AGE: 24
CITY: Toronto
By The Numbers: 300 at my heaviest, and currently 194, total weight loss of 106 pounds
The Weight Gain: As a kid, I was a pretty healthy and skinny for the most part. I was always very active, played hockey since I was 4 and I can’t remember ever not playing outside. The weight gain started when I was about 10. Unfortunately, my weight gain was triggered as a result of both my parents going through a separation during that year.
I don’t think I really realized how quickly I was gaining weight until I was in high school and insecurities set in.
The Final Straw: There’s so much that went through my head when I think about all the situations, comments, and ridicule I endured that made me want to change. The final straw had to have been somewhere between a McDonald's and all-you-can-eat sushi binge — but all jokes aside, it happened when the realized I was disrespecting myself, and I wasn't loving myself and how I looked. In turn, how could I expect friends, co-workers, potential clients, or new partners to respect me?
I wanted to be healthy, I wanted to wake up in the morning and not look in the mirror and feel disgusted with myself. I wanted to be happy, and shop at all the stores I liked. I didn't want have to battle searching for the largest size in a store and pray it would somehow fit. And then there’s the whole having a beach body thing. I’m a very social and outgoing guy, so being out and about and always in public eye, I wanted to been seen differently.
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