Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Fitness trainer gains 70 pounds to inspire, empathize

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392985/Fitness-trainer-gains-70-pounds-to-inspire-empathize.html


Manning decided to trade in his sculpted mid-section for a pronounced gut and add at least 50 pounds to his 6 foot, 2 inch frame over the course of six months. After five-and-a-half months, he's managed to pack on close to 70 pounds and tips the scales around 265 pounds.

"Now I understand a little bit more of how hard and how real addictions are to foods," he said. "It's just like a drug. It really is."

I thought this was pretty interesting. It's funny how he had to force himself to eat unheathy and now it's "normal". The before and after picture can be found here:

http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/

Holy crap that's a before and after picture I'd never publish!

Sweet....so if I lose 60-70 pounds, I'll lose most of my chest and belly hair? Awesome.

:thumb:

/sarc

lol

He got fat but it isn't his natural state. It likely will be easier for him to lose and keep off the weight than others who have had it creep up on them over the years and who may have propensities, genetic and otherwise, to be fat.

Or at least that is my guess. :)

funny thing is that he said he is hooked on sugary items.

But there is much more too it then just being fat. Trust me.... I am an expert at this! :)

#1 - why would anyone purposely let themselves get fat over such a short period of time? Didn't the Supersize Me guy do this already?
#2 - as others have mentioned, being fat is something most of us have dealt with for most of their lifetime - in high school I was 300-350 lbs and ENCOURAGED by my football coaches to stay out of the weight room because they felt I was strong enough and out of fear I would lose more weight than just playing football alone and therefore wouldn't be as intimidating
#3 - being a fat guy my whole life, there were food choices made along the route that were poor and there may have been some binge eating habits, but I NEVER could polish off a dozen doughnuts, not even hot, fresh out of the oven, glazed Krispy Cremes (which have got to be the least dense doughnut out there)
#4 - he did something in his video that as a former 500 lb guy made me sick...he ate AFTER he felt full - the reason why so many people get obese is because they don't recognize the signs of felling full until after they have already eaten too much

I tried a bunch of different weight loss methods but I always gained it back and then some until I finally decided that the only way I could lose a lot of weight and successfully keep it off was going the surgical route as a tool for continued success.

phly

I think the reasoning behind the whole thing is to learn what his clients are going through,how the feel and such. The Super Size me guy was completely different story. He was out to prove how bad fast food is for you. This guy has been fitness obsessed his whole life and I think he will have a slight advantage to getting back in shape however I have a feeling he wont find it as easy to get that weight off as it was to put it on.

but if he is able to quickly lose the weight because he has underlying muscle that needs to be sparked into remembering, then is the empathy really valid?
If he loses 50, 60 even 70 lbs in 6 months, that is a general unrealistic goal for many overweight people. Once the water retention weight drops the first 15 pounds, the weight loss is drastically slowed.

I went from someone that needed well over 3000 calories a day just to maintain my weight to consuming 1200 with moderate exercise and I lost 40 pounds in 6 months. When I went on protein based, low carb (liquid) diet before my surgery in February, I lost another 30 lbs in a month.
and I was 500 pounds to start and 418 when I had my surgery.
He can empathize all he wants but he will never live the struggle that overweight people go through their entire lives... 6 mos. of being fat is not 6-10-30 years

He got fat but it isn't his natural state. It likely will be easier for him to lose and keep off the weight than others who have had it creep up on them over the years and who may have propensities, genetic and otherwise, to be fat.

Or at least that is my guess. :)

From personal experience, I'll agree.

Last year around this time I went through some surgery that put me off any real exercise until after the New Year. In that time due to the lack of exercise and combination of medications I was on, I gained about 30 pounds (from 235 up to 262). When I was able to get back on track with my routine and start riding again, the combination of riding and some dietary changes (no more empty booze calories, cut out most junk food snacks) and I was able to get myself back down to 235 pretty quickly. Dropping below that was a little more difficult, but I managed it and I've stayed static there for around 10 weeks now.

It would be ironic if he couldn't lose the weight.

I will read some of the blog (I quickly went through it) but my initial thought is though it is an interesting experiment its not even close to what someone that has lost a ton of weight experiences and its just a way to tell his clients "see I was fat too and I did it".

I'll put the way that I see it simply....

I could drink a lot for 6 months and then tell an alcoholic after my little experiment was done "see I did it, I know how you feel and what you are going through" and then pretend to know how they feel and show them how to quit.....

JMHO but then you know what they say about opinions :) they are like belly buttons... everyone has one and some of em stink :)

Blah, nice gimmick, but as others in the thread have said, not the same.

i would at least give him props that he is doing it. Cant say that for the majority of trainers, nutritionists and dieticians. Yes, it is not the same but a hell of a lot better then what others do.