At his highest weight and lowest point, Nicolas Garratt weighed 400 pounds and was 15 years old.
Garrett, now 19, told Today.com last week that he has always struggled with his weight. He started eating junk and fast food at age 5, a habit that caused him to pack on the pounds over the years.
The UK resident who faced relentless bullying at school accepted the pandemic lockdown. “I was relieved when COVID happened because I didn’t have to leave the house,” he told the outlet. “We had to quarantine, and I was relieved that I could stay there and not have to see people. I only go out at night when it gets dark.
Outcast by his peers and feeling like a “freak, a monster,” Garrett distracts himself by overeating and drinking. Unable to walk around the block without pain, he went to see a doctor to help him with anxiety—he was told he was at risk of a heart attack.
Determined to change, Garrett experimented with extreme fasting. However, losing weight without gaining muscle didn’t alleviate his self-hatred: “I was so unhappy. I thought, ‘I’ve done all this for nothing. What’s the point?’ I lost weight, and underneath, I was still just this ugly person that I didn’t want to be,” he told Today.com.
Changing his approach to weight loss, Garrett stopped fasting and joined a gym in January 2023, sticking to lifting weights and daily walks outside or on the treadmill.
Now, he’s down to 196 pounds — and he’s a fitness influencer on Instagram.
“I want to help people do what I did,” he said. In the spirit of helping others, Garrett shared his four tips for weight loss.
Count your calories
Food items are secondary to calorie counting, says Garrett. He’s aiming for 1,400 a day, which might be enough to meet some people’s needs.
His allegiance to calorie counting has some scientific backing. A study published last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that counting calories is more effective at shedding unwanted pounds than fasting for certain periods of time.
Garrett said adding vegetables and salads to every meal has helped her feel full and satisfied while maintaining a calorie deficit.
Carbohydrates are not bad
Although dieters often malign carbs, Garrett emphasizes that they’re not bad and are actually fuel for training.
This tip echoes the advice of nutritionists who suggest that carbohydrates precede exercise to maintain energy and maximize efficiency.
Use an app like MyFitnessPal
Garrett credits the fitness tracking app MyFitnessPal with helping him reach his health goals.
Meanwhile, a writer who lost 30 pounds in a year found success with a scale that displays body composition data, a smartwatch to record steps, and a Google Docs to track progress.
Exercise is just a vehicle to help you meet your deficit
Garrett cites a change in mindset as the biggest contributor to his success. “Even when you don’t feel like working out, you can be determined to go to the gym,” he encourages others to embrace iron determination.
He hopes his fitness journey inspires others to make changes and, more importantly, continue despite setbacks: “You’re going to fail 100 times, but it wouldn’t be a real journey without getting back up. Determination is what gets you back up.”
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