I Couldn't Look In The Mirror - Until I Lost 160lbs | BRAND NEW ME
At 16 YEARS OLD Thomas was approaching 400lbs and was so repulsed by his appearance he wouldn’t even look at his reflection in the mirror. Everything changed when the 20-year old saw a nutritionist who taught him how to eat well. He has started a healthy diet and working out which resulted in losing 160lbs in two years. Since then Thomas, who resides in California, gained confidence he lacked before and despite admitting that he is still on his journey to self-love, Thomas says that he can finally look at his reflection and be proud of what he has achieved so far.
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00:00At my heaviest, I weighed 360 pounds.
00:03At my biggest, I avoided not only mirrors,
00:05but just, like, reflective surfaces in general.
00:08When you're a big guy, you don't have very many friends.
00:11As I was losing the weight,
00:13I was getting more confidence naturally.
00:15I started to care about the way I looked.
00:17It's taken me about two years to lose 160 pounds.
00:20I started to be able to talk to people,
00:22and that's, like...
00:23Whoa. What?
00:24That's, like, a year's difference.
00:25Oh, my gosh.
00:31I started gaining weight when I was younger.
00:34I never tried to lose weight.
00:37It really just kept increasing over time.
00:42I lost my father when I was 10,
00:45and I believe that caused depression, anxiety,
00:47social anxiety...
00:51...which then caused the overeating and the stress-eating
00:54and really just kind of kept on getting worse and worse
00:58over the years.
01:02I actually had to teach myself how to smile.
01:05I used to eat a huge, big old calzone.
01:08That's supposed to feed a family.
01:10I could eat two Big Macs,
01:13slices and slices of pizza.
01:15When you're a big guy, you don't have very many friends.
01:18Kids pick on you.
01:22When the doctor told me that I was clinically obese,
01:27that was the point where it became real.
01:33I wanted to lose the weight,
01:35and that was the very beginning of my transformation.
01:40I started off really slow,
01:42just walking and cutting out certain foods,
01:44sodas, processed foods,
01:46and then gradually started increasing the exercise.
01:52Once I really started getting going,
01:54I really started to enjoy it.
01:55It kind of turned into a game.
01:58Every month, I wanted to lose more.
02:02My heaviest, I was 360 pounds.
02:06Right now, I weigh 220 pounds,
02:08and I've lost 160 pounds.
02:12Working out gives me more confidence.
02:14After a good workout, I always feel 100 times better,
02:17even if I was exhausted before.
02:21As I was losing the weight,
02:23I started to be able to talk to people a lot better.
02:25I started to be able to look people in the eyes
02:27when I talked to them.
02:28Before, eye contact was very difficult.
02:30Hello.
02:31Hi, how's it going?
02:32Good.
02:33One of my best friends now, she approached me,
02:36and it boosted my confidence a lot,
02:38and we're still friends today.
02:44Have you guys ever seen me?
02:45I don't think I ever showed you
02:47who I was before my transformation.
02:50I think I told you, but I never showed you.
02:52Yeah, I don't think I've seen.
02:53No?
02:54For my first 16 years, I never looked in the mirror,
02:57never looked at photos.
02:59Whoa.
03:00What?
03:01That's like a year's difference.
03:02Oh my gosh.
03:03So 13?
03:04Yeah.
03:05But when I look at, like,
03:07especially a lot of these photos, like these right here,
03:10I don't remember taking these photos at all,
03:13because I never wanted to see what it looked like before.
03:16I never wanted to see what it looked like.
03:17Had you ever tried to lose weight before this?
03:19Like, before you made the big transformation?
03:21I never knew how big I was, actually.
03:23I knew what size shirt I wear, what size pants I wear,
03:26but I had no, I never looked into what normal people wear,
03:30so I had no point of reference to see how far away I was.
03:36It was about six months into my weight loss,
03:39I got out of the shower and was able to look at the mirror
03:43and see myself.
03:47Now I see myself.
03:53But I helped more, right?
03:55I was really surprised seeing Thomas' photos.
03:57We talked about it and heard the story, but never seen it,
04:01and I think that made it a little bit more real,
04:04because to hear about it is one thing,
04:06but to actually see what he was talking about,
04:09totally different than I imagined.
04:10It was hard to put in my brain, knowing the Thomas we know now.
04:15I believe I'm in the best state that I've ever been.
04:18I have a lot more confidence than I've ever had.
04:20It's really good to see you.
04:21Thanks for showing us the pictures.
04:22Yeah, it's awesome.
04:23Yeah, we love you, man.
04:25I still have days where I don't feel my best,
04:29just to keep moving on and keep on doing what I'm doing,
04:32and eventually I'll get to where I want to be.
04:36So however that looks on the scale is not really what I care about.
04:44Who's happy is really what's most important.