I was always big. As the years went on, I just got bigger by eating anything and everything.
Unfortunately, my health got worse as the years went by as well. I had my first child at the age of 23 and as the pregnancy went on I kept getting bigger and bigger. After my 3rd child came along, I was closing in on 350lbs.
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and was put on numerous medications. After my 4th child, I topped out at a whopping 400lbs! My health was so bad that I couldn’t even take 3 steps without losing my breath and feeling like I was going to die.
The Turn Around
My weight loss motivation came one day when I got a call when I was at work. My wife at the time said that my dad had a massive heart attack and had passed away. I went to see my doctor a week later because I was having chest pains. She said one thing that completely changed my mindset. She said, “John if you want to live to see your kids have their own kids, then you have to lose weight, if not there was a space next to your dad.”
I started by changing my diet. I went from the white rice, white bread, all the oily and greasy foods to salads, wheat bread, and brown rice. After 6 months, I started to walk. I went down from 400lbs to 375lbs. I started feeling good about the weight loss and told myself that I could do this.
After a year, I dropped to 325lbs and went from a 62 waist to a 48. I felt better and decided to go for 25 more pounds. After 20 months, I was down to 270lbs and I was walking over a mile a day. I started to get addicted to dieting and exercising.
I went through a divorce and started to get depressed. I started to eat unhealthy again and I soon found myself lonely and depressed. Food was my only source of happiness. Then one day I went to the mall and I ran into my first true love from school. We talked and went out to dinner. She was going through the same thing as me. Her son’s dad had left her and she was raising her son alone. We started dating and spending alot of time together. I started to diet hard again.
I went walking about 3 times a day and started my salad and browns again. I got myself down to 225lbs and thought that was enough, but I was wrong, I was now hooked on dieting and exercising. I soon had my 5th child and was down to 175lbs and running a full 6-7 miles twice a day. I looked in the mirror and said, “damn I got this, I can lose another 25lbs”! I was on a strict 1100 calorie diet, which involved no sodas or sugar. Strictly water or if I wanted a little taste, I had some crystal light.
After 3 years and many trials, I hit my all time low weight, 132lbs. My doctor said the funniest thing I ever heard. She said, “John, you have to gain a little weight”! After all the years of being called all the fat words in the book and being the brunt of everyone’s fat jokes, I had someone tell me that I had to gain weight. My doctor told me she was amazed when she did my diabetes test, as it was like I never had diabetes.
The Present
Now I’m holding a weight of 147-150lbs and 11% body fat. My life has changed, my health is great, and I have a new lease on life. I’m never tired like I was before and my cardio levels have become unreal. It’s like God gave me a new me.
My Advice to Others Needing To Lose Weight
My words of wisdom: Anything can be accomplished if you put your mind and soul into it. If I can do it, anyone can! Always remember that life is precious and that life starts with you!!!!
The 3 most important things that I would like to say to everyone who is struggling with their weight and health.
- Set a goal, start with a small goal, then work from there.
- Get support from loved ones, if it wasn’t for my wife and kids, I would have never got to this point. Make them understand that you are doing it for yourself, so you can be around for them.
- Love yourself… because I found out that if you don’t love yourself, then you won’t care enough to to help yourself.
By John Toledo III
thenx John for such an inspiring story. i too am on a weight loss programme.and i hv a very supportive partner and family in my weight loss scheme.kip posting so tht we get inspired.right now m a 99kg.ws 100kg in Dec bt lost a kg since then.my goal is to hit 80kg and maintain tht.eating ryt is wat i hv to do and kip exercising.i do aerobics with a personal trainer.
I never eat after 7pm. I drink water when I start to crave.
My regement starts at 1am. I get up and have a cup of coffee with non fat creamer and splenda, a piece of whole wheat toast,1 banana, and 4 egg whites. Then I head out the door to work…Then i keep a 1200 calorie diet for the rest of the day and evening..Like I said to the others, try small changes in the diet and regement yourself from there. Try lower cals, more exercise. get a good night of sleep if possible. Take your multi vitamins. see what works for you.
Keep up the good work…
Samiksha, thanks for book marking me, I will be posting more. any ?’s that you have, feel free to ask…
Hey vikki..dont get bummed out. Stress and being bummed out plays big roles in your dieting. when you stress out, everyone has the tendency to turn to food for comfort. so when you stress or are bummed, dont open the fridge, instead put on your jogging shoes and walk or run off your stress…Think of the good that your diet is doing for you, and think of LIFE…
Keep up the good work…
Claire,I have had many tough times during my diet. Obsatcles always come and go…Its how you handle them…every time I had a problem, i turned to dieting, and working out. It became a way of life to me. At times my wife told me to stop over dueing it. If you change up your diet a little and add more exercise, you will overcome the “Plateau Syndrome” Just dont kill yourself doing it. Like I sy to everyone, little changes at a time…
Keep up the good work…Im proud of you…
No problem Ed…Keep up the good work…
Thanks to all of you who have read this. It makes me feel like I can inspire a nation. I just want people to know that its not hard to lose weight. The only part that is hard, is to want to lose weight. Everyone who is posting inspires me. Just to know that people want to take their health more seriously inspires me to want to help more.
So to all of you…..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK…GOOD HEALTH LEADS TO GOOD LIVES, AND LIFE IS THE GREATEST THING EVER….
TO MY WIFE AND KIDS…I DO IT ALL FOR YOU…JUST TO SEE YOUR SMILING FACES AND TO KNOW THAT I WILL BE HERE TO SEE IT FOR MANY MORE YEARS TO COME…I LOVE YOU ALL…
LOVE YOURSELVES EVERYONE…LOOK IN THE MIRROR EVERYDAY AND SAY..”DAM, I LOVE YOU”…AND SEE THE MILE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU….
I cut more cals and walked another extra mile. took a step back and tried to assess why i was stuck. counted cals more, counted how much water intake i was doing. alot of the wall syndrome has to do with liquids. water weight freaks people out. they step on the scale in the morning for their “dry” weight, and see 200lbs., then they eat and exercise, then pump 64 oz. of water, then they jump on the scale an hour later and see 202lbs. they forget that they just replenished their liquids. try a lower cal intake, like 1450 or 1500 and see how that works.
You an inspiration. I i just wanted to say thank you for sharing such an amazing story. It helps me to live healty and make small goals for myself.
John,
You are an inspiration. I have recently started dieting and exercising. I weighed 275 lbs 2 months ago and am now down to 235. I’ve been there for about 2 weeks now, and the scale have not moved at all. When you hit the wall, what did you do to break it down? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Daily Calorie intake: 1640
Exercising: Crunches, pushpins, 1.5 mile walk/jog, and about 20-30 minutes of wii boxing.
You an inspiration John!! Good for you! I recently joined a gym (finally!) and go 3-4 times a week. I lost 19lbs last year and trying very hard to lose this last 10lbs. I have plateaued since January. What advise can you give me to break this plateau?
Do you stop eating after a certain time at night? Thank you and God Bless You.
Wendy
John! Your story is very touching and inspiring!
I’ve also been on a diet for about 6 months and I’ve lost 30 pounds so far(I started at 183 pounds and now I weigh in 150-153 pounds and my height is 5’5″1/2). I’m now at plateau but your story is pushing me go for another 25 pounds more!:)
If you have a story about you overcoming a tough time?
Thanks!
ok John i’ve decided to get it over with already and lose ALL this weight! I saw your story and was inspired once and for all, i just wanted to say thank you for sharing such an amazing story and I love you Bro!!!!
To everyone that I have touched and inspired, thank you for all your support…Like the Nike theme says, “just Do It”…dont let anyone or anything get to you or get in your way of achieving your goals…
I wish I could get my message out to all of the world, Mr. Ted Kallmyer, the man that put me on this web site and gave me a chance o share my story…I get a start…Hopefully this is my start to inspire more people….
Thank you all again, and God Bless you all….
“Keeping The World Healthy, One Step at A Time”….
John Toledo
Teresa…its been a long time, but you were always my best friend through thick and thin…im proud of you, keep up the good work…just believe in yourself, and you will achieve any goal you put your mind to….
set small goals for yourself…small goals are the easiest ones to knock out, when you start knocking out your small goals, it give your more drive to tell yourself that larger goals can be achieved….
Amazing story i was feeling a little bummed out about hitting a brick wall with losing weight and its giving me a boot up the bum to be positive and work harder thank you :0)
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff on your post.
John! my high school friend…..i am overwhelmed by your amazing preseverance and strength on your discipline to wanting to change your life! i too, am going through the exact same thing and just got hooked on working out and being healthy. Mind you, i just started like 1 week ago, but already cut out all my whites and ZERO sugar and started working out. i only lost 7 pounds, but thats enough motivation for me to keep going!!!!! no more partying for me. and thats okay. my health absolutely comes first. i always wanted to know how you lost all that weight, and now i know and truely inspired!!!! thanks for sharing braddah <3
My whole theory on life is….Live Life, Love Life….I found out that addictions are mind over matter…If you keep telling yourself you want it, eventually you will get it. It became a matter of telling myself, “NO” to unhealthy lifestyles. And “YES” to being healthy and being around for my Family…I wanted to be a role model for my children, someone they can be proud of…Just remember 1 thing, no matter what anyone says, change has to start with you…
Awesome story. Just shows how much commitment and internal change has to go along with the external!
Very inspiring, John! I also lost a great deal of weight (90 lbs) and have kept it off for a few years now. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you are at a healthy weight, isn’t it? Great job!!
Good for you! Thanks for sharing your story–very inspiring!
Amazing! You said something that got me wondering. You said you got addicted to diet and exercise. I have heard (not sure if it is true) that some people are more prone to addictions than others. Is is possible that many people get addicted to weight gain, and what they need to do is figure out like you did how to get addicted to something more healthy?