I Lost 330lbs To Save My Life | BRAND NEW ME
MIKE GORMAN once weighed over 500lbs thanks to a food addiction - but the inspired 47-year-old has now lost a staggering 330lbs. Mike, from Rhode Island, has struggled with weight his entire life leading to a roller coaster ride of extreme highs and lows. Mike told Truly: “I was over 200lbs at 10 years old and that was the first time that my family got me on a diet." But as Mike first began to lose some of his weight, it managed to creep back on and he developed a strong food addiction. Mike couldn't control the addiction and he carried on eating whatever he could get his hands on... Mike tried everything to lose weight and knew something had to change otherwise his life was at risk. Fast-forward to today, and Mike has lost an incredible 330lbs through his strong-will and determination.
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00:00 I started a lifelong obsession with sneak eating,
00:03 with having extra meals when there was no one else around.
00:06 I would go to fast food more than three times a day.
00:09 I developed a strong food addiction.
00:12 I find myself 540 pounds at my heaviest ever.
00:15 I was killing myself with a knife and a fork,
00:17 and I realized I had to put them down.
00:19 And over the past three years,
00:21 I have now come down to my lowest adult weight ever.
00:24 My friend Andrew, he's gonna be coming today.
00:28 Andrew was actually someone who I knew
00:30 when I was 540 pounds,
00:31 but we haven't seen each other face to face
00:33 in over two years,
00:34 so I think this is gonna be pretty awesome.
00:36 What up?
00:39 Oh my God.
00:40 I was over 200 pounds at 10 years old,
00:45 and that was the first time that my family
00:46 got me on a diet.
00:48 I lost a lot of weight.
00:49 I hit the goals they set for me,
00:51 but then the weight came back.
00:53 I started a lifelong obsession with sneak eating,
00:56 with having extra meals when there was no one else around.
00:59 I developed a strong food addiction.
01:02 You never thought about the consequences.
01:04 You never thought about what was gonna come the next day.
01:05 I think as most addicts learn,
01:08 there's never enough,
01:09 and you're always chasing more.
01:11 Through a series of really not great choices in my life,
01:13 I find myself 540 pounds at my heaviest ever.
01:17 I weighed more than a quarter of a ton.
01:20 Someone dared me to eat the cake without my hands,
01:24 and so I'm covered in frosting in this picture.
01:27 It's a bit ridiculous.
01:28 I'm smiling, and it's so emblematic
01:31 of what my life was like then.
01:33 I was being cheered on,
01:34 and it was almost like my life was a sideshow.
01:37 At that time, I went on a weight loss journey,
01:41 another massive attempt.
01:43 I got down to 210 pounds in May of 2013,
01:46 and thought I had finished,
01:49 thought I had really kind of hit that finish line
01:51 that you need to get to,
01:52 and that things were gonna be great,
01:53 and realized very quickly
01:55 that that was not where I had gotten to.
01:56 I made the scale move,
01:57 but I had done no work on my head,
01:59 and within six months, I was up over 400 pounds again.
02:03 I was 480 pounds by October of 2013.
02:06 I had decided, honestly,
02:11 that I didn't care what happened to my life.
02:14 I had decided that if I died, I died.
02:16 At least I would die quote-unquote happy.
02:18 I would die being able to eat the way I wanted to eat,
02:21 and I had actually written a letter to my family
02:24 that I kept by my bed
02:25 because I was convinced that I wasn't gonna wake up.
02:27 I was convinced that there would be a day
02:28 that I just didn't wake up.
02:30 My family went through some tumultuous things.
02:36 One of my nephews had children
02:39 that he was not gonna be able to care for,
02:41 and my parents were taking custody of those children.
02:43 So this was a really big change that was happening.
02:46 Twins, young twins.
02:48 And my father one night,
02:50 sitting with him out in the dark,
02:51 in his backyard, said,
02:53 "I'm gonna need your help
02:54 "because I know I'm not gonna live long enough
02:56 "to see them graduate from college."
02:58 And that moment wasn't about him putting pressure on me.
03:00 That moment was not about him commenting on my weight
03:02 or anything that I was doing.
03:03 That moment was for him expressing the fears
03:05 that he had about this thing they were undertaking,
03:08 this massive change they were taking.
03:10 And I went home that night,
03:11 and I was shook, honestly, I was shook.
03:13 What I realized was my life wasn't just my life.
03:18 We have honor and duty to our families
03:21 and to our communities that is really important.
03:23 And so I realized that if I didn't change what I was doing,
03:27 I wouldn't be around for those girls
03:29 to hit their fifth birthday,
03:30 nevermind graduate from college.
03:32 I was gonna die before my parents.
03:34 And I realized, and this is gonna sound simple and silly,
03:38 but I realized that I wanted to live.
03:39 And in the high 400s,
03:41 I started another weight loss journey,
03:43 and that's led me to where I am today.
03:45 (upbeat music)
03:49 Currently, I'm in the 210, 215 pound range,
03:53 up a little bit from the lowest weight that I've hit.
03:55 I'm okay with that.
03:56 I like how my body moves and how it feels
03:58 and what I can do.
04:00 So right now, my workouts,
04:02 I go to the gym five to six days a week.
04:04 For me, there's nothing like getting
04:07 in a good lifting session.
04:08 Feeling my body get stronger is really important.
04:11 I was killing myself with a knife and a fork,
04:14 and I realized I had to put them down.
04:15 So I made changes.
04:18 I decided to find a way of eating
04:20 that would allow me to do something
04:21 for the rest of my life.
04:23 I think about when I would make steak before,
04:25 and it would be about dusting it in flour
04:28 and adding maybe a batter,
04:29 like doing more like a chicken fried steak.
04:31 Any way I could kind of amp that food up.
04:33 Of course, there would be a pot of potatoes going already
04:36 and mashed potatoes with a ton of butter
04:38 and cream in them and something ready for dessert.
04:41 And my vegetable intake before
04:44 was very different than it is now.
04:46 So I had heard what I call the K-words thrown around a lot.
04:49 Eating more of a whole foods,
04:50 higher fat, moderate protein,
04:52 very low carbohydrate eating style,
04:54 you know, the keto way.
04:55 Ketogenic style of eating gave me freedom
04:58 from the massive obsession I had with food.
05:01 It really allowed me to allow the physical cravings
05:04 to subside so I could do the hard work on the mental side.
05:07 Three years later, it's turned out fantastic for me.
05:09 Everyone wants to know about loose skin.
05:15 And yes, I have a fair amount of loose skin.
05:17 When I was at my heaviest, I had an 84 inch waist.
05:20 Right now my waist is 36 inches.
05:23 That skin is gonna reflex a little bit,
05:25 but it's never gonna go back.
05:27 It's one of those things to me where
05:28 I view it as a badge of honor
05:31 of the damage I did to my body
05:34 and the way I've worked really hard to repair it.
05:36 My friend Andrew, he's gonna be coming today.
05:40 Andrew was actually someone who I knew
05:42 when I was 540 pounds.
05:44 And we were, for lack of a better term,
05:45 we were eating buddies.
05:46 So his support has really meant a lot to me over the years.
05:49 We're connected online, we talk on the phone,
05:52 but we haven't seen each other face to face
05:54 in over two years.
05:54 So I think this is gonna be pretty awesome.
05:56 - What up?
06:02 - Wow.
06:03 - Come here.
06:04 - Oh my God, man.
06:05 You disappeared.
06:07 - A little bit, just a little bit.
06:10 - Mike's transformation is absolutely insane.
06:13 He took up space, so I mean, he was a big guy.
06:15 So to see him just get into great shape is just,
06:18 it's awesome.
06:19 And he helped me lose weight.
06:20 So he inspired me and I'm sure he's inspired
06:22 many other people who really struggle
06:24 with obesity or eating problems.
06:26 You're gonna stay like this now, right?
06:27 - Yes, yes, yes.
06:29 I like to say I'm an expert at losing weight
06:31 and I'm an expert at gaining weight.
06:33 I am feeling blessed that I was able to find
06:35 what worked best for me.
06:37 And my approach to my weight loss
06:38 and how I eat has evolved over the years.
06:41 It changes, it becomes more focused,
06:42 it becomes less focused.
06:44 But the idea is that I'm not quitting
06:46 and I'm staying committed to keeping myself alive
06:50 and healthy.
06:51 (upbeat music)
06:54 (upbeat music)
06:56 (upbeat music)
06:59 (upbeat music)
07:01 (upbeat music)
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