Three years ago, a 565-pound Georgia resident who'd never had a good relationship with food decided to cast off his life-long unhealthy habits. With a deep devotion to reclaiming his health, he has finally put an end to the downward spiral of overeating.
Today, Henry Gonzalez, a 32-year-old Vallejo native, weighs over 300 pounds less. His epic weight-loss journey has transformed not only his health but also his attitude toward life.
“I defeated my own version of me. I feel like I could do whatever I put my mind to,” Mr. Gonzalez told The Epoch Times.
Growing up, food was “always a treat” for Mr. Gonzalez. Soon the chubby kid—who was always bigger than his friends—turned into a “super overweight” adult. His lifestyle had morphed into a destructive cycle of compulsive overeating where he would first “drink and eat garbage” and then feel guilty for not being able to stop himself. Lacking a purpose in life, he usually just hung out with friends and indulged in binge eating.
“I would go to a Taco Bell, get like a couple of grilled, stuffed burritos, nachos, a whole bunch of tacos,” he said. “Or I go to a Jack in the Box and get a whole sandwich meal with fries, and then, on the side, I’ll get two burgers with cheesy potato wedges and wash it down with a big soda.
“Even on the way home, with that food of mine in my car, I would feel bad ... like, when am I going to stop? I would even see homeless people on the side of the road. And I would just think about giving it to them. I was just so addicted to the food. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Ever.”
And before he knew it, he was 100 pounds overweight.
He said: “I kept gaining weight, gaining weight. … I got tired of just living the same every day. I wanted something new. I wanted to experience life. I wanted a family. I wanted to make good money, I wanted to buy a house. I was like, I just wanted a full life experience.”
In 2016, at the age of 27, Mr. Gonzalez began researching weight-loss surgery and attended a group orientation. However, the post-treatment diet and lifestyle restrictions worried him.
“It’s like you’re losing that weight, but you can’t drink coffee, you can’t drink sodas, anything with carbonated waters … there’s a lot of restrictions that come with that surgery,” he said, adding that he didn’t find the “trade-off” appealing because he wanted to “enjoy everything.”
So, before getting the weight-loss surgery, he first decided to try to lose some weight naturally. For almost a year, Mr. Gonzalez struggled to shed a few extra pounds, but nothing truly helped.
Recalling a business trip when he ended up buying two plane tickets to fly at his peak weight, he said: “I hadn’t been on a plane since, maybe, I was like 11 years old, and I started getting nervous. I didn’t know if the seatbelt was going to work. So, to avoid any embarrassment, I just went ahead and bought two tickets, which I’m glad I did because there was no way anybody was going to be sitting next to me. I was taking up pretty much three seats at this point.”
The time was ripe, and he took his first concrete steps to beginning his metamorphosis. He completely stopped smoking and drinking. He switched jobs and took a pay cut so that his work schedule would fit around his gym routine.
“I was so conscious about going to the gym,” he said, “I was nervous to work out in front of people. But I just had to force myself to do it. That’s where I gained confidence. Just by getting out of my way and realizing that nobody really is looking at you while you’re in there. It doesn’t matter how big you are. If anything, it’s more encouraging. They’re like, ‘Oh, man. Good job. You’re doing your stuff.’
“I worked out with my trainer three days a week. I went from working out three days a week to working out five. Sometimes six.”
To avoid messing up his stomach, he switched to eating home-prepared meals rather than munching on takeaways.
“I was cooking all my meals, and I was pretty strict on it,” he said. “I wouldn’t use anything that had sugar in it. No salt. No sodas. It’s pretty much just drinking water [and] eating chicken, fish wrapped with a little bit of rice, vegetables, and salads. Stuff like that.”
For the next half a year, he didn’t drop much weight. But he stayed strict with himself nevertheless and followed his trainer.
“That’s where my trainer came in handy because I’m not very good at doing research online for stuff. So anytime I see myself plateauing, I’ve either got to switch up what I’m eating, or I’ve got to step it up in the gym, or a mixture of both,” he said.
Having lost over 300 pounds naturally, Mr. Gonzalez credits his family and girlfriend for their unwavering support.
He says the biggest challenge throughout was his own mind. Even when he was seeing no results at the beginning, he consciously had to raise the bar and push himself to new limits of endurance—all while keeping up his morale.
He says it all boils down to one thing: making the right choices. Investing in your health, both physical and mental, is one of the wisest life-affirming choices anyone can make.
“Make your health a priority. Even if that means missing out on somebody momentarily or having to switch your whole life up to put your health first. Then focus on everything else after because everything else is going to work out as long as you get your health and your mind in order,” Mr. Gonzalez said, adding that everything started to change for the better when he prioritized his failing health over making money and partying.
“I feel like the universe has a way of making it work out for you. … I’m in a place right now I never would have dreamed to be in just three years ago, when I started. It’s about being honest with yourself and making the change and just taking that first step.”
His weight-loss battle isn’t completely over yet as he has another milestone to reach: removing his loose skin.
“It’s kind of like a checkpoint,” he said. “I pretty much got to lose another 30 pounds to get to that body-mass index number, and I’m going to start the process next year as far as removing all the skin.
“Physically, the journey’s been amazing. Just the little stuff like tying your shoes; just not feeling tired all the time. Your body feels lighter. Mentally, I feel like I’ve accomplished the hardest thing anybody can do in their life.”
