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Name: Jeremiah Lee Looper
Age: 31
Height: 6'
Before Weight: 372 pounds
How I Gained It: I quit playing football and baseball and started working when I turned 16. I started eating an obscene amount of fast food and ballooned from 270 pounds to possibly over 400 by high school graduation (I was too big for normal scales), and I stayed heavy.
Breaking Point: Around Thanksgiving 2010 I saw pictures of myself on Facebook and felt terrible about myself. A digital scale at work told me I weighed 372 pounds. I knew a change was in order and needed to be implemented as quickly as possible.
How I Lost It: I quit fast food "cold turkey". I say "cold turkey" because food is a difficult addiction to cope with. People have to eat. I began cooking for myself. This was a huge learning curve since I let MickeyD's and Burger King be my personal chef for the previous 12 years.
I started eating a protein-rich diet including fish, pork, chicken, turkey, nuts and vegetables. I eliminated most carbohydrates and sugar, and I began drinking only water.
At this time I also started walking stairs at work during lunch and breaks. The stairs I walked consisted of 37 steps from the floor to the top. When I started I could only walk to the top four times before I was winded and soaked with sweat. After I lost the weight, I could sprint up them 25 times.
I then started riding a bicycle. Initially it was just for relaxation, but I soon realized this would be a great mode of transportation, so I bought a much nicer, more travel-friendly bike and started commuting to work on it, 8.5 miles one way.
Now, life is a complete 180-degree turn from what it was three years ago. I can ride amusement park rides, fit into the backseat of a car, do my job easier, walk around in public without the overwhelming feeling of being watched and judged. I can take an actual bath (I've always had good hygiene but had to shower since I couldn't fit in the tub). Working on my race car is much easier, too. I can get under it without having it three feet off the ground. The car is faster too because it's lighter with me driving. And women actually notice me now. I don't know how to take it, but I sure do like it!
After Weight: 230 pounds. I have kept that stable since June 2011.
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