The Moment I Knew: Bryan Ganey Lost Almost 300 Pounds To Save His Life

Bryan Ganey felt helpless, humiliated and depressed. He had given up, resigning himself to being overweight for the rest of his life.

But, at nearly 600 pounds, he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, later diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs. "I'll never forget it," Ganey says in the video above. "I almost died."

With plenty of time to think during six days recovering in the hospital, Ganey says he realized he had been given a second chance, and set out to lose the weight once and for all. Declining doctors' suggestions of diet pills and surgery, Ganey revamped his eating habits, eating 2,500 calories a day of fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy and oatmeal, plus drinking lots of water.

He also got moving, pushing a grocery cart for support while walking at first, and then gradually working his way up to walking and running in 5K and 10K races.

"I just completed a 10K race this past weekend," Ganey wrote in an email to The Huffington Post, "shaving one hour off my time from last year, when I was only able to walk the race."

"I still have some weight to lose," he admits, in a longer video detailing his weight loss experience. He says his goal is to reach 200 pounds, which he expects will take another year. "But you can take your life back, you don't have to accept being overweight."

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Comments

[crawfordslc]

08:08 PM on 04/06/2012

He need to come to Texas and inspire these hootchie mama's here.

[kim272727]

07:37 PM on 04/06/2012

Thanks for the inspirational story. It always motivates me when I see real people making real changes to their lives. Good for you Bryan!!! I wish you all the best.

[kasson719]

07:33 PM on 04/06/2012

Best wishes to him as he continues his weight loss journey. Well done, Bryan!

[jimsit]

06:07 PM on 04/06/2012

A warm,& sincere congratulations to Mr Ganney on his decision, and subsequent follw through, to successfully lose 300 pounds.I fight the teeter-totter weight issue from 175-195 over and over again, which I understand is not healthy, yet better than gaining 4-500 pounds. In America I appear about average, yet know I am not average at all, but definitely overweight, and playing with the issue, rather than really dealing with it.

Again Mr. Ganney, I salute you for your successful outcome, and support you in maintaining it over time. You clearly love life, and I hope you have many years to enjoy it.

[Omamac]

04:14 PM on 04/06/2012

Good for you, Bryan. You know that you can lose the next 100 pounds.

[knicanik]

04:03 PM on 04/06/2012

way to go...hope you reach your goal Bryan! you are an inspiration.

[lordairgtar]

03:39 PM on 04/06/2012

I was a chubby kid. I was raised by my grandparents who grew up in the depression. Something about that culture causes the "eat all yer food" syndrome. You're told early on to not waste what's on your plate. Even if you weren't hungry, you were forced to finish your food. My paternal grandparents owned a cafe. Grandma loved to cook and it was her expression of love. I just love good food. Not fast food or stuff like that but really good food. That causes a weight gain that slowly appears. After awhile it takes hold and you can't stop your habits. I got up to 476 pounds! Wound up with diabetes. I'm now down to 385 and still have a ways to go. Portion size, avoiding starch, fried foods and maybe once every two months have a night out dining at a restaurant. I work in a factory, I still need to move around more...walking the dog, etc. Do something, walk through the malls, go to car shows, shoot baskets. This isn't just an American problem, I see overweight people in every country. My forebears were farmers on my mom's side. While actively dairying, my maternal Grandpa ate home made white bread with lard smeared, topped with sugar, yet he was thin and strong. His children got out of farming and are all fat. It's activity in labor that kept them fit. Now we have gyms, but you have to join one and go .

[oscarsmama]

07:35 PM on 04/06/2012

Good for you! Keep it up. I need yo lose 30 lbs or so and you are an inspiration to me. If you can do it, so can I. Thanks for sharing your story.

[rav1267]

03:06 PM on 04/06/2012

Way to go Bryan. Keep up the good work and may God bless you for turning your life around.

[bmitche]

02:37 PM on 04/06/2012

WOW! almost 300 pounds? You are quite an inspiration Bryan.

[MG1985]

02:16 PM on 04/06/2012

Still fat.

[rav1267]

03:08 PM on 04/06/2012

At least he is trying to change his life. I've seen Americans that don't move an eyelash at all. It is very sad.

[lordairgtar]

03:18 PM on 04/06/2012

Really? Like one can just snap their fingers and be instantly skinny? It's a long process.

[MG1985]

08:50 AM on 04/09/2012

It’s a long process to get that way too. It shows a complete lack of discipline, self control and self respect; no pity what-so-ever for people that get that way.

And the classic rebuttal to my statement, to save you the trouble; " we'll you don't know what he was going through in his life."

Not buying it. Running relieves stress better than stuffing your face with nachos and cheese.

[marymeade2]

01:23 PM on 04/06/2012

As much as I admire Mr. Ganey for losing all this weight I can't help but ask, why does anyone get to that weight at all? Why do some eat so much that they become grossly obese?

[justmybrain]

01:37 PM on 04/06/2012

Basically the same kinds of things that produce anorexia, produce obesity. Lack of self esteem, putting everything and everyone else first, because you don't feel important enough on your own. As weight is gained the person becomes more and more depressed causing feelings of guilt, and a total lack of control. Eating disorders are rarely about the food, but more about what the food represents.

[marymeade2]

01:48 PM on 04/06/2012

Thank you for your response. Very sad, I hope Mr. Ganey fixed his self too.

[drkamayani]

02:55 PM on 04/06/2012

True and most processed food is GARBAGE. Filled with substances that make people want to eat more. I saw a great video recently about weight loss. What was so great about it was the fact that these three guys had all weighted over 300 pounds and lost the excess. Main point: Fresh fruits and vegetables, more raw food, less meat. They suggested just adding more of the good stuff, not forbidding the "bad." Eventually the beneficial foods crowd out the GARBAGE.

[MeganNicole White]

01:40 PM on 04/06/2012

Because food is good :) hahha just kidding.

[frycat44]

01:19 PM on 04/06/2012

my mom never drank or smoked,was always eating right,exercising and was never praised now we praise people because they were slobs or drug addicts,you have to OD or become obese to get attention, great praise the ones who finally does right when there life is at stake, not good people.

[spirrigold21]

03:09 PM on 04/06/2012

Really? You have no idea what this person has been through in his life. They could have had a horrible experience as a child or young adult that made them have a grim outlook on life and think that eating was their only form of comfort. Believe me I was one of those people. One day I finally told myself that I accepted that I would never be a supermodel, but that doesn't mean I'm not beautiful. I lost almost 15 lbs (I wasn't that much overweight from the start) and I feel great! I'm lucky I noticed my eating trend before it got too out of hand, because I was right around the corner from gaining another 20 lbs from unhealthy eating habits. People LITERALLY just can't control it sometimes, their brain makes it extremely hard for them practice self-control. They have to practice at it for years to be able to finally get their mindset right where they can lose weight. Good for him, and of course good for your mother that she was healthy from the start, unfortunately that's not how it is for a lot of people, but that does NOT make them "bad" people.

[gabillyjacks]

01:17 PM on 04/06/2012

Exactly what he gets from stuffing his face.

[jimsit]

06:15 PM on 04/06/2012

You must be very uncomfortable in your skin, to have no apparent compassion for another's success story. You would be surprised at what compassion would do fo your insecurities. May you discover that this is so.

[gabillyjacks]

08:20 PM on 04/06/2012

I only told it like it is. He has no guts for losing weight. And most likely don't care. It takes a lot of mentality to overcome weight lost in some people & others it comes natural. But if it was going to kill me I believe I would be pushing away from the table quite readily.

[Kahi-Lan]

12:48 PM on 04/06/2012

wow pretty inspiring

[frycat44]

01:22 PM on 04/06/2012

he did'nt care till it was going to kill him not really insperational to try and live.

[George Dayton]

02:43 PM on 04/06/2012

wait till YOUR moment comes...

[drkamayani]

02:55 PM on 04/06/2012

Trying is not inspirational; succeeding is.

[tribeffl3]

11:29 AM on 04/06/2012

Congrats!!!!! Just shows you can do it by eating right, exercising and determination. I'm so tired of the medical profession being so quick to prescribe pills for everything, let alone surgery.