of confidence and low self-esteem he experienced during that period. He notes that outward appearances can be deceiving, masking inner struggles and self-doubt. "We may appear happy on the outside; however, on the inside you are not the person you can be and second-guess yourself many times over."
The Quest for a Solution: From Diets to Bariatric Surgery
Davis explored various weight loss methods, including Weight Watchers, fad diets, and consistent workouts. He found that working out consistently yielded the best results, emphasizing the importance of combining exercise with healthy eating. "The key is to continue working out and eating healthy. You can’t work out and not eat right expecting to lose weight. If you don’t stay committed to these things, then all else fails."
Ultimately, almost two years ago, Davis began considering bariatric surgery. Initially drawn to the Lap-Band procedure, he switched to the gastric sleeve after attending a bariatric surgery information seminar at UT Southwestern. He found the seminar provided sound, factual information that allowed him to make an informed decision about his treatment path.
Read also: Hemsworth Diet and Fitness
The Bariatric Surgery Experience: A Gift and a Tool
Davis credits his surgeon, Daniel Scott, M.D., and Anna Smith, P.A., for guiding him through the three-month preparation process. He found them consistently helpful and responsive to his questions. He also praises the entire bariatric team at the University Hospital Outpatient Surgery Center, including the dietitians, for their support throughout the process. "There have been no surprises. The key is doing what they tell you to do and exercising four to five times per week."
In the six months following his surgery, Davis lost 80 pounds and reported feeling "amazing." He describes the experience as a "new life" that has re-energized him in many aspects of his life. He surpassed his initial goals and looks forward to continued success. Davis attributes his success to his own commitment and the support of the bariatric team. "They have given me a gift and a tool to work with, and I plan to continue taking advantage of this gift and tool."
Davis recommends the procedure to others who are considering it, advising them to ensure it aligns with their desires and to commit to a lifelong change toward a healthier lifestyle. "My advice is to make sure this is what you want to do; you must have the right mindset, and be committed to making a lifelong change to a healthier life."
Conquering the Spartan Ultra Beast: A Testament to Physical and Mental Fortitude
After losing more than half his starting body weight of 696 pounds through bariatric surgery, strict diet, and regular exercise, Davis was selected by the CEO of Spartan Race to participate in a five-month training program in Vermont. This training prepared him for the Spartan Ultra Beast, a 26-mile obstacle course designed with the help of a Royal Marine, featuring challenges such as eight-foot walls and walking through fire.
In Vermont, Davis lost 120 pounds and completed 14.8 miles, including climbing 6,000 feet and overcoming 45 obstacles, of the Spartan Ultra Beast. An injury prevented him from finishing the entire 28-mile course.
Read also: Bulking Like Chris Bumstead
Maintaining Momentum: Back Home and Facing Temptations
Back in Atlanta, Davis faced the challenge of readjusting to his old routine and temptations while continuing to pursue his weight loss goals. "I've had some hard times readjusting after coming home from Vermont."
Davis learned about the value of social media after he was the last to cross the finish line in the three-mile 2012 Georgia Spartan Sprint. Staffers, worried that the then-388-pound Davis would not make it back to his car after the race, escorted him there. On the way, barely able to walk, Davis shared the story of his last three hundred pounds of weight loss. "Immediately, there were like 80 people saying, 'That's awesome."
Chris Davis and Gary Player
Chris Davis asked Gary Player for putting advice in 2009. Player, as fanatical about fitness as he is about golf, called the Winnebago teenager “a fat little pig.” He was trying to help, and he did. Davis met Player on a Pebble Beach putting green five years ago as a Christian Life junior when he was invited to the First Tee Open. He met him again Aug. 2 in Minneapolis as part of a First Tee promotion at the 3M Championship’s annual Greats of Golf exhibition, and Player introduced Davis to Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. He did interviews for stories in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, the local ESPN radio station and a live interview on the Golf Channel. “The one on live TV was really special,” Davis said. “I never knew it was going to blow up the way it did.”
Members of the 2009 First Tee class were asked to write an essay on their most memorable First Tee experience. Davis wrote about his encounter with Player, and how that inspired him to lose 65 pounds in seven months and become a better student. He was immediately called by the PGA Tour’s entertainment department and invited to Minneapolis. Davis said he was “shell-shocked” when Player challenged him five years ago. But Player, who won nine major championships, didn’t just berate Davis. He challenged him for 90 minutes, telling him how a person’s physical shape “carries over to different parts of your life and how it could make me a better athlete and a better person.”
Davis went home and gained 10 more pounds. “I was a big sweets dude and had dessert after every meal. But as I started gaining more weight, I realized I have to listen to him. Things were getting out of control. It was tough. All my friends in high school were eating pizza and fries and were 150 pounds, but I realized I wasn’t them.” Davis cut his intake to 2,000 calories a day, and three servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit every day. He also exercised and ran for 90 minutes five days a week. He ended up dropping from 225 pounds to 165 in seven months. But even then everything wasn’t perfect. “I struggled with my golf game, trying to play with a completely new body,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if everything I was doing was worth it.” But he eventually improved on the golf course too and reached state for the first time as a senior. Now he plays Division III golf for Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Davis was one of the top five golfers on the team as a junior last year, averaging 80.7 strokes, when the Pioneers finished second in the Midwest Conference tournament at Aldeen in Rockford. Davis is also on the Dean’s List at Carroll, with a 3.5 GPA in elementary education. Far improved from the 2.75 mark he carried before Gary Player gave him a tough talking to. The reunion, though, was all slaps on the back. “It was completely unreal,” Davis said. “We went to breakfast with him, me and my parents. Then we were ushered into a private room. The entire time we talked about fitness, golf and the obesity crisis. We loved every minute of it. Then Gary and Jack and Arnie had a press conference, and he brought me over to meet them. "Have you heard about Chris Davis? Not too long ago he was 700lbs."
Read also: Diet and Recipes for Cancer Healing
Chris Davis Nearly Died Doing What His Father Loved
ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis abhors hyperbole and deflects attention. So when he says, “They had to revive him, he almost bled out,” you believe him. Then he starts choking up. “Give me a minute here,” Davis says, taking a deep breath and letting out a loud exhale before recounting one of the worst days of his life. It started with watching his son play college baseball 18 months ago-he went 2-for-3! But hours later, Davis was banging on a hospital door. On the other side, his 19-year-old son had vomited, lost his sight, and slid out of his chair, unconscious. The first thing Chris remembers about March 18, 2017, is the sun. The previous day in College Park, Md., had been cloudy with temperatures in the 40s. He’d come off the bench, singling as a pinch hitter in the series opener against Maryland. In the second game, his mom would get to watch Chris start in centerfield for the first time (he’d missed the previous season with a shoulder injury). And he wouldn’t have to wear an undershirt. Then came the sixth inning fly ball from Terrapin third baseman AJ Lee. Running to his left, Davis recorded the out but then collided with right fielder Nick Hernandez. Davis instantly bounced up and threw the ball in, keeping a runner at third. “It hurt but I didn't think there was anything seriously wrong,” Davis says. He stayed in the game, adding a single in the seventh and otherwise hiding his pain from his coaches. On the bus following the 6-2 defeat, Davis pulled out his phone and pulled up WebMD. After an off-handed remark by teammate Cody Phillips, he looked up the symptoms of a ruptured spleen. “All right,” he thought, thumbing through the page. “Well, I've got pain in my side and in my shoulder, but that’s because I ran into somebody. If I get dizzy, then we'll have an issue.” The team and all the parents gathered that evening at Washington, D.C.’s Busboys and Poets for a celebratory dinner. To start, each player got up and introduced himself and his family. When Chris’s turn came, “I just remember the room was absolutely spinning,” he says. Afterwards, the players went to get food, but Davis wasn’t interested. “For me,” he says, “That's a big deal when I don't want to eat.” Minutes later, Rece was taking his son to the hospital. Leigh was sitting right next to Chris when things turned dire. A nurse was measuring his weight and taking his temperature one minute. Then, “He said, ‘I can’t see, I can’t see, I can’t see anymore,’” Leigh recalled, “And he kept getting louder and louder because he couldn’t really hear either.” Rece rushed through the door and into the room as several people lifted Chris onto a stretcher and turned him on his side so he wouldn’t throw up on himself. Confirming what Phillips had feared hours earlier, they told Rece and Leigh that the hospital wasn’t equipped with the surgery equipment to repair their son’s spleen. They wanted to fly him to a trauma center, but a helicopter wasn’t available. Instead, Leigh got into an ambulance with Chris while Rece drove Elizabeth. “Not knowing during that 15-minute drive, that was one of the more harrowing times I’ve ever had,” Rece said. Only later would he learn how alarmed the nurse in the ambulance was about Chris’ sinking blood pressure, telling the driver to go faster. Faster. “There are images from that night that I will probably never shake. Things my wife and daughter and I experienced that night that I’m not sure you’ll ever quite put to bed.” Doctors at Washington Hospital Medical Center immediately went to work on Chris. He needed six pints of blood (more than half a healthy person’s total volume). But he was still so pale. Leigh couldn’t look at him without crying. “Dad,” Chris asked Rece, “Are they not telling me something?” His vital signs were in the normal range, but, 24 hours after his surgery, a nurse convinced the doctors that a Division 1 athlete should be in much better shape than “the normal range.” Chris’s fitness had probably helped him survive the previous day’s massive blood loss. But now it was obfuscating further damage. This time, doctors cut Chris from his sternum to his belly button to find the root of the problem. They discovered another laceration on his spleen and decided to remove the organ entirely. By midday Monday, 48 hours after the collision, color finally returned to Chris’s face.
A Family's Perspective on Health and Well-being
Going through the recruiting process as a parent didn’t dampen Rece’s lifelong love for amateur athletics. But seeing first-hand the work that goes into playing even a non-revenue sport reaffirmed his belief that big-time players ought to be able to better capitalize on their contributions. Then came the injury. “I do have a lot more sympathy and empathy for parents of players who step up and take control of the player’s health and wellbeing,” Davis says. “I learned the lesson that it’s okay to question, it’s okay for players and families to take ownership,” he adds. “And not only on medical issues. Just generally speaking, I have even less of a problem with a person doing what they think is best for them.” Davis brings up Clemson QB Kelly Bryant’s decision to transfer. “He’s taking ownership of his future,” Davis says. “I have zero problem with that.” With their new perspective, and having now heard so many stories from others, Leigh encouraged Rece to write something about their experience. He could explain what happened, warn other parents, and advocate for better health education among players. It’s not just hits to the head that can cause serious problems, Rece would write. But he hasn’t. “I have learned a lot but I’m by no means some kind of expert on when to recognize a spleen injury,” he says.