It’s always incredibly inspiring to see the results of someone’s body transformation.
The hard work and dedication over months and months are summed up in their ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots.
We can learn something different from each one and seeing what someone has achieved is a great motivator for your own fitness. It shows that anything is possible.
But we’re not sure we’ve ever seen a transformation quite as mind-blowing as 39-year-old Ross Gardner.
At his heaviest, Ross weight more than 28 stone and could barely recognise himself in the mirror.
But in 10 short months the American chiropractor transformed his physique, his health and his whole life.
He managed to shed half his body weight, losing 14 stone in less than a year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIkJRUcAj9c/?taken-by=dr_rossg
Before he started his weight loss he was eating around 15,000 calories a day, according to the Daily Star. He would come home from work as a waiter and eat pizzas, burgers and drink Jack Daniels until 2am.
“I didn’t take my shirt off once in six years in front of anyone, I was too ashamed of my bulging belly,” he told The Star. “I wasn’t a fussy eater, I would eat it all, you name it and I would eat it.
“It was exhausting being that heavy, I was on my feet all day so when I got home I wouldn’t move all evening.
“My clothes were a size XXXL and I had to wear slip on shoes as I couldn’t reach my feet to tie my shoelaces.”
It was when he went on holiday to the Bahamas and was forced to pay for two seats on the plane that was the turning point for Ross.
He went to see a weight loss specialist and cut his calorie intake down from 15,000 to just 2,500 calories a day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIGUrkkgXOs/?taken-by=dr_rossg
Ross also quit alcohol and stopped smoking and started going to a behavioural therapist to understand why he was using food to make himself feel better.
His whole diet changed to help him lose the weight. Before he was eating three sausage, egg and cheese McMuffins for breakfast, two burgers with onion rings for lunch and a whole pizza for dinner, as well as snacking on Buffalo wings, crisps and cheese and crackers.
But his new diet saw him eating eggs whites, strawberries and cashew milk in the morning, chicken and broccoli with lentils for lunch and lean meats like fish or venison with vegetables for dinner.
“In the first week I lost half a stone and from there the weight just kept falling off, it actually got to the point where I struggled to stop losing weight and I had to higher my calorie intake to maintain a healthy weight,” he said.
“I went from bingeing on 15,000 calories in one or two sittings to eating seven or eight times a day, with each meal being around 200 calories.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHxLOupgJIu/?taken-by=dr_rossg
As the weight began to fall off, Ross started weight training and now hits the gym six or seven times a week.
After his incredible weight loss, Ross underwent surgery to get rid of the excess skin left over on his belly.
He added: “I now feel like a new man and I want to encourage others that it is never too late to turn your life around.”
