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I’ve gone from being morbidly obese and out of shape to being the lightest I’ve been in 20 years and the strongest I’ve ever been. My family is so happy and proud of me, which also makes me feel great. I really am thriving and living my best life!
Jeremiah McLean’s Story
A special thanks to Jeremiah for sharing his success story (which isn’t over yet). He’s inspired a lot of people to take action on their health and fitness.
Thank you to Monique as well, for encouraging him along the way. A supportive partner makes a HUGE difference!
If you feel equally inspired after reading, follow his lead and join VIGOR Training.
Where were you when you got started with VIGOR Training?
When I first got started with VIGOR Training, I wasn’t in the worst shape of my life but it was pretty bad.
My weight had varied wildly up and down over the last 20 years. I gained 10 pounds on my honeymoon and never really recovered from that.
When I decided to get started, I was feeling the effects of getting older with so much extra weight. I had aches and pains that I hadn’t experienced before and I think it was actually affecting my cognitive function. That really concerned me.
It took me a while, probably about 6 months, to get serious. I made a ton of excuses…”I travel too much,” or “I’m too busy.”
What was your tipping point?
Finally one day I just had enough.
It wasn’t anything specific. I was just done being weak and overweight.
I texted Les Wright and said, “You have to make me go to the gym!”
Of course, he accepted the challenge but he wanted to go early in the morning. Ugh. I forced myself to go and meet him.
The first few weeks were pretty rough, but then I started seeing results. Little to no weight loss at first but my body started changing.
Then, something weird happened. I started to actually enjoy going first thing in the morning.
I felt great the rest of the day, not only physically, but mentally.
What lessons did you learn along the way, that you’d want to pass along to others?
I think the keys to success for me are:
- Accountability: Having someone to go with, encourage you or even call you out sometimes is just powerful. Really in all areas of life not just health and fitness.
- Convenience: Get a membership at a gym that’s convenient to you. Maybe close to your house or workplace. Find a time that doesn’t impact your schedule. It may have to be early in the morning, which is what I recommend. Life just seems to get in the way throughout the day and time slips away. The workouts are usually less than an hour so it’s not a huge chunk of time.
- Easy/Not intimidating: This is my very favorite part of VIGOR! Tom has every workout ready to go with tips and technique videos. You literally don’t have to know anything. Every exercise is planned along with order and reps. I don’t even think about it. I can go to any gym and go right to exactly what I need and get a great workout in. Even when I’m traveling, it’s easy. Before, I was so intimidated and frankly scared to go to any gym. This all changed with VIGOR Training.
How has your thinking changed about health and fitness?
Before, I dreaded thinking about getting healthy.
But now I really do enjoy going to the gym and working out. It has also inspired me to change my food choices. I’m loving this journey.
What has changed for you?
So much has changed. My first goal was just to get under 200 pounds.
The heaviest I’ve ever been was about 250. I was around 230 pounds when I started VIGOR Training.
I’m now under 200 and working on the next goal of 190 on my way to my ideal weight.
I like that I’m the lightest I’ve been in 20 years, but I love that I’ve never been this strong. I feel great and my wife loves it too, so that’s a huge bonus!
What’s next?
I’m not done yet.
I don’t think I’ll ever be done. My short term goals are to get to and maintain a healthy body weight for my height and at the same time get as strong as possible. My long term goal is to build enough muscle mass to significantly positively impact my quality of life as I age and to increase longevity.
