Weight Loss Success: Benjamin Francis Committed To A Gym Routine And Lost 245 Pounds

Got a success story of your own? Send it to us at [e-mail] and you could be featured on the site!

Name: Benjamin Francis
Age: 28
Height: 6'1"
Before Weight: 430 pounds

How I Gained It: I've been overweight since I was a teenager, but my excessive emotional eating started when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I ate whenever I had a feeling I wanted to "fill" and food became that comfort. Nothing was off limits: I'd go to McDonald's and order two or three meals and still not feel satisfied, and then eat popcorn or pretzels -- anything to take my mind off of what my family was dealing with. Part of the problem was that once my mom became sick we didn't have a structured breakfast, lunch, dinner routine, it was more or less "fend for yourselves". I wasn't eating at the right times, which led to being hungry all the time. To put it bluntly, if I wasn't working, I was snacking on something.

Breaking Point: In October of 2010, when I was 27, I decided I was over eating my pain away. I didn't want my pain to be visible to the world.

How I Lost It: That first day, I signed up at Planet Fitness and got right into a routine. I made a goal to burn off at least 1,000 calories a day. I could accomplish this by doing an hour on a treadmill at a brisk pace and on an incline. After I was comfortable with that, I started using the elliptical for cardio and the Arc Trainer for strength-training. As I grew closer to my goal weight, I started circuit training three to four days a week. I hadn't been active since gym class in high school, but once I started working out it really changed my life. Now, if I miss a workout, it throws off my day. Going to the gym relieves stress and helps me focus. I go every day, and it's not a chore -- I look forward to it!

I cut out soft drinks cold turkey, eliminating as much processed sugar as possible. I started eating whole-grain foods and more natural foods. If I look on the side of the box and the ingredient list is long enough for a short story, I know it's not worth it. I also cut out fried foods completely. I looked at the food pyramid to make sure I was still getting the nutrition I needed without damaging my body.

For breakfast, I would do whole grain oats and an omelet. A mid-morning snack might be a banana, orange or fresh cranberries. For lunch I would pick a lean protein and have a nonfat yogurt. My mid-afternoon snack would be peanuts, air-popped popcorn or some veggies. Dinner would consist of a lean protein, broccoli, green beans and some type of healthy starch. My meals varied daily but stuck to these basic parameters.

Once I actually started to see the weight literally melt off, I became more motivated than I had ever been before. I was working out one day in September 2011, and I had my iPod going. I closed my eyes and imagined things I would do once I was "skinny". One of the things I thought of was going skydiving. Three days later (I was right at the weight limit) I did.

After Weight: 185 pounds

Check out more of our inspiring weight loss stories below:

For more on weight loss, click here.

Comments

[Marc Schryer]

01:38 PM on 02/12/2012

This is thee best and most consistent weight loss strategy, I've come across. Although, eating and living mindfully really isn't as much a strategy for weight loss as it is a strategy for a better, healthier life—weight loss, being a by-product and motivator.

My story is remarkably similar. One day, I woke up and knew I needed a lifestyle change. I signed up for a gym membership and started scrutinizing the food I ate. It has helped me lose 70 pounds to attain my ideal body weight. Great Job, Benjamin!

[William Anderson LMHC]

11:29 AM on 02/12/2012

Benjamin, you have done a wonderful courageous thing. My hat is off to you!

Now you need to dig in and do even more important work on finding out about the emotional eating and what you were trying to "fill". You need to look into truly healthy ways to satisfy your emotional, psychological or even spiritual needs. Healing your body can be your first step to an even greater recovery.

I lost 140 pounds after 25 years of obesity and I've maintained my ideal body weight for 25 years since. I know you can too.

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com

[nikki717]

08:29 PM on 02/11/2012

This is great. He looks great and very healthy. I lost over 120 pounds over 2 years and I and sooo fearfull that I will not be able to keep it off. That is the real battle.

[missy mitten]

05:50 PM on 02/10/2012

That's really impressive. I love these stories.

[jgarma]

02:50 PM on 02/10/2012

A really impressive story - most people can not reinvent themselves to, in effect, become another person. To do what this guy did... lose those hundreds of pounds... he did everything differently from what he did before.

Want to point out that although the title of this post emphasizes exercise, and it is indeed vitally important, all the recent studies on weight loss underscore that diet is relatively more important than exercise for losing weight.

Diet and exercise should not be decoupled! But know that it's easier to not eat 500 calories a day -- about what you'd need to do to lose one pound per week -- than exercise away 500 calories a day.

Again, do them both, because the exercise, particularly anaerobic and resistance training, will not only burn calories during the exercise, but will also build muscle with puts a higher metabolic demand on calorie burn than does the fat it replaces. Seven times as much!

Here are some resources to underscore my contentions...

"Dr Oz and the 14-Day Reboot Diet Plan" discusses the “3 Weight Loss Secrets”, the “5 Foods That Make You Fat”, and the “7 First Days” of the “14 Day Reboot Diet Plan”
http://wp.me/pA04z-o4

"Diet 101" reviews basic eating and cleansing methods. http://wp.me/pA04z-6i

"Megan Hoffman's 5 Minute Exercise" has this exercise coach demonstrate her quick, full-body routine, which is a great way to get started. http://www.garmaonhealth.com/energy/5-minute-exercise

[cucuy13]

02:36 PM on 02/10/2012

Congratulations, sir! I lost about 170 pounds myself when I reached my goal weight and my journey was very similar to yours. I'm a Planet Fitness member too!

[ginadeoliveira2008]

12:46 PM on 02/10/2012

Bravo Benjamin! I can't even realize what it means to lose that much weight. I lost mere 48 pounds and it was a sweat! Now you have your ideal weight please do what it takes to keep it. Not many out there would accomplish what you did.

[Quincy Renfroe]

10:56 AM on 02/10/2012

woah.. great job!