Body Transformation: Body Fat Beat Down!

AGE 22 HEIGHT 6'2" WEIGHT 305 lbs BODY FAT 26%	AGE 27 HEIGHT 6'2" WEIGHT 214 lbs BODY FAT 12%

I wasn't a huge kid, but I wasn't skinny either. I was active and always participated in sports, primarily basketball. My body went through serious changes between grades 7 and 8 because of two broken ankles and I gained 30-40 pounds. In high school, I still played basketball, but football became my new sport.

I graduated at 260 pounds and played college football at a couple Division-III schools. My position changed from high school to college, which required me to put on even more weight. Unfortunately, I didn't know a healthy way to achieve this, so I ate everything I could. By my sophomore year, I weighed a whopping 305 pounds.

By my junior year, I stopped playing collegiate football and focused on academics. I stayed active in the weight room and played lots of basketball with friends, but I wasn't dropping the weight I needed to. I weighed 280 pounds as a senior and came to the conclusion that I didn't want to carry the weight anymore.

The weight loss experience only changed the physical aspects of my life. Fortunately, I was always an athlete and an athletic person, so I was never teased or made fun of. I pride myself on being the person I think God wants me to be. I never had enemies and got along with everyone.

The main changes to my life were in the amount and variations of physical activities I could do. I have much more endurance now, so I'm able to run 5k races and compete in obstacle runs. I'm currently training for the "Spartan Run" and there's no way I could do it if I was still 300 pounds. People know my experience and what I've been through, so now they come to me for advice. I love helping people who are serious about reaching their fitness goals.

My transformation started off as the hardest feat I've ever encountered. I was an athletic person, but was always terrible with my diet. When I first started to try to lose weight, I wasn't losing much because I didn't know proper nutrition. I thought eating two McChicken sandwiches from McDonald's as opposed to two double cheeseburgers was considered eating healthy. There were definitely times I wanted to quit and continue my unhealthy ways.

Thank God I kept at it and decided to educate myself. My time training was always on-point because I enjoyed it and had a committed partner who relied on me to make my appointments. I was extremely self-motivated. I looked at pictures of bodybuilders on Bodybuilding.com and wanted to look like them. I wanted a physique that people admired. More importantly, I wanted to be healthy.

The aspect that challenged me most was the diet. I never had a problem making it to the gym because of my football history. The problem was that I had no idea what or how to eat. I overcame it by counting calories. I figured that I could eat whatever I want as long as I only consumed a set amount of calories (1,500).

About a month into the method, I realized that if I ate certain foods I could eat much more throughout the day. I started to focus on eating low-calorie food. That led me to eat more fruits, veggies, and lean meat, and my diet improved.

I'm currently in training for my first physique competition. I hope to compete in October 2013 and know it will be a tough road because of the diet. Don't get me wrong, I eat much healthier than most people, but to be competitive I need to be in the best shape of my life. Eating anything but clean foods isn't an option. I look forward to the challenge.

I would love to become a personal trainer. Currently, I'm a second grade teacher and am also pursuing my masters in educational leadership. I'm busy and don't have much time to study and pursue the personal trainer certification, but it's still in the cards. I always offer advice to friends and family who want to transform or improve their bodies. The people I help have seen progress in short amounts of time. There is no better feeling than helping someone achieve goals.

I'm living proof that it can happen. I went from 305 to 205 pounds in a reasonable amount of time. No matter what your circumstances are or where you start, I guarantee you can do it.

Those of you currently in the transformation process, I want to say congratulations on your current accomplishments and on the person you will become. It's an awesome feeling to see what your body can become. Keep pushing yourself until you can't push anymore.

If you look at my BodySpace account, you'll notice that my account was created during the same timeframe I started my weight loss transformation. I cannot say enough what the site did for me (I'm getting chills as I type this). I honestly don't know if I could have accomplished what I did without the site. I learned to count calories from the articles, discovered new exercises from the workouts, and ordered all my supplements from Bodybuilding.com.

The most influential piece of the website is BodySpace. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing average joes like me go from zero to hero. Seeing others do it gave me motivation to accomplish what I have. I'm beyond grateful for everything Bodybuilding.com did for me.