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Guest Bio:
Drew Manning had never been overweight in his life. He grew up with three sisters and seven brothers. He excelled in sports and his obsession with health grew from there. As a personal trainer, Drew was addicted to exercise\u2026to having large muscles and six-pack abs. His idea of a \u201ctreat\u201d was a spinach shake! \u201cI was such a health addict that I invited the opportunity to both judge and attempt to help individuals who weren\u2019t born with the \u2018health-nut gene,\u2019\u201d says Drew. The goal for all his obese patients was the same: to get them to see that they were doing this to themselves and show them how to think, act and live differently. Certain clients listened and acted on his advice. More often than not, his clients were full of doubt that Drew was really there to help them overcome their struggles. \u201cThey saw me as someone who didn\u2019t get it; I didn\u2019t understand how hard it was to set aside the food or how difficult it was to go to the gym,\u201d says Drew.

One day, James, one of Lynn\u2019s relatives, asked Drew to help him lose weight. At first, James followed Drew\u2019s meal plans and pushed himself at every workout three times a week. After a few weeks, James decided to fight the battle of the bulge on his own. Drew thought, Something is missing, and wondered if he would ever be able to impact anyone other than himself. So Drew decided the best hope to understand weight-loss struggles would be to purposefully gain weight and get out of shape, with his wife\u2019s support. Drew would stop following his meal plans and avoid physical exertion whenever possible for six months. Then he would journey back to fitness for the next six months. Drew launched a website that would chart his progress and blog about his journey from fit-to-fat-to-fit again. He invited followers to blog their life changes on their own. After months of planning, Drew ate his last healthy meal on May 5, 2011. He weighed 193 pounds, had a 34.5\u201d waist and 17\u201d neck.

After just two months, Drew gained over 20 pounds and could not fit into his clothes. His self-esteem issues became an obsession and he feared everyone would notice every new pound. He hated taking any trips out of the house. Lynn, who is also physically fit, was shocked by his plunging self-image, thinking this journey was \u201con purpose\u201d and that he would only endure a physical transformation. Drew became lazy and stopped helping around the house. He got winded easily and avoided playing with the kids. She says that it wasn\u2019t the weight he put on but the lack of confidence that resulted. \u201cIt was as if his waistline and confidence were on the same sliding scale,\u201d she says. At week 26, Drew weighed 268 pounds, had a 47.5\u201d waist and 19\u201d neck. He gained 75 pounds.

\u201cThe process humbled me,\u201d says Drew. \u201cI became more empathetic about the emotional issues as well as the physical issue in losing weight.\u201d He says the food was actually good and his body had begun to crave it. \u201cFood addiction is powerful and real,\u201d he says. The foods he found hard to give up to get fit again were Mountain Dew (he would drink two a day) and the bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal at night. He says it was hard getting back into the gym. Drew had never experienced having his belly touch the ground while doing a push up. Getting out of the lazy routine was brutal. While it seems like he didn\u2019t gain or lose anything in his journey, Drew says mentally and emotionally he is different. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what you take for granted when you\u2019re healthy,\u201d he says. \u201cThe process humbled me.\u201d On March 1, 2012, Drew\u2019s blog went \u201cdark,\u201d and Lynn took over the daily video exercises so that on June 4, 2012, Drew\u2019s results could be revealed on Good Morning America