Why would someone choose to gain a whole lot of weight on purpose? According to fitness trainer Drew Manning, it was to try to see things from his client’s perspective. He needed to understand why they were struggling to lose weight. Having never struggled in his life to keep fit and trim, Drew embarked on an experiment to gain 70 lbs in 6 months. Then he set about losing it again and get back to health and fitness in the following 6 months. The experience was so much more than he expected and his book, Fit2Fat2Fit , became a NY Times Best Seller. He features on Good Morning America and other TV shows like Doctor Oz and the Dr Drew show. His experiment has become a hit TV show, called Fit to Fat to Fit, airing on A&E. He also has a successful ketogenic diet program that has helped thousands change their lives.
Attendees at our Keto Getaway in West Palm Beach in January, 2018 had a unique opportunity to see him in person. He presented the insights he gained from his fit to fat to fit experience. The first thing was how easily he put on the weight when he let himself go. People told him his genetics wouldn’t allow it but six months later he had put on 75 lbs. He went from 8% body fat to 32% body fat. Suddenly he understood what it was like for people to try to function when they were overweight.
Then he started to see how his personality was even being affected. He was not prepared for the emotional impact of putting on weight. As he became more unhealthy he wasn’t able to play with his daughter anymore. He went on the Dr. Oz show and was walked through all the scary changes that were happening to him on the inside. He realised that he had focused on how his look would change but was shocked to see how much his health had deteriorated. He was already developing a non-alcoholic fatty liver after just 6 months.
His return to fitness involved just eating about 2000 calories a day or real food. No exercise for the first few months until his weight started to come down. He said the first 2 weeks ‘sucked’. He had never experienced cravings like that before and he started to understand how his clients felt for the first time.
In the end he learned how addictive food really can be and that the real struggle is not on the physical side but on the mental and emotional side. “At the end of the day it’s not about being fat or skinny”, he says. “Take care of your health first and let the way you look be a byproduct of that healthy lifestyle over time. Just because you are skinny or have a six-pack does not mean you are healthy on the inside.”
We plan to have Drew back at on of our LowCarbUSA® events very soon. You can see par of his talk in West Palm Beach in the video below.
[Doug Reynolds: Founder – LowCarbUSA®]
