Roberto, Member
My name is Roberto and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about my journey to losing
over 100 pounds. I started at 345 pounds and am currently at 237 pounds.
I just want you to know that I have much love and respect for Emily, Joy, Scott, Mireya, Vinny, Luis, and Trent at Mission Valley. I’ve seen some of the other staff when I go in the afternoon or at night, but I’m there almost everyday in the mornings anywhere from 6-9am…you have an amazing staff that I’m super grateful for.
I used to be 280 pounds and struggled to lose weight. I felt great exercising, but I still struggled to lose weight. One day I woke up and I was 345 pounds, eating 10,000 plus calories a day. I know it’s 10,000 because two days before I started to change my diet I ate the same things I would normally eat just to count my calories. I did the math and if I kept eating the way I did I was heading to 600+ pounds.
So, in August I woke up and decided, out of the blue, that I don’t want to feel sluggish and drowsy anymore and had to get my s*** together if I want to feel great and full of energy. I remember stumbling across a “full day of eating video” on YouTube and just remember all the healthy foods. I thought to myself, “I bet I can make great healthy tasting food.” So, for the first two to three months I would tell myself everyday, “I’m going to the gym tomorrow.” Next day would come and I didn’t go, but I did focus on eating healthy.
I’m a shift lead at McDonalds for the graveyard shift and usually, right after work, I head to the gym. You can imagine most always eating fast food, and the number one killer, soda. In my whole 8 hour shift, I’d probably go through two large cups of coke, every hour, throughout my shift.
While focusing on eating healthy I really struggled the first month with every time I would fail. I would tell myself “F*** it, start over right now, not tomorrow”
After two to three months, I remember weighing myself for the first time. I was 315 and it definitely gave me motivation to finally step foot in the gym.
I had my membership active I also thought how stupid to not go and keep paying so I better start going. I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning. I just remember if I wanted to get my conditioning back I should start jogging.
I fell in love with fitness. I’m always trying to read about nutrition, exercising, and being healthy in general. Little by little I noticed my knee pain and my elbow pain go away. I noticed I started to breath better and overall started feeling better. I remember In the beginning just by greeting me good morning and having a small, one minute convo and the front desk staff saying have a nice day as I leave. It really made me look forward to coming back to the gym. It definitely made it a lot easier of not having that feeling of not wanting to go to the gym. Your staff is so very pleasant and handle everything in a professional manner and have great customer service.
My mom noticed me going a lot. She went from going one day a week, to two days, to three days, to four/five days a week with me now. My brother started his journey in February. I know he found out he had high blood pressure and he didn’t like the way the symptoms of high blood pressure made him feel. And one day he tells me I’m going to the gym with you tomorrow. And same with him. He started going a couple days a week and is now going every day with me.
I think it’s cool that we all go together as a family. We all cook for each other and make sure we’re on track, and it’s working out great. I have a lot of fitness goals right now, and it’s only the beginning.
